Microsoft Corp is developing games software that will enable parents to stop under-age children playing games with age certificates and other users to load games faster out of the box. Games Manager will be released in the second quarter next year as part of Windows 2000.
Games Manager is dependent on an adult being responsible, says Mike Gamble, Microsoft’s European product and evangelism manager. Parent give passwords to their children and the software either bars those under-age from playing a game, or offers a specially adapted version of the game. So far, only Carmageddon, which gives players points for murdering pedestrians, is adaptable, but Microsoft is in talks with most of the gaming industry and expects many more developers to scale their products.
The software is about bringing PC games closer to console versions, says Gamble, with automated features that eliminate user choices about where to install a game, how to find space for it and how to configure it best with extras like soundcards, joysticks or steering wheels.
