Gabe Newell thinks Windows 8 will be a catastrophe?

[9thRequiem]

One thing to remember, is that Gabe has a terrible track record when it comes to change. Remember when he called the PS3 a waste of time, and that it'd be a disaster? Sure Gabe.

I've already installed the Windows 8 release preview and from what I can tell it's nothing like that. It has optional integration with your live account that can save your Windows settings in the cloud, and there was an Xbox Live app in the new start menu but since I don't have an Xbox I right click->uninstall and it's completely gone. Other than that it is basically Windows 7 with a new start menu (which is basically like the homescreen on an android phone right down to the possibility of live gadgets and a shortcut to the full list of programs) and everything else still works the same as before, though there are a few additional features (mounting images natively is the bomb, closing off things my ass) and a different looking lock screen. Gaben needs to try it for himself before passing judgement.

Agreed - W8 is basically W7, with a few tweaks.
I think it will be a big deal for gamers, because it gives access to DX10/11, and it's a very cheap upgrade from XP.

 

[wintercoat]

I'm still using XP. And I'm still waiting for a valid reason to use anything else. Will there be any point to 8? Like does do anything XP doesn't that would justify the massive system hogging that would accompany it?

You may not have a reason now, but in 2 years you will. [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx] Unless you like using an OS that doesn't receive regular security updates and isn't compatible with pretty much anything. I'm currently using XP as well, as are my parents. We're all upset about this, but MIcrosoft, for some reason, believes that a survey taken in 2003 is a good thing to base decisions off of.

 

[MrBoBo]

Microsofts idea of pc gaming is bejeweled and farmville. They do not care about the hardcore gamer or desktop pc's. They would rather you wentout and bought an xbox.

 

[RedLister]

Microsofts idea of pc gaming is bejeweled and farmville. They do not care about the hardcore gamer or desktop pc's. They would rather you wentout and bought an xbox.

Yeah all the cries i see on techie foroms about i can't get such and such a game to work properly on windows 7 is a worryingly high number. Some of them games were even made when windows 7 had been out a while and was more the norm.

Currently using XP still. Yeah i haven't got my directX10 or 11 but least my games work (don't think my SLI config of 2x Nvidia 9500GT would run them extra stuff well anyway).

I still use XP because i got a wide selection of older games which run perfectly on the OS while newer games run fine too. Like right now playing through Fallout NV. I have only had one crash over the course of the week i have been playing. While the fallout forum is full of "BAWWWWW WONT WORK ON WINDOWS 7!!!" or "CONSTANT CRASHING ON INTRO WHEN RUNNING ON WINDOWS 7!!!" Is windows 7 murder to program a game properly for or something?

I remember when XP first started it was a load of bollocks and got better through the service packs. If 8 is shite at start i hope the service packs improve it.

 

[Nazulu]

Wouldn't they all just pirate the game, or not buy it then?

Sales were kinda big here. It makes me scoff at the people who think the masses didn't enjoy it.

Internet forums pale in comparison to this thing called real life.

It's not just internet forums. I have no figures to compare to how many were sold, so I'm just saying, it's a pretty damn big minority.

You hideously underestimate the amount of passing fans that just don't go around praising it.

Of my friends who play games, there's sixteen CoD fans and two dedicated haters (plus myself). I only know this because I actually asked them if they play CoD.

Yeah possibly. I'm not counting at all.

However, it's certainly getting the Beiber treatment. It's literally seen by many as the cancer to the industry, just like Activision. I've literally seen more against it lately than for, even though some of those are fans from previous games that hate the updates.

 

[Yali]

This scared me: "Windows 8, with its built-in Windows Store, challenges that revenue source. Features such as Xbox LIVE integration could make the Windows Store and Windows 8 a more appealing platform for gamers and developers alike than Steam."

The most wide-spread OS with a built-in store? F*** that!

Also: Didn't we have a law suite not too long ago after which Microsoft wasn't allowed to integrate the IE as the only browser anymore (they had to link alternatives or something stupid)? MS is trying to monopolize everything. Btw they still have plans to make your OS a "rental software". Imagine having to pay on a regular basis just to be able to use your pc. Maybe this is indeed the right time to go and check out Linux.

 

[PingoBlack]

I agree with Gabe on this one.

Windows 8 for some reason is the very first Windows where users do not get a fallback UI. Hell, even in Win7 you could fallback to Win2000 UI, at least for most part.

Valve is probably well aware people will not likely upgrade to Win8 if they already run Win7. It's also very likely they would even buy Win7 with new hardware, as Microsoft doesn't really offer technical progress in Win8 to speak off. The main progress is the forced UI that wants to be Android.

