Windows 8 my Indie gaming!

So I was surfing the ol’ internets, as I often do, and I came across this little gem of a headline on Kotaku.com.

Notch: “I’d rather have minecraft not run on win 8 at all than to play along.”

This isn’t the first time the self appointed elder-god of indie gaming has voiced his complete and utter distain for Windows 8.  He’s not the only one either, Gabe Newell of Valve has also expressed his distaste for the OS.  The crux of their collective argument is that it will turn the windows platform into a “Walled garden” type environment not unlike the Apple ecosystem.  Somehow this will stymie innovation, the windows app store will take control and it will all be over.  Dogs and cats living together!  Mass hysteria!

Now, I know both of these fellas are pretty big names in the gaming world, and I personally respect Mr. Newell a great deal.  I have to wonder though, what the fuck are they blathering about?  Notch feels that the app store will hamper indie developers and discourage them from developing software.  Well, have you looked at the windows phone app store recently?  The store that soon will be one and the same as the Windows 8 store?  A huge percentage of the apps there are made by fucking indie developers!  Gabe feels that a lot of top tier OEM companies will exit the PC market, and leave Win 8 for dead on the side of the road.  Clearly not the case; as I covered in a previous post, everyone and their grandma is making a Win 8 device this season.

You have to realize that Windows 8 is still fucking Windows!  It’s an optimized version of Win 7 with a touch based interface glued on top of it.  Nobody is worried about Win 7 somehow locking out developers and software that doesn’t have the Microsoft seal of approval stamped on it, so why do so many people have their panties in a bunch about Win 8?  It’s basically the same thing.

I have a few suggestions for Gabe.

1)Make a cool little Windows 8 style live tile for steam that shows all the current sales.  Now people can shop on steam when they aren't even on steam.

2)Do exactly what you are doing now, offering a incredible PC gaming distribution experience.

3)Stop being a whiny little bitch.

And some for Notch.

1) Go make games!  You know, that thing that made you rich and famous?

2)Stop being a whiny little bitch.

-jer