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Valve's Newell: Windows 8 "catastrophe" driving Valve to embrace Linux

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http://ubuntuforums.org – I'm not really a gamer, and I also think that the interface of Windows 8 isn't too bad at all since it also offers a traditional desktop, but I found the following article quite interesting... Apparently Valve sees the built-in Windows store as a threat to Steam, and the move to bring Steam to Linux is thus a "hedging strategy". "He argued that one of the last remaining things keeping people away from Linux was the lack of games. Valve is working to bring Left 4 Dead 2 and other Steam titles to Linux in a move that Newell describes as "a hedging strategy." If his pred (Hardware)

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Submitted by dayu on 07/26/2012 – Made popular on 07/26/2012

Stories similar to Valve's Newell: Windows 8 "catastrophe" driving Valve to embrace Linux

Valve's Gabe Newell

“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.

Microsoft’s Windows 8 is taking some heat in the world of online games. Both Valve (builder of the Steam gaming platform) and Blizzard (World of War Craft) appear to be criticizing the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Store strategy, and Valve is hedging its Windows bets with a Linux strategy. Why should business channel partners care?

Valve Software has a presence at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show, during which founder Gabe Newell gave an extensive interview to The Verge about Steam, Steam Box (the term being given to Valve’s living room PC project), and more. Money quote: So are most of these going to be Linux-based Steam Boxes? We’ll come [...]

Valve: Linux runs out games quicker than Windows 7 Newell believes that the roadblock keeping gamers away from adopting Linux as their operating method of selection is a lack of games for the platform, so his firm plans to bring a selection of titles — like the well-known Left 4 Dead 2 — in an [...]

Love knows no bounds, as the old saying goes, and there may be no better example than the Linux community's feelings for Valve. That, of course, dates back to the magical day in April when the gaming company announced it was bringing its Steam gaming platform to Linux at last, causing no end of jubilation in the Linux blogosphere.

The legendary Mark Twain is said to have once observed, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes," and much the same sentiment could just as well be applied to life here in the Linux world. To wit: Not so very long ago, gaming was held up as one of the big obstacles keeping PC users off of Linux and on Windows instead.

Steam for Ubuntu has been finally announced by Valve on its official blog, giving rest to all the rumors that have been circulating in past few months.

In the blog post titled 'Steam'd Penguins', lots of details on their Linux plans were revealed. Valve is looking to strengthen the gaming scene on Linux, both for players and developers.

Valve has launched on Steam for Linux most of their games, but the important ones, like Left 4 Dead or Half-Life 2, haven’t made an appearance yet.Even if Valve’s fans are happy because they’re playing most of their favorite games, people have started to wonder why other titles, like the ones from the Left 4 Dead franchise, can’t be played.

Linux users have been mostly left out when trying to get in on the gaming action, but soon they'll be able to be "Left 4 Dead 2" instead. On Tuesday, Valve announced that it would bring its digital distribution service Steam to the Linux platform.