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Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

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Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#91

Post by jmcqk6 »

Donito wrote: post #9

The title should be: "Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe' [for steam]". Steam is, from a user perspective, a video game marketplace on PC. In Win8, they will have to compete with the built-in windows marketplace, where most games will published directly. In other words, Win8 is a catastrophe for them as it's endangering their business.

I don't think most games can be published in the windows 8 app store. They have very strict guidelines about the types of apps that will be listed. Specifically, only metro-style, full screen apps that use a specific subset of the .NET framework. I don't know of any games right now that would fit that requirement, certainly not the types of games that make steam popular. Especially when you consider the most popular games are exclusive to steam.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#92

Post by jlgreco »

yuhong wrote: post #78
GauntletWizard wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because when was the last time a Microsoft RTM version fixed any beta bugs?

I would not go that far.

The point is that people are concerned about shortcomings in the beta because they do not have confidence in Microsoft to fix those problems. Whether that lack of confidence is justified or not is another matter.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#93

Post by jlgreco »

ilaksh wrote: post #50

I use Linux. I am on Ubuntu right now. I just wish I could figure out how to get the Radeon/whatever graphics drivers right on this Lenovo Ideapad. I gave up. I am rooting for Linux, WebGL, and other stuff. Whatever can help take down Windows is great. If Windows can actually take down Windows, even better.

The radeon driver is open source. It should just work, assuming it can work. (Maybe it doesn't support your card currently?)

If you are talking about fglrx then I forsee nothing but pain for you. I doubt even Valve's encouragement can improve that situation.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#94

Post by Dylan16807 »

SCdF wrote: post #62
ericd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can tell you that it would be very hard for Microsoft to make me choose to use their app store over Steam without resorting to anti-competitive tactics. Steam, from a gamer's perspective, does almost everything right, and I have a huge number of games "stored" there. Then again, laziness might trump for most people.

I don't understand that perspective, and I honestly think there is a bit of a double standard going on here. People hate on Origin and 'meh' the rest of the competition, but are in love with Steam. I know people who will only buy games if they're on Steam, it's bizarre. Your games are locked into steam, and they may never be removed from there. You own none of them. The only way to play them is to open Steam (presumi…

Offline mode tends to activate automatically if your internet dies.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#95

Post by learc83 »

bcbrown wrote: post #23
commandar wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you basing this on? The quote in both the linked article and the AllThingsD piece indicates that he said "I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space." He isn't just talking about Valve.

A business catastrophe, not a usability or market catastrophe. "I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people."

He also said "I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market."

He's clearly not just talking about the app store cutting into margins. Why else would OEMs exit the market if not because of usability issues/market collapse?

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#96

Post by learc83 »

huggyface wrote: post #8
megaman821 wrote: post #5

I don't understand this sentiment. If you don't like Metro, launch the desktop and forget it even exists. For rarely launched apps, hit the Win key and start typing the name and for frequently used apps, pin to your taskbar. Steam still works exactly the same on Windows 8.

I'm not sure of his reasoning, but he is not saying that Windows 8 is a catastrophe for users directly. 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. Sounds more like all it is a problem for all of the many players in the Windows space. Now of course Microsoft can do w…

What would cause OEMs to leave the market, other than mass migration by users because of a bad user experience?

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#97

Post by james4k »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #12

I think the headline of the article is pretty misleading as he means that Windows 8 is a catastrophe for Steam because of the Windows 8 app store. Looks like everyone's upvoting the article because they seem to think that Gabe meant that Windows 8 will be a failure. Instead of having to go through Steam's distribution, games will have the option of going directly to the Windows 8 app store and get featured there, not…

Steam's cut is 30%. However, for that 30% you get to update your game whenever you want, and virtually as often as you want. By that I mean they don't impose any direct limits on how often you update, but the general rule is no more than once a week aside from hotfixes and the like. I'm not aware of any digital marketplace that gives you this much control, especially as video game updates will often be hundreds of megabytes in size. Contrast this with Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, which charges you $40k for each additional update after the first free update. [1]

Edit: It is worth nothing that if a user's game was activated with a retail key, Steam takes no cut. This means that you are effectively getting service for that user for free.

You also get Steam Cloud, which allows you to store your users' configuration and saved game files to be accessed anywhere, their peer-to-peer networking API which provides NAT punching. Then there's matchmaking, stats/achievements, Steam Community (their social network), and several other "Steamworks" features. [2]

Edit: Microtransactions is another big one, also known as in-app purchases. The online brochure for Steamworks is worth a read if you're interested in any of this: http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/index.php

I haven't read a lot about Windows 8's app store, especially concerning Xbox Live, but Steam still has a lot to offer to developers.

[1] http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/microsoft-comes-under-...

[2] https://partner.steamgames.com/documentation/api

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#98

Post by learc83 »

Zr40 wrote: post #19
summerdown2 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I the only one who likes having a gorgeous desktop wallpaper, with icons arranged in clusters according to usability? Or to have overlapping windows? Everything I've heard about Metro suggests limited customisation of the desktop and apps that insist on being full-screen or some guaranteed fraction. All of this feels like evolution in reverse to me. I've never used Windows 8, but the stories coming out make me nev…

Nothing is forcing you to use Metro. In fact, only apps that have an UI designed specifically for Metro will use the Metro environment. Everything else will run in windows outside of Metro, just like they do in Windows 7. Only the new start screen (which replaces the start menu) will expose you to Metro. But in my experience with the Release Preview, this start screen is pleasant to use and still allows for keyboard…

>Nothing is forcing you to use Metro. In fact, only apps that have an UI designed specifically for Metro will use the Metro environment.

What happens when the majority of apps you want to use are Metro apps?

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#99

Post by Splenivore »

alt_ wrote: post #52
recoiledsnake wrote: post #12

I think the headline of the article is pretty misleading as he means that Windows 8 is a catastrophe for Steam because of the Windows 8 app store. Looks like everyone's upvoting the article because they seem to think that Gabe meant that Windows 8 will be a failure. Instead of having to go through Steam's distribution, games will have the option of going directly to the Windows 8 app store and get featured there, not…

I would be more afraid of Xbox Live than the app store. Buying is just a one time deal. Achievements and other social features of Xbox Live are constant and, if shared with the large Xbox network, will be very desirable for consumers.

Games for Windows Live was not warmly received. It’s unlikely that this will be a killer feature.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#100

Post by ralfn »

learc83 wrote: post #95
bcbrown wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A business catastrophe, not a usability or market catastrophe. "I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people."

He also said "I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market." He's clearly not just talking about the app store cutting into margins. Why else would OEMs exit the market if not because of usability issues/market collapse?

The OEMS are in a tough place. They have to compete with actual HW innovation ( apple ) on one side, and with subsidized hardware on the other side ( amazon ). And if they succeed, all the margins go to Microsoft.

At least, in the case of Android, they can add value, or extra revenue streams. In the case of linux, the open nature, would provide a competitive edge.

Why would any OEM be interested in selling win8 devices? If microsoft is going the way of the console ( like apple and amazon are doing ), shouldnt microsoft be paying them instead of the other way around?

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