The PC Master Race is facing a threat from Microsoft, a threat that both Valve’s Gabe Newell and Blizzard’s Rob Pardo have spoken out against. The threat is Windows 8. Earlier this week, Newell spoke at videogame conference Casual Connect, where he said Windows 8 was a, “a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space.” He went on to say, “I think that we’re going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. They’ll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people.” Pardo (Executive Vice President of Game Design) responded by tweeting, “nice interview with Gabe Newell—‘I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space*– not awesome for Blizzard either”.
Newell explained that he was trying to make Steam and Valve’s games compatible with Linux, as a way to make alternatives in case Windows 8 becomes a reality. But why is Windows 8 such a problem for developers and distributors of PC games (or everyone, for that matter)?
Former executive of Palm and Apple Michael Mace wrote a very thorough analysis of Windows 8 on his blog, Mobile Opportunity. He states:
From a user perspective, Microsoft Windows is being killed this fall and replaced by an entirely new OS that has a Windows 7 emulator tacked onto it… It combines an interesting new interface with baffling changes to Windows compatibility, and amateur mistakes in customer messaging. Add up all the changes, and I am very worried that Microsoft may be about to shoot itself in the foot spectacularly. Even the plain colorful graphics in Windows 8 that looked so cool when I first saw them are starting to look ominous to me, like the hotel decor in The Shining.