So...Steam is a closed platform as well. We have a game on Steam, and I can tell you that the sales on the Steam platform are much better than the other open ones. One of the reasons for this is the big user base, but the closed nature of the platform is also a large factor.
Kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black.
Steam isn't the platform that the games run on. Windows is. Steam is a distribution platform. There is no reason you can't use other distribution methods on the same computer and the same OS installation.
Also, in the article I don't think Gabe Newell ever says that the problem with Windows is that it is closed per se. It's not as though he fails to realize that Steam is not open source software.
It's one thing for an OS to implement a Store, it's another for a third party application to do so. It's the same thing people say about Gatekeeper and the AppStore. I think it's too early to get too scared.
That having been said, I don't understand why Steam being a closed platform makes your users more likely to buy from them. And in that sense, what is an "open" store? Apt/Yum/etc?
Because there is less competition. Open game stores are flooded with games, mostly of low quality. It makes it very hard to stand out and you just fall off the front page really fast. There is too much noise and everything gets the same billing regardless of quality, unless you hit a top sales spot. However, top sales spots frequently have less to do with quality and more to do with appealing to the lowest common denominator.
Just look at the ios app store, the top is generally freemium games or games that are actually thinly veiled skinner boxes with some nice art. Either that or casual games that have broad appeal because they are simple games.
On Steam you get top billing for at least 2 weeks after release.
Some open store examples: Desura, Indievania, XBLIG, android, even the mac app store is pretty open compared to Steam.
Kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black.