Poll: What will the release of Steam Machines mean to you?

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lacktheknack

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Jan 19, 2009
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Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
They've released a new game every single year since Half Life, except 2002.

They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.
So...that's like 3 games from their 5 franchises. One new game I never heard of, and a game that's been playable to the general public for forever and just now got out of beta. Yes. Solid track record.

Portal 2 came out almost 4 years ago.

L4D2 came out 6 years ago.

Counter-Strke Global Offensive is the only game that came out last year.

Dota 2 has been around since 2011 as a very public beta testing.

So...that's two games that they actually released last year. with everything else being done 4-5 years ago. Yeah, that's not a new game every year.

Protip: Never ever ever ever ever ever ever rely on numbers that you "remember".

2008: Left 4 Dead
2009: Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Alien Swarm
2011: Portal 2
2012: Counter Strike: Global Offensive
2013: Official Release of DOTA 2

As I said, Valve has released a new game every year since Half Life, except for 2002.

If you wish to contest this, go look up their release history (simple Wiki search) and find that what I've said is true.

Literally pulling numbers out of your dragonbum doesn't actually help you. -_______-

Don't let your disappointment over the lack of one specific game make you say patently ridiculous things.
except I specifically stated that I don't care for Half Life 3.
...So you're saying patently ridiculous things for no reason at all.
 

lacktheknack

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Thoralata said:
The Steam Machine is just a brand of computer. Like Hewlett Packard or Alienware. And it has an entire operating system based around Steam?

You know Valve, at least Mac and Linux try to pretend they're more useful than Windows. You just explicitly states why nobody should buy this. SteamOS. Your crappy software put into an entire operating system? You guys are idiots.
SteamOS IS Linux. Therefore, every argument used to say that Linux is more useful than Windows directly applies to SteamOS.

Also, SteamOS is free, which is why you're the first person I've met to actually backlash against it.

If you don't want the Steam Machine, you can still get the OS for free and see if it's useful. Except you seem to dislike Steam, so don't bother. :D
 

step1999

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lacktheknack said:
Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
They've released a new game every single year since Half Life, except 2002.

They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.
So...that's like 3 games from their 5 franchises. One new game I never heard of, and a game that's been playable to the general public for forever and just now got out of beta. Yes. Solid track record.

Portal 2 came out almost 4 years ago.

L4D2 came out 6 years ago.

Counter-Strke Global Offensive is the only game that came out last year.

Dota 2 has been around since 2011 as a very public beta testing.

So...that's two games that they actually released last year. with everything else being done 4-5 years ago. Yeah, that's not a new game every year.

Protip: Never ever ever ever ever ever ever rely on numbers that you "remember".

2008: Left 4 Dead
2009: Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Alien Swarm
2011: Portal 2
2012: Counter Strike: Global Offensive
2013: Official Release of DOTA 2

Don't forget that they've released 2 or 3 new games worth of content in their TF2 updates.
 
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CrossLOPER said:
Absolutely nothing since I am still not sure why a "Steam machine" is better than my PC. I have not seen anything in the specs which proves anything other than that the machines seem underpowered. I have not seen one benchmark sheet or demo. If they are going to release this in a year, there are problems since it should be in late beta by this point.
it *is* in beta... lol why do you think they just sent out 300 steam machines to people to get them to test it out???

Edit: In-home game streaming between PCs of same or different OSs is about to start in an open beta test.
http://gamerant.com/steam-os-machine-streaming-details/

Well size for one is a difference with PCs... the size of these things is TINY compared to the size of pretty much all PCs of similar specs. Also Valve has stated that they are releasing the CAD designs for their case... so they are basically saying... if you don't want to buy one, BUILD ONE IF YOU WANT, all you need is the controller at that point.

If I were valve I would make the Steam Machines about 10% more than whatever it costs them to build and sell it. And then bundle ALL of Valve's games on it for free, including L4D3 and HL3 (which accidentally released info shows are in full swing and will *probably* release with Steam OS), already downloaded onto the HD and ready to play for anyone that buys a Steam Machine. That would allow valve to make an immediate profit (opposite to other consoles who are selling at a loss), that would MORE than justify the extra cost to people moving into the PC market for the first time, and since the Steam Machine is digital only (no optical drive) new customers will have games to play immediately while they wait for other titles to download. Add a bunch of other F2P titles also pre-downloaded on the HD, and the thing would practically come with a game library for free.

