Windows 8 is a Bad Idea

There is no other explanation… When a developer still makes around $215,000 a day, 2 years after release from his game, logically he should want to be on as many platforms as possible. Turning down an open invite to certify their game for the Windows 8 Marketplace would be foolish, right?! I personally think there is more to it than that, and at this point in case you haven’t figured it out I’m referring to Markus Persson who tweeted this earlier, saying “I told [Microsoft] to stop trying to ruin the pc as an open platform” and has spoken out other times against Windows 8. He goes on to say “I’d rather have minecraft not run on win 8 at all than to play along.” and many would say that’s bad for business.

Having the income Notch has allows him to be slightly picky. If he wanted to he could be more aggressive and get Minecraft on every platform. He would likely have even more income. At this point I think he would rather take a stand and make a point. He has helped many indie game developers find a place in the market by supporting the Humble Bundle and many other projects, both financially and in marketing. This stand against the Windows 8 Market is one I can agree with. The PC stands out against Mac because it is an open platform. Users aren’t given a set of rules but instead allowed to think outside the box, and explore outside the box. To take that away from the PC would be a disaster. Either people will switch to Mac, or they will switch to Linux. Already Linux has overcome some of my personal issues in terms of compatibility and entertainment. Steam now runs many games on Linux and there are so many apps, its hard to not find one that does what you need.

Windows 8 is less than a month from launch, but Intel CEO Paul Otellini is quoted as saying Windows 8 still requires improvements to be made. They want to stick with their release deadline and feel that any imperfections can be fixed with an update later down the road. Even RIM has learned from making that mistake and pushed back the release of BB10 to make sure their product ships working ready to take on the world (and its looking REALLY good now). Just look at iOS6 Maps on the iPhone 5 to see how an incomplete element can impact the reputation of a successful company. Is Microsoft really that obtuse, or is it wrong to keep customers waiting? How do you feel about being sold a product that isn’t ready yet? There is nothing but a promise to comfort you that they will fix things later…

At the end of the day, I have to hand it to Microsoft for being bold, but they are playing with some very dangerous ideas. Already many people do not want to switch just because they don’t like the way it looks! If developers don’t feel they have the same control over their software they won’t make the switch. They need the respect and cooperation of developers otherwise they won’t get anywhere. Microsoft knew this 20 years ago, but have they forgotten this now? Only ti me will tell, and usually Microsoft puts out one risky release every other version of Windows. For now I won’t come near Windows 8 and I can’t think of a single person I would recommend it to.