PC Gamer had a chat with Alienware manager Frank Azor about the changing situation of Steam Machines. They feel Windows 10 is part of the reason Steam Machines and SteamOS didn't do so well.
He also mentions that the limited library we have compared to Windows is an issue, which is obvious, but slowly improving with time. One comment that I found a bit odd was his comment about what controller you can use (he says controller, meaning gamepad), as Linux generally has very good support for almost all gamepads. SteamOS specifically will also soon gain official config support (like what you can do with the Steam Controller) for the Dualshock 4, which is currently in Beta. This will be rolled out to others in future too. Even without that ability for other gamepads, Linux/SteamOS still works well with most of them.
Sadly, he also points out that the Alienware Alpha with Windows 10 significantly outsells the Steam Machine version of the unit. Not sure I'm really surprised there though.
I don't see the Windows 10 store being much of a threat yet, considering the low sales that have been described and the controversy surrounding the newest Call of Duty. With the release of the latest CoD, gamers found if they got their copy from the Windows store they couldn't play with anyone on Steam. The fact remains though, things could still turn sour at any point—especially if Microsoft start adding in more and more cross-play titles with Xbox One and the Windows 10 store cutting into Steam sales. I don't see Valve dropping SteamOS anytime soon due to this.
Personally, I don't ever want to use Windows 10 for anything more than benchmarks and comparisons. All those privacy issues are just too much for me. I know you can turn some off easily, and others with downloadable scripts, but it goes too far for my liking. I am surprised more people don't have an issue with just how much it tracks you. It's worrying.
It seems like the release of Windows 10 has calmed down OEM concerns about users gaming on PC. This isn't good for us, but it's certainly not the end of the world. The fact still remains that SteamOS and Steam Machines have pushed Linux gaming to heights some of us never dreamt to be possible.
So while SteamOS momentum may be slow, Linux gaming in general is still doing rather well in my opinion. Just look at how many games have been ported this year despite SteamOS and Steam Machines not doing so well in terms of sales.
We still need more day-1 ports of bigger titles, VR support and games that perform closer to Windows to even begin eating into Windows market-share.
What's your take on this?
Thanks to calvin for letting sending it in! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quote“I think the landscape two years ago was very different to what it is today,” Azor said. “The catalyst for the Steam Machine initiative was really around what Microsoft’s decisions were with Windows 8, and if you remember that operating system, it really stepped away from gamers in a big way. We were concerned as an industry that we were going to lose PC gamers on the Windows platform to any other platform that was out there, whether it was console, Mac OS X, Android.
“So that’s where the partnership between Valve and Alienware really initiated around the Steam Machine concept,” he continued. “We said: ‘Hey, we can’t lose Windows as a gaming platform.’ We had to take matters into our own hands because we couldn’t rely on Microsoft. So we did that, and we started pursuing the path that we did.”
He also mentions that the limited library we have compared to Windows is an issue, which is obvious, but slowly improving with time. One comment that I found a bit odd was his comment about what controller you can use (he says controller, meaning gamepad), as Linux generally has very good support for almost all gamepads. SteamOS specifically will also soon gain official config support (like what you can do with the Steam Controller) for the Dualshock 4, which is currently in Beta. This will be rolled out to others in future too. Even without that ability for other gamepads, Linux/SteamOS still works well with most of them.
Sadly, he also points out that the Alienware Alpha with Windows 10 significantly outsells the Steam Machine version of the unit. Not sure I'm really surprised there though.
I don't see the Windows 10 store being much of a threat yet, considering the low sales that have been described and the controversy surrounding the newest Call of Duty. With the release of the latest CoD, gamers found if they got their copy from the Windows store they couldn't play with anyone on Steam. The fact remains though, things could still turn sour at any point—especially if Microsoft start adding in more and more cross-play titles with Xbox One and the Windows 10 store cutting into Steam sales. I don't see Valve dropping SteamOS anytime soon due to this.
Personally, I don't ever want to use Windows 10 for anything more than benchmarks and comparisons. All those privacy issues are just too much for me. I know you can turn some off easily, and others with downloadable scripts, but it goes too far for my liking. I am surprised more people don't have an issue with just how much it tracks you. It's worrying.
It seems like the release of Windows 10 has calmed down OEM concerns about users gaming on PC. This isn't good for us, but it's certainly not the end of the world. The fact still remains that SteamOS and Steam Machines have pushed Linux gaming to heights some of us never dreamt to be possible.
So while SteamOS momentum may be slow, Linux gaming in general is still doing rather well in my opinion. Just look at how many games have been ported this year despite SteamOS and Steam Machines not doing so well in terms of sales.
We still need more day-1 ports of bigger titles, VR support and games that perform closer to Windows to even begin eating into Windows market-share.
