Windows 8 Is Not Good For Gamers

[tweakboy]

http://kotaku.com/5936535/windows-8-is-not-good-for-gamers D:

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Will it even be good for regular PC use? It sounds horrific.

 

[ImpulsE69]

It certainly looks horrific. Maybe this would be a step forward if everyone had 30" touchscreen LCD monitors...but they don't.

 

[Cerb]

Will it even be good for regular PC use? It sounds horrific.

Sure it will be. I don't think for one second they didn't do usability studies. Business users and power users, I'm not so sure about. I have feeling they might have been left out of the research groups.

 

[Red Hawk]

Sounds like an awfully bipolar experience. The only, only, reason I have for getting Windows 8 would be if I had a DirectX 11.1 card and I wanted to play games with some of those features. But I'm betting that DirectX 11.1 will get backported to Windows 7.

 

[tweakboy]

The Windows phone is ugly just like Winblows 8 OS. you have to task out of Metro and do all these things to play a game, They did a great job making this OS look exactly like their cheap Windows 8 phone. ugly banners,,,, nasty.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

I saw a demonstration video of Windows 8. It looked terrible and cluncky. I can never imagine leaving Windows 7 for that crap.

I don't want my desktop PC's to look like mobile phones. I like to use keyboard and mouse. Windows 8 is better suited for mobile phones or handheld PC's with touchscreens.

I've heard you can hack it to look like Windows 7, but what's the point upgrading from Windows 7 then?

I will simply skip Windows 8 and continue to use Windows 7. I'm actually very happy with Windows 7, and have been since I first tried it in the summer of 2009.

 

[Arkaign]

For my personal use :

I used DOS, loved it.
I used Win3.11, liked it, DOS was still there anyway.
I used Win95, and found it to be pretty good really.
I used Win98, and once SE came about, it was golden.
I installed WinME, and promptly went back to 98 + 2K Dual Boot.
I installed XP, it became my longest-lived OS.
I installed Vista, decided it wasn't ready (launch timeframe), went back to XP. Never did like it very much, but it did improve with SP1 and SP2.
I installed Win7, instantly liked it, it's only gotten better.
I installed Win8, and am baffled. I can see why they're trying to do some of it, but at the same time it's like a giant middle finger to their business customers. I think they're trying to use their PC presence to force a UI that they can crossover with phone and tablet to work against Apple and Google, but it feels like a horrible mistake.

I'm sorry Microsoft, but it's too late. Tablet and Phone are gone years ago to other players, and now you're taking a steaming dump on your bread and butter for a half-baked shot at markets with no room left in them.

 

[WildW]

The Windows 8 hate is all about being forced to use the new UI. Most versions of Windows have had new things that made me go yuck. . . In XP I always went back to the old style of Start menu and Classic theme. In Vista I quickly turned off the Widget area. In Windows 7 the first thing I do is switch the taskbar to small icons and never combine.

Stubborn mules like me have always been able to take a fresh version of Windows and change the options until it looks like Windows 2000 again. The fact that we can't is the root of all the hate.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

The Windows 8 hate is all about being forced to use the new UI. Most versions of Windows have had new things that made me go yuck. . . In XP I always went back to the old style of Start menu and Classic theme. In Vista I quickly turned off the Widget area. In Windows 7 the first thing I do is switch the taskbar to small icons and never combine.

Stubborn mules like me have always been able to take a fresh version of Windows and change the options until it looks like Windows 2000 again. The fact that we can't is the root of all the hate.

I did not change Windows XP to look like Windows 2000, did not change Vista to look like Windows XP and liked the Gadgets, I also did not change Windows 7 to look like Vista. I liked the innovation and looks in each of them.

However, all these versions had mostly small cosmetic changes that did not affect the regular desktop user that much.

I never complained in any of the changes mentioned in the above versions.

The changes in Windows 8 can not be compared to changes done in earlier versions. In Windows 8 they try to make it user friendly for everything, including handhelds and mobile phones. What they have done is totally wrong for desktop users in my book.

 

[WildW]

The point is, the checkbox to switch off all the new junk is missing, and that's the difference.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

The point is, the checkbox to switch off all the new junk is missing, and that's the difference.

