With Steam machines providing an alternative to their OS and Mantle their API, how will Microsoft respond to this challenge to the near monopoly they have held on PC gaming for the last 20 years? Have Microsoft given up on PCs for gaming? Are they only focused on Xbox and trying to maintain their office PC business? Can Microsoft win the upcoming battle or have they already lost? Will there even be a battle? Will the likes of Steam machines and Mantle fall by the wayside?
MS will respond by not responding. Games are far from what gets people to use Windows. It might be what keeps a few guys from here on Windows but many here probably wouldn't care to adapt to Linux anyway despite it's lack of commercial software. Then again, even Steam for Linux hasn't helped it's adoption either.
Steam machines a rival to Windows gaming, anyone got something to hold my sides together they have nearly burst from laughing.
Nope. Linux has got a way to go get gamers on board, simply because Microsoft can throw a lot of people and resources at making an OS. And they are even less likely to if MS can still make decent software at reasonable prices. PC Gaming on the other hand could be considered a dying breed ?
Valve is employing wishful thinking if they think SteamOS will be a legitimate competitor to Windows. Sad but true.
MS is in turmoil and have bigger problems than PC gaming. AMD is the bigger threat assuming it takes off.
Steam OS just another Linux distro, (and who the hell would really want to install it when there's so many other better distros available?) It's up the the developers if they port their game to run multiple systems, which would require them (for one example) focusing more on using OpenGL than the windows-only Directx, and that among other things is entirely dependent on their game/ game engine. Then you have the Linux gpu drivers, which just don't even compare to the state of the Windows drivers in terms of, well, working. Not only that, Linux will never take over the market for mainstream, it just won't, and I say that wanting to switch over entirely to Linux with the only thing stopping me being my Windows dependent games. So it's more like "Why wouldn't they continue to develop games for Windows?"
MS should embrace Mantle and include it in next OS aka win9 and Mantle should be adopted by all gpu makers and then we will live a perfect gaming world ;D
PC Gaming is far from dying breed. More like other way around. Desktops surely will be less in future but all in all.
Untill we get wind of MS removing the ability for Devs to make/port games to windows pc, or MS remove openGL and/or DirectX compatibility for windows pc.. I don think we have much to worry about. Does steam pay any fees to MS for use of the Windows environment or something-a-rather?
Unless SteamOS offers an obvious performance increase over Windows I don't see Microsoft being overly bothered.