If you don't understand the difference between "Windows 8 ships with its own app store and it is not an open platform anymore" and "Because Windows 8 ships with its own app store, it is not an open platform anymore," then you need to work on your English comprehension skills. The difference is subtle, but apparent. There's nothing wrong with the article.
> I don't see Valve taking Apple to task for the MAS.
Because Macs and Mac users were never a big audience for Valve to begin with. The vast majority of Valve's users run Windows, so it only makes sense for them to be worried about the drastic changes with respect to app distribution in Windows 8.
> Look at the Mac - decent support, decent performance, it has AAA titles on it that are also on other platforms, yet you won't ever see AAA exclusive titles being released on the mac.
Who said anything about getting exclusive titles? Moreover, there was no reason before to move away from Windows or towards Mac. Windows 7 was an open platform and the Mac is relatively closed and not friendly to gamers in terms of hardware.
The situation has changed with Windows 8 because there is a clear reason for people not to use it - the weird new touch-centric interface that's used for desktops as well, which makes even less sense on the multi-20+ inch monitor setups that many gamers have.
Valve can easily create pull factors for Linux that it couldn't with OS X. It can work closely with Canonical to improve game performance beyond that on Windows (this is already the case according to their framerate tests) and perhaps bundle Steam with Ubuntu. It can support a wide range of easily upgradeable gamer-friendly hardware setups. The factor that you can just use your existing Windows PC to run Linux (something not possible with OS X) is a big factor as well.
Then why mention them together? Again, I don't see Valve giving apple a hard time over their decision to make the app store the primary distribution method for Mac software.
>The vast majority of Valve's users run Windows, so it only makes sense for them to be worried about the drastic changes with respect to app distribution in Windows 8.
You mean the addition of a store that doesn't really change anything? Steam runs on 8 exactly as it did on 7. Again, Apple had tighter integration and more coercion - which is why I said this sounds like FUD. Their concerns are inconsistent.
>Who said anything about getting exclusive titles?
I did, because what I'm trying to imply here is that Mac/Linux is not a serious gaming platform until such time as publishers would even think about considering making exclusives for it. Until that time, there just isn't enough penetration for it to matter.
No it doesnt. The problem is actually NOT that games have to run on average drivers, but rather that drivers dont work on the OS.
For example, I'm constantly hindered by ATI and Nvidia drivers affecting suspend/resume, HDMI out and power consumption. And quite often, I get drivers that screw with X.
You give me a 30% hit in game performance, but dont let it affect core OS issues, I'll be more than happy. However, I dont think thats the status quo.
This is actually why I think (flames welcome) that Valve should focus more on the Linux core first and then on the Steam app as such. I was half expecting them to come up with this distro using Wayland, seamless Linux audio (!!) and a new driver infrastructure.
Then the article was not written clearly. I don't see Valve taking Apple to task for the MAS. There's no other valid way to interpret that sentence.
>Linux doesn't have to have the best driver support to be sufficient as a gaming platform. If it has enough driver support for games to run well, it has a chance.
I'd argue that it already does. There are plenty of games that run on Linux (hardly as many on windows, but you can easily say the drivers are "there").
>Just because Windows has the "majority of the desktop base" doesn't mean it has to be the premiere gaming platform. Gamers are a very select group of people, and there's no reason Valve couldn't target them.
Disagree. Look at the Mac - decent support, decent performance, it has AAA titles on it that are also on other platforms, yet you won't ever see AAA exclusive titles being released on the mac. And why would you? Think like a publisher - you're artificially limiting your audience. The number of people who will jump platforms (or even maintain two platforms) just for your title is infinitesimal. Until such time as that happens, the mac is an also-ran. Same for Linux - and Linux has a huge advantage over Mac in that there's zero cost barrier.