Quoting: Shmerl@ricki42: Thanks for posting this! It's somewhat annoying to hear all the time that Linux gaming isn't growing or didn't change for the better. It's simply untrue and anyone who paid attention can see how much it changed in just a few recent years.

I think you can guess what (or who) finally prompted me to sit down and crunch the numbers... :P

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Quoting: CheesenessI still maintain that the Steam survey has significant shortcomings that make it hard to have much confidence in its results (nothing on the front has changed since this article.

The ratio and absolute number of Linux games have changed though. Currently about 25% of games are available on Linux (1947 / 7716), so adjusting the 1% that would be 4%. This is a bit larger than the median Linux sales I calculated, but not hugely, and in agreement with the average (though I don't think the average is a good indicator for such a skewed distribution). But I'm not sure if this kind of linear adjustment is still valid when there are so many games available. Almost 2000 games is likely more than any of us can possibly play, so we actually get to pick and choose a lot more than in 2013; personally I have a huge backlog, so I don't immediately jump on every available Linux game any more.
But I agree that the complete lack of information from Valve about how the survey works makes it somewhat suspect. If my suspicion is correct and it really pops up more often on 'secondary' machines, that could introduce bias as older, weaker rigs (or less used Windows partitions and wine installations) are more likely to be counted. On the other hand, Steam could just remember both configurations, but then that information would have to be attached to the account, when supposedly that's not the case.

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Quoting: AnxiousInfusionThis is why I find it worrying that so many Linux guys seem keen on additionally owning consoles "for the games". Put your money where your mouth is; do you want freedom or not?

I occasionally play on console, and I admit there's probably some level of cognitive dissonance in justifying it, but I put consoles in a different category from PC. With consoles, I know up front that my access is limited, that I don't really own any games (if I buy digital, otherwise I can actually sell the discs, unlike on PC), that I can't modify or adjust anything, and I approach it with that in mind. I see consoles more like a stand-alone DVD player: I don't really care what OS they run, I don't try to mod or customize them, I just want to put in a disc and play. I know it's pretty crappy in terms of game conservation, and exclusives are generally a bad idea for gaming as a whole, but sometimes I also just want to enjoy games that I otherwise couldn't. And I'd rather play on console than install Windows. I honestly find it far more worrying that so many Linux guys dual-boot and buy new releases on Windows, even if they play them using wine. I think that is far more damaging to Linux than buying a game on console, since it's the direct competition. They will show up as Windows users in statistics, and if a game later does get released on Linux, it directly eats into the Linux sales.
So for me, if a game is on Linux, I buy it on Linux. If there's a hint of it coming to Linux, I'll hold off buying it (Hello, Witcher 3...this one is really starting to get to me). If it's neither, it depends on how badly I want that game and on how much I've already spent on Linux games that month. Because I do put my money where my mouth is and don't buy PC games without Linux support and buy many games that I wouldn't buy if it weren't for the fact that they are on Linux and I want to support that.

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Quoting: CimerydNow, I'm no fan of Microsoft, but may Gabe be forcing their hand a bit here? He is taking his toys and sharing with all the neighbours, of course Microsoft will want their own toys. Vendor lock-in is literally their corporate strategy and has been for twenty years! Did anyone expect their own games to be sold through Steam? Did anyone expect them to silently sit by and allow Linux to catch up? It's freaking Microsoft!

But then it's not Valve forcing MS's hand, it's MS's corporate MO that's forcing their own hand. They could make their store more open and compete by simply offering the better service. Instead they want to compete by locking games in and people out - including their own customers who haven't upgraded to Win 10.

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The Windows store is even more restrictive than just no cross-buy. Apparently at least currently there's
* no SLI support
* Vsync is always on, g-sync/freesync doesn't work
* no overlays
* no .exe files, thus also no modding
* no overlays
* always borderless fullscreen
* no controllers other than the x-box controller
I just hope even many Windows gamers will draw the line at this point and not buy into this. At least a lot of people still remember GFWL and are skeptical.

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Does the tutorial video work for anyone? I just get a bright pink screen. The voice over plays, and keeps talking even after exiting the tutorial.

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Quoting: throghI don't get it: What is so special about that? It is possible to buy the whole game on GOG.com [External Link] and install a package with PlayOnLinux. Works like a charm with no further problems! Why using therefore two DRM-methods because even Steam points out that there is a third party access needed? The version on GOG has no further restrictions especially when it comes to the singleplayer.

I usually avoid buying games that don't have explicit Linux support. Even if it's a game I can easily run under wine, dosbox or scummvm. I just prefer to support devs that support Linux, and have my purchase counted towards Linux.
But I agree with you on the DRM part. For $0.69 it's cheap enough to not really matter, but on principle, I'm not happy with this. But I was looking through the GOG forums if there was anything about the Linux version, and found this thread where someone has issues with the activation under wine [External Link]

Anybody managed to bypass the activation problem on Wine? I installed it succesfully but now I can't get pass the activation screen. I guess I would need to change something in the wine registry but don't know how. I know gog used a hack to get the game running without the need for a key since all the original activation stuff is there. Well if nothing else works I'll try my old retail Earth 2160 key.

The advice was then to contact GOG for the key.
And similar complaints under Windows [External Link]

I was thinking, ok, GoG, no DRM, no problem... except it says that I have to register in order to play in other than demo mode. And then I get the "too many activations on different computers" thing, despite this being the only computer I've used for it. Isn't limited activations a form of DRM?

My GOG copy of Earth 2160 will do NOTHING without this key! Even the editor will not run without it!
And I'm not happy with GOG's breach of their "yours to keep forever no DRMs" promises on this one!

It sounds like whatever GOG uses to fix the need for an activation key doesn't work 100% reliably either. Of course, it's not a big deal if GOG indeed sends out keys when requested, but you have to know that you have to request a key because you might need it the next time you install the game.
At least that's how I understand those comments, may well be wrong. But these comments make me all the less likely to buy the Windows version on GOG over the Linux version on Steam.
Still, I do hope GOG will get the Linux version at some point.

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Made a thread about this on the forum... which now will again be obsolete :'(

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Quoting: BeamboomI'd really love to join such an initiative, I even got many years worth of broadcast experience, but English is not my native language so that'd be too much of a hindrance. :(

I think it would actually be interesting to have people from different countries and backgrounds; this site has an international community, why not represent that. Unless of course you feel you'd have trouble following a conversation in English at all.
But I'm biased of course since I'm not a native speaker either. :)

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Would love to do this, but I don't think I'd have the time at the moment. Also, I'm ugly, so putting me on camera would be a great way to scare away the audience. :O

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