Steam Linux Usage Came Up Short In January

[KingArthur10]

If the number of participants is large, this should even out, but if not, swings of a couple fractions of a percent should be expected and not treated as actual demographic shifts.

As it's an opt-in survey, they also introduce selection/sample bias into the results. As in, perhaps people on Linux may be more or less likely than other populations to participate in the hardware survey. Perhaps people are more or less likely to be on Windows at a certain time vs a Linux boot. Hence, as someone else interjected, this is not a scientific survey.

[[Knuckles]]

The survey is not at all scientific, so you can't really extrapolate data like that.

But it's a valid point. It's fair to assume that although linux gaming may be on the rise, there may be even more windows gamers being added. So if the share falls it doesn't mean that we're loosing users. The linux steam userbase may be growing, but it may happen that the windows steam userbase is growing even more.

After all, even the #1 game, Dota 2, had obvious visual linux-only bugs for a very long time -- one was fixed last month and was there since dota 2 came out for linux. And fglrx is still sucking. So it's now like there's a lot of reasons *right now* for windows users to be flocking towards SteamOS and/or a linux distro.

[M@yeulC]

I don't recall anyone mentioning getting it multiple times for the Linux client, (at least not since the Linux client left beta).

I personally got it at least two times (since January 2013). If the survey pops up in your windows client, it means you have been selected for the survey (at random). You just have to load up your Linux client, and it will pop-up here too. I do so when it pops-up in wine, or on my Linux netbook.
But I feel like I participate less often to the survey since I run steam almost exclusively on Linux. Maybe a bug? I certainly would like to know these results were underestimated, but it seems unlikely

I am doing all my work on Linux. Causally I play CS and TF2 on Steam. But my Radeon 4850 ( which is more than enough for these games) sucks at these games with the open source drivers.
For this reason only I dual boot in to W7.

Also... I have a 4850 too. It was a very powerful graphic card back then. It works quite fine with source games, as well as GoldSrc games. Do you use a recent version of the open source drivers?
I had to switch from Slackware to Arch, the drivers were quite outdated, and the performance (OpenGL compliance too) wasn't here.

[GreatEmerald]

Why not install the Catalyst drivers, then? They aren't perfect, but they beat the pants off of the OSS drivers.

They don't, not any more. Especially for HD 4000 series and earlier, Catalyst is neck to neck with the OSS drivers, in both performance and features.

[grok]

I personally got it at least two times (since January 2013). If the survey pops up in your windows client, it means you have been selected for the survey (at random). You just have to load up your Linux client, and it will pop-up here too. I do so when it pops-up in wine, or on my Linux netbook.
But I feel like I participate less often to the survey since I run steam almost exclusively on Linux. Maybe a bug? I certainly would like to know these results were underestimated, but it seems unlikely


Also... I have a 4850 too. It was a very powerful graphic card back then. It works quite fine with source games, as well as GoldSrc games. Do you use a recent version of the open source drivers?
I had to switch from Slackware to Arch, the drivers were quite outdated, and the performance (OpenGL compliance too) wasn't here.

Maybe what's needed is a dual boot between linux and linux, lol. So a stable installation can be kept for work etc. and an Arch one to try and get framerate and game stability.

Anyway, regarding Steam, I just can't play any Source game because my card is too old. I made the mistake of creating two Steam accounts too so CS 1.6 was kept on a separate one.. if you have more than one account you must constantly enter your full login and password when you want to launch Steam and play something. So I'd have to rebuy CS 1.6 (or gasp, CS + CS:CZ) to have all games under one account again but I can't just waste 10 euros on something I already own ; and I missed one sale where it was at 3 euros again. Yawn.

[sarmad]

Why do people keep talking about being "prompt for a survey". What the heck is that anyway? I've never seen such a survey pops up on Steam, neither on Linux nor on Windows. And why would they need a survey for the statistics when they already know what client you are signing in from? Also, who said their statistics is based on a survey rather than simply checking sign-in logs?

[flocci]

But it's a valid point. It's fair to assume that although linux gaming may be on the rise, there may be even more windows gamers being added. So if the share falls it doesn't mean that we're loosing users. The linux steam userbase may be growing, but it may happen that the windows steam userbase is growing even more.

That true as well.

I was really thinking more about the expected variation in the results. If you roll a 6 sided die 10 times and get an average of 3, then do it again and get an average of 4, it doesn't mean that die changed, just the sample. Should Phoronix really look at 1.1% 1.0% and 0.9% as an actual shift in real world numbers of linux gamers or are they all with expected variation of the actual number.

[shmerl]

I already mentioned a number of times - these statistics are useless for any extrapolations. Without context they are useless for assumptions about the number of Linux gamers, and even their percentage. Because Steam library is not uniformly cross platform. And also since many Linux users avoid Steam because of DRM. For more relevant and useful numbers see statistics for cross platform and DRM-free Humble Bundle sales: http://cheesetalks.twolofbees.com/humble/

[M@yeulC]

I missed one sale where it was at 3 euros again. Yawn.

Then wait next summer, or even spring : I am sure this sale will be back again
Or you can buy a half-life 1 GOTY CD for~1? online, and enter the key in the steam client. I unlocked the whole half-life 1 anthology doing so.

Only after 1.5 year?!?

No, the 4850 is about years old, now. They dropped support for this card years ago, but the 4850 is still powerful enough to run recent games (Skyrim, Borderlands 2 - those that run on the 360 and the PS3) with the maximum settings, and a decent resolution (on windows, though). hopefully, the R600 driver will catch up soon with the windows driver.

Why do people keep talking about being "prompt for a survey". What the heck is that anyway? I've never seen such a survey pops up on Steam, neither on Linux nor on Windows. And why would they need a survey for the statistics when they already know what client you are signing in from? Also, who said their statistics is based on a survey rather than simply checking sign-in logs?

I think they don't keep the operating system in the logs, and certainly not "XP" vs "7" stats in the logs. Plus, a quick google search would have showed this, at least : http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/why-does...lled-software/
The Steam survey selects a random sample of active steam users, and ask them to send data about their system.

[Temar]

I already mentioned a number of times - these statistics are useless for any extrapolations. Without context they are useless for assumptions about the number of Linux gamers, and even their percentage. Because Steam library is not uniformly cross platform. And also since many Linux users avoid Steam because of DRM.

You are ignoring the fact that these numbers fit perfectly to all the other stats about Linux usage. Just take a look at at that wikipedia page which sums up all the results from various sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_s...rating_systems

All these sources estimate Linux usage at about 1-2%. The Steam numbers fit perfectly, as not every web user is also a gamer.

For more relevant and useful numbers see statistics for cross platform and DRM-free Humble Bundle sales: http://cheesetalks.twolofbees.com/humble/

You are lying to yourself if you think these numbers actually reflect the real number of Linux users or even gamers. They just prove that Linux and Mac users are more desperate for Indie games as they do get less AAA titles.