Candy Crush on Windows 10

In the video in front of you, there are two games.

On the left is 3D Pinball: Space Cadet, which is actually a modified, trial-esque version of a game called Full Tilt! Pinball.

On the right is Candy Crush Saga: One of the most well-known mobile games in existence.

3D Pinball: Space Cadet was developed by Cinematronics, LLC and published by Maxis Software - a company most known for its Sim City franchise.

This simple, yet addicting virtual pinball machine was a staple on Windows machines for most of my childhood. Originally bundled with Microsoft Plus! 95, it was included with Windows through Windows XP, ME, and Windows 2000. Despite its limited functionality and restricted 640x480 resolution, I spent many hours playing that game as a kid.

It was dependable - whenever I needed a game to play, I always had my Space Cadet pinball game to play on any Windows machine. At home, at my grandparents, in the library, at school - the game was everywhere.

Due to its simplicity, it wasn’t something I’d actively seek out, however. It’s not like I’d forgo any sort of productivity or responsibility on the computer to play pinball, but it was a great time sink when I was bored or needed to kill time.

So when I took a glance at my Reddit homepage this morning and found one of the top posts in /r/gaming to be an announcement that Candy Crush will come bundled with Windows 10 - and an onslaught of lashing out in response, I was a tad confused.

I actually had to do a double take to make sure that this wasn’t an Onion (or other satirical site’s) article, due to the unexpected announcement and the weird reaction to it.

In fact, the ArsTechnica article is actually titled “Humanity WEEPS as Candy Crush Saga comes preinstalled with Windows 10” and then hints that the use of “added bonus” to describe the bundling as potentially being “ironic.”

But… why?

Pre-bundled games have always been great for children and generally bored people to have something quick to do on the computer.

They’re bundled, so you don’t have to install anything or risk getting viruses or malware, they rarely take up much space at all - especially an Android/iOS port - and they’re generally safe and harmless.

So… Microsoft working with King to bundle Candy Crush Saga with Windows 10 as both a bonus, preinstalled game for people to play (if they desire) and an example of their previously-announced innovations to make porting Android and iOS apps over to Windows much easier… is… a bad thing?

I see not.

Candy Crush is one of those things that people hate just for the enjoyment of expressing hatred towards it. No one really hates Candy Crush - you’d be hard-pressed to find a valid reason to justify such a feeling against a small mobile game, unless you’re the developers of Bejeweled. Instead, people hate the concept of it - a quick and easy, nothing-special, mobile game that somehow made a ton of money and got widely popular, despite being a clone itself.

Just like with Nickelback and Call of Duty, Candy Crush did nothing to directly piss these people off and yet, suddenly people are shouting NOOOOOOOOOOOO at the skies over this announcement.

But given ArsTechnica’s own inclusion of Microsoft’s historically-bundled OS games in the article, it should be clear there’s nothing wrong with having a game to play on your computer.

And considering how horridly un-populated the Windows Store has been since its launch with Windows 8, we need some solid well-known apps.

Candy Crush doesn’t hurt Windows. People aren’t going to choose to not use/buy Windows 10 because it has Candy Crush on it, or if they do they’re just being ridiculous. However, pretty much the entire smartphone consumer base has elected to not purchase or use Windows Phones because of the lack of popular apps in the Store. No Instagram, no Candy Crush, no phone. This is a good move for Microsoft.

The only remotely-thought about argument against Microsoft including the game is that it’s third-party software. But again, one of the most staple games in Windows was a third-party game. And considering most Windows consumers will be using it on pre-built, store-bought PCs that come “bundled” with tons of bloatware and actually harmful software, this kind of response is a bit baseless.

If you’re that bothered about having an app you don’t use, or having to uninstall something, I’d be afraid to see your reaction whenever you have to install the things you do use.

MICROSOFT, HOW DARE YOU INCLUDE INTERNET EXPLORER WHEN I CLEARLY USE GOOGLE CHROME.

NO ONE REALLY USES OUTLOOK, YOU’RE AWFUL FOR INCLUDING IT.

NO, I USE NOTEPAD++, DON’T FEED ME THIS NOTEPAD CRAP!

I… don’t get it. People like to be angry on the internet. But it’s exactly this type of toxic behavior and response to everything that limits innovation, and in some cases has ruined entire video game franchises and/or their communities.

[stahp]