> {quote:title=Stevedroid wrote:}{quote}
> This is meaningless...Obviously they felt the market size and potential return justified the investment.

Clearly Exent and/or GT feels the same way. My motives are to bring more games and a healthy GT. If that means sacrificing 2.5% of [b]potential[/b] buyers, fine by me.

Why doesn't GT respond to this issue? Do they read the forums?

This is obviously a big problem which is only going to get worse when WIndows 7 is released. Unless someone knows
otherwise it says here: http://www.windows7.cc/category/windows7-faq/ that windows 7 will almost certainly be shipped as a 64bit OS.

Q: Will Windows Vienna be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions like Vista?
A: Vienna will almost certainly ship only in 64-bit versions. This is in keeping with Microsoft

This is the problem, if all companies thought "not enough people using 64 bit so we won't make drivers, or programs that work for it" then we'd never go forward. Companies have to make 64 bit products then people will be happy using 64 bit systems instead of looking to downgrade to 32 bit. If this would have happened when going from 16 bit to 32 bit we'd still be 16 bit windows. Its the chicken and the egg, companies need to support 64 bit and people will use it, but if companies don't want to support 64 bit then people are going to keep trying to downgrade to 32 bit.

I see it this way, if 64 bit was supported more then MS wouldn't have to make a 32 bit Windows 7. Why should they? They probably thought that Vista would be the last 32 bit OS they'd have to make and when the next version come out it would be 64 but but companies are getting lazy, because its easier to just upgrade their 32 bit software and drivers than make all new 64 bit ones.

I don't know if its GameTaps fault or Exent, I don't know whats in their contract. It could be written that Exent can only write and upgrade the virtualization software for the next X amount of years. If this is so then GT is stuck unless they push them into making it, or they take them to court. If it doesn't say that, or if the contract is up then its GTs fault because they could have found someone else to write it or they could have hired their own team to write it. If it hasn't been written because they don't think its worth writing it because not enough of their user base use 64 bit, thats not good because if they wrote the 64 bit virtualization then more people when they buy new computers would keep the 64 bit Windows instead of looking to downgrade. I don't know the full story so I can't put the blame on GT, but I can put the blame on Exent because they write the software and they have a couple of companeis (not just GT) that are having problems with 64 bit.

I tried to find forums for Exent so I could look into this more and ask some questions to them but I haven't found any. I haven't really looked that hard because a friend of mine is sick but I'll keep looking. When I looked on the Exent site it had no reference of GameTap on it at all that I saw in the little time I looked.

> {quote:title=Chuxter wrote:}{quote}
> Why doesn't GT respond to this issue? Do they read the forums?

GameTap staff have responded to the issue a couple of times, and I also talk to staff from time to time about this thread. Nothing new has been said because there's been nothing new to report.

> {quote:title=guintu wrote:}{quote}
>When I looked on the Exent site it had no reference of GameTap on it at all that I saw in the little time I looked.

GameTap is listed as Turner, GameTap's parent company, on the Exent website. (If you click on the Turner logo it goes to gametap.com)

After some rethinking I've come back and deleted the last few posts. The thread had gone both off-topic and incendiary.

Please remain on-topic and please remain civil. Thanks.

> {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> After some rethinking I've come back and deleted the last few posts. The thread had gone both off-topic and incendiary.
>
> Please remain on-topic and please remain civil. Thanks.

Good choice.

Ran across another stat: . That's a [b]seven-fold[/b] increase over just three months! Windows 7 is also going to be 64-bit only, and , so Exent is running out of time.

Luckily, .

> {quote:title=Skorpion wrote:}{quote}
> Luckily, .

Seems like a bad move on Exent's part. Don't they realize that it's going to make some people here very unhappy?
;)

Not going to ruin my day if 64bit gt happens. Your emotional response instead of reading what I said probably makes this difficult to understand. If exent fixes it, great. If gt trades games budget for 64bit, not great. Period.

I agree with other people...thank you for summarizing it up nicely. I did cancel my subscription when I found out that gametap would not support a 64 bit os because it was pointless for me to pay for something where I couldn't use it the way I want. I would however like to play the games again, especially because I have a "gaming laptop"-a gateway fx.

So thanks.

Man, I wish some people on this board would take a step back and think about what they're saying. Stepping in the way of progress and trying to keep a minority excluded for some fear that they'll cause disruption in the status quo and cost everyone dearly... where is the love?

I think the 64 bit support will be the best thing that's happened to Gametap, you'll see. Not only will it bring in new customers, it will make a lot of the existing customers happy because they'll no longer have to dual-boot or think twice before upgrading PC or OS. And today, I'm reminded of the words of a great man, the Late Captain Kirk (maybe you heard of him):

"Somtimes needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many"

or something like that

(Deleted)

I have an update for the x64-ers, though it may not be the one they were hoping for.

