Valve’s Gabe Newell had it right, apparently. Only 4.69% percent of surveyed Steam users are currently running Windows 8, suggesting that the operating system is not as successful with the gamer crowd as some other thought it would be. Windows 7 still holds 58.58 percent of users.
Research firm NPD Group has come to the same conclusion. It reported that sales of Windows-compatible PS games decreased by 21 percent from October 21 to November 17th, in comparison to the same period of time last year. Says the firm’s Stephen Baker:
“It hasn’t made the market any worse, but it hasn’t stimulated things either. It hasn’t provided the impetus to sales everybody hoped for.”
Game makers have been resistant to Windows 8, citing a lack of freedom for independent developers, which corresponds to complaints about Apple. As such, devs like Newell have looked toward developing for Linux. Markus “Notch” Persson, of Minecraft fame, has refused to allow the game’s certification for inclusion in the Windows 8 marketplace.
Microsoft’s attempt to out-Apple Apple (for both good and bad) hasn’t be a complete foul-up, however. Still, Apple’s OS X 10.7.4 is the least used OS among Steam users.
