Gaming - the last bastion of Windows-exclusivity falling down?

[jamyskis]

Maybe the title of this thread is a little loaded, but it is certainly a valid point.

If you ask 90% of Windows users why they wouldn't switch to Ubuntu, there are usually one of three answers:

• "I don't wanna support a commie OS"
• "I can't be bothered to learn it"
• "Linux doesn't have many good games"

While the first two are just ridiculous (trust me, people do say them), the third, while technically not true, is a valid point when you consider that many AAA titles are usually Windows or console exclusives. Our selection of commercial Linux software is limited, to say the least.

Now, I know that the talk of "PC gaming is dying" comes up again and again, and every time I've just brushed it off. Most of the time I think it's just Astroturfing by Sony and Nintendo to encourage people to shift to consoles. Now, however, with the debates on DRM in games, and my experiences with 6-7 of people who have themselves ceased to be active in PC gaming because of this trend (not to mention the countless people who have reported it on the web), I do begin to wonder.

If this were true, it would mean that the last real practical reason for sticking to Windows would fall.

What does everyone think? Might we have EA and UbiSoft to thank for converting people to Linux?

[K.Mandla]

I disagree with the third point too. There are a lot of really good games for Linux, they just lack the marketing hype that drives the Windows-based-game market.

If someone was smart, they'd roll a bunch of Linux games onto a DVD, spend a little money marketing them to a demographic with a high disposable income, and create a niche Linux gaming market.

Then there would be hype, then people would assume they had to have it, then they'd pay money for it, and then they'd enjoy the perceived status change that comes with spending exorbitant sums on a product, thereby defining themselves as part of an in-group and enjoying the us-and-them mentality that feeds our biological need to show our viability as healthy organisms capable of sustaining the species.

I am in a Christmas mood, as you can tell.

[aysiu]

PC gaming isn't dying. It just doesn't in any way compare to the sales of console games and gaming systems. It's a big business. But console gaming is a much bigger business.

Power users (the most likely Windows users to even consider switching to Linux) are far more likely than normal users to be attached to their Windows-only commercial games.

I don't know where you got that 90% statistic from. It doesn't jive with any of the reports from the NPD Group about gaming trends.

[zmjjmz]

I hate to say it, but the reason people think PC gaming is dying is because sales are going down.
But when sales go down, it doesn't necessarily mean that people no longer play PC games. They torrent them.

As we all know, DRM clearly doesn't do anything when it comes to stopping piracy. In the case of draconian DRM measures that just inconvenience casual users, it drives them to piracy too, which would look like a fall of PC gaming from a sales point of view.

[Frak]

People use Windows because it is familiar, they've used it forever, and it in a lot of cases is what some people, like me, get paid to use.

Until you break down those walls, Windows will still be the majority market share.

[eragon100]

I think there are more than enough linux games as it stands, both free and commercial ones. People just need to look for them, because they are usually less-marketed (or, in the case of free games, not at all.)

[-grubby]

if you asked 90% of Windows users why they wouldn't switch to Ubuntu you'd probably get one reply for most of your answers: "What's Linux?"

[Icehuck]

I think there are more than enough linux games as it stands, both free and commercial ones. People just need to look for them, because they are usually less-marketed (or, in the case of free games, not at all.)

So Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty World at War is made for linux? How about Crysis? World of Warcraft? Will Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 be made for Linux? Yeah the games that people actually want to play aren't made specifically for Linux.

[Frak]

So Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty World at War is made for linux? How about Crysis? World of Warcraft? Will Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 be made for Linux? Yeah the games that people actually want to play aren't made specifically for Linux.

Usually, neither for Mac, but they still sell like cake. Good cake, with sprinkles.