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An editorial on this subject was requested by arnej who reminded me on GamingOnLinux's IRC channel that there is now another, perhaps even more important reason not to buy games in advance of their actual release on Linux.

arnejThe contracts of Feral and Aspyr will only get paid for purchases after a port happened. We now have another reason to only buy games when they are available for Linux: To support the porters.


Makes sense. With Feral and Aspyr having crossed over into the frontiers of Linux gaming with XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Civilization 5 respectively, plus all their downloadable content and both massive titles in terms of gameplay, brand, budget, and so on, it stands to reason that such endeavours should be rewarded, especially when both titles aren't brand new and thus pose more of a risk for the both of them.

Here's what Aspyr_Blair said on the matter:

Aspyr_BlairAspyr gets paid on new or future purchases of the Linux and Mac versions of Civ V. If you purchases the game on Windows say...5 months ago...then the PC publisher/developer was paid for that transaction (as they should be). Essentially, Steam knows what platform you are on through the client and processes payment to the developer accordingly.

Lots of fans are worried that if they purchase through a browser or a PC at work for example, that we wont get compensated. As long as you play the game on your Linux or Mac in the first week or so and stay on that platform for your play, the payment will then shift over to us as the Linux publisher/developer.


Source.

Aspyr_BlairDLC's are treated as separate transactions, so if you purchase BNW today on your Linux client, we will get the credit.


Source.

Aspyr_BlairWe are paid only for Mac/Linux purchases.

The key is the target system should be played on in the first week or two, otherwise the sale defaults to the primary platform (in this case, PC). Still...Valve has some metrics on handling weird cases like that and we do get compensated. Example: mobile browser purchased but not launched on Linux until 5 weeks later...etc.

If you want to be SURE, launch the game on the target system relatively quickly, even if you dont play it much, that launch should help the metric.


Source.

Aspyr_BlairAs long as you purchased the gift version through your Linux Steam client, we should be golden. Just also make sure that whomever you gift it to is playing on Linux or Mac ;)


Source.

Aspyr_BlairIf you purchase on the Linux client, Aspyr would get credit for the sale immediately BUT Steam is smart, so once your buddy plays on Windows the system knows that user is really a PC customer and gives the credit back over to the fine folks at 2K. Sometimes there is a grey area where we split the revenue up but that is pretty rare. Its really a pretty smart system.


Source.

icculus spoke about this subject as well in his usual, concise manner!

icculusInstall and play it on Linux for the first week after you buy it and they consider it a Linux sale.


Source.

Buying a game that does not yet have a Linux client doesn't make sense anyway since you cannot play the game. Apart from that, it is always wise to wait and see how good of a port it actually is. Don't spend your money blindly! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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novemberist Jun 25, 2014
I wonder, does the windows version of the Steam client running under wine get recognized by Valve as running on windows or linux?

Also, would it maybe make sense to sell linux versions of games as seperate entities from the windows versions, so they could have their own prices and offers and get counted as products of their own? Might be a big letdown for people who use both win and linux, though...
Hyeron Jun 25, 2014
Quoting: novemberistI wonder, does the windows version of the Steam client running under wine get recognized by Valve as running on windows or linux?
http://anonymousdimwit.blogspot.be/2012/08/steams-hardware-survey-detects-wine.html
Just in case: Windows, thus.
GoCorinthians Jun 25, 2014
If Tomb Raider/Hitman get into linux Im buying it again! Please feral!

Sadly already got Transistor/Tropico5 in Steam!
Metallinatus Jun 25, 2014
Quoting: GoCorinthiansIf Tomb Raider/Hitman get into linux Im buying it again! Please feral!

"+1"
Hamish Jun 25, 2014
Most games do not even show up on my radar until after the Linux port is released anyway; I do not really follow non-Linux gaming news apart from occasionally watching Zero Punctuation (which increasingly has games I actually own now, shockingly enough). Because I demand to play DRM free games as well I also have to be very careful with my purchases because of that, so I doubt I have ever fallen into a trap like the ones mentioned here myself.
pd12 Jun 26, 2014
Wow, thanks for the heads up! I never knew, and I'm guessing a lot of others won't too! Will definitely wait for Linux official release and play on Linux only. Looks at all the games I played on Windows before Linux >.> Never again! xP
leillo1975 Jun 26, 2014
Quoting: Metallinatus
Quoting: GoCorinthiansIf Tomb Raider/Hitman get into linux Im buying it again! Please feral!
"+1"

I'm happy to replay Tomb Raider in Linux. In my opinion it is the best game of last year
Metallinatus Jun 26, 2014
Quoting: leillo1975
Quoting: Metallinatus
Quoting: GoCorinthiansIf Tomb Raider/Hitman get into linux Im buying it again! Please feral!
"+1"
I'm happy to replay Tomb Raider in Linux. In my opinion it is the best game of last year

I'd rather play the real Tomb Raider's that were release before the last game, or maybe the new Lara Croft series.... but I wouldn't reject the last game neither ;)
Eike Jun 27, 2014
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Quoting: DeformalBut if these ports were made by the same team, it doesn`t matter where you bought this game (Interstellar Marines was ported on Mac and Linux by the same developers, that made it for Windows - Zero Point Software). Sorry for bad english, I hope, You understood this.

I'm quite sure it matters anyway. There is still a manager counting the Windows and the Linux copies sold and comparing the revenue of the (non-Windows) platforms with the money spent for the ports. And he is going to decide if there will be more ports in the future or not.
intok Jun 28, 2014
Quoting: titiI sadly had to stop spending money on kickstarter and other crowdfunding projects because too many of them did not show a (promised) linux version.
But even when its released I often try to save money :-/. Rust for example was a lot cheaper on ebay for me ....

In general ist easy for me to not buy before a linux version is released. Simply because I have no Windows. Wine might be a option sometimes, but you never know if things really work and how long they will work, so I stopped using this too.

Yeah, I figure I can always hold out till the next big sale, when I'll be able to get it for somewhere around 66-90% off and be able to pick up a few titles purely off of selling the cards as I don't really care much about badges.

Always remember to check the Steam storefront page every 8 hours to vote, you'll get cards every 3rd vote, but also you'll be able to get Linux games on better deals if they get picked for the next block of sales.
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