Gabe Newell Showing Valve On Linux To Partners

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Gabe Newell Showing Valve On Linux To Partners

Here's an interesting, but very brief, Gabe Newell interview from E3 where he responds to a Linux question...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTEzMTY

[entropy]

If VALVE really manages to convince lots of their 'partners' to support Linux, this will be a big win for us.
Maybe this is something we should even more look forward to than 'just' having the VALVE catalogue ported to Linux.

Then again, what I don't get is why VALVE hasn't managed to convince those partners to port their games to Mac OS?
What can be VALVEs strong arguments to make them support Linux while most didn't with Mac OS? (If it is not a 'SteamBox')
AFAIK only a tiny fraction of all Steam titles are available on Mac OS.

[M1kkko]

If VALVE really manages to convince lots of their 'partners' to support Linux, this will be a big win for us.
Maybe this is something we should even more look forward to than 'just' having the VALVE catalogue ported to Linux.

Then again, what I don't get is why VALVE hasn't managed to convince those partners to port their games to Mac OS?
What can be VALVEs strong arguments to make them support Linux while most didn't with Mac OS? (If it is not a 'SteamBox')
AFAIK only a tiny fraction of all Steam titles are available on Mac OS.

Even if we get nearly as many games for linux as there are on the mac, it's already a huge win.

[johnc]

So we have...

- A video driver debacle
- A kernel that changes every three minutes
- A sound system that consistently produces audio skips
- Window managers and desktop environments that simply don't work

Now ask oneself... what could possibly go wrong?

[TdR91]

Then again, what I don't get is why VALVE hasn't managed to convince those partners to port their games to Mac OS?

Because it is not there business, i am sure that apple has allot of employees that are payed to do that.

[entropy]

Because it is not there business, i am sure that apple has allot of employees that are payed to do that.

That somehow doesn't convince me.

VALVE directly benefits from each game on Steam sold to a Mac user. Apple doesn't.
It's not like Apple gets license fees from game developers as is the case for console-selling companies.
And since Apple user typically won't buy this platform mainly for gaming you cannot even consider the availability
of a large number of games a strong incentive to buy this (IMHO) overpriced platform.

[d2kx]

Don't forget Steam Big Picture Mode. Valve is not done with doing a blob for Ubuntu and calling it a day.

[TdR91]

That somehow doesn't convince me.

VALVE directly benefits from each game on Steam sold to a Mac user. Apple doesn't.
It's not like Apple gets license fees from game developers as is the case for console-selling companies.
And since Apple user typically won't buy this platform mainly for gaming you cannot even consider the availability
of a large number of games a strong incentive to buy this (IMHO) overpriced platform.

Well if you tell someone to buy the other guys stuff you are advertising that other guy more then you are yourself and in capitalist world things don't work that way. If you say "Hey use Linux, my games work like a charm on it and so will yours if yours if you use my engine", you are getting money because Linux costs 0$.

[Ofen]

So we have...

- A video driver debacle
- A kernel that changes every three minutes
- A sound system that consistently produces audio skips
- Window managers and desktop environments that simply don't work

Now ask oneself... what could possibly go wrong?

- Steam on Linux may encourage the development of drivers
- Donno
- Donno
- Wayland (but I don't think it will be finished soon (maybe in two years or so))

[Plombo]

So we have...

- A video driver debacle

Not a problem for most people using the blobs, especially the Nvidia one.

- A kernel that changes every three minutes

When was the last time a game was rendered unusable by a new version of the kernel?

- A sound system that consistently produces audio skips
- Window managers and desktop environments that simply don't work

Now ask oneself... what could possibly go wrong?

Those last two are simply not true.