State-of-the-Art Gaming on GNU/Linux Not Only Possible But Becoming Default Option, Hardware Products
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2013-12-08 16:38:58 UTC
- Modified: 2013-12-08 16:38:58 UTC
Summary: GNU/Linux as the operating system of gaming consoles no longer a far-fetched dream; companies other than Valve explore these possibilities
TECHRIGHTS is happy to write about the rise of GNU/Linux as a gaming platform, even though much of the gaming layer is proprietary. It is probably better that proprietary games are running on GNU/Linux; if they run on Windows or Mac OS, then they only help Microsoft's and Apple's position.
The latest news is very encouraging, still. The site
Gaming on Linux wrote quite a lot about games that were coming to GNU/Linux [1-7], Humble Jumbo Bundle was covered by
Steam for Linux [8], there were big names like Broken Sword in the headlines [9,10], and even news from Ioquake3 [11].
What stood out, however, were hardware efforts. First, there was GCW-ZERO, the open source gaming console [12]. Then there was Piixl Jetpack [13-19] and the $499 Steam Machine we
alluded to before [20].
As the official announcement about Valve's
own hardware project was brewing (running GNU/Linux of course) there was also news about Valve joining the Linux Foundation. This was massive in the news. Headlines said that "Valve Furthers Linux Commitment, Officially Joins Linux Foundation" [21], "Valve renews Linux commitment, Microsoft and Sony should worry" [22], "Valve solidifies platform preference, joins The Linux Foundation" [23], and "As Valve Joins The Linux Foundation, Start Taking Linux Gaming Seriously" [24]. These were just four headlines among many more [25-42] -- a lot more than we can list exhaustively.
Good times for GNU/Linux. It's only getting better.
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Related/contextual items from the news:
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Portable gaming consoles remain within the domain of Nintendo and Sony, with their Nintendo 3DS as well as PS Vita, respectively, but their territory have been encroached upon by other forms of mobile gaming, no thanks to the huge popularity of tablets as well as smartphones. Well, here is another player that intends to bite off a chunk of this lucrative market – the $149.99 GCW-ZERO, which happens to be an open source gaming console. With the GCW-ZERO, you know for sure that you have something good going on here, especially when it has been built by gamers for gamers.
[...]
Powered by Linux, it already comes with a slew of open source software that is ready to rock and roll.
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In a rather unconventional approach to PC design, British manufacturer Piixl has created a SteamOS computer that attaches to the back of your television set. According to Pocket-lint, the Piixl Jetpack is an open hardware platform that is fully customizable to fit a user's gaming hardware needs.
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Valve has joined the Linux Foundation, making Steam Machine prototypes looking more and more like serious competition for Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
