Hi everyone, I have a question.Was it worth it for Unity to make a port to Linux? They seem like a rather small market for gaming.
When Steam just got released on Linux? I’m betting a lot of Windows gamers consider moving on to Linux now.
Ventures into the Linux gaming market often do not end successfully, but there are still a few gamers on the platform that would probably be willing to buy a game. Remember that Unity does not only produce games, though. It is primarily a game engine, but Unity can be used for a variety of other purposes.
I don’t see any reason for a gamer to move to Linux. I would not move to Linux for gaming unless Windows became so terrible in the future that I could not upgrade and the youngest acceptable copy was no longer supported.
Yeah… uh… no? Most gamers will go where their games work. They won’t magically jump ship to Linux just because Steam is there with a whole 82 games.
There’s a big step to take right now between considering to move and actually moving. The step will become easier as more games get added to the Linux platform via Steam. And it will happen really soon, considering Gabe’s opinion on where Microsoft is going.
Just like how gamers go where their games work, games go where they get sold the most. Steam. If Steam is going to do more Linux in the future, games will follow.
Your logic is flawed at its core.
Most PC sales are handled through OEM sales, which means Windows will be installed by default. This instantly gives Windows the lion’s share of the PC market. Because of this, there’s very little reason for AAA releases to target Linux at all.
Who cares what Newell’s opinion here is? This would be a major factor if Valve was producing loads of games and making them Linux exclusives, but they’re not. Not at all.
Yes, and that’s Windows because most people aren’t going to install a second OS “just because.” Much as you’d like the massive beast of Microsoft to tumble, that’s really not in the cards.
You seem to be operating under the assumption that Steam will somehow make games work on Linux. That’s… not how it works at all.
I was not exactly saying that Steam was going to magically make games work on Steam. I was referring to a possible Linux hype started by Steam. I am pretty sure people obsessively stuck with Steam because of its particular features, and not entirely because it’s selling incredi-awesome titles.
Special discounts for the Linux guys, Linux extras for Team Fortress 2 (know what Team Fortress 2 players are able to do for another hat?). Food for the people that just want a +1 on their game count and buy whatever they can find. Also, for achievement whores. Things like these. That’s what I see to be the main OS switch factor here.
The main OS switch factor is this: it’s not going to happen because it requires an amount of technical knowledge and loss of general ease-of-use functionality for most people (yes, even gamers) to the point where there’s no value proposition in Linux at all.
Judging by Linux’s state at present time only? Do you not see any reason for such improvements in Linux accessibility to come in sync with the Steam wave? Besides, Steam is telling users to install Ubuntu. I personally find Ubuntu to be easier to use than Windows, but I am not the entire gaming community, so I cannot judge everyone by my standards.
Perhaps it’s the fear of the unknown, or the annoyance of having to learn something new that you are referring to. But I am pretty confident any kind of hype can overcome this.
1993, year of Linux on the desktop.
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But this year will be different because…? You keep saying “hype” but that’s such a mindless, impossible to qualify variable. That’s what they said about all the iD releases on Linux and Ubuntu in general. Steam adding Linux support changes nothing because Linux is still something that people need to do themselves. It requires a whole bunch of work for little to no actual return. It doesn’t save money, it doesn’t offer a better user-experience, it doesn’t offer -anything- other than the nebulous term “free.”
I never said this year is the year. You’re essentially predicting the future of Linux based on various failed attempts, which is just as useless as my variable, if we take it so. You’re also supposing that if a particular product had a history of either stagnation or too slow advancement, its future is undeniably going to be the same. Even worse, you’re considering that if a product was and is behind another leading product, it will never take over, no matter what.
Or are you actually saying that without extra work on what matters, Linux is going to stay the same forever? Because that’s just what I said in my last post.
Indeed, if you are a gamer Linux isn’t for you because the majority of games will support only windows.Another question I want to ask is why did the Unity Team put so much effort into that Linux port for Unity?In the end it really doesn’t seem to make a difference.Your Majority of PC gamers are going to be using Windows.So why bother with the meager percentage of Linux users in comparison?
and most of them will not be too fond of the required driver hunting for their hardware and distro and dealing with terminal a lot, lets face it, linux is still too much problem for the ordinary person who just want to have fun… even miguel de icaza, developer of Gnome desktop and mono framework, has left linux behind, so what are the chances of a regular non tech involved person would choose linux as its main system
No, actually, using past trends is a super effective way to predict future trends, especially when there’s so much evidence.
nVidia drivers auto-update nowadays, .*buntus auto-install them. Not sure about AMD’s, since I do not have an AMD card. I have yet to find other kind of hardware for which the generic drivers won’t work. Why did Miguel de Icaza leave Linux behind exactly? Is the reason related to this at all? I’m pretty sure a developer doesn’t leave a platform like Linux because “he can’t have fun easily enough on it”. From an entertainment point of view.
I honestly don’t understand why people throw this “it’s hard to use” thing every time. What do you think it happens when you start linux? You get bombarded with errors? You have to undergo a terminal commands knowledge quiz? Do you actually START a linux distribution before talking? I’m not sure you’re aware of the direction Ubuntu (because it’s the subject of the day) is going. It’s starting to resemble an iPhone more and more. Closed, less freedom, less errors, excellent functionality, inside its bounds.
How do you make a clickable shortcut to load Minecraft in Linux?
If there were no exceptions to this rule… I’d actually agree with you. In fact, I agree with you, up to a certain extent. Just right before I get to reach the “yeah, if the past is X and the present is X, the future is also going to be X, no matter what”.
Except the fundamental truth about Linux is that you HAVE to install it yourself. You HAVE to go through that process. You HAVE to go through the poorly designed interface. You HAVE to do all these things before the OS actually functions well for the average user. It requires user intervention at multiple steps and most users don’t even adjust the graphics settings of their games. Linux is never going to take over any significant market share because even if these things are fixed, there’s still no compelling reason to migrate to it.
Are there actual statistics for how large the Linux Community is? I’ve looked for statistics and as far as I can tell there’s pretty much nothing. The Unity Team probably had a good reason for making the Linux port, right?