Hi Sarah, Quote But it would really be a pitty if this only is possible at the cost of features that would be possible in Windows, but not for the other OS, for example force feedback support wich I would really love to see in the game. End quote
Well, currently allot of the problem in this area is that computers in general are not major game companies primary target environment. If I was going to list gaming platforms according to statistics it would be in an order like: Sony Play Station, XBox, Nintendo Wii, Windows PC, Mac OS X, and Linux would get last place. As a result the Play Station and PSP would end up with all the research and development capital, followed by XBox, Wii, etc. Since Microsoft both owns the Windows and XBox gaming markets they have been working on a framework for game companies to target both with the same platform called XNA. Obviously, since Microsoft has both the money and resources features on XBox and Windows are going to be superior to Mac and Linux who are trailing behind both in technology and general support from the game comunity as a whole. In the passed any time a game became available for Mac or Linux it was only after it was released and made big sales in the Windows market. For example, around year 1999 the companies who made Civilization, Quake, etc hired a company called Loki Games to port all there games to the Linux platform. Unfortunately, for Linux gaming sales were not so great, and the project was stopped in 2001. Looking back on that mistake most game companies do not consider Linux a viable gaming platform except for those writing their games in Java which can be ported with very little cost to Mac and Linux. However, my opinion is that the game companies tried to go Linux before the market was there to sustain it. After all statistics have shown that the Linux PC market has nearly doubled since 2000, and Ubuntu Linux has become the Linux of choice for Del, many universities, and home users. So what I am basically saying is that Linux and Mac are great operating systems but some areas like gaming technology tend to be behind the general mmarket standards, because they have to play catch up with the big players like Sony and Microsoft. For Linux the GPL hobbles them in a special way, because anything that is introduced in to the core operating system must meet open source guidelines and standards. This is contrary to the big corperations view that they have to license, sell, and market everything with soul control over it. For example, Sony owns soul control over what can and can not be created for the Play Station. Last time I checked they wanted $25000 just for the PS2 and PSP developers kit, and that didn't include any royalties and licensing fees for using the platform. Even if you create a game then the game goes up to a review board which reviews the game and decides if it will be released to the general market. As a result they can license the technology for huge somes of cash, millions, and they don't have to share any secrets or use open source and free technology as they do it. Though, I believe Sony is currently using a modified Linux os for their core PS III technology as interesting as that sounds. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
