Sometimes it feels like I've somehow fallen through the multiverse into a very different and thoroughly weird world. When Valve put Steam on Linux back in 2013 (see our full history), who could have imagined what that would bring us many years later?
At the end of February the Steam Deck should be releasing to the lucky first few who managed to get their reservation in (not me), ushering in a new era of PC gaming on the go. A Linux handheld. Powered by SteamOS 3, Valve's latest bundling of Steam with open source based on Arch Linux. Excitement levels keep rising every time Valve announce something new, but its the posts from developers we keep seeing with units that really gets us excited.
When you have the likes of Shuhei Yoshida, the Head of Sony PlayStation Indies (and former President of SCE Worldwide Studios), putting up a clearly very excited Twitter post showing off a previously PlayStation exclusive running on a Linux handheld (the Steam Deck), you know something big is brewing that's about to be unleashed on the world.
Pictured - God of War on a Steam Deck, credit: Shuhei Yoshida
The gaming landscape is ever-changing but the past few years felt bigger than before. Sony are allowing more previously exclusive games to leave their platform, Microsoft are doing the same and now thanks to the likes of Steam Play Proton - we even get to play them on desktop Linux. Seeing an Xbox Studios or PlayStation Studios logo shine brightly on a Linux box is just such a strange feeling. Thanks to Valve again, we shall soon even see that on the go or on the toilet.
It absolutely is going to be the year of Linux on the de…Steam Deck. Please don't let the multiverse send me back to whatever boring world I came from, I don't want to get off this ride.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I really hope I'm wrong.
Last edited by damarrin on 25 January 2022 at 9:59 am UTC
First, it's just cool tech. And having someone at Sony excited about it proves this to me.
Second, it's good business for Sony. They are already releasing on Steam, they pulled out of the handheld space and seem to have been focusing a lot more on publishing. The only option for handheld gaming have been the switch and cellphones... Which I assume are both difficult markets for Sony.
It's rather sad that we're surprised about this. That we assume companies want to wall their own gardens. I applaud them for embracing cool.things and playing well with others.
I just hope valve sticks to their promise and keeps the deck open and cool!
Quoting: damarrinI don't think Mr Yoshida knows what Linux is, much less that the SD is running it.So? That's a good thing, people don't actually need to know. That will go to show exactly how well it works as a gaming device. It actually makes it easier to have "the Linux talk" if they already like it ;)
Quoting: CSharpIt's rather sad that we're surprised about this. That we assume companies want to wall their own gardens. I applaud them for embracing cool.things and playing well with others.Sad? Sony and Microsoft both previously worked very hard to put up walls around their fancy gardens. In many ways Sony still does, you only have to look at all the cross-platform issues with Sony locking accounts to their system, there's many more examples around.
The article is just highlighting how *good* it is that all this is happening.
Quoting: Liam DaweYou are obviously right.Quoting: damarrinI don't think Mr Yoshida knows what Linux is, much less that the SD is running it.So? That's a good thing, people don't actually need to know. That will go to show exactly how well it works as a gaming device. It actually makes it easier to have "the Linux talk" if they already like it ;)
Arehandoro Jan 25, 2022
He likes money. And Steam Deck is an opportunity to make even more money without doing anything, and that is great (for him at least). :)
Quoting: ArehandoroIf I was Sony, or Nintendo for that matter, I'd release their exclusives a few years later on PC. And by PC I mean Linux. Punch your opponent (Microsoft) where it hurts the most.
Hit them in the wallet!
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