Gabe Newell: Linux is a “Get-out-of-jail free pass for our industry”

I suppose this is why the FSF has gone on and on about "free as in freedom", and not about the practical benefits for developers in releasing source code to the public.<p>I understand that Gabe does not want to play by the app-store rule, be that Apple or Microsoft. They want to be free to develop their business, their business model, free from dictated rules of a third party.<p>In a world where every user device is locked down under DRM, there won't be a get-out-of-jail free pass called Linux. If all obvious and commonly used aspects of computing are patented, then we won't have a Linux that can be shipped by something like Steam. Anti-DRM and anti-patent clauses, like those in GPLv3 and the Apache license are not anti-business. They are pro-freedom for companies to decide their own fate.<p>If we want to keep this get-out-of-jail free pass for the industry, we need to maintain it and banish DRM and patents to the dustheap. It's that simple today. It won't be that simple tomorrow.

For all my love for Steam, Valve, Linux and Newell himself, I cannot help but gag a little every time he opens his mouth as of late.<p>Not a single fuck was given about Linux prior to the release of Win 8. Then, suddenly, once Valve's profit margins and business model is threatened the company shows some interest. This is all--of course--perfectly rational behavior, but there's no need to be all righteous about it and feed into our superiority complexes as Linux users. We don't want an 'us vs them' mentality here. What we want is for all the Windows users to get curious and come explore what Linux has to offer, not dig in and defend their OS just because they were pissed off by smug flamebait rethoric.

The explosion of Android as a platform has shown quite clearly both the power and flexibility of the Linux kernel, and the usefulness of hiding the complexity and providing a platform-neutral API. The VM-backed programming environment is what Valve perceive as the new gaming market here: they don't want just a console, they want their own iDevice or Kindle Fire.<p>Mr. Newell mentioned that Valve's games were shifting to a free-to-play scheme. The Steam Box might be something like this: a Linux-based OS, some sort of runtime/VM, a game-writing API (Source-based API?) and an online, on-console marketplace. Whether the VM is Android or even based on Java at all would remain to be seen.<p>The basic Source (or successor) engine might be distributed built into the Steam Box, with expansions ranging from full-on games to amusing hats available for immediate purchase and automatic delivery. Probably some back-catalog goodies will ship with the box/be registered to your Steam account, too.

I'm not particularly into video games, but I thought his whole talk about thinking of their games as a platform to enable their users commerce was very interesting.<p>I also now understand their decision to hire an in-house economist. They're looking at creating a much more sophisticated market.

I'm an IT pro,so I run Linux servers for my job, but I'm also a gamer, and dual booting is a pain in the ass. Trust me, I would love to make Linux my primary desktop, and every few months when I have some time, I give it another serious shot. But I always end up back to dual booting.<p>Years ago, I was happy with OSS audio system, but that is controlled by one company so the FOSSies have done their best to replace it with a far inferior ALSA. This caused me so many headaches back in the day and still bothers me with its high latency. But lately my issue has been with the graphics subsystem. For my X1900 I have to chose between open source drivers with terrible performance and bugs or proprietary drivers that don't work with modern kernels.<p>Finally, X windows and gaming don't seem to mix. Here is a case, where I think Linux needs to change the interface. I think Wayland may be the answer. If not, at least X11 with decent full screen support would be a godsend.<p>So from my perspective for Linux to make it, it would have to use :<p>1) OSSv4 Audio Subsystem (FOSSies it's GPL'd already get over it)<p>2) Stable graphics driver interface ( or FOSSies stop breaking ATI and Nvidia's drivers )<p>3) Modern Display Server - maybe Wayland or throwing out all the kruff in X11 and fixing Full Screen graphics in games

We should all applaud the huge advance gaming will bring to Linux. Just the side effects from the engineering are huge—nevermind the enormous political and financial benefits that gaming brings to Linux.<p>Next up, naturally: Steam for Android.

I'd love to see Valve bankroll some hefty Wine development and/or buy out Cedega/WineX/Transgaming, in my opinion that's the holy grail for what needs to be done.<p>Getting 99% of the games on Steam working out of the box with DirectX compatibility layer with in-house testing can and should be done, and is a better step than providing a VM layer right now.<p>I'd also like to see them contribute to OpenGL and get it up to DirectX standards in terms of API ease of use and maturity. It simply isn't as good, and until it is developers will continue to target DirectX.

While it's all well and good that Linux is getting more press in regards to gaming these days, I'm still not seeing a massive push on the game developer side. Yes, there are the indie developers who will jump on it, especially those developing in Unity since it deploys to Linux and the others natively. But look how long it takes the major developers to even publish on OSX - and that has a much bigger (and much better known for customers willing to pay extra) market share.<p>Personally I'm working on all three platforms and I have reasons (and personal preferences) for each. I want my web servers to run Linux or BSD. I want my mobile computer to run OSX. And I want my work machine to run Windows. In each cases it's a mix of a need for certain applications and a preference for a certain workflow. Sometimes it's even something ridiculous like hating (HATING!) the way mouse acceleration works in OSX....<p>So, anyway, the way Gabe Newell tries to force an OS-war with his rhetoric is getting on my nerves. Steam is making him shitloads of money. And it'll continue to do so, regardless of Windows 8. And I love that he's opening up the market for Linux, but let's face it, Linux still isn't quite there as an end user desktop system. And unless it is, why should people switch and start purchasing their games on Linux, when they still do their everyday stuff in Win and OSX.

I have heard a number of times about how great Gabe is for bringing Steam to Linux. Isn't it just the case that the only reason Steam is on Linux is because Valve are making a console? Would Steam for Linux really exist without this console?<p>Windows 8 is a fine gaming platform and the Windows store is... useless. It brings crappy tablet games to the PC. I think he is over reacting to the damage Windows 8 will do to his business. I think his motivation towards Linux only came into existence when he saw the Windows Licensing cost on a console.

For your AAA full-fledged games to work on Linux, it's not just Valve - the Big-iron game engines such as RAGE, CryENGINE, FrostBite 2, etc also need to be ported and supported. Only then will AAA game makers be able to support Linux games.

An open platform with the accessibility and raw power of a living room console can only lead to bold new forms of gameplay elements both in hardware and the games. A common argument made in favour of strongly controlled console markets is that it ensures quality, which i don't understand. I think good content will always find its way to the players no matter how crowded the market is with crappy titles. And Steam is not abandoning it's own storefront.

I feel like the title of this article was a little misleading, it makes it sound like he's chiding the industry for relying on use of linux and open-source software to make them look good (android is linux-based? yay it must be the best!), which I would kind of agree with. He's actually saying that it's there as a fail-safe for the possibility of Microsoft and Apple walling off their ecosystems from tinkerers and developers (which I also agree with).

Isn't the Sony PS3 operating system largely based on Linux?<p>This is much more about what you let customers do with machines. There's a tension between "anything goes" (and rampant piracy and cheating) and total lockdown. Big companies seem to go the route of sealing everything up. It's unclear that this is totally necessary.