Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
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Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
1–10 of 37 posts
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#2Is this the end or the start of the beginning?
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#3Okay, what I don't get, how could Valve get that many partners to offer Steam Machines? Seeing as how little games for Linux there currently are? Did Valve tell them something we don't know? Like, every major Engine Developer is about to offer an OpenGL option that would allow devs to continue to work just as they do now but the resulting binary could be created with OpenGL instead of DX?
I know that you can stream your Windows games through the Steam Box but come on. If I wanted to do that, I could already run an hdmi cable from my PC directly to my TV and don't need an extra box in between.
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#4Okay, what I don't get, how could Valve get that many partners to offer Steam Machines? Seeing as how little games for Linux there currently are? Did Valve tell them something we don't know? Like, every major Engine Developer is about to offer an OpenGL option that would allow devs to continue to work just as they do now but the resulting binary could be created with OpenGL instead of DX? I know that you can stream y…
Basically these are just PC manufacturers and the Steam Machines are just PCs. So for them its more or less business as usual, and many of them (like Alienware) already had quite similar systems on sale. With the possibility of the Steam Machine brand resulting in more sales for products they would be selling in a similar form anyway, it was an easy sell i guess.
It could potentially be a huge business to sell the best steam machines on the market.
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#5I thought the steam machine would be more console-like in its uniformity but it seems to be more a case of "Limited compatible component guaranteed to work with Steam" sets of PCs.
Sounds like a good place to look if you want a normal desktop Linux PC which is almost guaranteed to be compatible.
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#6I can actually see Steam Machines find their place next to PS4/Xbox1 in this generation for several reasons:
- PS4/Xbox1 are very similar to PC Architecture (Steam Machine)
- even first gen Steam Machines are more powerful than consoles, a few years down the line they will be orders of magnitude faster
- Steam Machines are backwards compatible and can be replaced with faster ones when the need arises. With the 4K age dawning, this could be a huge deal as the new consoles often don't even run 1080p natively. Especially if you consider that the last gen lasted almost 8 years.
- Developing/Publishing is still a lot easier on Steam than it is on the new consoles, big deal for small devs
- it could actually be a console that PC gamers love
- Valve has the right mindset and resources to pull this off
As with everything there are also risks of course (non unified design/performance, Games, Linux) but all the contenders have their pros and cons, biggest one of the consoles is their userbase obviously.
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#7I thought the steam machine would be more console-like in its uniformity but it seems to be more a case of "Limited compatible component guaranteed to work with Steam" sets of PCs. Sounds like a good place to look if you want a normal desktop Linux PC which is almost guaranteed to be compatible.
Yep, and Steam Machines should make very good Windows-PCs as well. After all they are well designed, reasonably small, have a proper cooling solution and run standard hardware.
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#8Is this the end or the start of the beginning?
This is a new way of marketing gaming pc's of mid-range price group. You no longer will have to know what gtx780 is and how to build a decent machine. It will also be convenient for media playback. Some kind of a revised htpc that you don't have to worry about, but still allows you to replace almost anything inside (try doing that with a ps4 or xbox one).
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#9Interesting to see alienware on the list, since they already sell gaming PCs intended for living room use. How will this fit into their existing lineup?
The only concrete differences I can see would be the OS , which would seem inferior to just shipping windows+steam out of the box at this point; and the controller. But I always assumed the controller would be compatible with regular Windows PCs anyway (and I assume they will be available separately).
Re: Valve Reveals First Gen Steam Machines
#10I can actually see Steam Machines find their place next to PS4/Xbox1 in this generation for several reasons: - PS4/Xbox1 are very similar to PC Architecture (Steam Machine) - even first gen Steam Machines are more powerful than consoles, a few years down the line they will be orders of magnitude faster - Steam Machines are backwards compatible and can be replaced with faster ones when the need arises. With the 4K age…
- it could actually be a console that PC gamers love
As an old-school PC gamer, this is the first "console" I've been interested in since the first Playstation. Don't know how big he marked of people like me is though..