Valve and Blizzard generally tend to be competitors when they’re vying for the same money and acclaim within the PC market. There’s one thing that they can agree on though, and that’s apparently that Windows 8 won’t be a good thing for PC gaming. Rob Pardo, the executive vice president of game design at Blizzard echoed Gabe Newell’s recent noting that Windows 8 is “a catastrophe,” saying on Twitter that Microsoft’s new OS is “not awesome for Blizzard either.”
nice interview with Gabe Newell – "I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space* – not awesome for Blizzard either
— Rob Pardo (@Rob_Pardo) July 25, 2012
Though Pardo didn’t elaborate on his comments, it’s possible that the criticisms of both developers stem from the fact that Microsoft is looking to retain a new level of control over its software licensing for PC gaming developers as well as over purchases made through the Windows Store, which is featured prominently on the Windows 8 UI.
It’s been speculated that through the Windows Store on Windows 8, Microsoft wants to limit the ability on the part of developers/publishers to sell their software directly, taking a 30 per cent royalty cut from every sale made through the store much in the way that Apple issues a royalty charge for the iOS platform. However, such a concept would work much different when dealing with big-name publishers and AAA titles on a platform that hasn’t previously required any sort of fee to publish on. If it’s any indication, PC developers could soon find themselves facing the same problems many indie devs have spoken outright about in regard to Microsoft’s difficult set of requirements for its certification process.
Source: CVG