As I've said above, you cannot even begin to compare the changes made in Windows 8 when compared to changes made between earlier versions.

Changes between earlier versions was small cosmetic changes that did not really affect the use of Windows and it's user interface for the regular desktop user.

 

[Borealis7]

TechPowerUp did a comparison of gaming performance and found no degredation except one very specific case.

 

[Mem]

TechPowerUp did a comparison of gaming performance and found no degredation except one very specific case.

To be fair its too early for gaming performance conclusions,we have to wait for official release of Win8 and then Nvidia and AMD to optimize drivers for the OS,so anything before then is FUD as far as I'm concerned,we all know it takes a few months before we see some decent drivers for a new OS...I'm sure both Nvidia and AMD are working on plenty of good drivers for Win8.




End of the day still far too early to say one way or the other.

 

[cmdrdredd]

To be fair its too early for gaming performance conclusions,we have to wait for official release of Win8 and then Nvidia and AMD to optimize drivers for the OS,so anything before then is FUD as far as I'm concerned,we all know it takes a few months before we see some decent drivers for a new OS...I'm sure both Nvidia and AMD are working on plenty of good drivers for Win8.




End of the day still far too early to say one way or the other.

Apparently drivers from Windows7 will function under Windows 8 if the installer is made properly so Win8 can recognize it.

 

[wuliheron]

Developers are really complaining because they're worried MS is going to pull an Apple on them and make sure anyone with a portable device has to buy games through their app store. That way MS can charge developers 30% for every game sold. For desktops it won't be a problem, but for portables with simplified versions of windows 8 they can get away with crap like that.

One reason for windows 8 being funky in some ways is because MS is always planning ahead for their next operating system. All their research shows some kind of combination of gui, voice commands, touch screen, and/or gesture recognition is the most intuitive and idiot proof operating system. As much as possible they literally want people to forget they are using an interface at all and just talk to the computer and make ordinary gestures like pointing at things or waving their hands in the air.

For example, you could point to something on the screen and literally ask the computer what it is or point to something on your coffee table and ask the computer where you can buy one. It might sound silly to gamers, but that's what people want and it makes a lot more sense for portable devices in particular. Take a picture of something with your cellphone, and just ask the thing to tell you all about whatever it is. It's the content and functionality people want and the operating system is just a means to an end. They can still type and use a mouse or whatever if they prefer, but it just isn't nearly as convenient or easy to do sometimes and if it is already built into the os it's one less thing for someone else like Google to use to worm their way into what MS considers their territory.

 

[Nintendesert]

SO it's just a rehashed version of Valve crying because Valve feels threatened by Microsoft's Marketplace cutting into Valve's digital sales. Does Kotaku get paid off by Valve to do shill articles like this?

 

[cmdrdredd]

SO it's just a rehashed version of Valve crying because Valve feels threatened by Microsoft's Marketplace cutting into Valve's digital sales. Does Kotaku get paid off by Valve to do shill articles like this?

This doesn't concern you? You think there will be a MS App store summer sale every year? Weekly deals? Weekend deals?

Yeah right. Also integrate something as bad or worse as GFWL and you have a problem for PC gaming's growth.

 

[Nintendesert]

This doesn't concern you? You think there will be a MS App store summer sale every year? Weekly deals? Weekend deals?

Yeah right. Also integrate something as bad or worse as GFWL and you have a problem for PC gaming's growth.

It doesn't because the US government and EU have leashes so far up Microsoft's ass they can barely bundle their own internet browser in their OS.

Valve should be working with Microsoft instead of stamping their feet and pretending Linux is a viable gaming platform.

 

[Continuity28]

The Windows 8 hate is all about being forced to use the new UI. Most versions of Windows have had new things that made me go yuck. . . In XP I always went back to the old style of Start menu and Classic theme. In Vista I quickly turned off the Widget area. In Windows 7 the first thing I do is switch the taskbar to small icons and never combine.

Stubborn mules like me have always been able to take a fresh version of Windows and change the options until it looks like Windows 2000 again. The fact that we can't is the root of all the hate.

