Linux's Marketshare on Steam Still Higher Than Apple macOS (phoronix.com) 79
The (Arch Linux-powered) Steam Deck was released in February of 2022 — and Phoronix reports that's helping Linux's market share on Steam. "While July was at 1.96% for Linux, the August numbers [from SteamPowered.com] show a 0.14% dip to 1.82%.
Interestingly, macOS dipped by 0.27% to 1.57% while Windows rose by 0.4% to 96.61%. For those wondering why the Steam Linux numbers dropped while the Steam Deck continues to be very popular, it's possibly again another month impacted by large swings in Chinese traffic... SteamOS Holo that powers the Steam Deck gained another 2% marketshare to now commanding around 44% of the reported Linux gamers.
Among Linux gamers, AMD CPUs power around 71% of the systems. In part due to the Steam Deck being powered by an AMD APU. Meanwhile Steam on Windows has the AMD CPU marketshare at around 33%.
Among Linux gamers, AMD CPUs power around 71% of the systems. In part due to the Steam Deck being powered by an AMD APU. Meanwhile Steam on Windows has the AMD CPU marketshare at around 33%.
Scraps (Score:2, Informative)
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Fuck Windows.
I want to play Starfield, but I'm not buying it until it runs on Linux/nvidia. So far it only works right on Proton on a subset of AMD GPUs.
If it never works on my chosen combo, I'll just never play it. I'm done being Microsoft's bitch.
Re:Scraps (Score:4, Insightful)
What a sad point of view.
Are your kneepads Microsoft-branded? They are shit on every level. Their influence on the computing industry has been universally negative and enabling them is doing harm to everyone on the planet.
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Re: Scraps (Score:2)
Argumentam ad Populam
Yawn.
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There are lots of other games to play. If a publisher doesn't want to support my platform, that's their business decision to make. I can make a different purchasing decision, but probably not without offending the PC master race.
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> If it never works on my chosen combo, I'll just never play it. I'm done being Microsoft's bitch.
This is just 12 year old "console war" levels of idiocy. Just run Windows 10/11, run the game, have fun. Doesn't make you anyone's bitch to do so.
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Just run Windows 10/11, run the game, have fun. Doesn't make you anyone's bitch to do so.
I don't understand why not. Windows 11 costs money, it has a fairly large install footprint, it takes fairly long to start up and shut down (and requires closing all open applications in Linux), and it requires establishing and maintaining a MIcrosoft account just to log in to your own machine. Can one even create a Microsoft account without giving an SMS number?
Re: Scraps (Score:2)
Only Home needs an account (Score:2)
Re: Only Home needs an account (Score:2)
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> Windows 11 costs money
So it's not "free as in freedom", it's free as in beer you want. Well good news, Windows upgrades are free, have been for quite a while. Paid for windows once like 15 years ago, still riding that license.
Pro costs money; new prebuilt PC costs money (Score:2)
Even though Windows 7 or 10 Home to Windows 11 Home or from Windows 7 or 10 Pro to Windows 11 Pro is gratis, the Anytime Upgrade from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro (to avoid having to create a Microsoft account) costs money. Nor does "still riding that license" work if you replace a laptop or other prebuilt PC that came with an OEM license, as only a retail license is transferable to another mainboard. Or what am I missing?
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Has it never occurred to you that even if you set aside and ignore the ethical implications and considerations of doing business with them; some people simply do not like or trust Microsoft's products? I mean... MS is so damned ubiquitous that even if you *do* actively try to avoid further enriching a convicted but never punished because they bought some republicans monopolist for ethical considerations; it's still all but impossible to entirely avoid ever interacting with their products in at least some c
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> the ethical implications and considerations of doing business with them
1999 called...
> trust Microsoft's products?
But you trusted Rasterman to ship E17 in a timely manner, with a good solid code base. HAHAHAHA.
It's 2023 bro. If you don't trust it, just block it at the firewall.
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Why did you vote with your wallet for someone who hates you?
CUDA. Anyway I buy old ass cards, I'm still on a 1070. Thinking about coming up to a 3070 or something though... maybe after they come down a bit more. I'm a bit of a cheapskate. I just put new fans on my 1070 OC, they were $17ish straight outta China.
More often than not, what I want to do only works properly on nvidia. If AMD can turn that around, I'll switch. I'm not religious about it, nor am I a fanboy. I don't memorize stats or even overclock any more. I just want stuff to work when I plug it in, and s
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I can understand not wanting to be Microsoft's bitch, but would you be Nvidia's bitch then? Their attitude towards their user base isn't that much different.
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That's... fine? Don't play it. Everybody wins.
