Last Friday I posted about the first of a series of hot deals that will happen at the end of every week this month. Last week it was a hot deal for Batman: Arkham Asylum. This week it’s Street Fighter IV. Starting today and running through to Monday March 8th 5:00pm Redmond time, Street Fighter IV will be available through Games on Demand at 50% off. That’s $19.99 (or 1600 Microsoft Points). Keep checking this page for hot deals for game titles available through Games on Demand. Remember, to take advantage of Games on Demand, you will need the Games for Windows – LIVE client installed. You can download it here.

In a few previous blog posts I’ve done over the last couple months, I talked about or mentioned the awesome Games for Windows – LIVE game Batman: Arkham Asylum. In early December, we introduced Games on Demand for Games for Windows – LIVE with Batman: Arkham Asylum as one of the showcase titles. Today, Batman: Arkham Asylum officially kicks off a month of sales for game titles on Games on Demand! And these sales are going to be hot. How hot? Well, Batman: Arkham Asylum is on sale today at 75% off the regular price putting the game at only $12.49 (USD). This deal for Batman: Arkham Asylum goes to March 1st 10am PST.

To download Batman: Arkham Asylum, you need to have the latest Games for Windows – Live client installed on your PC. You can download the latest version here.

As I said above, this deal for Batman: Arkham Asylum officially kicks off a month of sweet deals on games offered through Games on Demand on Games for Windows – LIVE. At the end of each week throughout March, a new deal will hit – so keep your eyes peeled on www.gamesforwindows.com for those deals as they hit.

One more thing – the SideWinder Gaming folks will be giving away a new SideWinder X4 keyboard (or maybe 3) via their Twitter account. The SideWinder X4 isn’t out yet so this could be your change to get one before anyone else!

Unveiled at CES in early January, Dell today is launching the highly anticipated extremely portable gaming laptop: the Alienware M11x. At CES, the M11x won both CNET's Award for the Best Gaming Product at CES 2010 and IGN’s Award for Best Computer. The M11x is one of the smallest gaming laptops hitting the market with an 11” design. Dell literally went and packed in the power of a 15” laptop in an 11” design with this PC. And it weighs in at less than 4.5 pounds. Dell recently did a blog post called A Brief History of the Alienware M11x which gives some more perspective and back story to the PC.

   

The M11x can be configured with (and up to) the follow specs:

• Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
• Processor: Up to Intel Core2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, 800 MHz, 3 MB)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M - 1GB GDDR3
• Memory: Up to 8GB - DDR3 1066MHz
• Hard Drive: a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive or a 256GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Network: 802.11 b/g/n & Optional Internal WWAN
• Ports: HDMI / VGA / 3 USB / Media Card Reader / FireWire

The keyboard integrates back lit keys which are fully customizable through the exclusive Alienware Command center, featuring AlienFX software. The Alienware M11x will be available in 2 color options: Cosmic Black or Lunar Shadow (Silver).

You can order the Alienware M11x today starting at $799. Dell is working to bring this PC to international markets, including South Asia. Look for Dell to announce more details when those plans are finalized.

If you’re a gamer and want a PC with some impressive specs yet retains a great deal of mobility – the Alienware M11x is the perfect PC to take a look at!

Are you a gamer and into sports and a fan of the Olympics? I was just sent along word that Vancouver 2010, the official game for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, is now available via Games on Demand through Games for Windows – LIVE.

The game is pretty much a sports simulation, with courses modeled after Vancouver 2010 Olympic venues. You can participate in 14 events to try and win the Gold Medal.

To purchase Vancouver 2010 today, just fire up the Games for Windows – LIVE client and hit the Marketplace to purchase and download the game. If you don’t have the Games for Windows – LIVE client installed, you can grab the installer here.

This week we announced Games on Demand for Games for Windows – LIVE. Through the Games for Windows – LIVE PC client, you can now purchase, download, and install full games for your PC!

Download: Games for Windows - LIVE (Version 3.2)

You can download 4 of 7 games I blogged about earlier this week in my post on 7 hot games for Windows 7 for the holidays. Those games include DIRT 2, a DirectX 11 game, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

When you install Games for Windows – LIVE in Windows 7, Games for Windows – LIVE is added as a Game Provider in Games Explorer.

