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Why Valve Wants To Port Games To Linux: Because Windows 8 Is a Catastrophe

Posted by timothy on from the goodness-of-their-hearts dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Gabe Newell wants to support Linux because he think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in PC space. He wants to move away from a closed ecosystem of Microsoft Windows 8. He recently made a rare appearance at Casual Connect, an annual videogame conference in Seattle. From the allthingsd article: 'The big problem that is holding back Linux is games. People don't realize how critical games are in driving consumer purchasing behavior. 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.' Some Linux users think that this is a win-win situation for Linux users as it will brings good game titles on the Linux system that haven't been there and it will protect steam business model from both Apple and Microsoft."

8 of 880 comments (clear)

  1. Good luck... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well.

    If you want to flush money down the toilet, why not just give your money away to anyone you see on the street?

    1. Re:Good luck... by Targon · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      The problem isn't DirectX support, it is with having the newer DirectX versions be supported, and get proper driver support to make it all work. People complain about driver quality due to games having issues under Windows, so picture how bad a Linux implementation would end up being.

  2. Re:how 'bout an Office suite by acidfast7 · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    also, go to hell for modding me down, as you know it's true (i.e. the OO solutions suck.)

  3. 'Windows 8 Is a Catastrophe'... for Valve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Since Windows Store comes installed with Windows 8, who's gonna be interested in publish a game with Steam? Nobody.

  4. Re:Windows 8 is not a catastrophe.... by Desler · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Funny because Halo, Call of Duty, etc. all sells 10s of millions of copies on consoles and blow away the PC sales by vast margins. Looks like your opinion means dick.

  5. Re:Microsoft Wants To Be Apple by Tsingi · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Tip for you. If you start a comment with 'I think...' more people would care about what came after if you learned how to spell.

  6. Re:how 'bout an Office suite by DogDude · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    You are right, opening Microsoft proprietary documents on other systems is a pain.

    Luckily, in the world of grown-ups, that's usually not a problem. I've never, in my entire working career, sent an Office document to somebody and had them not be able to easily use it. I would not do business with a fanatic that refused to buy Office.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
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