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This isn't really a major player getting behind Linux. The move has nothing to with Linux the desktop and everything to do with a future Linux-powered console/S

This isn't really a major player getting behind Linux. The move has nothing to with Linux the desktop and everything to do with a future Linux-powered console/SteamBox. Desktop Linux could quintuple it's number of game purchasing users and it would still be inconsequential. The ancillary benefits for Linux, such as non-shitty gpu drivers, will be great but let's not make this out to be something it isn't.

mryan 14y ago
I would argue that this does count as a major player getting behind Linux. While Valve might have additional longer term goals in mind, their plans to support vanilla Ubuntu will only benefit gamers who wish to run Linux. IMO the question is not 'will more Linux users buy games', but rather 'what percentage of games-playing Windows users will decide they no longer need a Windows box'.
- z1154J 14y ago
  Very good question indeed. I believe though, in the evolution of gaming and game makers, that the "brains" at Valve have taken one look at the "Windows Roadmap" and bet against it. Remeber that Windows 8 is the foundation of the "future" for microsoft. We going to see a massive shift in it's laws/legalities/processes for both gamers and game makers. The change won't be over night, yes, but it's inevitable. Given a "free", open platform is now realitvely stable, why not move to it and not have the headache of having to "conform"? I love linux. I don't mind Windows. If i have the option... it's an easy decision.
adam-a 14y ago
That Valve are working on a Steambox at all is pure speculation, it seems a bit of a jump to assume this all in service of a rumor. I think it's more likely Valve have been paying attention to stuff like the Humble Indie Bundle guys drawing about 1/4 of their revenue each time from Linux users. They may just be out to make money.
- forrestthewoods 14y ago
  This is a fairly large and very long play. Right now, two years after launching, OS X accounts for 4.36% of Steam users [1]. In another two years time I can't imagine Linux users accounting for even 1/1000th of that. Valve doesn't make business decisions out of kindness. They make them when it makes fiscal sense. Preparing Steam for Linux is a huge endeavor costing millions of dollars in salaries and an even larger opportunity cost. This isn't just to make a few extra bucks from a handful of current Linux users. And don't be mistaken, the only extra money they'd see is from current Linux users who refuse to buy non-Linux games. If by some chance this converts large swaths of Windows users to Linux they wouldn't be new customers, just the same customers on a different platform. [1] http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
  - kaolinite 14y ago
    Valve going into hardware is definitely one use of Linux support, however another is as an alternative to Windows 8 and OS X. Both Windows and OS X are moving towards an locked-down, app-store model and Gabe Newell recently expressed concern over that move. At the same time, Ubuntu is being sold pre-installed on computers worldwide (though less so in the US and UK, more in emerging markets). I'm not saying that Ubuntu will reach OS X's current level for Steam users straight away, but in 5 years or so, it's definitely possibly.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      Yeah, I would rather believe that way of thinking. Who knows what Apple and Microsoft may do next to lock down their systems further, and extract more "tax" out of everyone publishing applications or games? The only way for a company like Valve to prevent a direct attack on their revenues is to develop a solution for an open system. It may very well be that it is not necessary in the end, but they are just planning for future scenarios like any other respectable company.
    - pepijndevos 14y ago
      Ubuntu is also moving towards an app-store model, be it much slower. [citation needed] Steam itself is an app-store model too.
DigitalSea 14y ago
There's no evidence to prove that they're working on their own Linux powered gaming console and even if they were, it's still a Linux powered console at the end of the day and people will find a way to reverse engineer anything Linux based that Valve put out. So I would argue regardless of whether or not they develop a Linux console, that would still be a massive benefit to the Linux community. If Valve a company that EA tried acquiring at a valuation of something in the vicinity of one billion dollars sometime ago isn't a major player, then you must have very high standards. Valve have produced so many cult classics and well-known titles that even years after being created are still played, modded and purchased — Counter Strike and Half Life anyone?
wazoox 14y ago
The fact that they state they want to test steam on as many different configurations as possible directly contradicts the idea that they're testing ground for a console. After all, a console will only ship in one hardware configuration by definition.
- bnr 14y ago
  Maybe they haven't found that one hardware configuration yet.
  - laumars 14y ago
    You wouldn't call upon beta testers like this to decide upon hardware configurations. This beta process is definitely for a Desktop Linux client. There is a chance that the rumours of a console could also be true as well though. There's no reason why they couldn't have a Linux console /AND/ desktop Linux support.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Why would they bother with all the Intel GPU work they have been doing? Whatever "that one" hardware configuration would be, it wouldn't include an Intel GPU...
    - roc 14y ago
      Unless their work convinces Intel they might be missing out.
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        I think even Intel would have a hard time producing something not just comparable to Nvidia/AMD's offerings today, but future-proof as well. Their stuff has gotten a lot better recently so I don't think there is any lack of effort on their part, there is just too much catching up to be done.
    - baq 14y ago
      you need to do some extrapolation plots to back your claim.
fafner 14y ago
Does not compute. Porting to Linux Desktop takes much more effort than porting to a console. With a console you have fixed hardware specs and you can tune everything in your software stack to fit your needs. With their current effort they have to worry about all the different hardware setups, future Ubuntu versions, integration into Unity (or whatever DE). All that is unneeded for a console. And so far the console are just rumours and support for Desktop Linux is going Beta.
indiecore 14y ago
And? They are making games for linux now. That's a win.
hollerith 14y ago
>The move has . . . everything to do with a future Linux-powered console/SteamBox I doubt it. Right now Valve only sells software. To get into the console business is to radically change the nature of the organization. Just marketing a new console enough to give it a decent chance to break even would cost enough to require Valve to raise money. And since consoles are not a growing market, there is little potential financial benefit to the move. (In fact, the market is probably shrinking because of competition from tablets and smartphones.) No, what Valve is trying to do here is make the Linux desktop a more attractive platform for games in order to give Steam a better chance to survive if Microsoft makes its survival on Windows untenable. Valve is worried by Microsoft's creation of an Apple-like app store because, well, Steam is an app store. If they are sane, Valve does not want the hassle of creating and maintaining their own platform: they just want to be able to continue to deploy Steam on existing gaming platforms. They probably hope Steam will continue to be able to thrive on Windows and probably see their porting of Steam to Linux as an aid in negotiations with Microsoft.
- deelowe 14y ago
  I think they are working on something. Remember this from a few months ago: http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/ http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/ I agree that valve isn't a hardware company, but there are plenty out there for them to partner with. They could be taking the Windows/android approach to set top boxes. That would certainly be refreshing.
Avshalom 14y ago
Meh, with the advent of Big Picture I see a console as even less likely. Why bother: -adding a massive complication/cost in the form of a complete hardware division -dropping a billion into upfront R/D, marketing and production only to lose money per unit and only maybe make a profit in the end, when they can just charge Dell/Asus money for "Big Picture Certified" stickers and call it a day. Doing so on Linux just means they don't have to worry about the MS roadmap.

