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Steam Replaces The Linux Tux Logo With SteamOS

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In an unsurprising move, Steam has replaced the Linux icon of "tux" with their own SteamOS icon. I completely understand why they did this, but it does make things confusing.

I can see plenty of people getting confused about what the icon is for, as it's so close to Steam's own icon. At least Tux was a clear separation to the Windows and Mac icons. I hope people don't get confused by it, but I can guarantee people will be.

They do need their own clear SteamOS branding of course, as they need to constantly keep it in gamers and developers minds. The problem is, how long before SteamOS is the only "distribution" supported on Steam? I hope game developers and Valve don't become that silly, but there are some problematic developers out there already. At least as long as Valve keep the Steam Runtime working as it is now, other distributions shouldn't have any problems.

For those that don't have the new version:
image

Looks like that little saying going around of "No tux no bux" is going to have to be tweaked?

I'm still excited to see what happens with SteamOS and Steam Machines, and what would happen if they fail miserably. I hope they don't of course, but they obviously won't be an overnight success. I will eat a tux teddy live on air if they are an overnight success (please don't hold me to that).

Well, at least it still says "SteamOS + Linux" right? Let's hope there's never a hint of Microsoft style "embrace extend extinguish".

It's easily possible this change will be reverted though, as certain parts of the site keep breaking, like the title now being "#title_welcome_to_steam". Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial, Steam
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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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Pecisk May 27, 2015
I am all for it.

There comes the catch - if proper Steam Machine/SteamOS campaign follows and identifies that logo with it. As long as it happens - sure, it has to be done. Before we cry for Tux (which I love a lot), most people don't know what Tux is or how it's related with Steam Machines and SteamOS. We can't expect them to know. Valve has invested big money and time resources in this, and thankfully it seems they follow it with marketing and PR. Their brand for this is Steam Machines.

We have logos for Fedora, Debian, etc. We even don't mention word Linux sometimes when we speak about these distributions. As long it has strong marketing following this change - yeah, it's not big deal for me. Otherwise that would be change for change's sake and then it would be like...stupid to do that.
LinuxGamesTV May 27, 2015
I have the SteamOS Logo in the List (Opera with turned off Chache)

I have no problem with the SteamOS Logo, but the Tux was better for non power linux users.
muntdefems May 27, 2015
Is there any official announcement about this? If my mind doesn't play tricks on me, I'd swear the same exact thing happened some time in the past, only for Tux to be restored after a couple of hours or the following day.

If it's for good, well, at least the filter checkboxes and drop-down menus still say "SteamOS+Linux".
DrMcCoy May 27, 2015
Ugh, I hate it.

Another thing I just found out and hate: Enhanced Steam stopped supporting Firefox. 7.3 was the last version for Firefox, the later ones are Chrome-only. Instead, they want to concentrate on an Enhanced Steam standalone application, which just defeats the purpose of Enhanced Steam altogether. Blergh.
adolson May 27, 2015
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: adolsonIt has been this way for a long, long time. Visit Steam in a browser, and it's still Tux.

No it's not, that's your cache keeping the tux icon. Do a hard refresh.

Yeah, I did that, but you're too fast with your fancy fast internet speed.

Still, I don't really care. It's not like the games will stop working on Linux, and Linux itself has a bad rep. This actually kinda makes sense. Would I prefer the Tux icon? Yep. But it's not the end of the world until the games won't run on my Debian.
dubigrasu May 27, 2015
I'm happy to see this and at the same time arguing too much about it is a waste of time.
Maelrane May 27, 2015
Quoting: muntdefemsIs there any official announcement about this? If my mind doesn't play tricks on me, I'd swear the same exact thing happened some time in the past, only for Tux to be restored after a couple of hours or the following day.

If it's for good, well, at least the filter checkboxes and drop-down menus still say "SteamOS+Linux".

So I'm not the only one with this déjà vu
EKRboi May 27, 2015
Quoting: DrMcCoyUgh, I hate it.

Another thing I just found out and hate: Enhanced Steam stopped supporting Firefox. 7.3 was the last version for Firefox, the later ones are Chrome-only. Instead, they want to concentrate on an Enhanced Steam standalone application, which just defeats the purpose of Enhanced Steam altogether. Blergh.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!! I'm not going to use chrome and "browsing" Steam via the Steam app sucks! I want the extra info and I want to easily open/close tabs. This sucks.
micha May 27, 2015
I'm having a hard time to instantly recognize which games run on Linux for now.. that said I actually think it's a good thing. I mean that just says they are more committed to SteamOS than ever which is great for all distributions and great for Gaming on Linux in the long run. =)
Guest May 27, 2015
Quoting: melkemindI agree that it's very confusing. It looks like it's just part of the "SteamPlay" logo rather than something separate.

totally this. Its going to confuse people and make it look like no games are supported on Linux. Its a crap move, or at least the way it has been implemented is terrible.
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