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It's official: Steam is coming to Linux

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Edvard:
OK, I admit, I'm not a gamer.
I've played a few games on Linux and there's fun to be had, rest assured, but if I had a dime for every time I've heard somebody say "I'll totally switch to Linux when I can play my favorite games on it.", I would be a VERY rich man..
So now this news comes along and despite a lack of personal excitement, I know this IS going to be a big deal for the Linux universe.

REALLY big.

First a little history...

*
* Some time in 2008, somebody contacted the folks at Phoronix about Linux libraries in the Left 4 Dead demo.

* Then they found explicit references to Linux in the Mac OSX launcher script.

* The next day, they found Linux binaries of the steam client on Valve's servers, saw updates happening (indicating it was a 'live' project), and then Valve pulled the files.

* On May 1, Phoronix posted a screenshot of a running Linux Steam client.
Guess what happened this Wednesday?

The UK Telegraph broke the news of Valve porting the Steam client to Mac OSX.
OK, whatever, BUT in a sentence at the bottom of the announcement we read:
Valve has also confirmed that it will make Steam available to Linux users in the coming months.
--- End quote ---
:o :tellme:

Phoronix nearly wet themselves with excitement and now the news is everywhere:
http://www.google.com/search&q=linux+steam+official

w00t!!

Deozaan:
Better create your Steam account now and take advantage of the Portal Giveaway while it lasts.

Of course, as can be seen from the just-launched Mac version of Steam, just because the Steam platform runs on Mac doesn't mean all the games available on Steam do. I imagine that it will be similar with Linux.

Still, with Portal being (IMO) one of the best PC games ever, there's no reason not to take advantage of the giveaway, on the off chance you'll ever be in a position to play it.

And by the way, you can run Steam right now in Linux using WINE/PlayOnLinux, though I haven't tested it so I don't know how well it works. Undoubtedly the made-for-Linux application will run a lot better than the WINE version.

gexecuter:
Wow great news! It's too bad most games on the steam store don't have a Linux version ready to go, still pretty good news all around.

40hz:
Nice to see Steam is looking farther down the road than some.

I'm not superhyped about the games per se. But what I am hoping for is better manufacturer sound and video card driver support since those guys usually go where the gamers are found. An unintended consequence perhaps if it comes to pass. But in this world, sometimes it's better to just take what you can get regardless of how it came.

Fingers crossed  :Thmbsup:

 

Edvard:
Of course, as can be seen from the just-launched Mac version of Steam, just because the Steam platform runs on Mac doesn't mean all the games available on Steam do. I imagine that it will be similar with Linux.
--- End quote ---
At first, yes. But with the combination of the Source and Unigine game engines and Valve folks hiring Linux developers, that door's gonna bust wide open real soon.
We already have World of Goo, Quake Wars, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Doom 3 that can run native on Linux, and if the lineup will be at all similar to the initial Mac offerings, we'll see Counter Strike, Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, just for starters.
Basically, any game that uses OpenGL can be ported, and with Valve in the backing now, probably will be.
Undoubtedly the made-for-Linux application will run a lot better than the WINE version.
--- End quote ---
Yes, and hopefully put an end to the "it runs well enough in WINE, so why port?" crap.
(Eve and W.O.W., I'm lookin' at YOU...)
I'm not superhyped about the games per se. But what I am hoping for is better manufacturer sound and video card driver support since those guys usually go where the gamers are found. An unintended consequence perhaps if it comes to pass.
--- End quote ---
Yes. Although nVidia has been doing a lot of work making decent accelerated drivers for Linux, as well as contributing LOTS of code to OpenGL, so they're already in the game.
(Personally, I'd like to see more support for high-end sound gear, being a (somewhat) musician).

I think the bigger consequence will be all the Linux-savvy Windows users itching to jump ship will now have one less barrier to doing so.
While I do not predict the demise of Windows any time soon, this may be a tipping point for Linux adoption.
 :tellme:

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