Should we give negative reviews to Windows only games?

[>noderunner_]

I'm sure a lot of you folks have games in your Steam library that are Windows only, maybe you've even gotten some of them more or less working through WINE or a VM.

Maybe you've noticed that some of the games already have OSX support but the developers haven't even put in the bit of effort to bring it all the way to Linux, or the game uses DOSBOX or Unity and easily could have Linux support but doesn't.

Do you think that giving a Windows only game a poor review for not supporting your platform is justified? And if so, do you think that these negative reviews from Linux users may encourage developers to support more platforms?

Edit:
You guys are right, and I'm wrong.

Reviews are not a method for influencing developers to support certain platforms, nor is it intended to be a method to punish them for not doing so. Posting a negative review for not supporting Linux is a useless review since it's clearly marked what operating systems it supports and the resulting effect on the game's total score does not give a true reflection of the game's actual quality for the operating systems it does support.

[Dalek]

No.

[TheLimeyDragon]

No, you should give bad reviews to games that are bad (buggy, boring, etc).. not because it doesn't support your OS.

[HER0 01]

No.

I would say this is only necessary if the store page lists Linux support, but I believe that Steam cleaned all that up anyway. Even then, better to just ask the dev to fix it. Linux users already know not to buy it if it is not supported, it won't help us pick games.

In my opinion, it is better to positively reinforce devs who do support us than to negatively support those who don't. If we come off as too hostile, it might just scare a dev away from porting... and that is pretty hostile to me. Imagine every journalist giving poor reviews for a game they might have even enjoyed just because it wasn't on PS4.

[>noderunner_]

Originally posted by HER0 01:

I would say this is only necissary if the store page lists Linux support, but I believe that Steam cleaned all that up anyway. Linux users already know not to buy it if it is not supported, it won't help us pick games.

In my opinion, it is better to positively reenforce devs who do support us than to negatively support those who don't. If we come off as too hostile, it might just scare a dev away from porting, and that is pretty hostile to me. Imagine every journalist giving poor reviews for a game they might have even enjoyed just because it wasn't on PS4.

While I agree that positive reinforcement is far better than negative, I don't see why negative reviews need to be seen as hostile or aggressive. They're more from a place of disappointment and sadness of being unable to play the game. What dev would be scared away from a community who are genuinely upset that they can't play your game? It should be taken as a complement.

Console exclusivity deals are a whole 'nother bag of worms and are not really comparable.

[HER0 01]

Sorry, giving a negative review seems... negative. Better to comment on their forums to ask about Linux support than to give them a bunch of thumbs down and lower rankings, especially if you like the game or haven't played it.

Originally posted by ¡on:

Console exclusivity deals are a whole 'nother bag of worms and are not really comparable.

I didn't say anything about exclusives, just an example of giving bad reviews because it isn't on your favorite platform.

[>noderunner_]

Originally posted by HER0 01:

Sorry, giving a negative review seems... negative. Better to comment on their forums to ask about Linux support than to give them a bunch of thumbs down and lower rankings, especially if you like the game or haven't played it.

We've all seen these types of posts, they're usually ignored and buried or ridiculed by Windows users with responses like "Their engine probably doesn't compile in Linux. Just install another OS."

With that said, I have noticed some positive response from developers regarding Linux support on certain game's discussion boards on Steam and that's been definitely promising.

[Dalek]

If you give a negative review, you are "helping" people to avoid buying a game, or at least doubt about it, I can't get how do you think a dev will considere porting to linux in that way? It's really lame, more than those stupid "funny" reviews.

[HER0 01]

You are correct, sometimes the Steam forums are not the best place. The best place is the developer's preferred place for interacting with the community, whether that be Steam Community, their own forums, Twitter, email, or anything else. Often times devs will respond with "we are working on it" or "we cannot do this right now." The place for that discussion is almost never in the reviews.

[Brian [Linux]]

Absolutely not, if you bought the game and only Windows was available, how is that the developer's fault? Don't give a bad name to Linux users by doing this.

[Dekonega]

No. It's a very aggressive tactic and one that makes us look bad. What you need to do is to buy games that are available for Linux natively. Asking for a Linux version by contacting the customer support and politely asking for it and writing about it to Steam forum works better.

[franky_boy]

hmmm... review a game negativly only cause of lack of support... sense?

[>noderunner_]

Originally posted by Brian Linux:

Absolutely not, if you bought the game and only Windows was available, how is that the developer's fault?

It's not the developer's fault for buying a non-Linux game, but it is the developer's choice to support Linux or not and I may disagree with that choice.

Originally posted by Brian Linux:

Don't give a bad name to Linux users by doing this.

Each Linux user is his own person, some good and some bad. The idea that all Linux users are negative people because some of them posted negative reviews is clearly not the case. I believe that anyone intelligent enough to develop software would be smart enough to realize this.

[Dalek]

Anyone intelligent enough to develop software would be smart enough to ignore useless reviews too.

[TheLimeyDragon]

There are so many reasons why doing this is wrong/bad/awful idea.

[Brian [Linux]]

Originally posted by ¡on:

Originally posted by Brian Linux:

Absolutely not, if you bought the game and only Windows was available, how is that the developer's fault?

It's not the developer's fault for buying a non-Linux game, but it is the developer's choice to support Linux or not and I may disagree with that choice.

Then don't buy their game. You don't need to take a dump on their hard work just because they don't support Linux. If they promised linux support and don't deliver, that is a different matter.

Originally posted by Brian Linux:

Don't give a bad name to Linux users by doing this.

Each Linux user is his own person, some good and some bad. The idea that all Linux users are negative people because some of them posted negative reviews is clearly not the case. I believe that anyone intelligent enough to develop software would be smart enough to realize this.

Did I say all linux users are negative people, really? And yes, you make Linux users look like jerks when you post a negative review of a good game just because it doesn't have support. If you spent your hard earned money on a game that you can't play just to give a negative review, who is unintelligent person?

You asked for people's opinion on this and it is a resounding no from what I've read.