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Steam's June hardware survey results are out!

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Here are June's results in Steam's hardware survey! Linux still remains above that magical 1% mark! Here's a run down for you!

Ubuntu 13.04 64 bit 0.40% -0.06%
Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS 64 bit 0.18% -0.05%
Ubuntu 13.04 0.12% -0.02%
Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS 0.10% -0.03%
Linux 64 bit 0.09% -0.02%
Linux Mint 15 Olivia 64 bit 0.07% +0.07%
Linux Mint 14 Nadia 64 bit 0.06% -0.05%
Ubuntu 12.10 64 bit 0.05% -0.06%

June 2013 Linux total: 1.07%
Last months total: 1.56%

There is also the 'Other' category which may contain some smaller Linux distros as well:
Other 0.57% -0.04%

Things to note
Just be aware these results will probably not be that accurate as we don't know how they do their percentage results, they could be rounding up, rounding down or truncating the percentages. So a 0.5% could actually be nearly 0.6% as it could be 0.59% but they could do no rounding and simply truncate it.

Also it won't be every Steam user (it's a survey not a full statistic) so it can be as simple as not actually showing the survey to many Linux people. Let's face it we know they don't survey 100% of their user base, only a small fraction of it, so bear that in mind as well. Personally I am still yet to see it under Linux so it's not counting me that's for sure and I am logged in every day!

Also bear in mind that Linux is apparently only sitting at around 1.28% of the worldwide desktop share anyway according to Net Applications. Their reporting should also be taken lightly too since it's all using web-based counters.

Lastly Linux users typically shy away from any form of DRM, so you can bet there is a large bunch of Linux users who just simply refuse to use Steam.

So taking it all into account, we actually aren't doing bad at all. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial, Steam
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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10 comments

Valczir Jul 2, 2013
I know you pointed out already that the 1.28% statistic is probably wrong, but here are a couple of links to point out how wrong it probably is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_adoption#Measuring_desktop_adoption

http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2010/09/debunking-the-1-myth.html

I would say there are two major contributing factors to why we're still not beating OS X: DRM and our small list of games.  I've been running Steam through Wine a fair bit, lately, trying to play through Metro 2033 (so I can get to Last Light) and Deadpool, testing out The Secret World, etc.  I even got asked if I wanted to participate in the survey last week while I was running Steam in Wine (I declined, because it was in Wine).  If these games were available for linux (or if I could run them through Wine while still using Steam for linux), I would in a heartbeat - but they're not, so I continue to run Steam through Wine.  I assume that I'm not the only one using Wine or dual booting in order to play games, especially with some pretty good Windows-only releases of late, and comparatively few games with linux support.  Oh, and the Steam sale - I've been watching, and most of the games that do support linux don't appear to be going on sale.

And then, yes, linux users are more likely to hate DRM.  They're also probably more likely to decline participation in hardware surveys and stuff, too, because of privacy concerns.  And so on.

Hopefully, we'll get some exciting releases soon that will bring our percentage back up.
Lord Avallon Jul 2, 2013
I am glad to see that you are not so pessimistic as some people that say "oh, Steam Linux users are decreasing...", I am using Steam for Linux since the secound wave of beta test and I never was asked to participate in this survey, but, when using Steam with Wine, I was asked like 4 or 5 times, so, I really don´t take thesenumbers too seriously, of course they are important to measure some aspects, but they don´t represent 100% of the truth, since they are not that accurate.
Xodetaetl Jul 2, 2013
Meanwhile, worldwide Linux usage continues to grow since the arrival of Steam, according to statcounter.com.

I give more credit to statcounter than netapplication/netmarketshare. The latter looks really made to appeal to big businesses' websites (they proudly show that big capitalistic enterprises use their services) , its web analytics tool that collects stats is a paid product (Statcounter's is free) and they disclose less information on their way to collect and use the data than Statcounter.
Which means that the sites that use netapplication's tool are a specific kind of sites, and not the kind that the average Linux user will visit the most.

I don't use Steam, by the way. Too much DRMing, can't launch games without Steam, lack of options to manage my game files, etc. In short, lack of openness and freedom.
So instead, I'm contributing to an upcoming open gaming platform that will hopefully compete with Steam in terms of game usage simplification and community features in a not so distant future.
Mike Frett Jul 2, 2013
I'll be honest, I use to get sad about such news. But knowing what I know now about various things such as the NSA and the deadweight of the Microsoft relic, I wouldn't turn my back on Linux. I enjoy the absolute freedom I have and the red marks on my wrists have disappeared since I switched full-time last year.

Most people are just not educated enough to know about alternatives. I'm thankful that my family and friends had me here to help them all switch. I wish more had a person to take those chains off their wrists. It might be a while, but I think the more we help our friends and family and educate others; the faster we can hit 2+%.

And I want say/ask about Wine 1.6. I don't know if I need to reinstall it from the PPA or what, but all my games and such are broken now. Civilization 2 crashes and so does Theme Hospital. And Photoshop cs2 doesn't work at all anymore, but I use GIMP now anyway. Any tips guys? It was all working before the PPA upgraded me to 1.6.
tiger Jul 2, 2013
With no triple A games supporting linux, those numbers will never grow. Simple fact. Give it one more year
Xodetaetl Jul 2, 2013
Quoting: tigerWith no triple A games supporting linux, those numbers will never grow. Simple fact. Give it one more year
Why would fat blockbusters support Linux if those numbers don't grow?
The only chance for this to happen is if Valve manage to make their Linux-based box a success.
Mike Frett Jul 2, 2013
So is anyone else having issues with Wine 1.6?. As far as AAA games, Leadwerks will probably help out in that area. But if you're talking about EA etc, I really don't think I'm interested in yet another rehashed Call of Duty.

EA, Bioware and the rest always stick to formulas that sell; original games aren't what they do. This is where Indie comes in, they are filling the gap for originality now, Linux doesn't need the big companies anymore. A few of these Indie companies might turn into a big boy one day, and that big boy will probably be working with Cross Platform Games like they begun with. I think the Future is where Linux will shine.

For now we can sit back and watch these other companies go bust like they've been doing. I'm not in any rush. And to be quite honest, I don't think the Steambox will be that big of a success, at least not with the pitiful amount of Games currently available and not with that $500-600 price tag. But we'll see.

Incidentally, I keep wanting to click 'Checkout' on a Ouya, but I keep reading bad reviews. I'm very turned off about there not being any price tags on Games. You basically have to keep playing until you run into a paywall, and even then there may still be hidden fees associated with the Game. That's almost like blackmail.
Kurremkarmerruk Jul 2, 2013
I got the survey on Ubuntu 13.04 64bit!  I was wondering if it would ever happen!

Another thought to bring to the table: changing your OS is a big decision, as the year wears on (especially closer to holiday season) it will be more likely to increase as some finally decide to make the switch when upgrading (especially when dealing with a Windows 7 license!) or even getting/building a new box.
Bumadar Jul 6, 2013
this morning by accident I clicked on the steam-wine icon and not the steam-linux icon and for the first time ever (and I had steam since half life 1 came out) I got the bloody survey.......... while running the wrong client!
fscherrer Jul 13, 2013
Quoting: Bumadarthis morning by accident I clicked on the steam-wine icon and not the steam-linux icon and for the first time ever (and I had steam since half life 1 came out) I got the bloody survey.......... while running the wrong client!
I never got the survey on the steam on linux :( I open it everynight! Monday I logged in in a windows machine to play TF2 in a private LAN while it was updated in my machine (with another user) and the survey poped up :(
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