Microsoft always hosts a Developer's Day session early during Game Developer Conference each year. This year, several sessions were devoted to features of Windows Vista, including Direct3D 10 and features built into the new O/S that would affect both developers and users. While Microsoft announced that the consumer versions of Windows Vista would be delayed, it's clear that Vista will reshape the PC gaming landscape. Let's take a look at a few of the highlights. DirectX 10 will ship as part of Windows Vista. Most users won't see the impact initially, since the native desktop API for Vista is actually DirectX 9.0c (pixel shader 2.0), so current generation graphics hardware will work just fine. It's likely that we'll see DirectX 10 capable hardware by the end of the year, even if Vista doesn't ship. Those cards should work with DirectX 9.0, assuming you want to buy one.

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