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Games Drive Wider Linux Adoption

Posted by Roblimo on from the drivers-wanted dept.

Will in Seattle writes "C-Net has a story about how the bundled-in games on newer Linux pre-installed boxen may drive the rapid adoption of Linux in the mainstream. Which, naturally, all the coders fear above all else. Who let in these gamers? (Reminds me of my days at SF and Comix cons back when I was a SMOG and a SMOF - will we ever learn?)" The story also says that Penguin Computing is now building Linux computes specifically for gamers, too. Enjoy!

3 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Re:this is bad? by the_tsi · · Score: 3

    And at this point, linux is a BETTER gaming platform. NT and 95/98 have a fractured gaming API base (directx 3 vs directx 7... don't get started about hacking sp5 to allow dx7, that's not the point). 98 supports USB. NT supports SMP. 98 will let you do multihead support with damn near any pair of cards. Under NT, you can do it.. sometimes. Everyone tells us Win2K will be the euphoric combination, but no one tells us when it will arive.

    Linux? SMP, USB, and multi-monitor support. RIGHT NOW. Sure, our sound drivers may cost $20, but beyond the price of the OS media and the game you want, that's about it. Okay, so XF86 pre-4.0 doesn't support your card yet. But it supports the cards gamers have and want to use. And the things that are broken or flakey right now will be acellerated now that money from the gaming industry is flowing into the linux marketshare.

    (What? You don't think the gaming industry is loaded enough? Who's racing lamborghinis and ferraris in Dallas, again, while employees in Redmond are still waiting for their humvees?)

    Eh, whatever. I'll go back to sysadmining now instead of talking out of my ass.

    -Chris

  2. Don't fear the newbies by Ratface · · Score: 4

    I can see why many long term Linux users would fear an announcement of this sort. Linux is being dragged kicking and screaming in the the realm of consumer O/S and with that comes the threat of even more clueless newbies.

    However, I would point out that exactly the same thing happened 4-5 years ago with the Internet. I remember the cries of horror and the constant allegations that the influx of newbies would destroy the fabric of the Internet as we knew it.

    Indeed, that flood *did* destroy the Internet as we knew it - it drove innovation, swelled the Internet's infospace exponentially and led to Internet access becoming a simple matter instead of the complicated mess it was at the time.

    ... and with time, those clueless newbies became experienced users, the effects of the newbies were distributed around the expanded infospace and those of use who use the Internet as a serious tool created our own communities and areas where we can get on with using the Internet in the way we want to.

    IMHO, anything which drives Linux development is a "Good Thing"(tm), in time Linux will spawn more new distributions that make it easier of the newbies to get on their feet, while those of use who use Linux because it is the best tool for the job at hand will still have the option to hand-install and tweak to our hearts content. And in those rare moments of relaxation, we'll also have the option to kick back with a round of whatever game of the moment has just reached shipping :-)

    --

    A little planning goes a long way...
  3. This is what we need more than anything... by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 3

    It may sound silly that having Linux becoming a bonified gaming OS is one of the most important things that could happen to this little OS.

    Why?

    If my memory serves me correctly 50% (or greater) of all software sold is for entertainment purposes, and the majority of that is games. Linux is stable (duh) and because of its lower overhead may be able to get better framerates. I know I am upgrading to a dual celeron system for Gaming/Linux SMP goodness. (No Athalon duals yet!) NT will do SMP, but its not the best gaming OS.

    What do we need? An easier method of installing games now if we... wait... What was that that Loki just released? Hmm, we seem to be working on that.
    Mesa? Well thats coming soon too! Hmmm.

    It seems we just need a better sound API.

    I also expect many gamers to migrate over to Linux without too much difficulty - Remember many gamers are used to the DOS days and messing about with all of DOS's annoyances.

    You may call me crazy, but I think that an excellent selection of games for Linux will be one of the major driving forces behind Linux.

    --
    Try to hack my 31337 firewall!