You can stay on top of all the latest Games for Windows – LIVE news right from Games Explorer in Windows 7.

Games for Windows – LIVE titles let PC gamers log in and take advantage of Xbox LIVE – including improving their Gamerscore and playing against other games on Xbox LIVE.

Try Games on Demand today!

Through January 4th, 2010 – we’re offering Shadowrun and Viva Piñata 50% off through Games on Demand.

The holidays are here, and that usually means spending time with family and friends. For some of you however, that might mean logging in heavy hours online mercilessly shredding your friends on some sort of virtual war-torn landscape. I thought I would take a moment to offer up a recommendation for 7 of the hottest new games that let you raid, frag and dominate on Windows 7.

DIRT 2 - Games for Windows - LIVE

Car racing has been around since the dawn of gaming. But when you add a mud-flinging off-road adventure to the mix and a host of ultra-cool rigs to choose from, you’ve got loads of fun for the racing addict in your house. DIRT 2 gets an extra power boost from DirectX 11 (Click here to learn about DirectX 11 and why it’s awesome).

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Games for Windows - LIVE

Straight from the pages of DC Comics to your PC screen, Batman: Arkham Asylum brings the intense graphics of Gotham City and Arkham Asylum together. In this action packed title, Batman faces down many of his toughest enemies, such as the Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc, who have taken over Arkham Asylum. This game is a must have for Batman fans like me.

Street Fighter IV - Games for Windows - LIVE

All of the classic Street Fighter characters, moves and graphics that had gamers spending huge amounts of quarters at the arcade are brought back in Street Fighter IV. This time it’s combined with spectacular 3-D environments and new moves that would’ve broken your wrist on the coin-ops.

Dark Void - Games for Windows

Fall into the Dark Void and you are in for the fight of your life against a seemingly insurmountable robot alien race. Use a cool personal jet pack to traverse a dangerous landscape with thousand foot cliffs and heavily armed killing machines around every corner. Load up and keep your finger on the trigger at all times.

Resident Evil 5 - Games for Windows - LIVE

Resident Evil is a classic single-shooter game that explores your worst fears of living through apocalyptic events. Resident Evil 5 takes you through lots of new challenges with fighting off brain-dead evil zombies. A new challenge for Resident Evil fans!

Left 4 Dead 2

Zombie Killers unite! In Left 4 Dead 2, your faced with one of the best, most nerve-wracking “I’m surrounded-and-need-to-fight-my-way-out” challenge that I’ve seen in a long time. This is one that the gamer in your household will love playing with friends.

Borderlands

War-torn landscapes, nasty alien creatures, an arsenal of great weaponry and a puzzling story. Just what every single person shooter loves in a gaming experience!

Did you know that, all 25 of the top 25 selling game in NPD’s October 2009 report run on Windows - that’s something that no other platform can claim! As new games go through development, game shops are making Windows 7 a top priority because it features the innovative technologies in DirectX 11, which allow for faster and more realistic PC gaming experiences. Simply put – more awesome games can be developed using DirectX 11 and Windows 7.

Here’s what Chris Kingsley, CTO of game development studio Rebellion says about how they were able to deliver a great gaming experience using Windows 7 and DirectX 11:

At Rebellion we're excited that Windows 7 and DirectX 11 allows us to create in our upcoming title ‘Aliens vs. Predator’ new, super immersive gaming experiences with state of the art HD Graphics for our customers.

For more on Rebellion’s upcoming Aliens vs. Predator from SEGA – click here.

Let me briefly get even geekier with specifics regarding DirectX 11. DirectX 11 brings key technologies to the table such as Tessellation, Multi-threading and DirectCompute that make it a hit with developers.

There are also Windows 7 PCs that are designed specifically for the power gamer. If you’re in the market for a new gaming rig, I’d recommend checking these PCs out:

• ASUS G51J
• Alienware M17x
• Alienware Area 51 (for you desktop fans out there)

When it comes to gaming on the PC – Windows 7 offers gamers a fantastic gaming experience. Game developers look to Windows 7 and DirectX for blow-your-hair-back powerful gaming. These 7 hot new games are ready and waiting for you to play on Windows 7 with more coming! Psst, you’ll notice none of these games are available on any other OS ;-)