Why is gaming a proble for potential linux users?

[QwUo173Hy]

I had my "gamer" badge revoked when I left college so I haven't been doing much gaming since 2003. I used to play Doom, Half Life and Counter Strike in college, as well as the likes of Sim City, Enigma and some emulated stuff.

I've been looking at games on Ubuntu, and bought the Humble Indie Bundle recently. So we have the likes of Penumbra, World of Goo, Alien Arena, Grappling Hook etc. Just to name a few.

As I've said, I'm out of touch with the gaming scene - but for me, there are enough alternatives to make the switch worth it. I put up with not being able to play my old purchased games and trawled through what was available and found some good stuff. (And the occasional win with wine! Revolt Racers anyone?)

Are the newer games really that different or superior to what's available on linux at the moment?

<edit> Forgot to mention this site: http://linuxgamingnews.org/

Even more! <edit>

[Frogs Hair]

There are some good games for Linux , but the big game developers tend to create games for the most popular platform . Some of the new games for windows have pretty amazing graphics . I don't use Wine because I have Windows , so I can't comment on how well it works for new games . I just discovered a script for DirectX today at Gnome Look , so that is great for people that can't use a game for that reason.

[JDShu]

As I've stated before, but I think that AAA games have become less and less impressive, at least on the PC anyway.

[MooPi]

I can't compare because I just assumed that Linux gaming was inferior to the counterparts. Some of the newest games are amazing. Battlefield Bad Company is an impressive game, and I hear that the new StarCraft is spectacular.

[foxxxy]

I don't know of any modern games (made in the last few years) that are compatible with Ubuntu or any other GNU/Linux distribution. Hopefully Doom 4 and Duke Nukem Forever will have ports :)

[aysiu]

In answer to your question, most potential Linux users are Windows power users. Windows power users are far more likely to play primarily PC games, including ones that are Windows-only games.

I don't play games, so games aren't a problem for me. My wife plays console games (PS3, Wii), so games (if she wanted to switch to Linux) wouldn't be a problem.

[Dustin2128]

basically as posted above. Windows is a gaming platform, linux takes some tweaking to get there, and works best if you only use a few games. But its getting much, much better; in the old days, I couldn't expect wine to run much of anything. Now, I daresay most programs run at least at a silver level (if not higher) in a vanilla wine install. Not to mention crossover.

[Khakilang]

Probably if you don't install the proprietary driver for your VGA card. Playing game is impossible in Linux. I haven't play any game since moving to Linux. Maybe one of this days I would look into the repo and install a few.

[d3v1150m471c]

is this a rhetorical question?

[Perfect Storm]

Gaming on Linux have never been a problem for me if you don't mind reading a little bit howto tweak the window games running via wine/crossover games. I've played everything from Dragon Age to WoW.

Also I bought a lot of linux games which I found interesting, such as Dominions 3, Quakewars, WorldofGoo, Gish, Rain Slick, Penumbra, Machinarium etc. etc.
And yesterday I got an E-mail saying my Pre-order from Amnesia: Dark Descent will be ready for download on Wednesday.


If people looking really cool linux graphic game, check this: http://www.oilrush-game.com/

[marl30]

I doubt that it is; however, I can't say for sure since I'm only a light gamer. But I think most average computer users are just interested in browsing the web, watching videos, playing music, etc. Most hardcore gamers probably are not average computer users. They are people who often like to tweak and experiment with stuff, so you'll find them coming over to Linux. What they can't get working through Wine, they'll dual boot to coupe.

[rjbl]

I don't know of any modern games (made in the last few years) that are compatible with Ubuntu or any other GNU/Linux distribution. Hopefully Doom 4 and Duke Nukem Forever will have ports :)

Try the openBVE railway simulator from the Software Centre. Runs well on motherboard graphics. Loads of addons freely available from the Web. All the constructor tools seem to run okay in WINE.

rjbl