Andre Yoskowitz
29 Jul 2012 14:10
Earlier this week, Valve boss Gabe Newell made some interesting comments in regards to the future of open platforms.
The exec went as far as to call the upcoming Windows 8 a 'catastrophe,' saying: "I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."
This weekend, Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design at Blizzard, agreed with that sentiment. His tweet read: "Nice interview with Gabe Newell - "I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space* - not awesome for Blizzard either"
Most of the criticisms have to do with the expectation that Microsoft will restrict publisher's options to sell software directly, instead redirecting them to the Windows Store where the company takes a 30 percent royalty cut.