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Valve is about to win the console generation

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Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#211

Post by crote »

lucyjojo wrote: post #153
SchemaLoad wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem I see is that if this is any cheaper than it's hardware, people will buy 100s of them and stack them in server racks for CI runners or whatever. Generating only losses for Valve and making the hardware unavailable to gamers. It needs to either be at market rate or locked down to only be useful for gaming.

you don't remember playstation clusters? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_cluster that said, practically buying hundreds of them should prove to be quite difficult.

The PS3 was uniquely powerful, compared to its x86 peers. It wasn't just cheap - it provided the compute of 30 desktop computers in the space, power, and price envelope of one.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#212

Post by eptcyka »

SchemaLoad wrote: post #107
kouteiheika wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hardly understand the headline. Steam machine is just a computer, and since it can be used for other stuff than playing games, then it can't have the cheap pricing of a console. I don't understand this train of thought. It absolutely can have the cheap pricing of a console, as long as Steam is the default store, and the majority of users will use the console as-is and buy games on Steam. Let me give a quick analo…

The main problem I see is that if this is any cheaper than it's hardware, people will buy 100s of them and stack them in server racks for CI runners or whatever. Generating only losses for Valve and making the hardware unavailable to gamers. It needs to either be at market rate or locked down to only be useful for gaming.

Does it have IPMI? Does it have ECC ram? Racking Mac Minis is a painful enough, this form factor is less rackable than that. If you need to physically adjust the form factor per device, whatever you could've saved will be immediately lost in labor.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#214

Post by jonkoops »

ninetyninenine wrote: post #193
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #46

Valve certainly won't win it, but they're bringing the heat where it wasn't before. SteamOS is the important part here - if it is proven to be a good console experience (which the deck has basically proven already) then licensing of the OS to other manufacturers will put a lot of pressure on integrated h/w s/w manufacturers. Unlike the handheld format, the tvbox console is fairly easy to manufacture and is tolerant o…

Steam needs IP. Something as iconic as Kratos or Mario. That's how you go toe to toe with consoles.

It doesn't need IP, it is already THE marketplace for PC gaming. People will get a box like this to play the library they already own, or get great deals on new games.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#215

Post by Cthulhu_ »

robomc wrote: post #48
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #46

Valve certainly won't win it, but they're bringing the heat where it wasn't before. SteamOS is the important part here - if it is proven to be a good console experience (which the deck has basically proven already) then licensing of the OS to other manufacturers will put a lot of pressure on integrated h/w s/w manufacturers. Unlike the handheld format, the tvbox console is fairly easy to manufacture and is tolerant o…

Yeah I mean... can I play Fortnite, BF6 or the upcoming GTA on steamOS?

I can see developers work on SteamOS anticheat soon, once it gains more traction (chicken / egg problem though). Those games are available on mobile phones and consoles as well, so "windows" is not a requirement.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#216

Post by acdbddh »

As much as I love hacking with various things, there are reasons why I buy "closed products" for myself and for my family. I like to do hacking when I want it (with ESP32, rpi etc). I don't want to be forced to serve as a free IT support guy anytime someone presses a wrong button.

When it comes to gaming consoles, I want them to serve reliably to my family. The game console must be fun, optimized for best experience and should not break. Will that be possible with an open platform where anyone can install anything?

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#217

Post by baq »

acdbddh wrote: post #216

As much as I love hacking with various things, there are reasons why I buy "closed products" for myself and for my family. I like to do hacking when I want it (with ESP32, rpi etc). I don't want to be forced to serve as a free IT support guy anytime someone presses a wrong button. When it comes to gaming consoles, I want them to serve reliably to my family. The game console must be fun, optimized for best experience…

and then you have to download a 100GB patch each time you turn the thing on anyway, by the time it ends installing my time slot is gone

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#218

Post by silveraxe93 »

tapoxi wrote: post #156
nodja wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All they have to do is market the fact you don't have to pay for online. PS5 + 3 years of PS Plus = $740 Steam Machine = $700 Add/remove more years of PS Plus if the SM turns out to be more/less expensive. If you add the fact that games on PC are usually cheaper and have sales more often then it's a no brainer, but that won't convince the FIFA and COD players.

This system won't run FIFA, GTA Online, Battlefield, Valorant or CoD, it's a nonstarter for many. Sure you don't need to subscribe to PS+, but that's somewhat easier to swallow since PS+ gives you games with the subscription. I'm still interested in this for playing older games but I have a Steam Deck and it still isn't remotely as seamless as my Switch or PS5.

Why not? You can just install windows on it.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#219

Post by hnlmorg »

acdbddh wrote: post #216

As much as I love hacking with various things, there are reasons why I buy "closed products" for myself and for my family. I like to do hacking when I want it (with ESP32, rpi etc). I don't want to be forced to serve as a free IT support guy anytime someone presses a wrong button. When it comes to gaming consoles, I want them to serve reliably to my family. The game console must be fun, optimized for best experience…

Unfortunately buying closed systems hasn’t stopped me from being IT support:

- “why can’t I play online with EA Sports?”

- “I can’t log into Roblox!”

- “why can’t I see my sisters world in Minecraft?”

- “I’ve lost my Fortnight skins!”

- “why does Roblox keep disconnecting me on my phone [when Roblox servers go down]?”

- “Why can’t I play this game [without updating it]?”

- “this game update takes too long to download!”

If there’s one constant in life: it’s that doctors get nagged by friends for free diagnosis, mechanics, electricians, carpenters for free repairs, and software engineers for free IT support.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#220

Post by dgfl »

wraptile wrote: post #167
SkiFire13 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a bunch of friends that have battlefield/cod/fortnite and want to play them, they will still do so without you, or at least heavily pressure you into getting them.

I'm not sure what could that even mean from consumer pov - I'm not going to buy a platform because some of my friends might want me to play a specific game with me? The pressure to get more games on your platform has never been as low as it is today and has never been this low on Steam itself. You could spend a lifetime with the current Steam library and never feel bored. From product pov Valve feels very comfortable…

That’s exactly the thought process of every teenager ever, and also most people who want to connect with their friends through gaming beyond their teenage years.

Not everyone experiences gaming the same way.

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