Gabe Newell on stuff

[digitalErich]

It's pretty terse, but I thought others might be interested in this All Things D article that transcribes bits of a recent talk Gabe Newell gave at a conference in Seattle.

His outlook on Windows 8 is pretty grim.

[muddi900]

“This isn’t about videogames; it’s about thinking about goods and services in a digital world.”

Take note of the top grossing lists in the App Store and Play Market. Most of the apps are free to play games. I assume Steam actively separates them from their list, that would've been the case there too.

[Karak]

His outlook on PS3 was the same. As any smart business man hopefully he keeps flexible in his future options.

[biosc1]

Seems to be getting into some trouble today for calling Windows 8 a 'catastrophe'.

[Narradisall]

From what I've used of it, that seems to be a pretty apt word.

[Primus]

If 8 is a commercial disaster I feel like it would just reinforce Windows 7 as opposed to expand any Linux flavor. I guess it can't hurt though, and there are people who could definitely get use out of the option.

[digitalErich]

Originally Posted by biosc1

Seems to be getting into some trouble today for calling Windows 8 a 'catastrophe'.

Got a link by chance?

[Doogie2K]

Originally Posted by Primus

If 8 is a commercial disaster I feel like it would just reinforce Windows 7 as opposed to expand any Linux flavor. I guess it can't hurt though, and there are people who could definitely get use out of the option.

Yeah. I mean, Vista was kind of shit, so everyone just stuck with XP until 7 came out. Hell, half our computers in the lab are still on XP.

[biosc1]

Originally Posted by digitalErich

Got a link by chance?

Sorry, was on my phone earlier

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18996377

"Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space."

[Darkmatter]

I don't see why anyone would bother updating to 8 even if it was good. Compared to XP, 7 just launched last week.

[digitalErich]

Unless there's a radical change to the MS Store or its policies, I have a feeling a large percentage of Windows 8 licenses sold will be those that come pre-installed on newly bought hardware.

[Narradisall]

And when I buy a new rig, I'll be reverting it back to Win7 right away I think.

[biosc1]

Originally Posted by Narradisall

And when I buy a new rig, I'll be reverting it back to Win7 right away I think.

Nah...let's be truthful here, we'll use the OS that is best for gaming If Win8 has better performance than Win7, we'll be all over it.

[Deadend]

Originally Posted by biosc1

Nah...let's be truthful here, we'll use the OS that is best for gaming If Win8 has better performance than Win7, we'll be all over it.

Unless it also makes us hop through stupid hoops and acts more like an Xbox than a PC.

[MagGnome]

I think that Valve is smart to put more focus on Linux. A few years back I thought that it was possible that MS may try to close up Windows more given the huge success of Apple and the success of the Xbox 360, which of course is a closed platform. I then wondered what that would do to the industry, and whether or not more people would move to Linux. Now MS is putting up more of a walled garden in Windows 8, and this is going to shake up the PC platform significantly. The next few years will be very interesting as things continue to shift.

Now assuming Valve could make a big push into Linux and get more developers to support the OS, what about hardware? All of the games in the world won't make a difference if most of the hardware manufacturers and OEMs exit the market in favor of tablets and other consumer electronics.

Originally Posted by Deadend

Unless it also makes us hop through stupid hoops and acts more like an Xbox than a PC.

I fear that things could be headed in that direction, given the focus on Metro, the Xbox Live integration, etc. I don't want MS to lord over Windows in the same way Apple lords over iOS and OS X. I use Windows because it provides for a lot of freedom and, of course, gaming. If not for gaming I would already be on Linux.

[MagGnome]

That BBC article contains a lot of "could be's". I don't see people leaving Steam en masse to embrace Xbox Live on the PC.

Also, where was the "trouble" in that article? I didn't see any backlash against what Gabe said.

[Narradisall]

Originally Posted by biosc1

Nah...let's be truthful here, we'll use the OS that is best for gaming If Win8 has better performance than Win7, we'll be all over it.

It's a fucking pain to navigate though. I highly doubt it's going to be good for gaming. They'll probably try to make it more like GFWL since that's such a success.

[Orca]

It's pretty ridiculous that they're complaining Windows might one day be as closed off as Apple's OS, considering I'm using the Mac right now and, oh look, I just launched Steam with no problem.

[muddi900]

It pretty ridiculous that you replied to this thread this late without reading it.

[digitalErich]

Originally Posted by Orca

It's pretty ridiculous that they're complaining Windows might one day be as closed off as Apple's OS, considering I'm using the Mac right now and, oh look, I just launched Steam with no problem.

...with the dozens dozen of games at your disposal

It's not that games won't be around in a closed system, but if a company starts to take 30% off the top for every app purchase, how many companies selling non-F2P games can survive in that ecosystem? That's the issue.