Hypothetical of course, but it could be good business sense.
 

Dragonbums

Indulge in it's whiffy sensation
May 9, 2013
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lacktheknack said:
Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
They've released a new game every single year since Half Life, except 2002.

They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.
So...that's like 3 games from their 5 franchises. One new game I never heard of, and a game that's been playable to the general public for forever and just now got out of beta. Yes. Solid track record.

Portal 2 came out almost 4 years ago.

L4D2 came out 6 years ago.

Counter-Strke Global Offensive is the only game that came out last year.

Dota 2 has been around since 2011 as a very public beta testing.

So...that's two games that they actually released last year. with everything else being done 4-5 years ago. Yeah, that's not a new game every year.

Protip: Never ever ever ever ever ever ever rely on numbers that you "remember".

2008: Left 4 Dead
2009: Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Alien Swarm
2011: Portal 2
2012: Counter Strike: Global Offensive
2013: Official Release of DOTA 2

As I said, Valve has released a new game every year since Half Life, except for 2002.

If you wish to contest this, go look up their release history (simple Wiki search) and find that what I've said is true.

Literally pulling numbers out of your dragonbum doesn't actually help you. -_______-

Don't let your disappointment over the lack of one specific game make you say patently ridiculous things.
except I specifically stated that I don't care for Half Life 3.
...So you're saying patently ridiculous things for no reason at all.
Right.

So you insist I'm pulling numbers out of my ass.

Yet if you did your subtraction math, you would see that that is exactly what I said anyway.

Portal 2 came out 20ll. That is nearly three years ago

Left 4 Dead 2 came out in 2009. That is 4 years ago

Alien Swarm came out in 2010 that's three years ago

Dota 2 has been in public "beta" since 2011. Even in Beta mode they still did various holiday specials and it might as well of been a released game in everything but title. that's still two years ago The only difference now is that it doesn't have the "beta" tagname on it.

I already acknowledged that Counter Strike Global offensive was the only game they released recently in my first post. However it's more convenient for you to ignore that part in favor of slinging insults at me.
 

PMAvers

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May 27, 2009
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The chance of me getting a Steam Machine is currently vastly greater than buying a XBOne or PS4 currently. Since it would actually have games I want to play.

Plus it has a bonus of not requiring a mandatory monthly fee to play online.
 

kasperbbs

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I'm not that interested in it, unless it turns out cheaper than building a PC and i can put windows on it, if thats true then i might buy one to replace my bulky old PC, but if it's restricted to steam OS then no thanks and i'm not interested in streaming games whatsoever. In any case i need more info on it, but i'm pretty sure that it's gonna be restricted to playing games that you have on steam and my library is pretty thin because of their shitty pricing.
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
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Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
They've released a new game every single year since Half Life, except 2002.

They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.
So...that's like 3 games from their 5 franchises. One new game I never heard of, and a game that's been playable to the general public for forever and just now got out of beta. Yes. Solid track record.

Portal 2 came out almost 4 years ago.

L4D2 came out 6 years ago.

Counter-Strke Global Offensive is the only game that came out last year.

Dota 2 has been around since 2011 as a very public beta testing.

So...that's two games that they actually released last year. with everything else being done 4-5 years ago. Yeah, that's not a new game every year.

Protip: Never ever ever ever ever ever ever rely on numbers that you "remember".

2008: Left 4 Dead
2009: Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Alien Swarm
2011: Portal 2
2012: Counter Strike: Global Offensive
2013: Official Release of DOTA 2

As I said, Valve has released a new game every year since Half Life, except for 2002.

If you wish to contest this, go look up their release history (simple Wiki search) and find that what I've said is true.

Literally pulling numbers out of your dragonbum doesn't actually help you. -_______-

Don't let your disappointment over the lack of one specific game make you say patently ridiculous things.
except I specifically stated that I don't care for Half Life 3.
...So you're saying patently ridiculous things for no reason at all.
Right.

So you insist I'm pulling numbers out of my ass.

Yet if you did your subtraction math, you would see that that is exactly what I said anyway.

