Click here to read article: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/179420/


I'm slightly worried by reading this article. What do you think? Will it catch on? Will MS fail to do it? What will happen to all the freedom in the software and games we're so used to using for the past 20 years?

(tl;dr Possibly in the future, for Windows 8, you may only install programs that are approved by Microsoft through the Windows Store. They have very strict requirements (as detailed on http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx section 5.1))

PC gamers will be going to Linux in droves and developers will be developing for same.

This sounds stupid. I'll stick to Win7 for now, thanks.

Screw Win8.

Fearmongering and click-grabbing. Nothing more.

Windows RT will be store-only, but so is iOS and restricted versions of Android like Amazon's android fork.

Windows running on x86-based hardware won't be. Windows now has a software distribution channel, but guess what? So does the vast majority of Linux distros and Mac OS X. Microsoft, if anything, is late to this party. Business and specialty software will never be offered over it, but will still be needed. If they were to be foolish enough to try and do it, then the EU would slap them down and so would Fortune 500s.

I used Windows 8 Release Preview from May through September and I am now running Windows 8 Professional final build. I honestly like it.
As to not being able to install games in the future, there will always be some workaround. As DEFRON said though, I doubt Microsoft would limit their OS like that.

That's a slight misinterpretation. I have no doubts that if they thought they could get away with it, they would. That's exactly why on Windows RT (Windows 8 for ARM) you can't install anything outside their store: because they can get away with it (just like how they locked the bootloader to block competing OSes). Microsoft knows, though, that they can't get away with it on the desktop, but if they thought they could I'm certain they would try to just like they are doing on ARM.

These rumors persist about upcoming Mac OS's, as well. (It's annoying reading editorials in mags like Macworld and seeing iOS loonies saying that it would be a good thing. Feh. Keep your hand-held touchscreen crap off my desktop. )

How is it fearmongering if the author is quoting the language used by Microsoft in its legal documents?

I'm not going to read through 5 pages of what has already been discussed and thoroughly proven to be fearmongering, but if you can link to any said pages of their "legal documents" I'd gladly check them out.

Basically a whole lot of speculation and I'd say fear mongering in that article. Also, the article does not quote Microsoft's "legal documents" but rather the TechNet articles that describe Windows 8 Store and sideloading.

1. Windows Store apps must be signed by Microsoft - we already knew this.
2. Windows Store apps cannot be distributed legally without first being signed by Microsoft - this only makes sense. It's a closed system.
3. People can still install programs outside of the Windows Store, they just won't be in the Metro UI / whatever it is called - we also knew this.
4. Sideloading on Windows 8 Enterprise and Windows Server 2012 is hard - oh gee, you think the IT department really wants you to sideload Angry Birds onto your company workstation? Please. Raise your hand if you actually use Windows Server 2008 to play video games instead of using it as a server.

Microsoft isn't stupid. They may be evil, they may be wrong sometimes (sometimes very, very wrong), but stupid they are not. If they thought they could get away with closing Windows 8 so that sideloading wasn't possible, I'm sure they would. They know, however, that doing so would kill development on Windows pretty quickly.

According to the current rules, yes, Skyrim and other games wouldn't be allowed to be put up on the Windows 8 Store due to being rated Mature and whatnot. But we have Steam and other distribution channels for a reason. Get back to me when Microsoft closes down those channels.

As long as there is a profitable market for PC games, there will be a market for PC games.

Saying differently is fear-mongering.

Gotta love the internet.

Pretty much this. The only thing certification does is puts it on Microsoft's store and allows the program to make use of the Metro interface. Other programs will still be available.