Valve Revealing First Part of Linux Invasion on Monday

[stevejnb]

I'm glad Valve Software is fighting Microsoft's vendor lock-in by supporting Linux, but Valve Software needs to acknowledge that they themselves are also guilty of vendor lock-in with Steam. Digital distribution needs to be run by a consortium, not one company, and it needs to include everything together such as games, movies, TV series, books, magazines, comics, music etcetera.

What *possible* reason would Valve have to do this? In MS's case, people are actively trying to fight their vendor lock in situation for decades now and they have long been viewed as the big-bad-evil company as a result. Valve, on the other hand, is largely heralded as the heroes of the PC gaming world because of their similarly vendor-locked in DRM strategy, and the groups that are trying to make a dent in Valve's growing stranglehold are largely mocked and derided.

I've long thought "You know, people's blind support of STEAM is setting them up for Valve becoming the next big-bad-evil company that everyone hates because they'll have a stranglehold on PC digital game distribution and once they've got it secured, the kid gloves will come off and they'll have the ability to dictate the terms by which they can get your money." People are just lining up for it thought, and doing so patting Valve on the back the whole time...

(For the record, I like and use STEAM, but it's pretty obvious where Valve wants to end up with it, and it ain't a good place for the consumer - so maybe we should be thinking about what bringing this horse into the city will end up doing to us a decade down the road)

 

[ubercake]

I'm all for a Linux box. Screw MS. They blew it big time. They are not the same company they used to be and frankly, are still around only because they bundle Windows with almost every PC made.
Libre Office or Open Office is just as good as MS Office. Their Surface tablets are a joke, as are their phones.
If Linux was streamlined for PC gaming and bundled in every PC, it would be the nail in the coffin for MS, who are struggling in every facet.
Gates is gone and Ballmer is going away as well. Watch their stock fall as his time approaches.

Yeah and Sony's financials for the last decade show they're going down the tubes. It'll be nice to have a 3rd choice for a console if real game developers start making games for linux.