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Just get an X-Box or PS5 dude (Both seem as good as each other). The XBOX has that $10 a month gamepass thing that seems to have most of the games I wanna play anyway. Starfield will unlock for me on the 6th and I'm fine with that (Still trying to knock out Act 2 of BG3 on my gaming pc. That damn demon guy in shars temple is kicking my ass lol) Plus it doubles as a pretty neat streaming service runner. Im sure the situation is similar on the play stations.
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Just get an X-Box or PS5 dude
One console is made by Microsoft, which can die in a fire, and the other is made by Sony, which can die in a fire.
Also, play a Bethesda game on a console? Are you new? I tried that with New Vegas on 360. It took about fifteen minutes before I got to a blocking bug that I could have fixed in a hot second with the console on PC.
Re:Scraps (Score:5, Interesting)
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MacOS has a popular app store of its own, so it makes you wonder why anyone bothers publishing MacOS apps on Steam (save for those that can't go into the MacOS app store due to license issues).
I would guess that most of them are already publishing their games on Steam for other platforms. Possibly some of them put their game in the MacOS app store, too. I wouldn't know about that part since I haven't owned a MacOS computer since they introduced the Mac app store, but I do know that when I see a game with MacOS compatibility on Steam, it's always because it's available for other platforms.
Re: Scraps (Score:2)
There are so many reasons why I would use steam on my Mac rather than the App Store for the same games, and one of them is huge: you can't install App Store apps on something other than the main drive. So if you've saved money on your Mac by buying a minimal main ssd and are using an external ssd for big apps, you're screwed if you go with the App Store.
But steam is honestly just better in most other ways. Unified library, sales, integrations, etc.
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The problem you describe is trivial to fix with symlinks and/or mount volumes.
Back in the days of spinny hard drives of different RPMs, I used to have /Applications and /Home on separate drives from my boot volume, which was just for the OSs, and a fourth drive for applications when I bootcampped or VMware into windows. It all worked fine. Similarly, these days I still don't care to have Steam install its executables in my ~/Library/ folder. So I just moved the ~Library/Application\ Support/Steam/steamap
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I'm not actually sure you can do that with Mac App Store apps. Because they're all sandboxed and have various kinds of integrity protection, things like this that should be simple aren't. I tried the same thing to move the images being sent to me in Messages to an external drive, because they were taking up 20GB or something silly. It absolutely doesn't work, even though anything else works through the symlinks just fine.
So yeah, not sure that'll work. It DEFINITELY works for applications that haven't been
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MacOS has a popular app store of its own, so it makes you wonder why anyone bothers publishing MacOS apps on Steam (save for those that can't go into the MacOS app store due to license issues).
For a game, it's a ton easier to get it published on Steam, and cheaper ($100 once instead of $100 per year). Steam also has some added value with Leaderboards, Achievements, etc.
And I judged Steam to be more successful in getting my game in front of more eyes. Even as a Mac user, I rarely ever visit the App Store unless I know exactly what I want from there. It's not comfortable to search or browse for anything.
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If you search for Linux games in the Steam store you get a very different picture. There's literally thousands of Linux games on there.
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BS. The moment gaming companies certify their games for the Valve Deck, they automatically certify it for Linux, since the Proton emulation layer is identical.
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Yes, but nobody is buying them
Well I know literally twelve people that have Linux/Civ6 combo and meet up for regular matches. So it's not nobody. I get that you're just going for hyperbole but there are indeed Linux groups that game together. And I know the LUG that I'm in isn't the only one. Last SELF I went to, there was plenty there gaming on Linux as well.
The games being there is an expense to Steam and to Developers, not income.
What? It's a digital warehouse, storing the bytes for a Windows and a Linux copy is thousandths of a cent different than just storing the Windows only copy.
I get that the Wind
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Steam is so much Windows that Valve made the Steam Deck powered by Linux...
Apple Mac Store is where Mac users go (Score:2)
Watching Apple and Linux fight over the scraps that fall from the Steam table like mice is funny. Steam is Windows people.
No, the Apple Mac Store is where Mac users largely go, not Steam. Or they go directly to the developer's online store.
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>where Mac gamers largely go
either you accidentally wrote an oxymoron or you accidentally wrote something irrelevant
Actually I seem to have written "user" not "gamer". However even if I had written "gamer" it would have been correct. The Apple App Store has games, free and paid. The flaw in your thinking is you conflate PCs being better gaming machines with Mac users not wanting games. The truth of the matter is that people may buy a Mac for a reason other than gaming, but they may still want to play a game on that computer now that they have it. Mac hardware is entirely competitive with lots of PC hardware that game dev
Steam Deck is amazing (Score:3, Interesting)
It makes PC gaming accessible even to a child. Everything is so straightforward and works as expected with no user configuration, especially compared to a Windows PC.
When you compare it to similar devices like the ROG Ally, Ayaneo, and GPD Win, even something as simple as updating software or installing or launching a game is an annoying experience. The Steam Deck wins out because of the ease of use, reliability, and the essential suspend feature (trying to suspend on other devices is a gamble).
