(First posted on my blog on OCN , 30th May 2013)
Do you ever wonder how much power the community has within big corporations? I am glad the old attitude of those grey stault buildings, and the attitude of 'we hate you go away, release the hounds!' from the 70's has disappeared, but now in the twenty-tens, it now seems like a place of confusion for big business.
WHY?
because who do they listen to? someone who is paid to tell them which is the most profitable way to go, or people on the internet, dedicated loyal fans..
I am really thinking about MS when speaking about this, because they have came on LEAPS and bounds with the community, since the *shock* they got with Vista.. it actually did them a lot of good, coz after then they had to come out of their grey office and see other people in the sunlight. ..life beyond the screen and numbers.
I mentioned they became friendlier.. it was only here and there.. but even extending to the FOSS community.. to which they are still hostile, as per the Novell patents, but there was improvement. They are, I hear, working on some cross compatibility with Windows and improving the Windows kernel learning from linux*, over time they have been friendlier and withdrew also, take Moonlight Mono, a MS/Novell Silverlight for Linux, they worked on that for 2 years, but have since ceased.
What I have written has made even me feel 'grey' but this was just a salad* now for.. the main course!
The Xbox One was announced and shown a week and a half ago, I had read and seen many things about this console, while waiting for that aforementioned day. Microsoft plans to have this as their mainstay and have no hardware refresh for ten years. that means.. WE the PC gaming community will be using DX11.. for the next ten years. I heard they also plan 'lock ins' which is a system where if you buy something it is yours and no one elses ever. no resale value on any media, zero. Nothing new with Steam, and also I think the cloud is an amazing way to go, ..but they mean disks too. so sad.
Ask yourself this how many DX9 based games do you own?
DirectX9 first released :December 19, 2002. last release : April 21, 2008.
Consoles didn't use DX10, so we didn't for the most part either, DX11 will see its full potential which I am glad of, but think on this.. how much barrel scraping did we do to DX9?? DX9 died in 2008.. and all devs could do was dig it up and shake the bones at us! ..for 4 years.
What if this happens with DX11 in 3 or 4 years time? microsoft like repetition on ideas that worked, sometimes that's pretty smart, but the nature of what they perceive to be the 'community' has changed and I do not think they know it. WHY? coz they waited faaar too long to release the new xbox.. the barrel scrapping was done by 2010/11 in THAT year they should have released a new console.. not 2 years later, in which those two years.. people everywhere noticed, that the dev in town was skeletor!
I actually find the graphics of DX9 are quite macabre now.
Steam Linux and OpenGL.
Unless Devs and publishers have decent distribution platforms, they won't move and rightly so, they don't want anyone to lose their jobs, even if it is a bit noble. I agree. but WE are now as locked in as console gamers.. locked in to DX11.. we cannot progress neither in hardware (what's the point??) or software, past DX11. Unless Devs give us a second option.. OpenGL and Steam and Linux.
If not then. Windows it is! again! for ten years! no way out! Metro 2033 claustrophobia get me out of here.. I'm a Doctor Jim not a chairlift.
peace
Dava
*while this doesn't seem like a win for FOSS we will benefit inside Linux with interpolarity. accessing Windows from Linux and vice versa. hey, maybe they will even throw in a read/write EXT filesystem extension/driver for windows.
*you needed this to know a bit of background.
UPDATE: 20/06/13. for the sake of accurate information.. ie. the truth. Today MS announced that they are NO LONGER doing the 'lock in' disc system. and I would like to praise them for taking it even further and getting rid of the anachronistic 'regional restrictions'.. a left over from the 1980's and 1990's Japanese games that is no longer needed. what does that mean for this article.. who knows?
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