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The steam box and its impact on gaming
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I truly believe that the steam box is a hybrid of a console and a pc, for fun I call it a compsole. Now we all know there are a lot of people that play both pc and console games. This is generally due to the fact that these gamers do not want to miss out on any gaming experience, no matter the hardware. I feel the steam box fills this demographic and will pull a lot of people from either side of that demographic.
With this in mind I feel the steam box has a good chance, especially with its connection to steam. To really make a powerful blow to the Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft market. It obviously is not clear yet what impact it may have, however if we stipulate and suggest that the steam box will take the majority of the market, would this mean the death of the other consoles? If so will we see steam operating system run PC's and future consoles? It is quite exciting and shocking to reflect upon these points and I look in anticipation to the future and what that may bring.
With this in mind I feel the steam box has a good chance, especially with its connection to steam. To really make a powerful blow to the Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft market. It obviously is not clear yet what impact it may have, however if we stipulate and suggest that the steam box will take the majority of the market, would this mean the death of the other consoles? If so will we see steam operating system run PC's and future consoles? It is quite exciting and shocking to reflect upon these points and I look in anticipation to the future and what that may bring.
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http://piixl.com/
I did not know this existed!(goes to look for money)
Firstly Linux isn't widely supported by any of the major graphics cards nor developers. Steam has the clout to make them support it, of that there is no doubt, but I'm worried it will only apply to future games. Part of the joy and popularity of Steam is playing old games for a reasonable price. I read somewhere older games were being made to support Steam OS too, but it certainly won't be all.
Secondly, the casual PC user doesn't give a crap about Linux. Windows does everything they need, and it does it well. Very few people are going to ditch Windows for an OS which doesn't play the vast majority of games, and that's before you think about the other uses PC's have before gaming.
I really want the Steam Box to work. Steam is an awesome idea, gamers get cheaper games and developers make money on titles long thought dead. Console game makers / stores like GAME are ripping off consumers and anything which takes steps to re-address the balance is a bonus, I'm just worried the reliance on a Linux based OS will hamper things.
If Valve can make that happen I think Windows might be under the biggest threat as that has no "exclusives" in the way consoles do which will always be a draw for the people to buy one system over another. I know that gaming is one of the main reason a lot of the PC people I know stick to Windows rather than moving to Linux.
I really can't see it taking the majority of the market, not even close. The PS4 was the fastest selling console in UK history and the One sold well too, all those people aren't suddenly going to want the steam box when they already have a powerful console with a string of upcoming next gen games.
I personally prefer to
physically own my games too. I also think a lot play games on pc simply because everyone has a pc these days- it's needed really in the internet age, or a tablet of course, so most people already have the hardware available for that.
I've not gone for next gen yet though, I'll wait till the prices go down and there are a few more games out. Right now I'm perfectly happy with the 3DS and Fifa on the 360.
I'm in that boat. My brother had a netbook running linpus lite a few years back and passed it to me to try and sort out some problems he was having with it. I didn't have a clue and even after reading for a few hours I couldn't even get his web browser to update to a newer version.
I do like the concept of a Steambox and just ordered my first gaming PC last night complete with a copy of Windows 7. I will be using it as a "Steambox" although it's not coming from Valve. It will be permanantly hooked up to my main tv with wireless keyboard/mouse on my lap and a 360 gamepad plugged in. Right now I have my laptop perma-hooked up to the tv in much the same way and game on that.
If I were to ever get a Steambox from Valve themselves I'd bung Windows on it without a doubt, it's what I'm used to and I understand it to a degree. That makes the cost of this kind of setup a little more expensive and is something that has to be factored in.
One other drawback I see with the setup I'm going for or a Steambox from Valve is the way that required specifications for games increase all the time. Whilst they say that it's going to easy to swap in new graphics cards or cpus in Valve's machines, I think the thought of doing so would put some people off as well as the potential cost of it even if you can often get cheaper games. The last generation of consoles lasted what, 6-7 years(?) and will continue to be supported for a long time yet. Most PCs of that age, without any upgrades aren't going to be great for gaming on. I think a good proportion of people would much prefer to just plug something in and not worry about upgrading hardware at all.
