Gabe Newell Says Win8 is "A Catastrophe"

[moondoggy23]

In a Casual Connect event last night, Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve (because nobody here knows that, I'm sure) made some comments about the future of PC gaming and how Windows is going towards the same closed-system model as Apple, which hinders the world of gaming, namely open-source game development. Newell called Windows 8 "a catastrophe" when it comes to creating PCs and other equipment for the computer. He also went on to say that the current trend of touch screen games and apps is not meant to be, but other avenues of similar technology may be on the rise.

 

[moondoggy23]

Update/bump:

Notch has also commented about the potential of Windows 8 having a more Apple-esque app store and restricting content that can be used on it's OS, saying "it would be very, very bad for Indie games and comptetion in general."

Apparently Blizzard's Rob Pardo is also in agreement, the article mentions a tweet he posted saying Win8 isn't good for Blizzard.

I'm re-considering purchasing Win8, and sticking with my Vista OS on my desktop...

 

[mcfar45]

I have been saying this since the Developer Preview....Microsoft is making a mistake and by going in an Apple-like direction they are alienating 3rd party developers and people who live in a multi-ecosystem (eg. Android Phone + Windows Desktop) world. It also alienate the users of teh keyboard and mouse, making touch the centre of everything which could force a drastic change in businesses.

I have been advising people who have asked me about it that they should stick with their existing OS.

However, I do see this being a big positive for Linux as it will be the last OS option that isn't caught in an ecosystem problem.

 

[Kerzyte]

I am very glad to see more and more influential people speaking ill about Windows 8. Ever since the Developer Preview, I have been against it, but now with more people voicing their concerns, and with Steam, along with L4D2, coming to Linux(Ubuntu 12.04/12.10) soon, this is going to be a VERY good thing for all of Linux in general, and will(hopefully) either convince Microsoft to stop being retarded or, alternatively, hurt them.

 

[Cyrusdexter]

I didn't like Win8 the second I saw it. No backgrounds, no start button, very little customization options. It looked (in terms of usability) terrifying close to a mac. And not even a full-size macintosh computer, but an ipad or something. The way the icons are just colored squares, and it seems to operate on a system that is close to apps. I will totally be sticking with Win7. If Win7 ends up being outdated (to the point new games and software don't support it) I will likely be switching to linux.


No start button!

 

[tbarius]

This is an ongoing thing for microsoft..

put out a seemingly great OS.. world updates to it..

few years later, puts out a "revolutionary" OS.. world tries to burn them at the stake.

 

[Patchouli]

I have been saying this since the Developer Preview....Microsoft is making a mistake and by going in an Apple-like direction they are alienating 3rd party developers and people who live in a multi-ecosystem (eg. Android Phone + Windows Desktop) world. It also alienate the users of teh keyboard and mouse, making touch the centre of everything which could force a drastic change in businesses.

I have been advising people who have asked me about it that they should stick with their existing OS.

However, I do see this being a big positive for Linux as it will be the last OS option that isn't caught in an ecosystem problem.

Being Steam is working on a client for Linux, pretty soon the lack of games for Linux will no longer be keeping people from it that would otherwise use it.

 

[TheXraptor]

The minute I saw Windows 8, I was FULL HEARTEDLEY AGAINST IT. Now, it looks as if it is WORSE than what I originally thought! (P.S. If Windows 8 forces you to use Internet Explorer, I'm switching to Apple or Linux).

 

[Patchouli]

The minute I saw Windows 8, I was FULL HEARTEDLEY AGAINST IT. Now, it looks as if it is WORSE than what I originally thought! (P.S. If Windows 8 forces you to use Internet Explorer, I'm switching to Apple or Linux).

Ew, why would you switch to Apple? Just stay with 7 or go with Linux >.>

 

[TheXraptor]

Ew, why would you switch to Apple? Just stay with 7 or go with Linux >.>

I get a free MacBook Pro for going to my private high school. I'll probably use it for mostly school work until high school is all said and done with, but at least I'd get to use Firefox or Safari.

 

[Hawke]

I have noticed some very misinformed opinions in this thread, and would like to state a couple of things I've gathered from around the internet.

- Although the new UI gives more love to touch input, maybe a little too much some might say, it is still completely functional with keyboard and mouse, and in no way does it take more time/clicks/whatever to reach some items, sometimes on the contrary, less clicks. Only METRO UI apps are always fullscreen or occupy half the screen, the rest works like on 7.You can even put the Start button back by installing a third party program.

- Microsoft only limits the apps that go into their store, but the app store is used only for METRO apps, which is NOTHING. 3rd-Party applications work just like on Windows 7 and don't need to be in the Microsoft store to be able to work or be installed on the computer. They haven't restricted what you can install on your machine, only for the fancy Metro UI.

- Gabe Newell probably talks about the new "Secure Boot" feature, which is required to be enabled on liscenced OEM hardware. This feature makes it impossible to install Linux or another operating system on the machine, but Microsoft itself requires manufacturers to implement a way for users to disable it and install whatever they want.

- Microsoft does limit Windows 8 to licensed store apps only, but only on ARM devices (tablets most likely), not on the desktop version. So basically it just turns into a generic restricted tablet OS on tablet devices, just like the others.