I could get back into PC gaming if Valve made a more powerful TV-only device with the same OS and interface. If they launched such a device they would easily be a top contender in the console space, just as they are in the handheld space.
Re: Steam Deck is amazing (Score:2)
The Steam Deck may or may not be amazing, but Steam has turned into a steaming pile of shit since the release of the Steam Deck.
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The Steam Deck may or may not be amazing, but Steam has turned into a steaming pile of shit since the release of the Steam Deck.
Steam has always been a steaming pile of shit. Their client (which they recently facelifted without making apparent major changes) is fucking trash. Sometimes I have to restart it before it will launch a game correctly, even though I have checked processes and no part of the game is still running.
But the Linux Steam user experience has improved dramatically since the introduction of the Steam Deck, both because of Valve continuing to improve Proton, and also because more developers are putting effort into L
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which they recently facelifted without making apparent major changes
No major changes? You clearly use Steam just to start some software. Meanwhile other people (like myself) actively opted in for the beta to get this new facelifted client early so we could use the very real major changes you're ignorant of. Completely revamped in game overlay. Revamped syncing system, with the ability to sync notes from the new notepad and active web windows from each game between PCs, ability to pin overlay windows on the game while closing the overlay, changes to the VR API, the update wa
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Completely revamped in game overlay.
I turn that shit off, so yeah, I would never have noticed. It has caused me too many problems over the years.
Revamped syncing system, with the ability to sync notes from the new notepad and active web windows from each game between PCs
Active web windows from games? What is this fuckery?
changes to the VR API
Another thing I don't use, because I don't waste money on half assed gimmicks. LMK when eyeglasses-weight VR headsets become available.
The fact you think it's just about some facelift shows you really don't use even a fraction of what Steam has to offer.
That's right, and I don't want to. I will turn down an offer of gonorrhea as well.
Maybe you should fix your computer.
Game doesn't launch. Quit steam, restart steam, game launchers. Your conclusion, I should fix my computer? Well sorry I can't, because
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The Steam Deck may or may not be amazing, but Steam has turned into a steaming pile of shit since the release of the Steam Deck.
I agree with you. Steam may be a pile of shit, but is the less shittier of the options. try the Epic client for example... Many competitor launchers arose, and most have gone to the waysside...
Re: Steam Deck is amazing (Score:2)
Or just not use a launcher. I have no idea why anyone thinks we need an entire ecosystem of apps to replace the Start Menu / .desktop files...
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It's far from the worst, with Workshop making mods and community content so easy, and excellent controller configuration. Support for non-Steam games too. These are essential, and Epic is missing this. Steam Link and all of the various apps that extend Steam functionality are useful.
(As an aside, Epic doesn't seem interested in Linux support, but Steam supports it very well)
Other PC game stores seem basic compared to Steam.
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if Valve made a more powerful TV-only device ...
Hm. And what might they call this device? A Steam... Machine? Yes, that sounds good. I'll bet Valve is chomping at the bit to get started on this idea again.
Re: Steam Deck is amazing (Score:2)
Things have changed a lot since the first time they tried. I was not interested back then in their proposal, but would buy one today if the pricing is on the spot.
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As long as the memory on it can be expanded, and it has enough M2 slots, I'd very much like to buy one to use as my primary PC — and also for the benefit of gaming on it. I no longer want to endlessly fiddle with hardware, I just want a nice package that works. I do have a number of SATA devices in this PC, but I'm moving away from that in order to keep the size down.
Good to see the apple efforts are paying off (Score:5, Funny)
Apple is constantly trying to scare away the game developers, and it's clearly working well.
they are scaring off everyone (Score:2)
Flash back 10 years ago, I was tempted to convert my desktop to Apple. Now I wouldn't do it in a million years. All little things, and one big one - the switch from Intel to their own ARM chips. At least the systems a decade ago had Bootcamp. Then these Steam numbers would be irrelevant more or less, you could game from Windows on the actual hardware.
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Switching to their own chips was clearly a good move. But equally clearly, unless Apple becomes a good citizen (ha!) and starts publishing enough information about their hardware to permit other operating systems to fully exploit it, and making them maintainable, all they are doing in my book is creating a huge amount of waste and trash. I get that a lot of people don't care about these things, but we cannot afford that mentality.
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Flash back 10 years ago, I was tempted to convert my desktop to Apple. Now I wouldn't do it in a million years. All little things, and one big one - the switch from Intel to their own ARM chips. At least the systems a decade ago had Bootcamp. Then these Steam numbers would be irrelevant more or less, you could game from Windows on the actual hardware.
