Valve Unveils Steam Machines, Hardware Beta Coming Soon
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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More the 3DO than the CD-i. It will undoubtedly have good games, but, with Valve contracting out the manufacturing of these things, the manufacturers won't see any money from sales of games. Meaning they need to get all their value out of the machine itself. So they'll be hideously, hideously overpriced.Mr.Mattress said:
OT, as long as this doesn't stop Left 4 Dead 3 from coming to my Ps4, I don't care.
Browsing through groups for the Steam Universe group, and it can't be found. I'm in the UK. Chances are this is a US only beta invite. Massively disappointed in Valve.Andy Chalk said:
Has anyone made this joke yet?
But seriously, this is pretty cool news, the idea of a versatile line of gaming machines varying in size, shape, price, and power seems like a graet idea to me, this way the broke college student who just wants something to play games on can buy an inexpensive but under-powered console, while the hardcore guys who want to run the newest of new software can buy a more powerful device, but for a much higher cost.
Everybody wins!
But seriously, this is pretty cool news, the idea of a versatile line of gaming machines varying in size, shape, price, and power seems like a graet idea to me, this way the broke college student who just wants something to play games on can buy an inexpensive but under-powered console, while the hardcore guys who want to run the newest of new software can buy a more powerful device, but for a much higher cost.
Everybody wins!
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't changing the hardware one of the huge big deals with PC gaming already? Unless this is a cheaper box to get how is this any better then building a PC. I mean hell most gamers who play PC don't buy prefab systems, which is what these sound like.Scrythe said:
No, no, you're absolutely correct.BoredRolePlayer said:
The thing is, I was worried that these "Steam boxes" would essentially just be psuedo-consoles, without the ability to upgrade short of purchasing a whole new box that has a slightly faster GPU.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad Valve isn't turning into Apple.
While I can see that as being a good thing, it just worries me that Valve will one day say "Screw it all games are SteamOS only" making the walled off garden he kept ragging on Windows 8 for being. Mostly reading this is, it's interesting but why bother. And I only ask because this smells more so like a attempt to get the non PC building group into Steam, which if that is what Valve wants fine. I just find it funny that Valve is making this out to be a "new" thing. I guess I'm more wait and see these days, hell even the Vita TV which I am interested in has me asking a lot of questions that Sony didn't answer yet; which to be honest is keeping me from wanting one. Same with Nintendo now, I would like to go digital but their account system is something I don't trust.Scrythe said:
Well, as I don't posses a gaming rig, I'm looking forward to finding out more about this.
The changing of hardware and open source also sounds great, they just really need to get the specifics out there now.
The changing of hardware and open source also sounds great, they just really need to get the specifics out there now.
So its basically a PS Vita TV but for Steam games instead of PS Vita games. Seems cool. Doesn't warrant the major hype that was surrounding this but cool nonetheless.
I'm really not sure what Valve is getting at here. From where I'm sitting, the issues are numerous.
1) To get any traction in the console world, Valve are going to have to heavily subsidize the unit cost. But it's not immediately clear where this money is going to be made back. If you buy one of these and then just play your existing library on it without increasing the amount of games you buy, then they'll be losing money on you.
2) Considering that the console market already has 3 big competitors, I have to wonder if there's actually room for a 4th party. Figuring out which console you should get in order to get certain exclusives is annoying enough as it is. This is the entertainment business, not car insurance sales.
3) Valve are only going to make a fraction of the games for this thing. 4 titles does not a console sell. They're going to need big contributions from all of the other game developers out there to build a decent software base. These game developers already have 3 or 4 platforms to worry about as it is, another mouth to feed might not be very welcome.
4) Valve have stated that you can hack and upgrade the console, but most of the console users I know don't CARE about being able to do this. They just want their console to frigging work without having to worry about what hardware they're using or the rest of the hassle that goes with PC gaming. Many people switched to console for this exact reason. Those who DO care will probably be better off just buying a PC. So what niche does this unit fill, exactly? For playing PC games on your TV? I have a HDMI lead for that. It cost me $10.
So yeah, I really don't see the point. IMHO Valve should probably stick to what they do best. Making kick-ass games. Let someone else worry about the hardware/OS.
1) To get any traction in the console world, Valve are going to have to heavily subsidize the unit cost. But it's not immediately clear where this money is going to be made back. If you buy one of these and then just play your existing library on it without increasing the amount of games you buy, then they'll be losing money on you.
2) Considering that the console market already has 3 big competitors, I have to wonder if there's actually room for a 4th party. Figuring out which console you should get in order to get certain exclusives is annoying enough as it is. This is the entertainment business, not car insurance sales.
3) Valve are only going to make a fraction of the games for this thing. 4 titles does not a console sell. They're going to need big contributions from all of the other game developers out there to build a decent software base. These game developers already have 3 or 4 platforms to worry about as it is, another mouth to feed might not be very welcome.
4) Valve have stated that you can hack and upgrade the console, but most of the console users I know don't CARE about being able to do this. They just want their console to frigging work without having to worry about what hardware they're using or the rest of the hassle that goes with PC gaming. Many people switched to console for this exact reason. Those who DO care will probably be better off just buying a PC. So what niche does this unit fill, exactly? For playing PC games on your TV? I have a HDMI lead for that. It cost me $10.
So yeah, I really don't see the point. IMHO Valve should probably stick to what they do best. Making kick-ass games. Let someone else worry about the hardware/OS.
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverseGriffolion said:
I didn't see anything in the really short terms and conditions about region locked beta. I'm now eligible, and I'm in Canada, so you have a good chance.
I'm pretty sure what they actually do best is "hold a frightening stranglehold on all PC digital distribution". Expanding into non-PC territory seems like a good move to me.malucullus said:
After all, we've had Sony and Microsoft worrying about the hardware and OS, and that's only been good, hasn't it?