I've been informed by the GT techheads that the GameTap player should now support both Saturn and Dreamcast games for 64-bit users. This leaves only Windows and "8-bit" titles unsupported. Still no timeline to announce on that.

The OP has been updated. Thanks!

Thanks for the update. While it's not the major update everyone is waiting for, more games are now playable for x64 users as well as letting users know that work is being done on additional x64 support.

> {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> Examples:
> Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Slug should work on 64-bit, since they are Genesis and Neo Geo games, respectively.
> Panzer Dragoon and Fallout should not work on 64-bit, since they are Saturn and Windows games, respectively.

mac, you need to update this now since it contradicts the list above it ;)

So, correct me if I'm wrong, this means that all pieces of code that belong to GT (except for "8-bit" maybe, idk what that really is) work on 64-bit.

> {quote:title=NinjaPirate119 wrote:}{quote}
> So, correct me if I'm wrong, this means that all pieces of code that belong to GT (except for "8-bit" maybe, idk what that really is) work on 64-bit.
8-bit is just a PC collection of some NES games, so it still falls under Windows.

> {quote:title=NinjaPirate119 wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=macnbc wrote:}{quote}
> > Examples:
> > Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Slug should work on 64-bit, since they are Genesis and Neo Geo games, respectively.
> > Panzer Dragoon and Fallout should not work on 64-bit, since they are Saturn and Windows games, respectively.
>
> mac, you need to update this now since it contradicts the list above it ;)
>
> So, correct me if I'm wrong, this means that all pieces of code that belong to GT (except for "8-bit" maybe, idk what that really is) work on 64-bit.

Thanks for the catch there, I've updated it to match. And yes, you are correct.

Yikes, so this STILL hasn't been fixed? I'm going to be getting a new notebook soon, and not sure what to do.

It's getting impossible to avoid 64-bit Windows. I don't really care which I get, as for 4GB or less it's all the same thing basically, but I guess I'll have to buy a separate 32-bit version of Windows just for Gametap.

Or just get yourself you "Alternate Media" from Microsoft. It's less than $10.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx

You can of course still enjoy all the other games too in 64 Bit mode (and I find myself more drawn to those anyway.)

That doesn't work for OEM copies of Vista though, does it? (And plus it looks like you have to get the 32-bit version on CD, since it's really meant for people without DVD drives?)

Just to add my name, as I have obtained Vista 64 x 2 but have not installed because of gametap. The clock is ticking however. Hope we are changed by next subsciption renewal or I'll have to think carefully.

Neil

Wolfpup the product key for 32-bit and 64-bit versions is interchangeable as far as I'm aware. The OEM version doesn't usually contain both installs but for me I've been able to use a new key and it didn't freak out at all. I've done that twice without any issues.
I did search a bit online and I don't see anything about Microsoft considering their 32bit/64bit versions to be different OS's. So as far as I'm aware it's perfectly acceptable to swap them back and forth or even dual install them.
Usually the issue is more running more than one liscense at the same time rather than installing windows as many times as you want on a PC and quad-boot or whatever. It's mostly a concern when people are running different installs concurrently through virtualization on a PC (vmware ie).
So you shouldn't have any problem if you get a copy of Vista 64/32 online, from a friend etc and just use the same product key.

So theoretically I should be able to request that 32-bit CD that was linked to from Microsoft, and switch to it using my OEM/Sony copy of 64-bit Windows that came with the system?

Sorry...it's weird, at this point Gametap is the main reason I want 32-bit! Although I don't see any super compelling reason otherwise to have 64-bit anyway, but sooooo many systems ship with only 64-bit now.

Or getting a copy from a friend, online, etc. There are only a few games that are 64-bit only, but that will increase. I recommend making sure you have both copies of the install. vLite is a good program to reverse an install disk from a current install.
I prefer 64 bit, I tried doing the dual boot thing for awhile but it was far too much of a pain. Mostly because I use my PC as a DVR as well- and switching back and forth between installs would screw up any recording I'm doing. Currently the only program I 'want' that doesn't work on 64bit Vista is gametap.

Are you sure about there being games that REQUIRE 64-bit? I've never heard of any.

Gametap's the only big thing for me too that doesn't support 64-bit. I'd probably run into it with other games though that I'm not aware of, and probably with my VPN software (though I guess I could do that through VirtualPC...maybe).

It's frustrating though, because...well I'd guess at least half of the computers I'm looking at anymore ship with 64-bit Vista, and one...well I'd have to give up on Gametap, I guess.

Would that actually work with an OEM copy of Vista though to request a 32-bit version? Like the computer ships with 64-bit, and for $10 or whatever Microsoft would still ship me a 32-bit version? I think that's only for retail copies (maybe?)