Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
1–10 of 53 posts
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#2So...Steam is a closed platform as well. We have a game on Steam, and I can tell you that the sales on the Steam platform are much better than the other open ones. One of the reasons for this is the big user base, but the closed nature of the platform is also a large factor.
Kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#3So...Steam is a closed platform as well. We have a game on Steam, and I can tell you that the sales on the Steam platform are much better than the other open ones. One of the reasons for this is the big user base, but the closed nature of the platform is also a large factor. Kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black.
It's one thing for an OS to implement a Store, it's another for a third party application to do so. It's the same thing people say about Gatekeeper and the AppStore. I think it's too early to get too scared.
That having been said, I don't understand why Steam being a closed platform makes your users more likely to buy from them. And in that sense, what is an "open" store? Apt/Yum/etc?
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#4So...Steam is a closed platform as well. We have a game on Steam, and I can tell you that the sales on the Steam platform are much better than the other open ones. One of the reasons for this is the big user base, but the closed nature of the platform is also a large factor. Kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black.
It's one thing for an OS to implement a Store, it's another for a third party application to do so. It's the same thing people say about Gatekeeper and the AppStore. I think it's too early to get too scared. That having been said, I don't understand why Steam being a closed platform makes your users more likely to buy from them. And in that sense, what is an "open" store? Apt/Yum/etc?
Because there is less competition. Open game stores are flooded with games, mostly of low quality. It makes it very hard to stand out and you just fall off the front page really fast. There is too much noise and everything gets the same billing regardless of quality, unless you hit a top sales spot. However, top sales spots frequently have less to do with quality and more to do with appealing to the lowest common denominator.
Just look at the ios app store, the top is generally freemium games or games that are actually thinly veiled skinner boxes with some nice art. Either that or casual games that have broad appeal because they are simple games.
On Steam you get top billing for at least 2 weeks after release.
Some open store examples: Desura, Indievania, XBLIG, android, even the mac app store is pretty open compared to Steam.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#5I don't see the Windows 8 app store as a competitor to Steam though, in the same way that I don't see the Google Play store as a competitor to Steam. Steam already has a strong community knit directly into the gaming experience that I doubt Microsoft will be able to reproduce, if GFWL is any indication. And there's no way I'd pay a monthly fee like on Xbox Live.
Hell, Origin isn't even that threatening to Steam, and that's a directly analogous service.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#6I don't see the Windows 8 app store as a competitor to Steam though, in the same way that I don't see the Google Play store as a competitor to Steam. Steam already has a strong community knit directly into the gaming experience that I doubt Microsoft will be able to reproduce, if GFWL is any indication. And there's no way I'd pay a monthly fee like on Xbox Live. Hell, Origin isn't even that threatening to Steam, and…
I don't know, but Xbox Live has 40m users and Steam has 10m (numbers from google search). Microsoft has a shot at this if they do it right, since it opens doors for apps too. We'll see. Best thing Microsoft could have done was to buy steam outright or venture with Valve. Something tells me that ship has sailed.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#7I think Newell has misjudged why Linux hasn't taken off as a personal computing platform. Sure, the lack of games doesn't help, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#8I don't see the Windows 8 app store as a competitor to Steam though, in the same way that I don't see the Google Play store as a competitor to Steam. Steam already has a strong community knit directly into the gaming experience that I doubt Microsoft will be able to reproduce, if GFWL is any indication. And there's no way I'd pay a monthly fee like on Xbox Live. Hell, Origin isn't even that threatening to Steam, and…
I think the problem is that the Microsoft store will be the only way to get software on Windows 8 Rt. Microsoft is essentially pulling an Apple and there is no way that is a net benefit for Valve or the community in general.
There are other problems with Windows 8, but I think the closed ARM version is a really big one.
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#9I think Newell has misjudged why Linux hasn't taken off as a personal computing platform. Sure, the lack of games doesn't help, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
sure, most of my friends are CS majors, but if they aren't linux users already, the reason they always cite is the lack of support for games.
What else is there for an end user?
Re: Valve’s Newell: Windows 8 “catastrophe” driving Valve to embrace Linux
#10I think Newell has misjudged why Linux hasn't taken off as a personal computing platform. Sure, the lack of games doesn't help, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
sure, most of my friends are CS majors, but if they aren't linux users already, the reason they always cite is the lack of support for games. What else is there for an end user?
I use a Mac as my main computer, but keep a PC just for games. I would love to use Linux on it and not have to pay for Windows. Is there another category of software that is as exclusive to windows as games? I can get everything else I need via web apps or OSX.