Just sourcing what he's said in the article and what the article links to, it seems that Microsoft is fast headed to a closed platform similar to what Apple has on iPhone. It's not too hard to imagine that we might someday have to jailbreak our desktops to play some games.
There are other reasons I could give, such as lackluster kernel performance developments, that would impede game development and performance. It's also not too much a stretch to say that if you want to be able to run games seriously on a PC, it'd be handy to have a minimalized OS in which to run it, without so much overhead for whatever else the PC might be doing.
such as lackluster kernel performance developments, that would impede game development and performance
Be honest, this is FUD. My own experience and every report I have read is that Windows 8 is faster than Windows 7 hands down. And how is Steam not a closed system? In the talk he complains it took 6 months to get an Apple Store update through. How long does it take to make changes to games on Steam? Can I put a game on Steam today? No? How long does it take?
This isn't about Open vs Closed. This is about Gabe In Control vs Gabe Not In Control.
It is, but currently relies on an specific level of openness in a platform to operate.
Microsoft and Apple are vertical integrators. They don't.
So when the parent said "it seems that Microsoft is fast headed to a closed platform" they were referring to specific aspect(s) of the openness of the platform (Windows). Not saying that Steam was a free-for-all.
I'm all for games on Linux, but the reason why he's saying "Linux is the future" is because the MS Store is threatening Steam's business model if it stays on Windows.
No, you can still run games on Win 8 that you can run on Win 7.
Gabe is stating that for Valve and their digital distribution platform Steam, Windows 8 is a 'hostile' environment. They could potentially be blocked/forbidden from deploying steam on Win8 (or future version of windows) as the Windows App store could take it's place as well as any steam updates/game updates would have to go through Microsoft which would cause unnecessary delays/overhead.
"Viable" doesn't just mean the game runs; it also means that Steam makes money on it. And Steam may be making a lot less money in the future due to the Windows app store.
What does this mean? I am able to run every game on Windows 8 that I was able to run on Windows 7.