Portal 2 came out 20ll. That is nearly three years ago

Left 4 Dead 2 came out in 2009. That is 4 years ago

Alien Swarm came out in 2010 that's three years ago

Dota 2 has been in public "beta" since 2011. Even in Beta mode they still did various holiday specials and it might as well of been a released game in everything but title. that's still two years ago The only difference now is that it doesn't have the "beta" tagname on it.

I already acknowledged that Counter Strike Global offensive was the only game they released recently in my first post. However it's more convenient for you to ignore that part in favor of slinging insults at me.
"Slinging insults".

It's a dark day when someone flagrantly disregards my statement and says that my attempts to move it back are "insults".

I said "Valve has released a game a year since Half Life, minus 2002" and then listed five games they'd released in the last five years.

Exact quote:

lacktheknack said:
They've released a new game every single year since Half Life, except 2002.

They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.

Don't let your disappointment over the lack of one specific game make you say patently ridiculous things.
You then took issue with this and mentioned a couple guesstimates that were both two years off.

I pointed out that you were completely wrong.

You then stretched your argument into some strange middle-logic where somehow, releasing five games in five years is somehow unacceptable. You were even so bold as to point out a game released two and a half years ago and then said "that's almost three years", as if that stretch of the truth would somehow not prove me entirely right in the first place. Also, apparently actively supporting a multiple-year beta is further evidence of corporate stagnation and laziness in your mind.

You're supposed to APPEAL to the person you're arguing with, not antagonize them with untruths.

Madame, you've lost this argument, and no insults were exchanged. Move on.
 

LightningFast

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Feb 6, 2013
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HMMPH! These steam-machines are a passing craze, I guarantee it! Just you wait! It'll be mere months until each and every one of their engines overheat and explode, killing thousands! What about our coal supplies, hmmm?! How am I supposed to keep my house warm with these confounded battleships consuming coal faster than we can mine it! PREPOSTEROUS, I SAY!!

====

Alright, I'm moderately proud of that joke someone else probably made. Now that's out of the way, I commend Valve for taking a risk; the Steam Box and its brethren are only going to appeal to a niche market, as consoles at large seem to be more popular for gaming (don't quote me on that) and most PC gamers... well, they already own a PC. Of course, there seems to be a sizable demographic shifting over from consoles to PC in light of the recent (and, from my perspective, justified) skepticism regarding the two recently released consoles.

Can't say I'm a fan of controllers in general, at least for first/third person shooters and strategy games (which happen to make up the bulk of what I play), but the Steam controller is interesting to say the least. I'd need to purchase or borrow one and get a feel for it
 

Dragonbums

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May 9, 2013
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lacktheknack said:
Literally pulling numbers out of your dragonbum doesn't actually help you. -_______-
It's a dark day when someone flagrantly disregards my statement and says that my attempts to move it back are "insults".
Right.

I said "Valve has released a game a year since Half Life, minus 2002" and then listed five games they'd released in the last five years.

Exact quote:



They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.


You then took issue with this and mentioned a couple guesstimates that were both two years off.
So I was wrong on two of them where I specifically stated that they were almostreleased X amount of years ago? Yet that's me being wrong. And considering I only got two of them "wrong" so to speak means that you posting those dates there mean nothing to me since those are basically the dates I was referring to anyway.


You then stretched your argument into some strange middle-logic where somehow, releasing five games in five years is somehow unacceptable.
That's not what I said. I said I find it funny that companies like Ubisoft, Nintendo, and various other companies get chewed out on the Escapist all the time for only making games for a specific franchise(s) yet Valve gets a free pass and a shield to go with it despite the fact that 3 of their 5 games are sequels/expansions to their existing IP. Let's not even forget that a good chunk of them weren't even made by Valve in the first place, but rather they hired the people who made the original concepts of said games and put a Valve coat of paint on it. Any other company who did that would be called out as being a hack. Valve are called out as geniuses. Does that mean those games are bad? No.

But I find it funny that it tends to be ignored while we all criticize the likes of EA for doing the same thing.


