Gabe says windows 8 might be catastrophe, wants to port steam to Linux

[Texashiker]

https://allthingsd.com/20120725/val...-games-wearable-computers-windows-8-and-more/

“We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It’s a hedging strategy. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.

Key points:

Windows is moving to a closed system (whatever that means)
OEMs might move away from windows
Porting steam to linux is a hedge for if/when OEMs move to linux
One of the things holding Linux back is the lack of game support
Porting Steam and thousands of games to linux would help push linux into the limelight

 

[Rifter]

I think this would be great, i only run windows on my gaming rig. If i dont need to purchase windows then that would be a great thing.

The only issue with this is very few games are openGL, and you are never going to get direct X running as fast on linux as you are on a windows system, so for newer direct X games windows is always going to be the better option.

 

[thilanliyan]

I am going to stick with Win7 until I'm on my death bed.

I don't like this Metro UI they're trying to force down my throat with Win8. I don't WANT a touch UI on my desktop...I have a mouse and keyboard!!

If my Steam games are playable on Linux...all the better.

 

[hoorah]

How old is this? I wonder if his comment about OEMs leaving the business is based on HPs statement (which I believe is old and outdated) that they are going to be getting out of the PC business.

I admit windows 8 is a huge gamble, and may not be well received, but I don't know that it will be a catastrophe for gaming. I've been using Steam on win8 for all of my gaming for a few months now. The metro interface is a bit odd, but as far as steam and 'gaming' is concerned, its not the least bit different than on windows 7. Thus, I have to assume that his concern is people leaving the PC side altogether in favor of apple/linux.

Still though, I know every time a new version of windows comes out, everyone screams they're switching to linux, and every time - it doesn't happen. I haven't seen any 'market share' numbers recently, but if I were a betting man, I would bet on moving more of my games library to apple long before moving it to linux.

 

[hoorah]

I am going to stick with Win7 until I'm on my death bed.

I remind several people frequently that they said the same of windows 95 over windows 3.1.

 

[Phynaz]

Windows 8 has Marketplace built in. That competes with Steam.

What would you expect Gabe to say?

This is nothing but marketing.

 

[Skott]

Personally, I think he's got his head up his butt but maybe he has some great plan to pull it off. We'll see.

Edit: I do agree with him that W8 is not great however

 

[cmdrdredd]

I think windows 8 will bomb as a desktpp os and they will ditch it for that market quickly. It is way too restrictive to enthusiasts and people who know their way around the os.

As for steam I dont think porting to linux is going to be a game changer at all. People still know windows and there are almost zero drivers for linux when it comes to gaming hardware like your gtx 670. I think Microsoft is just trying too hard to mimic apple which is the wrong strategy imo.

 

[thespyder]

I admit windows 8 is a huge gamble, and may not be well received, but I don't know that it will be a catastrophe for gaming. I've been using Steam on win8 for all of my gaming for a few months now. The metro interface is a bit odd, but as far as steam and 'gaming' is concerned, its not the least bit different than on windows 7. Thus, I have to assume that his concern is people leaving the PC side altogether in favor of apple/linux.

Still though, I know every time a new version of windows comes out, everyone screams they're switching to linux, and every time - it doesn't happen. I haven't seen any 'market share' numbers recently, but if I were a betting man, I would bet on moving more of my games library to apple long before moving it to linux.

Windows 8 is an attempt to migrate to the tablet OS. And will make it significantly harder for older games to run. presumably the newer ones will be designed with it in mind, however the significantly different architecture between Win8 and previous versions will cause even more problems than the difference between WinXP and Vista/Win7 did. So what might end up happening is new games will have to be developed to run exclusively on one platform or the other. Game developers don't like that because that means they either develop multiple versions of the same game or lose out on market.

When Vista came out people screamed so loud that it's life expectancy was drastically reduced. Microsoft saw how poor it was selling in the gaming space (among other areas) and fixed/rebranded it to Windows 7 (its the exact same platform, but fixed for all of the issues and with a name change to make it sell). Add to that the fact that Microsoft stopped supporting previous versions (XP and before) and added in DX10 to try and FORCE consumers to adopt. it was all VERY heavy handed.