Flashback to 2009. I converted to Apple, when they released their first intel computer that I liked (Aluminum MacBook - non-pro). My reasoning was, the Hardware is slick, and if the SW is not up to par, there is Bootcamp. Now, I'll ride my MB Air late'14 and my MacMini Late'18 until the wheel fall off, and then move back to Windows (sadly not linux, some corporate Windows only SW here). I still love the MacOS philosophy, but do not like the HW philosophy, and lno beef with ARM, instead, is more about the cl
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Looks like you are typing on a patented apple butterfly keyboard.
Nope, the air still has the norbal keyboard, and the mini has a 100% silitek (from a PA-RISC workstation) or a cherry red imitation 75%, dependineg on mood and workload
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Then these Steam numbers would be irrelevant more or less, you could game from Windows on the actual hardware.
Except for the pesky fact that even back then, Apple's entire consumer-oriented line lacked the ability to install an aftermarket GPU.
The only "gaming" Apple actually cares about is the casual freemium garbage people play their phones and tables. You know, the kind of "games" where you tap the screen, then are strongly encouraged to buy premium in-game currency so you can skip some of the waiting before you're allowed to tap the screen again. Apple gets their sweet cut of the transaction fees from all tha
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Apple is constantly trying to scare away the game developers,
How, exactly?
I honestly wonder what you are referring to. I am a hobby game dev working on Macs and I must have missed that.
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Apple is constantly trying to scare away the game developers, and it's clearly working well.
Apple are trying to scare anyone who won't pay 3 times the price for a basic computer.
What's the cheapest new Mac you can get with a dedicated GPU. You can easily find a mid-range gaming laptop (think a 3050 with a Ryzen or i5) for £700. Your cheapest Apple laptop is £ 850 and that doesn't have a dedicated GPU, an x86 processor or even more than 256 GB of disk space (Starfield consumes 120+ GB on it's own). I paid £600 for an Asus TUF Gaming laptop with a Ryzen 5 with a RTX 3050 and an
Valve used MacOS to kickstart Linux development (Score:3)
For themselves and other developers, and then Apple kicked valve to the side.
You know, at the time (early '00s), Valve offered MacOS ports of games first, and then, from there, porting to linux was relativelty easy. Since MacOS had more marketshare than all of desktop linux combined, it made economic sense.
Then Apple decided to deprecate OpenGL*, and not support Vulkan**. At that time, there were no such things as MoltenVK or the conversion kit launched by apple just last year, and many engines did not support metal.
Then, to rub salt in the wound, apple discountinued 32Bit apps, taking away a big swat of games from Macs.
I am thankfull to the Apple-Valve partnership from the early '10s for Kickstarting the Linux gaming side of Valve, but Valve on MacOS is the past now.
Written from my MacMini 2018, with a Sonos eGPU box.
* Which I do not undestand
** Which I DO understand, as well as I understand the decition to deprecate OpenCL. Both the fault of the Kronos Group...
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Vulkan seems to not be as nice as Metal but easier to implement and support. Apple wanted their own API, well, they got one. But most of the world doesn't want yet another one, it's already bad enough that 3dfx did GLIDE first instead of MiniGL and opened the door for Direct3D.
Vote with your wallet (Score:2)
Make sure you don't buy any games that don't work at least with wine/proton. Sometimes the games are not marked as such, but do work. Unfortunately in those cases you need to ask in their community of maybe somebody in the reviews says it.
There is no excuse for devs not to tests their games work at least with proton so they can get the steam/linux mark.
Ignore the winlosers, be patient and disciplined and you too can change the world.
Unsurprising really (Score:2)
Game platform Steam usage higher on platform designed specifically for Steam usage and games.
Mac ditched 32-bit, so not surprising (Score:2)
My daughter had to have a window laptop instead of a mac laptop once she discovered that macos had dropped 32-bit binary support. Without it, you couldn't play classic games, and that was it.
Why are we using the word "Still"? (Score:2)
Was there any reason to believe that MacOS would make a recovery? Has Apple recently invested in gaming? Have Steamdecks around the world spontaneously combusted? There's nothing in trends, industry, or the companies involved that would have predicted MacOS rising in the ranks.
This is the definition of making a news item of something that objectively isn't news. What is being reported on here is the absence of news. Something no one expected to happen hasn't happened.
Not surprising... (Score:1)
...given that Steam is terrible for macOS users. At this point in time any game on Steam can fall into one of these categories:
- 32bit Intel, only runs on Intel Macs with an old version of macOS that still supports 32bit executables.
- 64bit Intel, runs on Intel Macs but does not run (well) on ARM Macs.
- 64bit Intel, runs on Intel Macs and runs well on ARM Macs via Rosetta 2.
- 64bit Intel & ARM, works well on all recent Macs.
- 64bit ARM, works only on ARM Macs.
Now please tell me, how do Mac users know wh
I'm condused (Score:1)