You were even so bold as to point out a game released two and a half years ago and then said "that's almost three years", as if that stretch of the truth would somehow not prove me entirely right in the first place.
How is saying that a stretch of the truth? We are 1 1/3 months away from it being the end of the 2013 year as of today. That is very much almost 5 years since Valve first released L4D2.



Also, apparently actively supporting a multiple-year beta is further evidence of corporate stagnation and laziness in your mind.
Yes. on a dev team of creative individuals only bug fixing, and adding content updates to a continuous running game isn't exactly Valve using all of their creative horsepower.

What was the last new thing Valve has done? Or since we have a hard on for new IP's outside of Alien Swarm (which I only knew existed until now) what new IP have they come up with (That they didn't just hire from the outside like they did for TF2, and Portal)

We can criticize Activision for adding DLC content to Assassins Creed, or how the AAA industry add ass loads of DLC content and continue support to their games and talk about how uninspired they are, but with Valve it's a whole nother ball game?

You're supposed to APPEAL to the person you're arguing with, not antagonize them with untruths.
Except for the fact that I never said any "untruths" if I recall.

Madame, you've lost this argument, and no insults were exchanged. Move on.
Yes. Because nobody is allowed to criticize Valve as a game developer studio.

That's the problem with Valve. It's like any criticism directed their way is deflected immediately. The only legitimate criticism against them that nobody bothers to defend is their Steam policies.

But man oh man, the moment you criticism them as a game company you are in for it.
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
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Dragonbums said:
lacktheknack said:
Literally pulling numbers out of your dragonbum doesn't actually help you. -_______-
It's a dark day when someone flagrantly disregards my statement and says that my attempts to move it back are "insults".
Right.

That's not an insult...

I said "Valve has released a game a year since Half Life, minus 2002" and then listed five games they'd released in the last five years.

Exact quote:



They've released Portal 2, Left 4 Dead AND Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and DOTA 2 in the last five years.


You then took issue with this and mentioned a couple guesstimates that were both two years off.
So I was wrong on two of them where I specifically stated that they were almostreleased X amount of years ago? Yet that's me being wrong. And considering I only got two of them "wrong" so to speak means that you posting those dates there mean nothing to me since those are basically the dates I was referring to anyway.

"Almost"? I certainly don't recall that word being used. So yeah... that's you being wrong.

And they mean nothing to you... why? Because you were referring to the dates that prove my point?


You then stretched your argument into some strange middle-logic where somehow, releasing five games in five years is somehow unacceptable.
That's not what I said. I said I find it funny that companies like Ubisoft, Nintendo, and various other companies get chewed out on the Escapist all the time for only making games for a specific franchise(s) yet Valve gets a free pass and a shield to go with it despite the fact that 3 of their 5 games are sequels/expansions to their existing IP. Let's not even forget that a good chunk of them weren't even made by Valve in the first place, but rather they hired the people who made the original concepts of said games and put a Valve coat of paint on it. Any other company who did that would be called out as being a hack. Valve are called out as geniuses. Does that mean those games are bad? No.

But I find it funny that it tends to be ignored while we all criticize the likes of EA for doing the same thing.

I don't recall you ever saying this...

You do realize that I'm not "insertcleverphrase", right? I've been following this post train since "Valve is a listless game company", since which you've said one subtle line about franchise milking.

I went back further, and all I can find is one other one-off line about franchise-milking. If that's really your core argument, you've done a terrible job.

So no... you've been arguing that Valve doesn't really make games anymore.

Which is blatantly false. Along with other statements you've made, such as:

So...that's two games that they actually released last year. with everything else being done 4-5 years ago. Yeah, that's not a new game every year.

And:

Portal 2 came out almost 4 years ago.

L4D2 came out 6 years ago.

Anyways...

You were even so bold as to point out a game released two and a half years ago and then said "that's almost three years", as if that stretch of the truth would somehow not prove me entirely right in the first place.
How is saying that a stretch of the truth? We are 1 1/3 months away from it being the end of the 2013 year as of today. That is very much almost 5 years since Valve first released L4D2.

Portal 2 was released in April, not January So add four months to the 1 1/3... oh.

Left 4 Dead 2 was released in late November. It's four years old as of a week ago.

It's still warping facts to support your position, which doesn't work. It only antagonizes people who read it.

