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| Valve’s Gabe Newell: Windows 8 will be catastrophe for PC space |
| By Thom Holwerda on 2012-07-26 00:28:40 |
| Valve's Gabe Newall on Linux and Windows 8: "We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2500 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." |
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| Not bothered |
| By Coxy on 2012-07-26 13:43:02 |
| I don't play games and never buy software |
 - Score: 0 |
| RE: Comment by Wafflez |
| By Wafflez on 2012-07-26 13:48:34 |
|
Yes, I haven't used Live for Windows (only on xBox), but if you all say it's buggy and so on... The reason why Steam is POS because it's part of a fragmentation. And if I would play a game with Steam integration, that doesn't help me to be in touch with my friends who are playing Battlefield (hello Origin!) or Diablo (hello Battle.net!). Now when any of my friends play anything on xBox - we still can form a party and chat away, join each other's game within a two clicks, etc. I just thought that Live integration would bring all these features into poor PC gaming world... :( Edited 2012-07-26 13:49 UTC |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[4]: Xbox is the way to go for Ms. |
| By rbenchley on 2012-07-26 15:24:52 |
|
> I dunno, my hacked PSP does a far better job of running games and emulated consoles than my touch screen phone. It has hardware buttons and an analogue stick - something a phone can only dream of. The only games I tend to play and enjoy on my phone are those designed for touch. I agree 100% with you, but we're in the minority. For most people, an iPhone or Android device can easily meet their on the go gaming needs. They just want to be able to play Angry Birds or Words With Friends for 10 minutes. They enjoy gaming, but not enough to spend a couple hundred dollars on a dedicated portable gaming unit and $30 - $50 per game. For them, the smart phone they already own and a handful of $0.99 to $9.99 games does the trick. The Nintendo DS and the PSP sold a ton of units, but they came out before smart phone gaming took off. Sales of the Vita and 3DS have been terrible in comparison. |
| - Score: 4 |
| RE[3]: Interesting but wrong |
| By kaiwai on 2012-07-26 15:38:37 |
|
> The Linux graphics stack is going to have to shape up a bit first. And I sure as heck hope that doesn't mean forcing Wayland on everyone. I do hope you realise that there is more to the graphics stack besides just Wayland. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[2]: It's not whether windows 8 will fail |
| By kaiwai on 2012-07-26 15:39:57 |
|
> Just once, it might be nice to read a post from you that you haven't completely pulled out of your ass. I'm sorry to say but you'll be waiting a long time for that to happen - a very long time. |
| - Score: 0 |
| RE[2]: They are doing it wrong |
| By kaiwai on 2012-07-26 15:42:31 |
|
> Same with the 'Ribbon'. They have to force it upon us because if users were given an option they might vote with their feet. Hi, I'm a Mac, and because Mac OS X (like most other operating systems prior to the rise of Windows) has a global menu I get to keep the menu and have ribbon - the best of both worlds! You can blame Microsoft and their decision to throw convention out the window in favour of bolting a menu onto each application resulting in the perennial clusterf--k that is Windows usability or there lack of. Edited 2012-07-26 15:43 UTC |
| - Score: -1 |
| RE[2]: Comment by Wafflez |
| By rbenchley on 2012-07-26 15:48:13 |
|
> Yes, I haven't used Live for Windows (only on xBox), but if you all say it's buggy and so on... The reason why Steam is POS because it's part of a fragmentation. And if I would play a game with Steam integration, that doesn't help me to be in touch with my friends who are playing Battlefield (hello Origin!) or Diablo (hello Battle.net!). Now when any of my friends play anything on xBox - we still can form a party and chat away, join each other's game within a two clicks, etc. I just thought that Live integration would bring all these features into poor PC gaming world... :( Steam isn't perfect by any means, but that's a terrible argument. Just because Battlefield and Diablo 3 aren't available on Steam doesn't diminish the service. That would be like arguing that Xbox Live stinks because of the fragmentation that doesn't allow you to play Animal Crossing (Wii game) or Killzone 3 (PS3 game) on Live. GFWL has been a huge missed opportunity. I haven't had any problems with it so far (knock on wood), but it has been very buggy for many people. A fair number of users have had problems with their save files being deleted. The idea for the service is good, but I think Microsoft has been reluctant to put in the needed time and resources to make it shine as they're worried that it will canibalize Xbox sales. |
| - Score: 4 |
| RE[2]: Gabe's sky is falling |
| By kaiwai on 2012-07-26 15:48:36 |
|
> I think he means margins in the PC business. The great white hope of PC hardware has been the Ultrabook. They hoped to get away from wafer thin margins with that. It hasn't worked. Acer for example just had to make a few bad moves and they slumped down the rankings, like HP to an extent. There is desperation for the PC business to get out of the race for the bottom. By hacking in touch and all that in the next great White hope is in Software, Windows 8. The OEMs are hoping against hope that they can get ahead by enhancing the market they already exist in. Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo have either failed or just not done well in the expanding mobile market. They want some high margins to give them a buffer against the odd strategic mistake. If Windows 8 fails, it will be another generation of Windows where the race to the bottom is still in place in a shaky global financial market. It is not unreasonable to think that an Acer or HP PC business could full on fail. Yahoo was at the top once, everybody needed search and Yahoo was search. The desktop PC market doesn't owe any OEM or OS maker. It just has to do what people want. Each of the vendors also ignore why Apple can command the margins they do - because they actually are different. What is the difference between a HP, ASUS and Acer? they all run Windows, they all pretty much have the same hardware inside, all their call centres are located in Timbuktu and serviced by a person whose 5th language happens to be English, there is nothing that really makes a user want to stay loyal to that company so is anyone surprised that the only aspect left of their product is price? The great saviour to the PC industry is consolidation and each vendor developing their own in house operating system - with an ecosystem around that operating system which gives the customer a uniquely HP, Dell or Lenovo experience. When the vendor can control the experience they can ensure that the customers are happy and become repeat customers rather than viewing their products as interchangeable with any other product out there. Edited 2012-07-26 15:48 UTC |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE: Not bothered |
| By righard on 2012-07-26 16:35:03 |
| Why care to comment then? |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[2]: Not bothered |
| By Coxy on 2012-07-26 16:37:30 |
| Because this is a site open to comments, and that is mine. |
| - Score: 2 |
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