Wait, If Windows is 96.21% and Linux is 1.96%, then MacOS is 1.83%?
Wouldnβt that make Linux 2nd place?
Before opening the comments, I spent several seconds contemplating if I should mention this, or if people would think I was some pedantic nerd dickhead and downvote me to hell. Glad someone else already covered this.
Yeah, I contemplated mentioning it too, knowing I might come off as pedantic, but figured what the hell. Others must have noticed too, right?
Itβs actually second now.
Linux now has more steam users than MacOS
I guess people just trying to do things with what they have. I had a friend who plays LoL on a Mac. She also used Steam on it but there were very few games.
Arenβt modern Macs literally not able to run games due to them being arm?
ARM isnβt the problem. Some games have native ARM ports, and x86 games can be run by Rosetta. Itβs not as fast as native, but broadly comparable with the performance of the previous gen Intel chips they replaced.
A bigger problem on macOS is that they dropped support for 32-bit software a few years ago in Catalina. Not a problem with newer games, but it decimated Mac usersβ Steam libraries.
And the biggest problem is that Apple just doesnβt give a shit about gaming. Every few years, they claim theyβre going to do games, but quickly forget about it. Theyβve never put decent video cards in Macs, and never hesitate to throttle hardware if proper cooling would mean a larger enclosure, so AAA games typically arrive on macOS years late, when second-rate or integrated video cards can run them.
If they actually cared, theyβd have their own Vulcan implementation. Instead, theyβre focused on their own proprietary Metal API.
Basically, Apple and AAA game studios have been ignoring each other for decades.
It depends, actually. You can stack translation layers to take things from x_86 -> Arm and stuff intended for Windows -> MacOS. Depending on your solution sometimes you need to use Microsoftβs x86 translation layer and some times you use Appleβs.
This takes a pretty big hit tho. And for a long time DX12 was an issue, but with Appleβs release of the GameDev porting kit (intended for developers) you could now do play those titlss through a WineBottle. Many users did this (myself included) and I think commercial products like CrossOver are able to have the same functionality. Playing D4 on my base m1 was kinda wild.
Itβs honestly kinda fun if you like tinkering, but not ideal if you care about raw performance. Ultimately tho, my Linux system is just easier now, but if I get curious if I can run a game on the thinnest laptop I own I reach for my Mac.
Even if itβs Steam Deck, this just goes to show that desktop Linux is totally viable; it just needs more commitment from companies
Yeah! That thing almost nobody touches because itβs literally just there to run a proprietary storefront and act as a translation layer for games is totally going to win the desktop!
Just next year!
For the last twenty-five years or so.
desktop Linux is totally viable
I think this shows the opposite.
If a FREE option that claims to be more efficient/faster (but usually isnβt in real life) is less than 2% of the market, something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Since when do people turn down free stuff, unless that free item is that bad?
Because the vast majority of computers come with Windows preinstalled, and the vast majority of users canβt be bothered to update their OS unless theyβre forced, let alone reinstall something else. Iβm fairly certain the numbers would be very different if there were a significant number of blank laptops on the market, let alone ones shipped with Linux.
Iβm 100% certain there would be little difference because people need an OS that can run the software that they want, and just as importantly they need to be able to actually install and use it and Linux has never even tried to make that process anything but a nightmare. And Iβll stop you right there with your various flavors of Mint or Ubuntu or Elementary or the dozens of other distros. Users donβt care about endlessly tinkering. They want something that just works. Linux doesnβt offer that.
Lol steam Deck is already on the edge of not being able to play new AAA console titles. There will be a few ten thousand left who will feel like there is value in buying a second.
This is the new Steam Link. Theyβve probably lost millions internally.
Maybe 10 years from now if they keep pumping massive money into it but itβs certainly not even close to comedically viable.
Valve sold out of steam decks for multiple production runs now. And other companies are now investing in handhelds after seeing the success of it. Steams intention with the Deck was to kick start the handhelds market and make SteamOS the default operating system for that form factor. I donβt know if they profit from the deck directly but i definitely have bought more games since owning one.
Not to mention that most people have a favorite game they go back to that runs on older hardware, AAA certainly makes up a very small percentage of my gameplay
tbh most AAA game are not worth playing the last AAA game i bought was cyberpunk. iβd rather get a game with good performance, gameplay and story than one that just looks pretty and is buggy as hell
If you try to run any new AAA title on any current handheld youβre going to have a bad time and bad battery life IMO. I think you could even extend this to modestly old gaming rigs that already struggle badly with poorly optimised new titles.
I see the Deck praised often for its emulation capabilities and indie game performance - and to be honest those aspects are appealing enough to me if I was interested in buying another portable computer.
This is the new Steam Link
Out of curiosity, what makes you think this?
I doubt this is the case as thin client gaming accessories are a very niche product, and the Deck hardware is grossly overqualified in this regard IMO
Itβs always hilarious when kids with no knowledge talk about Valveβs hardware. Likeβ¦ none of it has ever been developed to make money. Steam makes so goddamn much money theyβre literally just pissing around with R&D because itβs fun.
You mean like those AAA titles the fucking Switch canβt run?
Thatβs literally the only thing close to competition that the Deck has, and it skullfucks it in terms of horsepower.
It has those windows portables (I am blanking on the company name) but those also have way worse battery life.
Oh and I guess steam has also been carefully cultivating their own IP, studios, and games for the past 40 years to ensure a steady supply of the new stuff right? Right?
Because even I hear someone gushing over their switch itβs because they are playing some 4 year old game that finally made it there and itβs definitely not titles like Mario or Zelda.
Math donβt add up, Linux would be second because whatever else would only have 1.83.
Second place baby!
Also works for Reddit vs lemmy user count
