By: Spacelab Research Staff
Sometimes you almost have to feel sorry for Microsoft ... they try so hard with their music offerings but somehow always seem to entangle themselves in *issues* with the way they do it.
PlaysForSure seems to be one more to add to the list, with the news that Microsoft has quietly tried to back away from PlaysForSure in favor of their new musical offerings with the Zune and their older MTV URGE deal, which may eventually get the same fate as PlaysForSure.
In a bizarre and minimalistic offering, Microsoft has taken its PlaysForSure promise/branding/service and given it a new look titled Certified for Windows Vista. The page at the Microsoft web site that announces this doesn't add many details, but says that "PlaysForSure is growing up."
Maybe this means that Certified for Windows Vista is their new deal until a better one comes along? Five years from now, we could be discussing this again, when Microsoft offers its "Certified for Windows XP is growing up" campaign as they migrate Certified for Windows XP to its new "Plays only our most recent version of Windows" campaign!
Microsoft makes no mention on what will happen to to all of the PlaysForSuremp3 players out there or whether they plan on continued support of them, artfully dodging any sort of explanation as to what they mean by this. Informed guesses around the web (here, here, here and also here) think that this is the end of an era for Microsoft's failed program.
