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Jonathan Blow on Linux users buying games and The Witness

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So this made me a bit confused, John Blow creator of Braid seems to think Linux users don't really buy games outside of Humble Bundle?

On a comment about him clarifying the PS4 exclusivity of his new title "The Witness" he made this odd comment about Linux:
QuoteIn general, though (outside of things like Humble Bundle), Linux users haven’t really been buying games.

It strikes me as extremely odd for a developer like Blow to state something like that. Considering as far as I know Braid is his only completed game which is through Humble Store, it doesn't seem like he has the perspective to be commenting like that.

He does also state:
QuoteMaybe this will change over time with Steam natively on Linux. Don’t know.

Considering the amount of posts I’ve seen directly about Linux users buying on Steam I’m sure it has already increased Linux users buying games.

There are plenty of games on Desura with Linux versions where I've seen Linux users rally in support of it and purchased a copy.

Not to bash Blow (Braid is a great game) but it just seems like he hasn't done his homework.

As for seeing his new game come to Linux:
QuoteAbout a Linux port, it is too early to know. We’ll see. I haven’t even managed to get Braid working on Steam Linux yet (mostly just due to being busy on The Witness).
As with anything else, it depends on whether enough people are going to play a Linux port. Humble Bundle was really good for Braid, so presuming that Humble Bundle is still going, that by itself is a reasonable case for at least strongly considering Linux support.

So it seems we may see The Witness come to Linux through Humble Bundle in future then.

What are your thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Misc
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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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14 comments
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jarfil Feb 27, 2013
No games for linux -> linux users not buying games -> no games for linux
Hamish Feb 27, 2013
Not to be too harsh, but when there is a pun I will go for it: Jonathon Blow is actually a bit of a blow hard. Not as bad as Team Meat (or should I simply say Tommy Refenes), but it is interesting to see people like this being associated to something with the name of "humble" when they gave the independent games movement much of it's "pretentious" veneer. Although, I must admit I may not actually be being that objective since I considered Braid to be one of the most over-hyped titles of the last decade.
Guest Feb 27, 2013
Quoting: Hamish[...] it is interesting to see people like this being associated to something with the name of "humble" when they gave the independent games movement much of it's "pretentious" veneer. Although, I must admit I may not actually be being that objective since I considered Braid to be one of the most over-hyped titles of the last decade.

Totally agree with this. A lot of indie developers are awesome and I can't big them up enough, but people like JB, TR -- and to a lesser extent Phil Fish -- really put a stain on the ideology of being an "indie" developer.

I seem to recall Phil Fish saying "If my game doesn't sell, I will kill myself." (Don't quote me on that, but it was something along those lines).
Liam Dawe Feb 27, 2013
Good to see people do share my views, Braid is a good game but nothing even close to how "amazing" people seem to say it is.

I'm getting kind of bashed on reddit for my views on this, see this here: http://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/19beiw/jonathan_blow_braid_on_the_possibility_of_a_linux/c8mia5q

I get what the guy is trying to say (even if he is blowing it out of proportion with his murder analogy) but he seems to be blindly sticking up for the developer.
Simon Dwyer Feb 27, 2013
The game was out on windows welllllll before linux.  The people that WANTED to play the game would have already bought the game before being moved to linux. 

and if everyone could get it on the humble indie bundle for cheap ofcause they would get it there. 

*sigh*

I for one has bought heaps of linux games on steam since it came out.  *fist bump*
berarma Feb 27, 2013
Certainly, the HIB is being really successful at selling games to GNU/Linux users, but I think that's not only because of the price, it's because they've taken our platform pretty seriously unlike some other developers. When will GNU/Linux users buy more games? If you ask me, when more quality games reach our platform and more developers take us seriously.

Like it or not, some developers/publishers see their users as the enemy, and when it comes to GNU/Linux users, we're the worst ones.
Anonymous Feb 27, 2013
I have been a linux gamer since 2000. I did not buy any humble bundles and have not bought any linux games since buying a bunch of Loki games. Since Steam (I have never used steam before the linux client came out) came out I have over 30 games in my library. I am enjoying having a lot of games in steam, I think with the sales steam games are reasonably priced compared to other ways of getting games and I predict that I will continue to expand my library. There are currently 10 games on my wishlist that I intend to buy when they are on sale.
Hamish Feb 27, 2013
I never knew that the argument was over Linux users buying Humble Bundles. :P
tweakedenigma Feb 28, 2013
All you have to do is look at my Steam list to see I but games. I have bought everything that currently works (and a few things I suspect are coming as they were on sale). I also intend to keep doing this going forward.
xeranas Feb 28, 2013
I do not really understand why Jonathan Blow are so many times cited over internet he just a developer not celebrity.
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