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Last time I checked, Steam was already running on Linux. Actually, it runs on Linux for years. It runs on Linux right now. Counter Strike:Source is number 3 on Wine's Top-10 Platinum List ("Applications which install and run flawlessly on an out-of-the-box Wine installation").
These talks are all only about a _native_ client. Would be nice for people who use both Linux+Steam, but not a necessity at all.
But nevertheless thank you for your most valuable and informative comment about the state of affairs.
Don't be pedantic, people can't go to steam and go click click click and then install any game they want and that is what counts.
The real problem is that Linux isn't a single platform for game developers to target. It's an amalgamation of distros, desktops and sound stacks. And on top of it all there is a hostile attitude towards proprietary software.
Go buy a console if you don't want to game in Windows or OS X.
So I often run steam in wine, since it is the only way to talk to a whole bunch of gaming buddies I have made over the years online. It is barely usable, and as far as I know, very difficult to use as anything but a buggy chat client that eats ram like a mofo. But as long as you don't mind leaving the store minimized somewhere, dont need move or resize chat windows, its great.
I'm afraid that the above statement (while generally true) doesn't apply to this case 100%. Steam and the games do run on Linux (via Wine). So this "killer app" is not technically missing. It's just that it could be better (fewer issues, better performance).





Member since:
2005-11-13
Yup. For all you Linux evangelists out there... if you want to know why more people aren't using Linux on the desktop, this is a prime example of why. Of course, I personally don't give a rat's ass about Steam, but for a lot of people, it's definitely a 'killer' application. So you can preach all day about free love, improved security, and all your other talking points, but at the end of the day, if someone's killer application ain't on the platform, it's game over. End of discussion.