What's your take on this?
Thanks to calvin for letting sending it in! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: elmapulwine dont fully support Dx9 yet, the support for dx11 is not a big thing yet and they will fully support dx12?
Wine is an open source project. If you decide to write code for DX12, and nobody else wants to write the missing code for DX9, this is what happens.
Here's a list of what's missing: https://wiki.winehq.org/Summer_Of_Code
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Quoting: calvinQuoting: tmtvlQuoting: calvinMicrosoft can't go walled garden; it would enrage enterprise, and that's a primary market for them - much larger than gaming, despite its status as a growth market.
You're gonna have to explain that one to me.
Apple is very walled garden; and for whatever reason enterprise loves Apple. Microsoft's biggest product is Azure (and patents/licensing). Windows doesn't net them nearly as much, or at least so I've been told.
Enterprise has decrepit VB6 apps and Access 97 databases they lost the source to. Windows' bread and butter is backwards compatibility. Connect the dots.
No problem, a walled garden for peons, walls may be removed for a hefty high tier fee :)
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I don't even closely consider Windows 10 the threat to Valve than what Google, Android and Play store are in the future (speaking 2020+).
Google will go for a docking solution for Android, morphing the smartphone/tablet to a "PC-Like Mouse/Keyboard controlled system". I am very sure of that. And it will come with all the play store / closed ecosystem we see on Android now.
Though, this means easier ports for Linux/X11/Wayland due to Vulkan, we still have the old issue of display and input handling (ye, I know SDL2 could ease those things if the developers would use it).
But we'd be considered an "easier" port than before. I don't see the threat in Windows 10 on the desktop market in the distant future at all.
To be true, I don't think that Windows is going to survive Android on the long run. I still think that Microsoft does a mistake by not taking Windows Phone further going into the direction of a Windows docking solution, which is the only thing which could disrupt the market, and there they are clearly on the better foot due to having windows pretty much everywhere and they do have a real desktop, which Google does not.
Google will go for a docking solution for Android, morphing the smartphone/tablet to a "PC-Like Mouse/Keyboard controlled system". I am very sure of that. And it will come with all the play store / closed ecosystem we see on Android now.
Though, this means easier ports for Linux/X11/Wayland due to Vulkan, we still have the old issue of display and input handling (ye, I know SDL2 could ease those things if the developers would use it).
But we'd be considered an "easier" port than before. I don't see the threat in Windows 10 on the desktop market in the distant future at all.
To be true, I don't think that Windows is going to survive Android on the long run. I still think that Microsoft does a mistake by not taking Windows Phone further going into the direction of a Windows docking solution, which is the only thing which could disrupt the market, and there they are clearly on the better foot due to having windows pretty much everywhere and they do have a real desktop, which Google does not.
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Quoting: elmapul"He also mentions that the limited library we have compared to Windows is an issue, which is obvious, but slowly improving with time. "
i hate to say it, but, the windows library is growing faster, we grow up to 20% of the number of games on windows but we are at 20% for a while, i dont think this will change until valve futher pushes steam machines.
I must honestly agree with you... Windows game library is exploding lately and Linux is growing faster than ever but still slow compared to Windows... We will see what happens, without Valve or other people's efforts Linux gaming would probably become what it was before in terms of new games because the marketshare itself is not rewarding for developers. It's sad that people really don't care about privacy issues or amount of freedom they get with the OS and they're only looking for FPS and comfort.
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Pompesdesky Nov 15, 2016
Quoting: Mountain ManWhat? I've never had to "fiddle around" to get games working in Linux. Sure, I have to tune some of the in-game settings to get optimum performance, but you have to do that in Windows, too. Linux "just works" in my experience. If I want to play a game, I click "Install" in Steam. It installs. I click "Play". It plays. You shouldn't have do any "fiddling" beyond that unless there's something wrong on your end.
Seems not everyone is having the same experience. I've ditched Windows about a year ago and probably won't return, however I've never had to put such amount of research on the Web and fiddling to get things going on Windows.
First anytime I install Steam on a fresh Linux install it will not start, there are some libraries to wipe or some driver to switch so that it accepts to launch. Then some games won't launch either, you have to take a file from another working title and paste it in the folder of the said game. Then when the game finally launches Feral says your GPU is not supported, it will work but not flawlessly. All in all it quite runs on my Mint 17 rig but on the kids rig with Mint 18 only a few games are working correctly (like Dirt Showdown), the others won't launch lately (Euro Truck Simulator for example), when launched the desktop display changes to 640x480 and nothing else happens, I'll have to take another 2 or 3 hours to find a solution on the Internet to solve this.