The reason everyone doesn't adopt Linux is because of the poor gaming support. High end PC enthusiasts are by and large gamers. And if they can't run their games in Linux, they aren't going to adopt that way. However, with the debacle that was Vista and now with Win8, I bet people are getting the idea that there is an untapped market there. I bet we see strides in the direction of Linux in the way of gaming support as Win8 comes closer to release.

 

[gorcorps]

When Vista came out people screamed so loud that it's life expectancy was drastically reduced. Microsoft saw how poor it was selling in the gaming space (among other areas) and fixed/rebranded it to Windows 7 (its the exact same platform, but fixed for all of the issues and with a name change to make it sell). Add to that the fact that Microsoft stopped supporting previous versions (XP and before) and added in DX10 to try and FORCE consumers to adopt. it was all VERY heavy handed.

Renaming/releasing Windows 7 was one of the smartest things MS has done. I remember XP being pretty much worthless (for me) until SP2 so it's not that much different. Unfortunately many more people have the internet now, so bad reviews and warnings about Vista spread like crazy. Even people that didn't really care or understand it knew to stay away from Vista for some reason.

 

[Albatross]

Yeah,I`m sure Windows 8 app store has nothing to do with it.

 

[Texashiker]

Yeah,I`m sure Windows 8 app store has nothing to do with it.

How is the app store going to compete with steam?

With so many games being steamworks, people are still going to need steam installed to play the games.

Just about all of the major titles hitting the market these days are steamworks.

 

[Martimus]

Yeah,I`m sure Windows 8 app store has nothing to do with it.

Gabe Newell said that was why he was concerned. At least that was what I got out of the article. I don't understand those that are saying that he is trying to say something else.

 

[thespyder]

Renaming/releasing Windows 7 was one of the smartest things MS has done. I remember XP being pretty much worthless (for me) until SP2 so it's not that much different. Unfortunately many more people have the internet now, so bad reviews and warnings about Vista spread like crazy. Even people that didn't really care or understand it knew to stay away from Vista for some reason.

Oh, agreed. Renaming / Rebranding Vista into Windows 7 was a marketing stroke of genius. But lots of people don't realize that they are (essentially) the same platform. Or that Windows 7 came out because of the crap launch and hue and cry of Vista.

I don't remember that much about XP other than it was WORLDS better than Millennium. But I do know that XP was much more stable a platform than Vista or Win7 at launch. And the only reason Win7 was a viable platform at all was because MS actually listened to what the consumers were griping about with Vista and fixed most of it (essentially Vista 2.0).

And yeah, the internet has added a whole new dimension to 'Word of mouth'.

 

[KeithP]

Windows 8 has Marketplace built in. That competes with Steam.

What would you expect Gabe to say?

This is nothing but marketing.

Exactly. At this point, Valve = Steam. With app stores in Windows and OS X they could be eventually squeezed out of the market.

He is just trying to protect his interest by spouting hyperbole. Porting to Linux? LOL, maybe they should also come out with a mobile marketplace for Blackberry while they are at it.

-KeithP

 

[Texashiker]

If valve starts losing money because of the microsoft market place, who knows what might happen?

Maybe Valve will have to start making games again?

We might even see half-life 3 released.

 

[Martimus]

If valve starts losing money because of the microsoft market place, who knows what might happen?

Maybe Valve will have to start making games again?

We might even see half-life 3 released.

I think Valve has an internal company policy that the number 3 can never be used in any of its game titles. They will probqbly skip HL3 and move directly to HL4.

 

[gorcorps]

Oh, agreed. Renaming / Rebranding Vista into Windows 7 was a marketing stroke of genius. But lots of people don't realize that they are (essentially) the same platform. Or that Windows 7 came out because of the crap launch and hue and cry of Vista.

I don't remember that much about XP other than it was WORLDS better than Millennium. But I do know that XP was much more stable a platform than Vista or Win7 at launch. And the only reason Win7 was a viable platform at all was because MS actually listened to what the consumers were griping about with Vista and fixed most of it (essentially Vista 2.0).

And yeah, the internet has added a whole new dimension to 'Word of mouth'.

