Joe Barr’s article, Commercial gaming: Can it thrive on Linux? asks the question “Can a game company make a profit producing commercial offerings for Linux?” and goes into detail on how MyGameCompany.com and Sillysoft are hoping to show the world that it can be done. Both companies are offering demo games on their websites, that after expiration, are obtainable for a fee.

The games look fun and interesting, but I have doubts.

For one, I’m afraid that big time game designers and manufactures [read: money hungry companies] just don’t see a strong enough market to spend time and money on development and porting to Linux. The fact is, Linux is based on open source and the free software philosophy. If not enough users are spending money on the actual operating system, what would make game developers believe that their games would be profitable on the Linux desktop?

Don’t get me wrong, I think revolutionizing gaming on the Linux desktop would launch the desktop into a whole new market and give it the exposure it deserves, but when you look at the facts from a business perspective, it’s understandable why some, or most, of the gaming companies are not wasting their time and money on development for Linux.

Maybe it’s time the Linux community revolts, and shows the world that we’re willing to pay for games that are worth our buck. Or maybe we should say screw the big time game developers, and stick to NetHack.

What do you think?

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