Windows 8 Gets Bad Reviews

W

e've all had our battles with the various Windows operating systems, but the latest incarnation is likely the first one to be called an outright "catastrophe." Valve Software's boss, Gabe Newell, said such at the Casual Connect game conference in Seattle, WA, this week. But he doesn't mean that it's a bad system as a whole, just one that will mean big changed for the PC gaming market.

The new Windows Store may put a dent in the sales market of various game makers, including Valve and Valve's online market, Steam. Newell worked for Microsoft for 13 years, and said that his company had embraced Linux as a strategy to offset any sales dents from the Windows 8 platform.

"Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space." — Gabe Newell, Valve.

He said the success of Valve, which is known for games like Half Life, Left4Dead, and Portal, has been so because of the open nature of the PC. Now, however, with the Windows Store opening up for business, it seems the company fears users will transition to that platform for purchasing games.

On some versions of Windows 8, the Windows Store will be the only way to get downloadable software such as games, and Microsoft takes a cut of that profit, as much as 30% of every sale, which is seen as an obvious threat to game makers.

"This isn't about video games," Newell said. "it's about thinking about goods and services in a digital world."

Newell says Valve is preparing for the future in other ways, too—the company is trying to make tools and services that places can use to make games and gaming more fun for everyone, although those strategies are a bit vague to us.