Windows vs Gabe and Notch - Very Controversial - Nerd Age

The Windows 8 Controversy

Kings of the game development world Markus ‘Notch’ Persson and Gabe Newell have both made headlines lately when they declared that they don’t intend to submit their software for certification with Windows 8. This means that their game apps won’t be available on the exciting new range of devices that will bear Microsoft’s latest OS – including virtually every Ultrabook set for release. Is this a wise choice?

Key to the decision is Windows’ move towards – what so-called ‘refuseniks’ term – a “closed platform”. On Windows 8 ARM-powered devices, nothing will be installable unless downloaded from the Windows App Store. Analysts suggest that this is a direct reaction to Apple’s locked-in, end-to-end user experience, the revenue stream this brings, and Apple’s resulting market dominance. Seeking to capture and hold customers in their own ‘ecosystem’, Microsoft will offer a new version of their traditionally ‘open platform’ called Windows RT.

To fill their App Store’s naked shelves, Microsoft has solicited developers to ‘certify’ their software for Windows RT. This can be slightly challenging for developers, which is why they’d rather prepare in advance with the help of free az 204 tests or other such certification mock tests that can be found online. Persson – referred to as ‘Notch’ in the gaming industry – however, refused to do so in a high-profile Twitter post. What was his reason? Microsoft stand accused of trying to “ruin the PC as an open platform”. He’s not alone in feeling this way – many ‘indie’ or ‘small studio’ developers have mirrored his concerns. They’re tired of being “funneled” in one direction or another.

Is this really a valid excuse? These ‘funnels’ have created untold prosperity and wealth in the developer sector. Apple recently announced that, in this regard, it had paid out more than $5.5 billion – money that would otherwise have simply been directed somewhere else.

The Indie Viewpoint on Windows 8

Notch may have a point, though. Moving to create individual ecosystems in an Apple-ish way could well be a slippery slope. One day Windows RT requires ‘certification’ for its software, the next the remaining Windows products follow suit. Windows has enjoyed continuing popularity precisely by avoiding situation. Independent developers are rightly concerned that Microsoft is beginning to treat its droves of customers as a single entity, instead of providing flexibility in the form of their historically versatile Windows OS.

Gabe Newell is also well known as creator of both the most widely-used digital games distribution platform, Steam and multi-million pound franchises like Half-Life and Portal, Gabe could well be accused of already having his fingers squarely in Microsoft’s target pie. Nonetheless, he is vocal about his opposition: Windows 8, he says, will be a “catastrophe for everyone in the PC space”. Steam is even “hedging [it’s] bets” by investing in the traditionally geek-only Linux platform.

So, are Notch and Gabe right? At this stage, it is too early to tell. It’s difficult to envisage a future in which Microsoft piles wholeheartedly down the Windows RT certification route, but then it was also hard to imagine the future success of Apple’s solitary ecosystem at the initial launch of their App Store. The tech future remains wide open – let’s hope we can avoid the dystopian outcome these two leading game developers predict.