Steam for Linux is getting closer to reality

[Bateluer]

Saw these over at Phoronix.

A video of Steam and L4D running under Ubuntu without Wine.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA5MjQ


And Gage Newell discussing Linux Steam in an interview.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=valve_linux_dampfnudeln&num=1

Valve and Gabe Newell's interest in Linux goes beyond what would be expected of any normal game company, but Valve is certainly a unique beast. Listening to Gabe Newell talk about Linux for hours made me wonder whether he was a former ex-Microsoft employee (where he actually did work in his pre-Valve days in the 90's) or the director of the Linux Foundation. His level of Linux interest and commitment was incredible while his negativity for Windows 8 and the future of Microsoft was stunning. In fact, as soon as I return to my office this weekend I plan to try out Windows 8 simply to see if it's as bad as Gabe states and because he's curious about my opinions of this latest Microsoft operating system.

A functional Steam client for popular desktop distros like Ubuntu would be a fantastic thing for Linux. Especially with the rise of ARM, Android, and iOS and the Windows 8 fail train charging ahead.

 

[BladeVenom]

I just saw that, except at http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/26/steam-for-linux-on-video/

 

[richaron]

This. is. awesome.

The ability to play a couple of games natively is the only reason a lot of us keep a windows install. Something like this would be a tasty carrot for devs choosing between directx/opengl.

 

[Stringjam]

That's pretty cool.

I use RHEL/Fedora every day at work....it's a rock solid, extremely well-designed OS.

I don't know what this really means, though....wouldn't it take a complete industry-wide turnaround for game devs to start porting games over to Linux (I assume this means switching to OpenGL?). When a company as big and relevant as Valve decides to make this kind of move, I would hope others would take notice.

I'm no expert though....I would be interested to know more about the subject and how well OpenGL compares to DirectX.

With Linux distros like Mint 12 starting to approach Windows levels of aesthetics and user-friendliness, I would think Microsoft finally has something to worry about, especially if Windows 8 turns out to be a flop.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

It means about as much for Linux as the port to Mac did for Mac - not a whole lot.

Gotta wonder what the actual goal is though. I have trouble believing that anyone actually believe desktop Linux will ever be relevant.

Edit: Oh, wait. We're not seeing something that will actually be released - we're seeing the groundwork for that Valve console they've been working on. Fixed hardware, fixed OS, means the chaos of trying to support linux isn't an issue, and since it's a commercial box you're not in the linux community, per se. That way you're not actually dealing with the hostility towards commercial software common there.

 

[Jodell88]

It means about as much for Linux as the port to Mac did for Mac - not a whole lot.

Gotta wonder what the actual goal is though. I have trouble believing that anyone actually believe desktop Linux will ever be relevant.

lol

The Linux community is a very supportive group. There's a reason Linux users spend more money on the Humble Indie bundles than their Windows or OSX counterparts.

 

[busydude]

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

lol

The Linux community is a very supportive group. There's a reason Linux users spend more money on the Humble Indie bundles than their Windows or OSX counterparts.

I'm pretty sure the reason is the 1 cent resellers all claim to use windows.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I don't know what this really means, though....wouldn't it take a complete industry-wide turnaround for game devs to start porting games over to Linux (I assume this means switching to OpenGL?). When a company as big and relevant as Valve decides to make this kind of move, I would hope others would take notice.

This is key. Almost all games are DX based and no way in hell MS would let other operating systems have directx. OpenGL would need to get a lot of love not just from game studios but also driver teams to make this possible.

If steam is launched for linux we will likely only see Valve's catalog available (and maybe a handful of indie titles)

 

[Jodell88]

This is key. Almost all games are DX based and no way in hell MS would let other operating systems have directx. OpenGL would need to get a lot of love not just from game studios but also driver teams to make this possible.

If steam is launched for linux we will likely only see Valve's catalog available (and maybe a handful of indie titles)

On Linux we have desura as well for the indie games.

All devs need to use for future games are SDL, OpenGL, and OpenAL. It will give them great flexibility to develop for different platforms except for the Xbox360.

 

[PingSpike]

It means about as much for Linux as the port to Mac did for Mac - not a whole lot.

Gotta wonder what the actual goal is though. I have trouble believing that anyone actually believe desktop Linux will ever be relevant.

Edit: Oh, wait. We're not seeing something that will actually be released - we're seeing the groundwork for that Valve console they've been working on. Fixed hardware, fixed OS, means the chaos of trying to support linux isn't an issue, and since it's a commercial box you're not in the linux community, per se. That way you're not actually dealing with the hostility towards commercial software common there.

Yeah, this is mostly a step towards the steam console I figure. Maybe a happy byproduct.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

am i the only person who thinks this has everything to do with a steam box?

If valve releases a steam box running linux, it will cost them less. Im sure the steam box isnt going to be ultra high spec, so something running linux that can play all indie games, and most valve games - assuming they can be ported, sounds like it might have a chance against a more expensive console.

Is it possible to make a peice of hardware for $100-150 that can play those games?

Edit: sorry didnt see this

It means about as much for Linux as the port to Mac did for Mac - not a whole lot.

Gotta wonder what the actual goal is though. I have trouble believing that anyone actually believe desktop Linux will ever be relevant.

Edit: Oh, wait. We're not seeing something that will actually be released - we're seeing the groundwork for that Valve console they've been working on. Fixed hardware, fixed OS, means the chaos of trying to support linux isn't an issue, and since it's a commercial box you're not in the linux community, per se. That way you're not actually dealing with the hostility towards commercial software common there.

+1