faetal on 22/1/2014 at 19:35
I'd say there's already some market for a Steam box.
Hands up anyone who likes playing a decent proportion of their PC games with a gamepad.
Hands up anyone who likes playing the PC games which are amenable to gamepad use because it allows you to play in a non-hunched over posture and also enhances immersion a little by rarely requiring you to look at your input method.
Hands up who'd like to add a settee in to this scenario and doesn't already have their gaming PC hooked up to theirs.
Having said that, I don't feel any need for one. I'd imagine there is a very solid set of reasons behind making it though.
SubJeff on 22/1/2014 at 20:25
I would like to be able to play some PC games on the TV, on the couch, with a controller. The rest I want to play on the monitor with the m&kb. I don't see the point of the Steam boxes tbh. Half the games are really best played with m&kb.
faetal on 22/1/2014 at 22:01
I'll agree that it's hard to see them as a "must buy" item, and it's puzzling why anyone would want to go all out developing a "might be nice" one, but I can't help but feel there is some angle that Valve have spotted that isn't immediately obvious. I don't want one, because I have a PC, but if I needed a new one, perhaps I might opt for a laptop for business and a steam box for pleasure. I'm not sure, I just think they must have already gone over all of this - there is a fair bit of money riding on it after all. For sure a HL3 exclusive may prove quite the catalyst.
Renzatic on 22/1/2014 at 22:33
HL3 being an exclusive would be a big draw towards it, no doubt. Thing is, Valve has stated they don't intend on releasing any exclusives for it. If it's available for SteamOS, it'll be available everywhere else.
That's not to say they don't have some angle to play. They probably do. But whatever it ends up being, it won't be HL3.
Ostriig on 22/1/2014 at 22:57
Quote Posted by Renzatic
In other words, I don't see any huge perks to it at the moment, but I don't think it being around is that bad of a thing, either.
Don't get me wrong, assuming Valve stick with their "no exclusives" approach I'm all for it too. I generally fear further irritating market fragmentation when new players walk in, but with Valve I'm willing to wait before I cry foul. If anything, it catching on a bit could get more PCs in the livingroom and also show Microsoft the stick in case whatever prick follows Ballmer decides to get all (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_%28technology_company%29) extra prickly.
Quote Posted by faetal
Hands up...
In which case the admittedly significant benefit of SteamOS will be the £0 pricetag, with tradeoffs remaining to be seen. Ubuntu's getting getting quite user-friendly, I hear, so yeah, maybe you will be able to put together a second PC just for the livingroom without having to get another Windows license. But other than that I'm assuming you can play from the couch with a gamepad on Windows just as well.
faetal on 22/1/2014 at 23:13
At the very least, it'll be a "this thing plays my games without all of the admin" buillshit, but in that respect, how is it not just a linux console? What is its niche?
Yakoob on 23/1/2014 at 05:25
Quote Posted by Renzatic
I can't think of a single good reason to jump ship for SteamOS other than "hey, try and support the little guys too". But beyond that, there's nothing appealing to the platform other than that simple fact it's an alternative.
True, but so was the case for Steam when it first came out, and look at it now. I really do think this is a long-term plan, start crappy now and refine based on feedback while slowly woeing people in. It seems to have worked for Valve in the past
Quote:
At the very least, it's mere existence works as some slight assurance that we won't be forced off Windows to the Xbox if MS decides to abandon PC gaming altogether for a more centralized, controlled platform.
And I think this is a major point we shouldn't underestimate - even if SteamBoxes themselves kinda suck, they are creating an incentive for devs to actually consider developing for Linux. Wait a few years, get some Linux-friendly triple-A titles + more SteamBox market adoption aaand...
SubJeff on 23/1/2014 at 11:19
I'd never even though of MS doing something like that. How could they possibly enforce it anyway? If people want to make games for Windows how could they stop them?
faetal on 23/1/2014 at 12:01
(
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/steams-newell-windows-8-catastrophe-driving-valve-to-embrace-linux/) Pow.
Seems I was over-stating by thinking that W8 would block out Steam by mandate, it seems Newell is just concerned with W8 marketplace as a
competitor for Steam that windows will probably be pushing quite heavily. It is a worry as MS gets to decide how the entire operating system integrates with the app store, giving it an unfair advantage (which MS have been guilty of exploiting many times previously) so it's easy to see why Valve might be worried.
I've been hearing a lot of goof things about linux lately. Seems it's not just a neckbeard thing these days. Maybe he's right, maybe linux + games could be a genuine contender for windows. Either way, real competition is a good thing as it will force everyone to up their game considerably.
EvaUnit02 on 23/1/2014 at 12:19
Have you got any more ancient articles with hilariously wrong, poor man's Nostradamus predictions? Windows 8 came out, Metro UI and its app store are 100% ignorable (which is exactly what the majority of W8 adopters did). Modern Windows remains a completely open platform and it's much better than its fossilised ancestor from 2009, which the oblivious cling to en masse.