Then I decided to give a try with a DRM free game to see how this would work. I bought Oddworld New'n Tasty from GOG, installed it on the kids rig (by the way there's not such thing as a double click to install the game as in Windows, you have to open a Terminal, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the game and run a .sh command, that's not something my mom can do for example) and.... no luck, it wouldn't launch. Then installed it on my PC, there it launches but so far I've been unable to configure my Xbox One controller to play the game so I've just given up and cross my fingers thinking that maybe the future Mint 18.2 will magically solve things.
All in all I'm still happy with Linux but I must go with compromises, not only on the number of games available but also on the difficulty of getting everything running. And I don't think most of my gaming friends would accept to make such compromises just for the sake of not being spied and locked in the Microsoft environment.
1 Likes, Who?
They shouldn't have started selling Windoze "Steam Machines" in the first place. Greedy suckers.
1 Likes, Who?
Very disappointed valve,ur slowly turning into nothing more than Mecrosoft. All this money earned
through steam and dota 2 ,No new game for years.And if u gonna push the steam os then do it already,its obvious ppl will not be satisfied with a demo version of it.and there is no reason
steam os cant be full functional os with apps and still focusing more on gaming.
Funding should not be a problem for u with ur huge earnings. There will also be options for steam
laptop,steam desktop,steam everything.....and u got to take the fight to Mecrosoft.
Or u can wait for Mecrosoft or Goggle to swallow u.
through steam and dota 2 ,No new game for years.And if u gonna push the steam os then do it already,its obvious ppl will not be satisfied with a demo version of it.and there is no reason
steam os cant be full functional os with apps and still focusing more on gaming.
Funding should not be a problem for u with ur huge earnings. There will also be options for steam
laptop,steam desktop,steam everything.....and u got to take the fight to Mecrosoft.
Or u can wait for Mecrosoft or Goggle to swallow u.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: MaCroX95It's sad that people really don't care about privacy issues or amount of freedom they get with the OS and they're only looking for FPS and comfort.
Going to a concert vs Vinyl. Vinyl vs CD. CD vs MP3. MP3 vs streaming. streaming vs ...
Quality over comfort is almost never preserved on a large consumer scale, be it food & drink, games, hardware, housing etc.. Thats why expensive things are niche and often prohibitive.
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Quoting: SeegrasQuoting: elmapulwine dont fully support Dx9 yet, the support for dx11 is not a big thing yet and they will fully support dx12?
Wine is an open source project. If you decide to write code for DX12, and nobody else wants to write the missing code for DX9, this is what happens.
Here's a list of what's missing: https://wiki.winehq.org/Summer_Of_Code
ok, but it takes time if the Dx9 support is not fully implemented, imagine the Dx12...
well, at least dx12 is like vulkan and should not do many things leting the developers do instead...
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Mountain Man Nov 15, 2016
Quoting: PompesdeskyMaybe because I'm using Ubuntu MATE? That's the current target platform for most games.Quoting: Mountain ManWhat? I've never had to "fiddle around" to get games working in Linux. Sure, I have to tune some of the in-game settings to get optimum performance, but you have to do that in Windows, too. Linux "just works" in my experience. If I want to play a game, I click "Install" in Steam. It installs. I click "Play". It plays. You shouldn't have do any "fiddling" beyond that unless there's something wrong on your end.
Seems not everyone is having the same experience. I've ditched Windows about a year ago and probably won't return, however I've never had to put such amount of research on the Web and fiddling to get things going on Windows.
First anytime I install Steam on a fresh Linux install it will not start, there are some libraries to wipe or some driver to switch so that it accepts to launch. Then some games won't launch either, you have to take a file from another working title and paste it in the folder of the said game. Then when the game finally launches Feral says your GPU is not supported, it will work but not flawlessly. All in all it quite runs on my Mint 17 rig but on the kids rig with Mint 18 only a few games are working correctly (like Dirt Showdown), the others won't launch lately (Euro Truck Simulator for example), when launched the desktop display changes to 640x480 and nothing else happens, I'll have to take another 2 or 3 hours to find a solution on the Internet to solve this.
Then I decided to give a try with a DRM free game to see how this would work. I bought Oddworld New'n Tasty from GOG, installed it on the kids rig (by the way there's not such thing as a double click to install the game as in Windows, you have to open a Terminal, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the game and run a .sh command, that's not something my mom can do for example) and.... no luck, it wouldn't launch. Then installed it on my PC, there it launches but so far I've been unable to configure my Xbox One controller to play the game so I've just given up and cross my fingers thinking that maybe the future Mint 18.2 will magically solve things.
All in all I'm still happy with Linux but I must go with compromises, not only on the number of games available but also on the difficulty of getting everything running. And I don't think most of my gaming friends would accept to make such compromises just for the sake of not being spied and locked in the Microsoft environment.
0 Likes
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