I wish Gabe Newell promoted Linux with same passion before MS launched App Store and his business was threatened. I find it hard to believe anything he says.
On other hand, I wish all best to Linux :)
On other hand, I wish all best to Linux :)
Gabe now sees that Windows 8 is not a viable platform for games, and his future may well depend on making Linux work. Given that, I see no reason to doubt his resolve in the matter.
What does this mean? I am able to run every game on Windows 8 that I was able to run on Windows 7.
There are other reasons I could give, such as lackluster kernel performance developments, that would impede game development and performance. It's also not too much a stretch to say that if you want to be able to run games seriously on a PC, it'd be handy to have a minimalized OS in which to run it, without so much overhead for whatever else the PC might be doing.
Be honest, this is FUD. My own experience and every report I have read is that Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7 hands down. And how is Steam not a closed system? In the talk he complains it took 6 months to get an Apple Store update through. How long does it take to make changes to games on Steam? Can I put a game on Steam today? No? How long does it take?
This isn't about Open vs Closed. This is about Gabe In Control vs Gabe Not In Control.
It is, but currently relies on an specific level of openness in a platform to operate.
Microsoft and Apple are vertical integrators. They don't.
So when the parent said "it seems that Microsoft is fast headed to a closed platform" they were referring to specific aspect(s) of the openness of the platform (Windows). Not saying that Steam was a free-for-all.
Foolish on their part? Probably. However that seems to be the current situation anyway.
Gabe is stating that for Valve and their digital distribution platform Steam, Windows 8 is a 'hostile' environment. They could potentially be blocked/forbidden from deploying steam on Win8 (or future version of windows) as the Windows App store could take it's place as well as any steam updates/game updates would have to go through Microsoft which would cause unnecessary delays/overhead.
From what I have seen, the only competitor to Steam that is even a blip on the radar of gamers is Origin. If anything, Valve is pushing into territory that they think Origin cannot enter, not MS.
I'm not a "real" gamer anyway so none of it really matters to me anyway, I just find the notion of the future of "real" gaming being touch based low-powered "Surface-like" devices to be very silly. Whether the future of PC gaming is on Windows 8 or Linux, it will look very similar to how looks right now: beefy machines chewing up somewhere around half a kilowatt of power, controlled by keyboard/mice and game controllers.
The most change I consider plausible/viable is in display tech. Either high-dpi screens, or next-generation "Rift-like" displays could complement PC gaming. Input and power are here to stay though.
Also I find it bizarre that so many people seem so invested in being sure that Microsoft's App Store presents the largest threat to Steam. It doesn't currently, clearly, and I rather doubt it will in the future. Origin on the other hand does, but nobody here seems to be interested in them. Origin is a real and current threat, not some sort of hypothetical threat. Maybe there just aren't many EA shareholders/employees on HN...
Not yet, anyway. Do you think this situation would remain the same if it ever gained a significant market share? The real criticism here is that MS's strategy is a trojan horse.
Knowing what I've seen of Gabe the past few years, I'm inclined to believe it's a bit more of the latter than the former.