Here is the latest instalment of Steam's Hardware Survey, as usual we do our monthly thing and compare it and talk about it and make sure you know not to use it as a hard figure.
Linux results for February 2014
Ubuntu 13.10 64 bit 0.37% 0.00%
Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS 64 bit 0.15% +0.09%
Linux Mint 16 Petra 64 bit 0.10% +0.01%
Ubuntu 13.10 0.08% +0.01%
Linux 3.10 64 bit 0.07% +0.07%
Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS 0.06% +0.06%
Total: 1.30%
Last Month:
Well it was originally:
1.11%
Then the stats changed:
1.34%
My thoughts on it
So looking at the newer figures we went down by 0.04%, Windows went up by 0.17% and Mac OSX went down by 0.14%.
You should know by now that anything under 1% can simply by statistical errors, it's still fun to see us holding better than Mac OSX though.
Things to note
The Other category has gone and that contained a few of the lesser represented Linux distro's like Fedora, Gentoo and Arch for example. It has been reported by a few that Arch may show up in Linux 64bit. Ideally we need Steam to let us see more of them.
Distro-hoppers will mess up the statistics as well, Linux users are far more likely to switch between different distributions than say a Windows user due to how many we have.
Just be aware these results will probably not be that accurate as we don't know how they do their percentage results, they could be rounding up, rounding down or truncating the percentages. So a 0.5% could actually be nearly 0.6% as it could be 0.59% but they could do no rounding and simply truncate it.
Also it won't be every Steam user (it's a survey not a full statistic), so it can be as simple as not actually showing the survey to many Linux people.
Let's face it we know they don't survey 100% of their user base, only a small fraction of it, so bear that in mind as well. Personally I am still yet to see it under Linux so it's not counting me that's for sure and I am logged in every day!
Lastly Linux users typically shy away from any form of DRM, so you can bet there is a large bunch of Linux users who just simply refuse to use Steam.
Final Note: Look at it this way, Steam has around 75 million active users, 1% of 75 million is about 750,000 people. What developer wouldn't want to hook into a market that big? We are still under-represented in my eyes. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Linux results for February 2014
Ubuntu 13.10 64 bit 0.37% 0.00%
Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS 64 bit 0.15% +0.09%
Linux Mint 16 Petra 64 bit 0.10% +0.01%
Ubuntu 13.10 0.08% +0.01%
Linux 3.10 64 bit 0.07% +0.07%
Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS 0.06% +0.06%
Total: 1.30%
Last Month:
Well it was originally:
1.11%
Then the stats changed:
1.34%
My thoughts on it
So looking at the newer figures we went down by 0.04%, Windows went up by 0.17% and Mac OSX went down by 0.14%.
You should know by now that anything under 1% can simply by statistical errors, it's still fun to see us holding better than Mac OSX though.
Things to note
The Other category has gone and that contained a few of the lesser represented Linux distro's like Fedora, Gentoo and Arch for example. It has been reported by a few that Arch may show up in Linux 64bit. Ideally we need Steam to let us see more of them.
Distro-hoppers will mess up the statistics as well, Linux users are far more likely to switch between different distributions than say a Windows user due to how many we have.
Just be aware these results will probably not be that accurate as we don't know how they do their percentage results, they could be rounding up, rounding down or truncating the percentages. So a 0.5% could actually be nearly 0.6% as it could be 0.59% but they could do no rounding and simply truncate it.
Also it won't be every Steam user (it's a survey not a full statistic), so it can be as simple as not actually showing the survey to many Linux people.
Let's face it we know they don't survey 100% of their user base, only a small fraction of it, so bear that in mind as well. Personally I am still yet to see it under Linux so it's not counting me that's for sure and I am logged in every day!
Lastly Linux users typically shy away from any form of DRM, so you can bet there is a large bunch of Linux users who just simply refuse to use Steam.
Final Note: Look at it this way, Steam has around 75 million active users, 1% of 75 million is about 750,000 people. What developer wouldn't want to hook into a market that big? We are still under-represented in my eyes. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
Would like to see Steam pick up individual distros, as many as possible. It would look very pretty in a pie chart. Not sure if there is an easy way to find the distro name...
EDIT:
Nvm. Entering
gives you a very nice readout of distro stuff.
EDIT:
Nvm. Entering
cat /etc/*-releasegives you a very nice readout of distro stuff.
0 Likes
I registred to and installed Steam last month on Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS 64 bit. Lucky me, I also took part in that survey right after installation.
I compared the survey results from January and February. Looks like the minimum percentage for an OS to get counted is 0.05%.
I compared the survey results from January and February. Looks like the minimum percentage for an OS to get counted is 0.05%.
0 Likes
Quoting: Half-ShotWould like to see Steam pick up individual distros, as many as possible. It would look very pretty in a pie chart. Not sure if there is an easy way to find the distro name...i do not agree. I think, developers must work only with two-three distros. Steam OS and two other. More distros mean much more problems.
EDIT:
Nvm. Entering
cat /etc/*-release
gives you a very nice readout of distro stuff.
0 Likes
Or can't they just use something generic to every distro? Like a tar containing all dependencies? This would be disk space waste though.
0 Likes
Or couldn't we just have some scripts that would do the job according to the distro you are using and that developpers would only need to work on something generic and not worry about which distro they are targeting? I'm not that experimented, that may already be the case. But then why would we discussing the fact the number of linux distros is a problem
0 Likes
I started using Steam only when it launched closed beta on Linux. I used to get the survey every time. But then they 'fixed' something related to reports of users never seeing them. I haven't seen one since ;)
0 Likes
pretty much what stan said.
The difference between ubuntu and say debian is ubuntu has a lot of ubuntu only patchsets if anything that's the one distro THEY SHOULDN'T aim for as it would work with all the others as well as ubuntu 90% of the time and if it didn't they would just include a lib. Punish the one making trouble not the others.
The difference between ubuntu and say debian is ubuntu has a lot of ubuntu only patchsets if anything that's the one distro THEY SHOULDN'T aim for as it would work with all the others as well as ubuntu 90% of the time and if it didn't they would just include a lib. Punish the one making trouble not the others.
0 Likes
to me DRM free is more as a BACKUP COPY, that I can access in case anything happens.
However I keep things nice and organized on steam.
So I prefer games that include both a drm free download + steam key (like from the humble store, kickstarters, etc).
So I not a drm free zealot. I choose DRM free for practical reasons only to keep my things backup, nothing else. So no reason to shy away if you're also getting a free key, which in terms helps improve the linux stats and get more users and developers over.
However I keep things nice and organized on steam.
So I prefer games that include both a drm free download + steam key (like from the humble store, kickstarters, etc).
So I not a drm free zealot. I choose DRM free for practical reasons only to keep my things backup, nothing else. So no reason to shy away if you're also getting a free key, which in terms helps improve the linux stats and get more users and developers over.
0 Likes
FutureSuture Mar 2, 2014
Quoting: GuestYou are correct about that myth being debunked in The Witcher 3 article. Slides are available in the article itself, and there's a video in the comments too. This fallacy needs to die.Quoting: AnonymousBut then why would we discussing the fact the number of linux distros is a problemBecause people like to spread FUD, think that what they believe is reality, don’t do their research… I’m pretty sure this myth has been debunked here a few days/weeks ago (in the Witcher 3 article?) but of course you have to repeat everything again regularly.
0 Likes
Another 0.11% unaccounted for. Seems like more people are going OS-less!
0 Likes
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me