Also, apparently actively supporting a multiple-year beta is further evidence of corporate stagnation and laziness in your mind.
Yes. on a dev team of creative individuals only bug fixing, and adding content updates to a continuous running game isn't exactly Valve using all of their creative horsepower.

What was the last new thing Valve has done? Or since we have a hard on for new IP's outside of Alien Swarm (which I only knew existed until now) what new IP have they come up with (That they didn't just hire from the outside like they did for TF2, and Portal)

We can criticize Activision for adding DLC content to Assassins Creed, or how the AAA industry add ass loads of DLC content and continue support to their games and talk about how uninspired they are, but with Valve it's a whole nother ball game?

You're saying "I'm not seeing a constant output of their creative output, so therefore they're sitting around wasting time. No, the two constant creative outputs they have (TF2 and DOTA2) do not count."

-____-

You also say that the hiring of people who've demonstrated talent doesn't count as "new IP". This means that Star Citizen is not new IP either, because it's made by people who made Wing Commander. It also means that Grim Dawn is not new IP, because it's made by the people that made Titan Quest.

-__________-

I'll give you the "continued support" remark being held to different standards, but despite what you want me to believe (presumably because you think I have the memory of a goldfish and lack the ability to scroll up), that's not what you were talking about before.

You're supposed to APPEAL to the person you're arguing with, not antagonize them with untruths.
Except for the fact that I never said any "untruths" if I recall.

See above.

Madame, you've lost this argument, and no insults were exchanged. Move on.
Yes. Because nobody is allowed to criticize Valve as a game developer studio.

That's the problem with Valve. It's like any criticism directed their way is deflected immediately. The only legitimate criticism against them that nobody bothers to defend is their Steam policies.

But man oh man, the moment you criticism them as a game company you are in for it.
Your criticisms aren't actually valid, though.

If you want to criticize them as a game company, focus on something that is true and exists.

Claiming they don't produce anything is patently false. This isn't a fanboy thing, it's a real-life thing.
 

Sight Unseen

The North Remembers
Nov 18, 2009
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ClausGrimm said:
Sight Unseen said:
ClausGrimm said:
Steam Machine == Waste of Money

I don't see the point of buying. Especially if you already own a Gaming PC. If you don't, you should just buy a gaming PC instead of using a gimped PC in the guise of this "Steam Machine". No point in buying one and I will feel sorry for the money wasted by people in buying it.
Steam Machines aren't even out yet. The specs, prices, and even manufacturers haven't even been announced yet. How can you say something like this when there is literally nothing more than early hype being built around these things.

Also you can turn your gaming PC INTO a steam machine and/or use SteamOS for (hopefully) better performance and more customiseability than Windows.

This argument of yours applies even more to regular consoles, as they are EVEN MORE gimped PCs which are completely locked down. So if you have this problem with Steam Machines then I hope you don't rationalize consoles as being fine but Steam Machines not fine.
Consoles are fine. The Steam machine is LITERALLY nothing but a PC that has been gimped and focused as an overpriced toy for your living room. Why waste the money on it when you can buy a PC and just stream that to your TV? It makes no sense.
How do you know it'll be overpriced? How do you know it'll be gimped? Of the units they're sending out for the 300 beta testers, some of them will be sporting NVidia TITANS and i7 processors. That's WAY better than my (by most people's standards really high powered) computer, so yeah if THAT Steam Machine got sold commercially (protip: it won't) then it WOULD be really expensive, because it's using a $1000 graphics card not even considering the other parts. But the thing with Steam Machines is that there will be lots of different ones made by different companies for different markets for different prices. Want a high end PC-like Steam Machine? There will probably be one. Want a mid-range one that's portable to take on the road for you? They'll have you covered. Need a small one that'll only be used as a streaming hub, someone will make one. If there's a market for it, one can be made by anyone who has the know how to make it. And the price ranges for these devices will vary wildly. And guess what? If you don't like ANY of the ones on offer, you can turn your custom made PC into a Steam Machine or install SteamOS and get all the benefits of a steam machine on the computer you already have. But some people may want streaming machines or an entry level rig to get their feet wet into PC gaming without the hassle. That's who these consoles are aimed at. They'll also be customisable and upgradable in the same way as PC's are. To say that the steam machines will be overpriced and/or gimped at this stage is either extremely ignorant or extremely anti-Valve hate-speech because so far there is NO indication for (or against) this argument, since none of that information is even available yet. So why don't we just wait and see before blindly hating something you know nothing about.

