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Why Valve Wants To Port Games To Linux: Because Windows 8 Is a Catastrophe
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."
Targeting a platform with 2% market share where the culture doesn't like paying for software is not a good business strategy.
Things like have a crappy interface and closed ecosystem is not going to stop game developers. Having a small market share and few paying customers will.
To you, anyone who avoids using office isn't just an advocate of open systems, he's a fanatic.
That's right. Office is a few hundred bucks. It's a cost of doing business. Insisting on not purchasing one of the more important tools for most businesses over some half-baked pre-pubescent ideology is fanatical.
I don't respond to AC's.
I thought that the biggest thing holding Linux back was drivers in general, and the lack of a device driver ABI in particular. The knowledge that any cool toy that you're supposed to plug into your PC may not work under Linux the way you know it would have under Windows is a strong enough reason to shy away from Windows. But once the market is such that everything you find there is something you know works w/ Linux, and that too any and every distro, Linux would be set.
The biggest thing holding Linux back is the same as one of the reasons Harley Davidsons aren't more commonly found. You have to be a software mechanic to use a Linux desktop, to even install software requires fairly comprehensive computer knowledge. All the drivers in the world might be available, but as long as the Linux desktop remains a desktop for gearheads only, it's not going to be a serious contender in the home market, let alone games.