You guys are looking at the UI and thinking it's the problem, when the biggest problems are more on the side of manufacturers rather than the end user.

potential

Also you go around boycotting because some notable people said it MIGHT (MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, IT WON'T HAPPEN AT ALL?) have some new restrictive system for general content.

and sticking with my Vista OS on my desktop...

Microsoft might have fixed most of the annoying problems in Vista, but it's still pretty heavy on PC resources, which could be spent on better performance in games or other software. I would suggest upgrading to Windows 7 if you still don't want to upgrade to 8, although interestingly enough Windows 8 has a very noticeable boot time and performance increase compared to 7.

 

[Patchouli]

I get a free MacBook Pro for going to my private high school. I'll probably use it for mostly school work until high school is all said and done with, but at least I'd get to use Firefox or Safari.

Can still put Windows or Linux on it

 

[GreenEarth]

Can still put Windows or Linux on it

I have a pretty bad experience (horribly slow, glitches, etc) of putting windows on mac machines so I wouldn't recommend that, unless apple has changed something to cater to that kind of activity.

 

[bbgunshot]

I read an article about this a bit ago. I'd have to agree, I'm not looking forward to windows 8 a whole lot. Considering Microsoft could care less about PC gaming anyways, why should they accommodate it?

I believe I heard someone from Epic Games agreeing with Gabes statement as well.

 

[Ustulo]

Can still put Windows or Linux on it

True, my Mac *does* have a copy of Windows 7 on it that I run whenever I need to use an application that is incompatible on a Mac.

 

[shooterty12]

In a Casual Connect event last night, Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve (because nobody here knows that, I'm sure) made some comments about the future of PC gaming and how Windows is going towards the same closed-system model as Apple, which hinders the world of gaming, namely open-source game development. Newell called Windows 8 "a catastrophe" when it comes to creating PCs and other equipment for the computer. He also went on to say that the current trend of touch screen games and apps is not meant to be, but other avenues of similar technology may be on the rise.

Im sorry i might have read this wrong. as i can recall on that link you sent somwehere in it it said "a kid is making $150,000 dollars a year off of hats?

 

[rileyper]

Isn't this also the guy who also said the ps3 is a failure, he's pulling the gun out of the holster too soon again.

Don't get me wrong, Gabe is awesome...but he doesn't get it right all the time.

 

[moondoggy23]

Im sorry i might have read this wrong. as i can recall on that link you sent somwehere in it it said "a kid is making $150,000 dollars a year off of hats?

Yes, it does say that in one of the links in there.

Isn't this also the guy who also said the ps3 is a failure, he's pulling the gun out of the holster too soon again.

Don't get me wrong, Gabe is awesome...but he doesn't get it right all the time.

I dunno about that...Sony's recent Q1 earnings report came out and they've lost $312million. Although a majority of that was due to a restructuring of an entire department to help with the inclusion of Sony Mobile, $45million of that loss was due to falling PS3 and PSP sales. They have a good product, but I think it's been too expensive, and lacking the same level of marketing as MS. From a profit stand-point, I think Gabe may have been more spot-on than people realize.

 

[JerzeyLegend]

I have noticed some very misinformed opinions in this thread, and would like to state a couple of things I've gathered from around the internet.

- Although the new UI gives more love to touch input, maybe a little too much some might say, it is still completely functional with keyboard and mouse, and in no way does it take more time/clicks/whatever to reach some items, sometimes on the contrary, less clicks. Only METRO UI apps are always fullscreen or occupy half the screen, the rest works like on 7.You can even put the Start button back by installing a third party program.

- Microsoft only limits the apps that go into their store, but the app store is used only for METRO apps, which is NOTHING. 3rd-Party applications work just like on Windows 7 and don't need to be in the Microsoft store to be able to work or be installed on the computer. They haven't restricted what you can install on your machine, only for the fancy Metro UI.

- Gabe Newell probably talks about the new "Secure Boot" feature, which is required to be enabled on liscenced OEM hardware. This feature makes it impossible to install Linux or another operating system on the machine, but Microsoft itself requires manufacturers to implement a way for users to disable it and install whatever they want.

- Microsoft does limit Windows 8 to licensed store apps only, but only on ARM devices (tablets most likely), not on the desktop version. So basically it just turns into a generic restricted tablet OS on tablet devices, just like the others.

You guys are looking at the UI and thinking it's the problem, when the biggest problems are more on the side of manufacturers rather than the end user.

Also you go around boycotting because some notable people said it MIGHT (MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, IT WON'T HAPPEN AT ALL?) have some new restrictive system for general content.

Microsoft might have fixed most of the annoying problems in Vista, but it's still pretty heavy on PC resources, which could be spent on better performance in games or other software. I would suggest upgrading to Windows 7 if you still don't want to upgrade to 8, although interestingly enough Windows 8 has a very noticeable boot time and performance increase compared to 7.

The first thing you have ever said that I whole-heartedly agree with, this is exactly what Windows 8 is, and I'll be getting it for my new PC.

I'm also getting a Surface tablet.