Ask Slashdot: Is Linux Set To Be PC Gaming's Number Two Platform? 281
monkeyhybrid writes "Following a tweet from the developer of Maia (a cross platform game soon to hit Steam) that Linux was bringing him more game sales than OS X. Gaming On Linux decided to investigate further by reaching out to multiple developers for platform sales statistics. Although the findings and developer comments show Linux sales to still be sitting in third place, behind those of OS X and Windows, they are showing promise. Developer feedback certainly appears to be positive about the platform's future. With Steam OS on its way, surely leading to more big title releases making their way to the Linux platform, could Linux gaming be set to take the number two spot from Apple?"
*Sure* it is. (Score:2, Insightful)
Linux on the desktop, BABY!
Does SteamOS count as a desktop? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a variant of Linux but it's not for use with a general purpose computer. By that standard, BSD (iOS sorta kinda) and Linux (Android) are already major game platforms.
Re:Wine is not an emulator (Score:5, Insightful)
To keep this debate from collapsing into one of definitions [c2.com], I'll offer some. In the retro-gaming community, an "emulator" simulates the operation of an entire computer, using an interpreter or dynamic recompiler to simulate the CPU. This emulator imposes a substantial performance penalty. For example, DOSBox and Bochs are emulators. Wine, on the other hand, is just a set of libraries that run on your existing machine; the application's code runs natively. VirtualBox and VMware are somewhere in the middle as "virtual machine monitors", which execute unprivileged code directly and recompile privileged code into the same instruction set but without use of privileged instructions.
Let me put it another way: If you think Wine is an emulator, then Qt is an emulator too if I install it on a GTK+ based distribution like Ubuntu or Xubuntu, and GTK+ is an emulator if I install it on Kubuntu.
Re:I'll be ecstatic! (Score:4, Insightful)
Linux is already the #2 gaming platform.
Don't wait to be happy.
SteamOS will be available for download very soon, and then you're going to see a lot start to happen. I'm already collecting components for my SteamBox. No, it's not going to be in the "living room" because playing games in the living room is for children. I play games at a desk with a captain's chair like God intended.
Plus, my wife won't let me connect my gaming computer to the big TV. You know how it goes, "happy wife, happy life". Anyway, once I get my Oculus Rift I won't need that big TV. It's easier to play in a room by myself because then nobody can see me making funny faces and sticking my tongue out with drool on my chin while I'm running and jumping through Steelport in nothing but a tattoos, a cowboy hat and high heels.
Re:I'll be ecstatic! (Score:2, Insightful)
Linux is already the #2 gaming platform.
No, it's definitely not.
Even if you call Android a Linux platform, it's still WAY behind on what drives game development - revenue. The Xboxen, PS[34], GameBoy(s), Wii, iOS, etc are all orders of magnitude ahead on that front. Linux as a gaming platform is currently totally irrelevant, and with SteamOS will transition to mostly irrelevant.
But, please don't let that stop you! If availability of games on Linux allows just one more guy to jump around in a cowboy hat and high heels, it's still a net gain to society...