Also CONSOLES are also LITERALLY nothing but PCs that have been gimped and focused as a toy for your living room. They now even use the exact same architecture as PCs for coding and the only real different between a console and a PC is that consoles are monopolized by one company, are completely locked down in terms of both hardware and software, and have a lot more limitations than PCs do. Steam machines won't have any of these limitations.

Also how exactly do you propose that we stream our PC to our TV? If it's in a room that's separate from where your TV is you need something to stream it to unless you have a really expensive high tech TV (do any TV's currently on the market support this functionality?) A cheap Steam Machine DESIGNED to be nothing more than a streaming box would fill this need perfectly and probably not have very expensive hardware at all so it'll be fairly cheap too.
 

Someone Depressing

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Pretty stupid, really. I already have a decent PC; I don't see why I need to buy another whole system for it.

How about I make cardboard stands of all of the accesories, and the machine itself, and line them up around my computer instead. It'd probably be just as efficient.[(/snark]
 

Sight Unseen

The North Remembers
Nov 18, 2009
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Dragonbums said:
Off topic but you still haven't even addressed my refutation of what you said on the previous page, and I think it's still relevant to the discussion at hand. Allow me to repost it here:

Dota 2 was actually officially released as a full "finished" game about mid-summer. It still gets updates and expansions ala TF2 but it is deemed complete by Valve.

Also last time I looked into it, Valve has about 330 employees total. That's an absolutely TINY number when compared to Activision (> 7,000 employees) Electronic Arts (>9,000 employees), Ubisoft (~7,000 employees), Sony (>146,000 employees, although the majority don't work on the PS4 or its games in any way), and Microsoft (97,000 employees, again same goes as for Sony) [NOTE: All stats were pulled from the Wikipedia pages of the respective companies and may not be wholly up-to-date or accurate)

But those 330 employees are working on all of this and probably more:
-Maintaining and updating Steam with new features, games, sales, and administration and legal issues
-Updating and adding content to TF2, Left 4 Dead 2, Dota 2, And CS:GO
-Working with companies to promote the move into Linux, as well as redesigning Steam and all their back catalog of games to be fully compatible with Linux
-doing research into hardware manufacture, virtual reality, controllers, and operating systems
-Actually MAKING and soon to be releasing new consoles, controllers, and operating systems, as well as several new features for Steam proper
-Making new games

Also, Steam is privately owned so they have no shareholders to be accountable to, and no corporate structure. Employees can literally decide to work on almost any project they want to as long as they can justify why the project is good for the company. So yeah, those 330 employees are going a LONG way and I highly doubt ANY of them are just twiddling their thumbs and swimming in pools of money not doing anything productive. Valve OWNS the PC market almost completely, and now they've got their eyes on the console market too.
No matter how you rationalize it, Valve is a SMALL company, and they are revolutionizing the industry in ways that Activision, EA, and Ubisoft have never done. So maybe their game output falls. So what? They've made PC gaming viable not only on Windows, but also on MAC and Linux which were previously ghost towns for PC gaming. They were the first company to make digital distribution viable. And they are now moving into the living room to bring the PC experience to console gamers. AND they're STILL making games. That's impressive to me.
 

Sight Unseen

The North Remembers
Nov 18, 2009
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ClausGrimm said:
Sight Unseen said:
ClausGrimm said:
Sight Unseen said:
ClausGrimm said:
Steam Machine == Waste of Money

I don't see the point of buying. Especially if you already own a Gaming PC. If you don't, you should just buy a gaming PC instead of using a gimped PC in the guise of this "Steam Machine". No point in buying one and I will feel sorry for the money wasted by people in buying it.
Steam Machines aren't even out yet. The specs, prices, and even manufacturers haven't even been announced yet. How can you say something like this when there is literally nothing more than early hype being built around these things.

Also you can turn your gaming PC INTO a steam machine and/or use SteamOS for (hopefully) better performance and more customiseability than Windows.

