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Valve chief executive Gabe Newell said Microsoft's new OS "is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space."
July 26, 2012, 1:17 PM ? Microsoft has a lot riding on Windows 8, so the company cant be happy about a public flailing its new operating system received from a big-time game publisher.
I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space, Valve chief executive Gabe Newell said at a game conference in Seattle, according to Venture Beat. I think that were going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. Theyll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people.
Indeed, his gripe really involves revenue.
With features such as Xbox LIVE integration, gamers and developers could prefer the Windows Store in Windows 8 over Steam, Valves digital distribution service for games.
So whats Valve going to do about it?
Focus on Linux, for one thing. Newell called it a hedging strategy.
Were trying to make sure that Linux thrives, Newell said, indicating that a lack of games is one thing holding the operating system back and that without them consumer adoption suffers.
In a blog post this month, Valve explained that after porting Left 4 Dead 2 to Ubuntu, interest grew within the company, which is currently working on getting the Steam client onto Linux with full functionality, optimizing a version of L4D2 running at a high frame rate with OpenGL and porting additional Valve titles.
While Newells anti-Windows 8 views are bold, its interesting to note the gaming visionary is a former Microsoft employee. In fact, he mentioned that his many visits to different companies as part of his work with the software giant actually helped him form a company with a unique culture focused on experimenting.
On the topic of experimenting, Newell also shared some thoughts about what will happen in about a decade when the computing world evolves beyond touch.
He predicted that people will someday wear bands on their wrists and talked about Valves $70,000 wearable prototype that he can use to look around a room and see information overlaid on objects.
How can I be looking at this group of people and see their names floating above them? That actually turns out to be an interesting problem thats finally a tractable problem, he said.
The full interview is available at Venture Beat.
July 26, 2012, 1:17 PM ? Microsoft has a lot riding on Windows 8, so the company cant be happy about a public flailing its new operating system received from a big-time game publisher.
I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space, Valve chief executive Gabe Newell said at a game conference in Seattle, according to Venture Beat. I think that were going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. Theyll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people.
Indeed, his gripe really involves revenue.
With features such as Xbox LIVE integration, gamers and developers could prefer the Windows Store in Windows 8 over Steam, Valves digital distribution service for games.
So whats Valve going to do about it?
Focus on Linux, for one thing. Newell called it a hedging strategy.
Were trying to make sure that Linux thrives, Newell said, indicating that a lack of games is one thing holding the operating system back and that without them consumer adoption suffers.
In a blog post this month, Valve explained that after porting Left 4 Dead 2 to Ubuntu, interest grew within the company, which is currently working on getting the Steam client onto Linux with full functionality, optimizing a version of L4D2 running at a high frame rate with OpenGL and porting additional Valve titles.
While Newells anti-Windows 8 views are bold, its interesting to note the gaming visionary is a former Microsoft employee. In fact, he mentioned that his many visits to different companies as part of his work with the software giant actually helped him form a company with a unique culture focused on experimenting.
On the topic of experimenting, Newell also shared some thoughts about what will happen in about a decade when the computing world evolves beyond touch.
He predicted that people will someday wear bands on their wrists and talked about Valves $70,000 wearable prototype that he can use to look around a room and see information overlaid on objects.
How can I be looking at this group of people and see their names floating above them? That actually turns out to be an interesting problem thats finally a tractable problem, he said.
The full interview is available at Venture Beat.