You need to get rid the times
All joking aside, I do see your point. If you truly love a movie or an album, then you will buy it for the packaging, the extra features, etc. etc. A lot of big name PC games have collectors editions, where fans can have something to hold onto, however for the majority of games, the packaging is just going to sit on a shelf before being thrown away. Personally I love the fact that I can pick up games on Steam for £3, which I had absolutley no intention of buying, and couldn't care less if I have any packaging for.
Linux has moved on a lot since those days, and the majority of big name versions are easy to install and operate pretty similarly to Windows. SteamOS will be user friendly, of that there is no doubt. Console gamers do not want to be messing with settings here there and everywhere, they just want to insert the disc and play.
My main issue is the lack of games which are Linux compatible, my Steam library has a fair few older games on it, why would I want to buy a SteamBox which won't run half of them? Likewise these cheap, older games are a massive selling point. I got all the GTA's for £6.49, thats literally hours of entertainment, for a decent price, which will lure people into buying the SteamBox. Yes you might spend £40 on the latest Call of Duty, but you then won't have to break the bank to play other games.
So far 2 Steam Machines have been revealed, the one above and this one. There will be a full product reveal at Steam Dev Days next month during the 15th-16th. I thought all the Steam Machines would be revealed then but these 2 have decided to go renegade.
Developers are already pushed as it is developing a game for several consoles and the PC, but to then throw another format into the equation may break them. I honestly believe if a big developer couldn't support them all SteamOS would be the first one they drop.
It's a great idea, and it will get some big games. But I feel it will at the same time it will miss out on a lot too.
Plus people will get confused I suspect easily and wonder why some 'PC games' aren't available for it.
I also have to question the whole point of it. Is it just because Gabe Newell now appears to have such a hatred for Windows that he wants to break away from it? With Steam big picture mode your more or less getting the SteamOS experience I can imagine. The casual PC gamer is more likely to get a long HDMI cable to hook up their computer to the TV than buy a new device.
I'd say that is both the Steambox's biggest asset AND its curse. Varying hardware is great for providing lots of choice, but with it comes both consumer confusion and software complexity. Its why so many people plump for consoles over PC gaming, even though the PC ultimately offers the best possible experience - if done right.
The advantage consoles hold over the PC is their closed ecosystem. You have to follow the rules laid down by the manufacturer. Every piece of hardware is identical. This means the average user can put in a game and it "just works."
Now I have a custom gaming PC using Steam and I wouldn't trade it for a console. But I'm also a PC expert and am willing to put up with the niggles. Those niggles consist of things like;
Now these things irritate me, but I can deal with them so I am happy to accept that compromise. Most people will not, though. So Valve have a massive uphill struggle if they want to pull casual users away from the far more simplistic console camp. It will appeal to those who want a PC experience, but don't want to build their own rigs - but how large a market is that, really?
EDIT: it seems this crappy new forum has broken the bulletpoint option. Wonderful!
If Steam manage to pull something like that off and get Steambox inside STB and other devices. Along with getting multiple companies making Steamboxes. Effectively moving consoles towards other electrical devices which are all cross compatible but offer different feature sets above and beyond the base required specs. It has a change to destroy current consoles way of doing things. But that is going to be a serious hard task and something that will take quite some time I think, certainly long enough for PS4 / Xbox 1 to succeed.
It has the potential to permanently change the home gaming landscape though, or it could just be the 3DO 2.
I know that Valve have a set list of accepted hardware it's partners can use for Steam Machines, i'm not sure how expansive that list is though, it might be made clear at Steam Dev Days.
If each Steam Machines manufacturer has the 3 tiers like SteamBox (ibuypower and Piixl have 2 tiers of machine, I don't think they have a streaming device that Valve will have), then you are going to have pretty competitive pricing of the hardware. What i'm not really sure of is what the golden ticket is for the manufacturers though, if the hardware isn't stupidly priced then what has made them jump at this opportunity? A slice of the pie from software sales on their Steam Machine?
