While I agree to a point, I do think the "wild west" nature of a lot of Win32 apps kind of prevented it as they couldn't manage the security. If there were some way to wrap the Win32 apps in their own individual sandboxes without hampering function, then I could see it working. But with everything else they have to get going, I guess it is too tough a nut to crack right now (if could be cracked).
They don't have to sell all existing legacy Win32 apps in the store, but they should at least allow some Win32 apps.
About malicious software, I think it would be very dangerous legally for the malicious developer to expose his personal and financial information to MS and expect nothing happens when caught.
true, but I think (not certain) Microsoft's aim is security via sandboxing, so without thorough testing of the various Win32 apps, I don't see how it gets done. And I could just imagine the blog post from a Win32 developer when their Windows Store release breaks because it doesn't have the same access privileges as the proper version. Then users request added security but with no net impact on user experience/expectations and all that.
And all it would take is the developer to claim that their machine had a virus unbeknownst to them that somehow made its way into their binary.
Dunno, Steam is in a position where they don't really have to care about the Windows brand but Microsoft does, so they have a bit more freedom than Microsoft in that.