This argument of yours applies even more to regular consoles, as they are EVEN MORE gimped PCs which are completely locked down. So if you have this problem with Steam Machines then I hope you don't rationalize consoles as being fine but Steam Machines not fine.
Consoles are fine. The Steam machine is LITERALLY nothing but a PC that has been gimped and focused as an overpriced toy for your living room. Why waste the money on it when you can buy a PC and just stream that to your TV? It makes no sense.
How do you know it'll be overpriced? How do you know it'll be gimped? Of the units they're sending out for the 300 beta testers, some of them will be sporting NVidia TITANS and i7 processors. That's WAY better than my (by most people's standards really high powered) computer, so yeah if THAT Steam Machine got sold commercially (protip: it won't) then it WOULD be really expensive, because it's using a $1000 graphics card not even considering the other parts. But the thing with Steam Machines is that there will be lots of different ones made by different companies for different markets for different prices. Want a high end PC-like Steam Machine? There will probably be one. Want a mid-range one that's portable to take on the road for you? They'll have you covered. Need a small one that'll only be used as a streaming hub, someone will make one. If there's a market for it, one can be made by anyone who has the know how to make it. And the price ranges for these devices will vary wildly. And guess what? If you don't like ANY of the ones on offer, you can turn your custom made PC into a Steam Machine or install SteamOS and get all the benefits of a steam machine on the computer you already have. But some people may want streaming machines or an entry level rig to get their feet wet into PC gaming without the hassle. That's who these consoles are aimed at. They'll also be customisable and upgradable in the same way as PC's are. To say that the steam machines will be overpriced and/or gimped at this stage is either extremely ignorant or extremely anti-Valve hate-speech because so far there is NO indication for (or against) this argument, since none of that information is even available yet. So why don't we just wait and see before blindly hating something you know nothing about.

Also CONSOLES are also LITERALLY nothing but PCs that have been gimped and focused as a toy for your living room. They now even use the exact same architecture as PCs for coding and the only real different between a console and a PC is that consoles are monopolized by one company, are completely locked down in terms of both hardware and software, and have a lot more limitations than PCs do. Steam machines won't have any of these limitations.

Also how exactly do you propose that we stream our PC to our TV? If it's in a room that's separate from where your TV is you need something to stream it to unless you have a really expensive high tech TV (do any TV's currently on the market support this functionality?) A cheap Steam Machine DESIGNED to be nothing more than a streaming box would fill this need perfectly and probably not have very expensive hardware at all so it'll be fairly cheap too.
Buy a 100$ Laptop. Install Steam OS. Stream games from PC to TV for 1/4 of the price of a Steam Machine (You really don't think they will sell one for under 400, do you?).

A Steam Machine is a PC in a box that will be sold at the very least a 20% markup over buying the parts separately and building your own. This "Machine" is also primarily centered for living room consumption. It is cheaper to build your own custom PC and either put that in the living room or use a cheap laptop and install Steam OS and just stream the games from your main PC to that laptop that you can plug an HMDI cord into and connect to your TV. Hell, many newer TV's today come with a built in functionality to connect wirelessly with a PC in the house.

Give me three reasons why a common person would choose to waste more money on a Steam Machine than buying a normal gaming computer or building one themselves? Or choosing the inevitably cheaper and less annoying path and just buy a proven console like the PS4 or Xbox One?

The Steam Machine is a waste of money. It will be overpriced the moment it launches unless Valve sells it for a loss which I HIGHLY doubt they will do.
I predict that they will make one which is designed exclusively for streaming and/or indie games (ala the Ouya) which will be $150-200 at most and maybe cheaper. Im not a hardware expert but they've publically stated that they're going to make these consoles for a wide range of applications and price ranges. For you to assume that they're going to just rip everyone off because they can and write the console off based on that is silly. Steam is trying to break into the living room and if everything was way overpriced then it would fail and I think Valve is smart enough to know that.

You do understand that Steam Machines won't just be ONE console right? They're having several manufacturers make several different kinds of steam machines for different markets and applications. To think that there won't be a ~$100 one made for streaming would be silly.

It might not be for you, but to say that it's a ripoff and an overpriced waste of money before the specs, price or even the MANUFACTURERS have been revealed is incredibly arrogant on your part.