I disagree about XP stability at launch. Like I said, it was pretty much unusable until SP2. I had several PCs that worked just fine in win2000 that couldn't connect to the internet in XP. There was a slew of missing and incompatible drivers that didn't seem to get sorted out for everybody until SP2. Obviously YMMV, but I can't imagine anything more stable than Win 7 and I used that day 1.

 

[tcG]

I might have to start using Ubuntu...

 

[thespyder]

I disagree about XP stability at launch. Like I said, it was pretty much unusable until SP2. I had several PCs that worked just fine in win2000 that couldn't connect to the internet in XP. There was a slew of missing and incompatible drivers that didn't seem to get sorted out for everybody until SP2. Obviously YMMV, but I can't imagine anything more stable than Win 7 and I used that day 1.

Windows ME was a disaster for me. But then I didn't adopt right away. I stuck with 3.1 for a long time, and then fought with ME for a long time. Maybe I didn't adopt to XP until after SP2? could be.

And yeah, Win7 was more stable. They had 3 full years of the Beta (Vista) to work out the kinks.

 

[JamesV]

I think Gabe is comparing digital distribution services to web browsers.

You install Win8 and automatically have the Win8 marketplace in your face, selling games. For a casual user that isn't knowledgeable about Steam/GoG/Greenman/etc, you might buy Skyrim there.

Just read yesterday that Spain may need a bailout... well the EU is in luck if they are looking to levy billions of fines for MS having something built into the OS.

Also, MS charges developers to release patches for the 360, and that mechanic will probably be part of Win8 also. So a game like Space Pirates and Zombies would end up not getting free added content; a two man team with limited resources simply isn't going to be able to afford it. And what kind of cut do the developers get? I bet it will be alot less then Steam's cut for the same game.

In effect, these things could hurt gaming as we know it, and I think that is what Gabe was talking about. Sure he is concerned about Steam, but he has a right to speak up about gaming... Steam is one of the few services that most gamers can agree is a good thing.

 

[Childs]

I think windows 8 will bomb as a desktpp os and they will ditch it for that market quickly. It is way too restrictive to enthusiasts and people who know their way around the os.

As for steam I dont think porting to linux is going to be a game changer at all. People still know windows and there are almost zero drivers for linux when it comes to gaming hardware like your gtx 670. I think Microsoft is just trying too hard to mimic apple which is the wrong strategy imo.

Admittedly its been a few years since I installed Linux, but I remember Nvidia's Linux drivers working pretty good in games.

 

[Martimus]

Windows ME was a disaster for me. But then I didn't adopt right away. I stuck with 3.1 for a long time, and then fought with ME for a long time. Maybe I didn't adopt to XP until after SP2? could be.

And yeah, Win7 was more stable. They had 3 full years of the Beta (Vista) to work out the kinks.

Why did you use Windows 3.1 so much? I had it, but hated it. DOS 5.0 was so much more useable to me than Windows. Windows 95 was the first GUI based OS from Microsoft that I found more use for than DOS. I can't remember anything I used 3.1 for other than to play minesweeper or solitare. I am just wondering what was useful in it compared to DOS because I don't remember it being useful to me.

 

[thespyder]

Why did you use Windows 3.1 so much? I had it, but hated it. DOS 5.0 was so much more useable to me than Windows. Windows 95 was the first GUI based OS from Microsoft that I found more use for than DOS. I can't remember anything I used 3.1 for other than to play minesweeper or solitare. I am just wondering what was useful in it compared to DOS because I don't remember it being useful to me.

yeah, I think I meant 95, not 3.1. I did use 3.1 for a while (been PC gaming for a LONG time), but I did go 3.1 to 95 to ME to XP to Win7 (have Vista at work and would never have done that for my home PC). But losing my marbles on details that far back in my old age.

 

[Veliko]

I disagree about XP stability at launch. Like I said, it was pretty much unusable until SP2. I had several PCs that worked just fine in win2000 that couldn't connect to the internet in XP. There was a slew of missing and incompatible drivers that didn't seem to get sorted out for everybody until SP2. Obviously YMMV, but I can't imagine anything more stable than Win 7 and I used that day 1.

XP was perfectly usable before SP2.

Missing, and incompatible drivers for older network cards are nothing to do with Microsoft.