mryan 14y ago

I would argue that this does count as a major player getting behind Linux. While Valve might have additional longer term goals in mind, their plans to support vanilla Ubuntu will only benefit gamers who wish to run Linux. IMO the question is not 'will more Linux users buy games', but rather 'what percentage of games-playing Windows users will decide they no longer need a Windows box'.

z1154J 14y ago
Very good question indeed. I believe though, in the evolution of gaming and game makers, that the "brains" at Valve have taken one look at the "Windows Roadmap" and bet against it. Remeber that Windows 8 is the foundation of the "future" for microsoft. We going to see a massive shift in it's laws/legalities/processes for both gamers and game makers. The change won't be over night, yes, but it's inevitable. Given a "free", open platform is now realitvely stable, why not move to it and not have the headache of having to "conform"? I love linux. I don't mind Windows. If i have the option... it's an easy decision.

adam-a 14y ago

That Valve are working on a Steambox at all is pure speculation, it seems a bit of a jump to assume this all in service of a rumor. I think it's more likely Valve have been paying attention to stuff like the Humble Indie Bundle guys drawing about 1/4 of their revenue each time from Linux users. They may just be out to make money.

forrestthewoods 14y ago
This is a fairly large and very long play. Right now, two years after launching, OS X accounts for 4.36% of Steam users [1]. In another two years time I can't imagine Linux users accounting for even 1/1000th of that. Valve doesn't make business decisions out of kindness. They make them when it makes fiscal sense. Preparing Steam for Linux is a huge endeavor costing millions of dollars in salaries and an even larger opportunity cost. This isn't just to make a few extra bucks from a handful of current Linux users. And don't be mistaken, the only extra money they'd see is from current Linux users who refuse to buy non-Linux games. If by some chance this converts large swaths of Windows users to Linux they wouldn't be new customers, just the same customers on a different platform. [1] http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
- kaolinite 14y ago
  Valve going into hardware is definitely one use of Linux support, however another is as an alternative to Windows 8 and OS X. Both Windows and OS X are moving towards an locked-down, app-store model and Gabe Newell recently expressed concern over that move. At the same time, Ubuntu is being sold pre-installed on computers worldwide (though less so in the US and UK, more in emerging markets). I'm not saying that Ubuntu will reach OS X's current level for Steam users straight away, but in 5 years or so, it's definitely possibly.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    Yeah, I would rather believe that way of thinking. Who knows what Apple and Microsoft may do next to lock down their systems further, and extract more "tax" out of everyone publishing applications or games? The only way for a company like Valve to prevent a direct attack on their revenues is to develop a solution for an open system. It may very well be that it is not necessary in the end, but they are just planning for future scenarios like any other respectable company.
  - pepijndevos 14y ago
    Ubuntu is also moving towards an app-store model, be it much slower. [citation needed] Steam itself is an app-store model too.

