Why Are We Still Dual Booting?

The Linux community is one full of passion. From the outside it may seem strange why a small percentage of people around the world care so much about an operating system, after all it's merely a tool or set of tools used to complete certain tasks.

For many of us it isn’t that simple however, and we have a multitude and wide variety of reasons which drive us to support Linux in the way we do. Be it contributing code, running websites like this one or simply advocating the OS and showing its greatness to others.

Some have different views to others, some may insist on calling it GNU/Linux and may insist on only using free software, while others may be less ideologically inclined and simply use Linux because it's the best operating system out there. What unites all these people is the operating system and the desire for it to succeed, seeing it widely adopted or improving in many areas.

In fact, this desire for success and to show the world that we exist has led many of us to take regrettable actions, ranging from abusiveness in forums to insulting the CEO of a major game development company or even going as far as threatening developers who aren’t supporting the platform.

In the gaming world, what often makes many of us flip out most (or the more level headed among us, respond in a constructive manner) is when two simple facts are stated:

1 - Linux only accounts for a small percentage of the desktop market.

2 - Many Linux gamers dual boot or have access to a Windows machine.

While there is not a huge amount we can do about the first of these two points, the second is one which always perplexes me considering it's so simple to amend. If there are so many of us who care so greatly about Linux succeeding (often to the point where we act immaturely) then why do so many of us commit the “cardinal sin” of the Linux world and use Windows?

When I set out to do the GOL survey, one of the things I expected was the number of dual booters to slowly decline as more games come out. In June of last year there were 500 Linux games on Steam. Since then, that number has risen to 1000 and we’ve had huge games like CS:GO, Dying Light, Borderlands 2, Dead Island, Civilization: BE and many AAA games right round the corner.

Despite this, and despite the passions which surround Linux, our survey has shown no significant change in the amount of people dual booting or who have a Windows partition, unlike the amount of people using Wine which seems to be showing signs of declining. In many ways, it seems as if while Linux gaming is making leaps and bounds, Linux gamers are standing still.



The controversial phrase “Sie wissen das nicht, aber sie tun es” (they do not know it, but still they do it) from Das Kapital comes to mind, though condescending and completely incorrect in this case. Dual booting is far more cynical, a case of “they know very well what they are doing, but still they do it”.

We are all fully aware that the thought of Linux users dual booting and using Wine as a motive not to port a game to Linux has crossed the minds of many developers and even though we may badly want that game on our OS of choice, we still choose to be part of that percentage which makes that argument a valid one.

So why this doublethink? With the recent case of the WoW petition, it is a certainty that all those signing the petition who play WoW do so either on Windows or through Wine. It is easy to see how Blizzard CEO said what he said:

Michael MorhaimeLinux usage represents less than 2% of installed desktop operating systems browsing the web, and I would assume most of those people also have access to a Windows or Mac device capable of playing Blizzard games.

From his perspective, why should he spend money on porting a game to a platform when nearly all the people who would benefit from it are customers already? The irony of the petition is that its very existence also negates its purpose (unless, of course, Linux users were to abandon Blizzard altogether).

As much as I personally loathe the idea, the unavoidable fact is that we do live in a global free market which defines culture as an industry and decides who gets access to that culture based primarily on the profit motive. Culture, in this case, is video games and to many companies giving Linux users access to that culture does not fall within the worldview of putting profit above all else.

It is somewhat presumptuous to state to people whose lives are dictated by this fundamental premise that they are wrong in their conclusions. Simply put, yes 2% (or thereabouts) may be worth it to many developers financially, but when taking into account that with a game like WoW many (if not most) of their potential 2% like the game enough to sacrifice their principles in order to play it, then the rigid logic of the free market implies that WoW (and games like it) will never come to Linux so long as those individuals continue to choose the game over the operating system.

In essence, that 2% in many cases is non-existent and rather than being its own separate "market segment", developers like Blizzard will continue to see it as a percentage of the Windows market which also happens to use Linux on the side, that is, until people stop dual booting. Simply put, there is a significantly higher chance of games getting ported if users use Linux and Linux alone.

Thoughts and suggestions

The intention of this article isn’t to tell people what to do or to shout people down for not thinking in the same way as I do (in fact, if I see discussion heading in that direction, I may well see to it that comments are deleted). The intention is to create a debate surrounding a few simple questions to which there are no right and wrong answers:

- Why do you dual boot?

- Do you see yourself first as a gamer, then as a Linux user?

- Are the 1000+ games on Steam and hundreds more on other sites still not enough for you to be a 100% Linux gamer?

- If you feel so passionately about Linux that you’ll take questionable actions to defend it, then why not do the most simple thing and stop gaming on Windows?

- As someone with a tendency towards a specific genre, do you feel the current Linux suggestion doesn't cater to your gaming needs?

Ideally, I would like to see the number of dual booters decline after reaching some sort of consensus that it would be in all our best interests. I see myself as a Linux user first and a gamer second, and haven’t had Windows on a single computer since ~2008. However, I bear no animosity towards those who think differently. If all that comes of this article is an enlightening debate surrounding these issues and perhaps leads others to oppose the statements made in this article through other articles or through comments, then I’ll still be more than happy.

Even though I may have my own views as to how things should progress which may differ from those of others, I think we can all agree that being respectful, helpful and constructive goes a long way - be it to each other or to the developers which are (or aren't) porting our games. Though dual booting might not be something will (or maybe even should) disappear overnight, aggression and abuse certainly should. Likewise, the same goes for buying Linux games before porting - something which has been repeated and discussed time and time again. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.