There is a section of PC players that don't understand hardware and specs, you can go into gamehubs and you will see 'this game doesn't work I want a refund' type threads, and when they reveal their specs, it is way below what the game needs. So that is why Steam is working on a CYRI type system where users can see if their current hardware can run games (maybe be more indepth than CYRI and relate gfx quality with FPS etc). So you want to buy a game, probably scroll down on the gamepage and see the information as to how well your machine will run the game, that is going to be a very useful feature.
The drivers are one of the biggest concerns I've seen. I don't know the whole history between nvidia and Linux but I have read that Nvidia and Valve have spent a lot of time (i'm guessing at least a year) trying to solve the problems that Linux has faced in the past.
What I do know is that it's at least a year until SteamBox will be released, so looking at the number of Linux games now will be irrelevant to in a year's time. A lot of games that are being released now are also available on linux, so if the trend continues the library available will be huge. It's also a valid point at the number of games that have been available on launch on PS4 and Xbox One. And then think how many games will be available once Steam Box launches.
3rd party clients...That is for Ubisoft and Origin to port their clients over to Linux. I don't think any of their games are compatible with Linux so that is where streaming will have to come in if they don't port the games over.
I really don't believe Valve are looking at console players with this or looking to convert Ps or Xbox players to Steam. Not initially anyway. They've said their target audience is PC players who want to play their games in the living room. It's an incredibly small target audience, because if you wanted a new machine why not just buy a PC and dual boot with Windows and SteamOS right? And if you already have an high end rig, the StreamBox may be a nice device but you can just lug your tower to your TV and use an HDMI cable, so it's all very niche and why I don't think it's initial impact will be that great.
Are you going to Steam Dev Days in seatle? I'll see you there if you are.
Talking of Linux games, i know plenty in development that have yet to be announced. They are growing in numbers. Its a lot easier to develop for linux once you've had a go at OSX!
I wish! Valve are recording some of the presentations so it's not too bad, although the really juicy stuff will happen behind closed doors.
So it seems Steam Boxen will eat into PCs, not consoles. Even if it succeeds it won't mean the death of consoles. Or PCs - there will always be a need for general purpose devices.
It could mean developers must stretch their resources even further. Currently a single game might target XBox 360, XBox One, PS3, PS4, PC. Will they want to add a 6th platform?
No thanks steam.
SteamOS and the Steam controller now make perfect sense thanks to VR. Valve are already making Steam usable in VR: We've all been focusing on the conversion of DirectX games to OpenGL. What we should be looking at the games that have VR support (*Looks at TF2 page* Yep Steam now lists the games with VR support, but not those that are currently in beta like Euro Truck Simulator 2).
There aren't many games on Steam that currently have full VR support enabled, but just the sheer amount of games that are currently testing VR would indicate that VR is going to be pushed in a big way in 2014.
And that controller. With it's big owl eyes, no d-pads or analog sticks. It now makes perfect sense when it sits alongside VR. Why use analog sticks when you have VR (well, probably about £200 why atm
The jigsaw is complete. I still find Steam Machines incredibly niche but from a gaming point of view Valve are clearly laying down the foundations for what they believe is the future of gaming. If people are willing to jump on the VR ride, Steam Universe will be on the frontline of the VR revolution.
Secondly we're told Console game prices are high because of the royalty payments paid to both Sony and MS, so will Valve take the same approach, take a cut of any game wanting to be sold on Steam? At the moment its all good, but when they see some 30+million Steam Boxes being sold they may decide they want to start charging for selling games on steam.
Those who haven't already, possibly. PC gamers who can't be bothered making their own Steam box and who want to shift their gaming habits into the living room would be another possibility...
I like the sound of the Steam box, but after just splashing the best part of £500 on a PS4, it's going to have to have some pretty amazing features for me to want to get one. And I'm not liking this "upgradabilty " thing either it will or won't pay the latest games, if your going to have the choice to upgrade, then you might as well stick with what you've got and upgrade that or just by a new PC and not worry about linux.