4 ms·

> Valve already had fears about Windows 10, luckily their store and Windows platform wasn't successful in the end. A few years ago I'd have agreed with you, ho

by morbia 5y ago

> Valve already had fears about Windows 10, luckily their store and Windows platform wasn't successful in the end. A few years ago I'd have agreed with you, however the xbox game pass has been hugely successful for Microsoft to push their store and platform. I think a lot of PC gamers would struggle to switch to linux because of that alone. Looking at steam stats alone is selection bias and doesn't tell the full picture.

2Gkashmiri 5y ago
could steam introduce something similar?
raxxorrax 5y ago
True, game pass is a really good deal if you want to save money and you don't care about ownership as much (also a problem with steam, but to a lesser degree). But they still struggle on PC. They just recently rebranded it to pc game pass instead of xbox game pass and they want to improve the horrible app. I think Steam will at some point perhaps react to that, but many PC gamers are still quite vary of MS and I don't think it has affected their business too much. Not only because their older sins like GFWL.
- morbia 5y ago
  Well, without the hard numbers on subscribers it's going to be hard to quantify one way or another if microsoft are 'struggling on pc' or not. Needless to say though, their catalogue of games on offer for a small monthly fee is absolutely insane. From various twitch streamers/youtubers in the gaming industry people I've only heard praise for its value for money for the customer (anecdotally of course). Clearly microsoft are throwing money at the market right now for growth, how long it lasts I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I have been a linux user for 16 years and would love to use it for my gaming needs, I think we just have to be realistic here. MS are pumping money into the gaming industry, through the game pass and buying studios. They are not going to let linux become the dominant gaming platform without a fight.
washadjeffmad 5y ago
I've never owned an XBox and have no idea what their platform or catalog are like. Are there any Linux+XBox people here who can share their experience?
- NineStarPoint 5y ago
  I’m guessing what they meant is the Windows version of the Xbox Game Pass, very recently renamed to “PC Game Pass”. Microsoft has been moving gaming on windows and xbox as a united front quite a bit in recent years, they seem to have come to the conclusion that keeping things console exclusive isn’t a priority any more (still exclusive to environments they control, of course).
encryptluks2 5y ago
If you've ever tried using the Xbox Game Pass for PC, I think them offering it in itself will move users away to other stores and platforms. Not only are download speeds abysmal, but it frequently takes forever to even start a small update. Oh, and no option in the GUI to backup your games. You can only change your home computer 3 times. Reinstall your computer a few times and you will no longer be able to use offline play for a full year and you'll have to wait days to reinstall your games.
- morbia 5y ago
  I am a subscriber and I will admit I hate so many things about the app, I genuinely don't know how a company the size of MS can make the UX mistakes it does. Anecdotally though, I haven't seen the issue you mentioned with the download speeds. It always maxes my 150Mbit connection (probably pitiful for some parts of the world admittedly) so I've never felt a need to backup games because I can re-download them whenever. I'd be interested in hearing about this 'changing home computer' limit too, I've got my game pass running on 3 computers right now so I'm curious if I've hit the limit. As I mentioned in another post, I am a daily linux user and want to see it become a wonderful gaming platform. That said, even with the UX issues of game pass, it's hard to argue on the price point. For a none techy who doesn't care about OS choice or brand loyality, I think it's going to win in the long run.

by morbia 5y ago

2Gkashmiri 5y ago

could steam introduce something similar?

raxxorrax 5y ago

True, game pass is a really good deal if you want to save money and you don't care about ownership as much (also a problem with steam, but to a lesser degree). But they still struggle on PC. They just recently rebranded it to pc game pass instead of xbox game pass and they want to improve the horrible app. I think Steam will at some point perhaps react to that, but many PC gamers are still quite vary of MS and I don't think it has affected their business too much. Not only because their older sins like GFWL.

morbia 5y ago
Well, without the hard numbers on subscribers it's going to be hard to quantify one way or another if microsoft are 'struggling on pc' or not. Needless to say though, their catalogue of games on offer for a small monthly fee is absolutely insane. From various twitch streamers/youtubers in the gaming industry people I've only heard praise for its value for money for the customer (anecdotally of course). Clearly microsoft are throwing money at the market right now for growth, how long it lasts I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I have been a linux user for 16 years and would love to use it for my gaming needs, I think we just have to be realistic here. MS are pumping money into the gaming industry, through the game pass and buying studios. They are not going to let linux become the dominant gaming platform without a fight.

washadjeffmad 5y ago

I've never owned an XBox and have no idea what their platform or catalog are like. Are there any Linux+XBox people here who can share their experience?

NineStarPoint 5y ago
I’m guessing what they meant is the Windows version of the Xbox Game Pass, very recently renamed to “PC Game Pass”. Microsoft has been moving gaming on windows and xbox as a united front quite a bit in recent years, they seem to have come to the conclusion that keeping things console exclusive isn’t a priority any more (still exclusive to environments they control, of course).

encryptluks2 5y ago

If you've ever tried using the Xbox Game Pass for PC, I think them offering it in itself will move users away to other stores and platforms. Not only are download speeds abysmal, but it frequently takes forever to even start a small update. Oh, and no option in the GUI to backup your games. You can only change your home computer 3 times. Reinstall your computer a few times and you will no longer be able to use offline play for a full year and you'll have to wait days to reinstall your games.

morbia 5y ago
I am a subscriber and I will admit I hate so many things about the app, I genuinely don't know how a company the size of MS can make the UX mistakes it does. Anecdotally though, I haven't seen the issue you mentioned with the download speeds. It always maxes my 150Mbit connection (probably pitiful for some parts of the world admittedly) so I've never felt a need to backup games because I can re-download them whenever. I'd be interested in hearing about this 'changing home computer' limit too, I've got my game pass running on 3 computers right now so I'm curious if I've hit the limit. As I mentioned in another post, I am a daily linux user and want to see it become a wonderful gaming platform. That said, even with the UX issues of game pass, it's hard to argue on the price point. For a none techy who doesn't care about OS choice or brand loyality, I think it's going to win in the long run.