As Microsoft focuses less on gaming, they lose the only differentiating factor against Linux and MacOS. Linux is getting easier to use out of the box everyday. If you take a look at any recent distro, you see that the process of installing, updating, and using software is very streamlined now. Debian based distros include a solid driver base, making the OS install quick and painless. If not for gaming, what would make a new (basic) user prefer Windows over Linux? Web browsing, movies, music, porn, online chat, and office applications all are available on Linux.

MacOS is… well, still targeted for people who can’t be bothered to use software more complex than iTunes and a web browser. The people that go for Apple products usually follow their herd instincts. For example, I assume most computer illiterate people get Windows because it is what Dell or HP sells their systems with. They don’t really care what features an operating system has, they just want whatever everyone else is using. It isn’t necessarily a bad instinct, because if we researched the fine details of every decision we make, we would waste more time looking than doing. So 6 years down the road, these consumers are going to buy a new computer, and they see their friends using non-Microsoft systems. Wouldn’t that make them more likely to get a non-Microsoft OS with their new computer? Then what happens when the next buying cycle comes around? More people are exposed to alternatives, and more switchers are born.

I forsee big troubles for Microsoft’s cash cow if gaming loses ground on Windows.