UI changes are dramatic enough that they break apps. Win Vista to Win 7 most stuff worked, Win8 this does not seem to be the case judging from beta tests of some more recent games.

Unless Microsoft brings windows and mouse click UI back as option in SP1, this release will be a complete dud. I don't see it breaking Android dominance on tablets any time soon (Android is Linux based btw) and I don't see it taking desktop world by storm.

Perhaps game developers will look into porting all their graphics to GL or similar tech ... And they have until Win9 release to do it, as Win7 will go away then. Guess that's Gabe's message to developers. If MS doesn't change tune, lets all get ready to move to Ubuntu/Android instead.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Well it fits the pattern.

Windows releases go like this: Good (3.11), shit (95), good (98), shit (Me), good (XP), shit (Vista), good (7)...

The only good thing about 3.11 was that you quit to dos to play games or get some work done.

 

[bafrali]

snip

Wow!!! You really have a grudge agaist Valve, don't you? It is so dense that you are ready to kick common sense in the head to hate them by the looks of it.

I doubt they will ever give a shit about you since valve haters aren't exactly a profitable demographic. Take my advice and look for other developers to help with your deadly illness that Valve seems to be uncapable of curing.

 

[Calcium]

So what I got from that article was it's a monopolizing digital distribution service complaining about a monopolizing operating system's possible impact on Steam's monopoly...

I don't envision swarths of gamers deciding to embrace GFWL or XBLA over Steam, just because it's on their system. People might make the Firefox/IE comparison, but browsers are free whilst buying games over digital distribution isn't. If one service is offering bigger deals and better services than another then people will move to it, regardless of what their OS ships with.

 

[Rednog]

Still using XP here.

That being said, why should I care what Gabe (valve drone) has to say about anything?

Well, if you're not a Valve fan, then you shouldn't, and I'm not sure why you entered the thread.

Didn't you get the memo? Gabe is nothing but another goon for the company. There is no system of responsibility here. It's a fucking free for all with no one steering the boat. That's why they haven't made a real game for so many years. They can only try to update dated fps multiplayers trying to catch up with CoD. It's all they know, cuz they have no center.

I long for the days when Valve gave a shit about me.

You think they are trying to catch up to COD? None of their games are like COD, and TF2 is a vastly superior, more balanced, and just more colorful game then any COD post-4 has ever been. They don't need to "catch-up" to COD. I really think they are far past it.

He's referring to Counter-Strike:GO. It really is an outdated fps that is incredibly niche, they want to compete with games like CoD and BF3 with Counter-Strike but they're so far off it really isn't funny.

snip

Wow!!! You really have a grudge agaist Valve, don't you? It is so dense that you are ready to kick common sense in the head to hate them by the looks of it.

I doubt they will ever give a shit about you since valve haters aren't exactly a profitable demographic. Take my advice and look for other developers to help with your deadly illness that Valve seems to be uncapable of curing.

You'd be surprised how much valve probably does care since a good chunk of games out there require steam. If people get pissed off at valve/steam and they start buying from other retailers instead, valve gets a far smaller cut. Hell I have an obscenely big steam library yet I've become disgruntled ("a hater") over the last year or so, and I've begun to search for other retailers that sell steam keys instead of buying directly from the steam store, like amazon or greenmangaming.

 

[bafrali]

snip

Valve won't care about delusional individuals that ignore the fact that they have been making single player games. They will ignore the individuals with baseless arguments like catering to the COD crowd with games like TF2. They will ignore those who still whine constantly about prices despite their constant deals.

And most of all, they will ignore the customers who aren't interested in their current products but ***** about them anyway due to not being interested in them.(if that makes any sense)

 

[dnazeri]

W

I'm still using XP. And I'm still waiting for a valid reason to use anything else. Will there be any point to 8? Like does do anything XP doesn't that would justify the massive system hogging that would accompany it?

Well, DX10+. Eventually, more games will require it.

Performance wise, 8 and XP are virtually identical. So no "massive system hogging" here.

8 improves on some UI elements that Vista fucked up and weren't fixed yet in 7. For instance, much easier to get to device manager, control panel, and other administrative controls in 8 than it was previously. Windows Explorer (the file manager, not the browser) is improved as well, not that I use it that much anyway (Q-Dir FOREVER!).

And if you don't like Metro, you can always go grab ClassicShell.

Performance wise they are not identical in the slightest. Windows 8 is much faster than Windows 7, let alone XP. XP's WPF performance alone makes the switch worth it, hell even Vista was. For an accurate speed test see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406668,00.asp