The UI itself is the biggest reason, but personally, I'm a little bit worried about their direction in general. The "desktop" environment is still in Windows 8, but they have already called it legacy when compared to the environment-formerly-known-as-Metro... I have to wonder if they plan on removing it in a future version of Windows, meaning all the programs/games we use Windows for today will be incompatible someday. Why else would they call it legacy? "Metro" was not designed with multitasking in mind, and if one day Windows on the desktop ONLY came with "Metro", I wouldn't want to use that. I can do more today with the "legacy" Windows 7/8 desktop than I ever could in "Metro".

 

[wuliheron]

SO it's just a rehashed version of Valve crying because Valve feels threatened by Microsoft's Marketplace cutting into Valve's digital sales. Does Kotaku get paid off by Valve to do shill articles like this?

Kotaku would sell XXX videos of their own mothers if they could. In this case though they're just getting paid for crying wolf as usual.

 

[Bobisuruncle54]

What people aren't getting is that what W8 is a move towards. This is Microsoft taking note of the success of Android and iOS, and it attributes their successes by the amount of control Apple and Google have over their respective platforms. This is what MS now wants to imitate. Step 1 is to establish a store, step 2 will be to further lock down the platform, which is bad for PC users in general. This possibility is what should be sounding alarm bells, not the fact that MS shoved a UI designed for touch based devices as the primary interface for an OS that the vast majority of users will use on a PC/laptop that will not have touch capabilities. If you can't fathom what this means and what the pitfalls are, there is no point in debating the problem with you because you are simply blind to it.

This isn't innovation, it isn't a step forward in ergonomics, design or functionality, it's a blatant sacrifice of any progress that could really be made in the name of profit.

 

[Continuity28]

What people aren't getting is that what W8 is a move towards. This is Microsoft taking note of the success of Android and iOS, and it attributes their successes by the amount of control Apple and Google have over their respective platforms. This is what MS now wants to imitate. Step 1 is to establish a store, step 2 will be to further lock down the platform, which is bad for PC users in general. This possibility is what should be sounding alarm bells, not the fact that MS shoved a UI designed for touch based devices as the primary interface for an OS that the vast majority of users will use on a PC/laptop that will not have touch capabilities. If you can't fathom what this means and what the pitfalls are, there is no point in debating the problem with you because you are simply blind to it.

This isn't innovation, it isn't a step forward in ergonomics, design or functionality, it's a blatant sacrifice of any progress that could really be made in the name of profit.

Yep. Tablets have their uses, but I use a powerful PC because I need more out of my computer than a tablet can provide. I don't like to see sacrifices made, that I need to pay for, to make my experience worse in the long run. As a consumer, I'm interested in my needs, not Microsoft's. The day they stop offering me what I need, is the day they will lose my business. Windows 8 isn't quite at that point yet, in my opinion, but who knows what Windows 9 will force on us.

 

[Cerb]

The Windows 8 hate is all about being forced to use the new UI. Most versions of Windows have had new things that made me go yuck. . . In XP I always went back to the old style of Start menu and Classic theme. In Vista I quickly turned off the Widget area. In Windows 7 the first thing I do is switch the taskbar to small icons and never combine.

Stubborn mules like me have always been able to take a fresh version of Windows and change the options until it looks like Windows 2000 again. The fact that we can't is the root of all the hate.

The trick is to keep it a slowly changing dimension.

I'll take the start menu as an example. The new XP start menu was pointless. Add keyboard focus to search box that can double as a command line, which used to be the reason I used Litestep, and it is at least better than not having it, even if you're not too keen on extra clicks it adds. By the time they got rid of the old start menu, they had done enough work to make people either like the new one better, or at least like it well enough not complain. That is a good development strategy, as it allows feedback from users to guide future changes, before too many bad decisions can be made.

MS can't reasonably compete with Google or Apple in their own turf. Not gonna happen. What they could have done, but aren't, is take over Blackberry's niche, with full MS vertical suites. But, mobile Win 8 not handling domains makes their own platform no better for that than iOS or Android.

 

[Mem]

Apparently drivers from Windows7 will function under Windows 8 if the installer is made properly so Win8 can recognize it.

Using Win7 drivers is one thing but having proper optimized drivers for Win8 is obviously better.