Booga
SpAmMxTaRd
Joined: Oct 12, 2011
Posts: 56
Location: Tampa, Florida
|
 Posted:
Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:58 am |
 |
http://mashable.com/2012/07/26/gabe-newell-windows-8/
Valve CEO Gabe Newell said the closed ecosystem of Windows 8 is a danger to game makers, and will dramatically hurt the openness of the PC gaming market.
In the remarks made Wednesday night in Seattle at the Casual Connect conference, Newell was reportedly upset about the way Windows 8 would effect PC game sales.
Windows 8 will come with a Windows Store included in the operating system, and Microsoft will take a 30% cut from developers on that store.
“Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PCs, and 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.” Newell said, according to BBC News.
Newell has a large investment in the open games marketplace. Valve’s own games marketplace, Steam, now boasts 2,500 titles from several different developers and publishers. Steam also has 40 million active users, and is a significant player in video game distribution on PCs.
When it comes to game marketplaces on the PC, Steam is the biggest player in town. Apple offers some games via the Mac App Store — and Amazon’s PC and Mac software store has a number of titles as well — but steam is the juggernaut.
Microsoft’s Windows Store could be real competition for Steam — especially if Xbox integration could become a reality.
Moreover, Microsoft is going to require Windows RT devices — such as ARM tablets — to get software from the Windows Store, which means Steam will potentially be cut off from that market.
Newell, who worked on Windows himself for 13 years until he left to found Valve in 1996, said they would be exploring other options, such as Linux, to make Steam games available.
“We’ve been a free rider, and we’ve been able to benefit from everything that went into PCs and the internet,” he said. “And we have to continue to figure out how there will be open platforms.”
Do you think Windows 8 will change the face of gaming, like Newell claims? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy Official GDC, Flickr. |
_________________
 |
|
MasterShake
mental midget
Joined: Oct 17, 2011
Posts: 41
|
| Posted:
Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:41 pm |
|
Newell is just mad because he can't sit on his monopoly any longer. He is seeing his profits finally not growing annually and leveling out. That is the free market system. Everyone with Windows will have access to the "store" and the larger audience without the need to learn 3rd party software will make it easier for non-tech minded individuals. M$ want an XBox live on PC. And they control both OSes and will undoubtedly link them together. This all sounds good.
However, the costs will be passed on to the consumers. And it will be very hard for anyone other than Steam to compete. Migrating to Linux is not the answer.
And I think Windows 8 is a complete waste of time. Scaling down for tablets instead of innovating is not the way to go. |
_________________
 |
|
Welcome to , You are not logged in. If you have not registered yet, please click here. Alternatively log into your account now.