Valve founder Gabe Newell, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson and Blizzard rep Rob Pardo are all quite apprehensive about Microsoft Windows 8.
But not Electronic Arts (EA) bigwig Peter Moore, who appears to be cautiously optimistic about Microsoft’s latest iteration of its flagship operating system.
“We’re working very closely with Microsoft to understand what their views on gaming navigation are,” Moore told Bloomberg on the sideline of the Gamescom conference in Germany. ”Anything that allows more platforms to be adopted quickly that have a gaming element is good for Electronic Arts.”
Meanwhile, Robert Jakobsen, an analyst at Jyske Bank A/S (JYSK) in Silkeborg, Denmark, said he believed it was of the utmost importance for Microsoft to attract gamers in an effort to lure them away from Android and iOS.
“Due to Windows Phone 8’s relation to the classical Windows PC programs, it is a good platform for game developers,” said Jakbosen. “This is clearly a step forward for Microsoft’s mobile operation system.”
As noted above, Moore’s cautious optimism stands in direct contrast to other industry heavyweights. Indeed, Persson recently claimed that plans for its next-gen operating system could very well threaten the concept of “open and free” platforms.
“If Microsoft decides to lock down Windows 8, it would be very, very bad for Indie games and competition in general,” Persson said during an interview with the Reddit community. ”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.”
Persson’s comments were made just days after Valve founder Gabe Newell termed the upcoming OS a “catastrophe” for everyone in the PC space.
“There’s a strong temptation [for Microsoft] to close the platform. [This is] because they look at what they can accomplish when they limit the competitors’ access to the platform, and they say, ‘that’s really exciting.’
“[So] I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality,” he added.
