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Notch Jumps on Windows 8 Hate-Fest

By Brian P Rubin | 01 August 2012 | 9 Comments   

notch windows 8

Man, Windows 8 can’t catch a break. The latest to join the suddenly fashionable trend of bashing Microsoft’s next iteration of their PC operating system, October’s Windows 8, is Markus “Notch” Persson, Mojang founder and Minecraft creator. Notch holds nearly as much online credibility as Valve honcho Gabe Newell (if not more), who was the first game industry giant to start the trend of heaping hate onto Windows 8 a few days ago.

When asked in an interview on Reddit about what he sees as the future of the indie gaming industry, Notch took an unprompted hit at Windows 8:

“I hope we can keep a lot of open and free platforms around. If Microsoft decides to lock down Windows 8, it would be very very bad for Indie games and competition in general.

If we can keep open platforms around, there’s going to be a lot of very interesting games in ten years, mixed in with the huge AAA games that we all love.”

Clearly there’s a ton of concern about Microsoft’s commitment to openness for its software-making partners. Blizzard VP Rob Pardo expressed similar sentiments the other day as well. One game-maker expressing unhappiness at Windows 8 is an isolated incident. A second shows that there’s something really going on. And a third reveals that Windows 8 may present a legitimate problem to software-makers.

It’s easy to dump on Microsoft considering their role in the marketplace. Is it warranted? We probably won’t know for sure until October’s release of Windows 8, but the frequency of these announcements of concern is starting to get alarming, isn’t it? Should we all just save ourselves some time and switch to Linux already?

Reddit via Games Industry

9 Comments

  1. Posted by Landon Robinson on 01 August 12 at 11:49am

    I don’t necessarily think that any of these people “hate” Windows 8, I think that they’re merely expressing their concerns with the OS.

    Those concerns, however, are pretty justified. Open access to a platform can be a pretty crucial part to finding success with a project. You’ve got to understand the foundation you’re building on to really create something worthwhile.

    • Posted by Brian P Rubin on 01 August 12 at 11:54am

      Yeah but saying “hate” is easier than going over the finer points of the sentiments being expressed. I hate that you made me point that out.

      • Posted by Landon Robinson on 01 August 12 at 12:07pm

        None of which were “hate” though.

        • Posted by Brian P Rubin on 01 August 12 at 12:30pm

          I HATE THIS DISCUSSION. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT.

          I mean “hate.”

        • Posted by Brian P Rubin on 01 August 12 at 1:48pm

          Also, “hate” rhymes with “eight.” Tell me: how could I NOT use that word? You can’t. You can’t tell me.

          • Posted by 6souls on 01 August 12 at 7:21pm

            Windows H8te?

          • Posted by Dudeman on 01 August 12 at 7:21pm

            If that is the only reason for using the word hate, then I hate you, with all of my hate.

  2. Posted by Arman on 01 August 12 at 11:51am

    I still don’t know what the problem is with windows 8 and why it’s in the way of so many indie developers?

  3. Posted by Mugenite on 01 August 12 at 1:33pm

    Dude, just let the OS officially launch and give it some time. If everyone absolutely hates it, they can jsut stick with W7. I mean, look at XP. People are still developing for that OS years after MS moved on!

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