Linux has always been considered the “want-to-be” of Windows. The bad reputation it has with program support, driver support, and graphics quality has been the biggest offset of Linux. As more and more programmers begin to look at supporting their programs natively on Linux, this idea of Linux is changing. But here is another side of this: for the companies that see no need to provide Linux support (either because they do not believe that Linux is professional, or that Linux will allow them to turn any revenue) there is another option. Even more open-source programs, such as WINE, are changing the definition of “Multi-Platform”.
Many programs written to work only on Windows are now available to Linux users (semi-natively) without the intent of the companies that make the programs. Programs like WINE have been around for quite some time, but they are improving their abilities at an extremely fast rate. Even Internet Explorer can work under WINE in Linux! Duplicating Windows at a very fast rate, soon every program available to Windows will be able to run on Linux, with only a few proprietary exceptions. Once Linux is able to play a majority of high-graphics computer games with little to no installation difficulty, many gamers will start to switch over.
“I would use Linux in a heartbeat if it could play all my games” said one gamer. I asked him to describe the installation process a game (World of Warcraft): “It was simple, but in the end it was the launcher that was having the biggest problems. I could not tell it it was the computer being a piece of crap or if Linux was having problems.” These small problems have been the biggest stopping point. The prospect of Linux as a gaming platform appeals to gamers. I asked another gamer why the ability of Linux to play games was such a great thing: “Windows just has so many extra processes, I think Linux would be faster”.
In the general nature of the operating system, Linux has many advantages such as not having a registry, cluttered “startup” programs, and not being totally bloated with junk software. The people behind most distributions of Linux want to keep the operating system as reserved as possible to assure that it continues to run as it does now (or better) in the future. These ideals appeal to more than just gamers, home users who are looking at Linux and have tried it in the past may also become interested in the capabilities of Linux being able to run Windows programs as the technology improves and gets better.
So is there a decent solution in the future or is it up to the developers to port the game to linux?
This is a very good question. From the progress that services such as WINE are making (really, wine is the only one making very noticeable progress at the moment) I think that gradually, programs are going to be supported in Linux without choice! However, this is still a ways into the future. Not only that, but each time a new version of Windows comes out, things must be updated — keeping up with this will be a challenge for open-source software like WINE.
Developers will eventually begin to make programs available to Linux natively. Native applications run better and with less flaws than ones that run under an application support layer (wine).
Here is an example of something tied into Windows that just won’t cross over to Linux through application layer support:
Many programs have launchers that use the API included with Internet Explorer. In Linux, because Internet Explorer can not be installed to function exactly as it does in Windows, these features in launchers fail. The program often still works, but that one (sometimes critical) feature will not.
Many developers have made programs that work fine in WINE (without intending to do so). Their programs can take more advantage over the operating system and it’s abilities if it is supported natively, however. Also, sometimes the way those old Windows DLL files work is not very — lets just say parts of Windows can be slow, and thus parts of a support layer can have that same problem. Rely less on those sorts of things, and a program can work faster.