DigitalSea 14y ago

There's no evidence to prove that they're working on their own Linux powered gaming console and even if they were, it's still a Linux powered console at the end of the day and people will find a way to reverse engineer anything Linux based that Valve put out. So I would argue regardless of whether or not they develop a Linux console, that would still be a massive benefit to the Linux community. If Valve a company that EA tried acquiring at a valuation of something in the vicinity of one billion dollars sometime ago isn't a major player, then you must have very high standards. Valve have produced so many cult classics and well-known titles that even years after being created are still played, modded and purchased — Counter Strike and Half Life anyone?

wazoox 14y ago

The fact that they state they want to test steam on as many different configurations as possible directly contradicts the idea that they're testing ground for a console. After all, a console will only ship in one hardware configuration by definition.

bnr 14y ago
Maybe they haven't found that one hardware configuration yet.
- laumars 14y ago
  You wouldn't call upon beta testers like this to decide upon hardware configurations. This beta process is definitely for a Desktop Linux client. There is a chance that the rumours of a console could also be true as well though. There's no reason why they couldn't have a Linux console /AND/ desktop Linux support.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Why would they bother with all the Intel GPU work they have been doing? Whatever "that one" hardware configuration would be, it wouldn't include an Intel GPU...
  - roc 14y ago
    Unless their work convinces Intel they might be missing out.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      I think even Intel would have a hard time producing something not just comparable to Nvidia/AMD's offerings today, but future-proof as well. Their stuff has gotten a lot better recently so I don't think there is any lack of effort on their part, there is just too much catching up to be done.
  - baq 14y ago
    you need to do some extrapolation plots to back your claim.

fafner 14y ago

Does not compute. Porting to Linux Desktop takes much more effort than porting to a console. With a console you have fixed hardware specs and you can tune everything in your software stack to fit your needs. With their current effort they have to worry about all the different hardware setups, future Ubuntu versions, integration into Unity (or whatever DE). All that is unneeded for a console. And so far the console are just rumours and support for Desktop Linux is going Beta.

indiecore 14y ago

And? They are making games for linux now. That's a win.

hollerith 14y ago

>The move has . . . everything to do with a future Linux-powered console/SteamBox I doubt it. Right now Valve only sells software. To get into the console business is to radically change the nature of the organization. Just marketing a new console enough to give it a decent chance to break even would cost enough to require Valve to raise money. And since consoles are not a growing market, there is little potential financial benefit to the move. (In fact, the market is probably shrinking because of competition from tablets and smartphones.) No, what Valve is trying to do here is make the Linux desktop a more attractive platform for games in order to give Steam a better chance to survive if Microsoft makes its survival on Windows untenable. Valve is worried by Microsoft's creation of an Apple-like app store because, well, Steam is an app store. If they are sane, Valve does not want the hassle of creating and maintaining their own platform: they just want to be able to continue to deploy Steam on existing gaming platforms. They probably hope Steam will continue to be able to thrive on Windows and probably see their porting of Steam to Linux as an aid in negotiations with Microsoft.

deelowe 14y ago
I think they are working on something. Remember this from a few months ago: http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/ http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/ I agree that valve isn't a hardware company, but there are plenty out there for them to partner with. They could be taking the Windows/android approach to set top boxes. That would certainly be refreshing.

Avshalom 14y ago

Meh, with the advent of Big Picture I see a console as even less likely. Why bother: -adding a massive complication/cost in the form of a complete hardware division -dropping a billion into upfront R/D, marketing and production only to lose money per unit and only maybe make a profit in the end, when they can just charge Dell/Asus money for "Big Picture Certified" stickers and call it a day. Doing so on Linux just means they don't have to worry about the MS roadmap.