Why are some 32-bit PC games not supported on 64-bit operating systems

backwards compatibilitypc

I have the original box-copy of "Medal of Honor Airborne", where the system requirements state that the game cannot be played on Windows Vista 64-bit. Why are some games not supported on 64-bit operating systems?

Best Answer

32 bit games can run 64 bit Windows, typically without any issues. Older 16 bit games designed for Windows XP or earlier will not run on Windows Vista/7 64 bit.

Many times, software and games will claim they do not run on a particular operating system (Windows Vista 64 bit in this case) simply because they don't want to allocate resources to test on that particular system or support it. According to this forum post, Medal of Honor: Airborne runs just fine on Vista 64 bit.