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SteamOS

store.steampowered.com

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Re: SteamOS

#251

Post by math0ne »

rkalla wrote: post #26

This is effectively the software-only equivalent of a console launch. Is anyone else skeptical that they can motivate publishers to spend time/money porting their games to the Linux platform? Valve certainly has a better chance than most at pulling this off (and likely enough user/market data to make this seem like a valid investment) I am still super skeptical that these publishers are going to spend the time portin…

I think the point is that AAA titles are at a low time low of market share. Indie titles could carry this platform by itself.

Re: SteamOS

#252

Post by pdxnative »

jdc wrote: post #152

Valve doesn't need all the AAA titles initially. What if SteamOS were released to a group of perspective and current gaming hardware manufacturers à la Android? Despite the DirectX platform being incumbent on the mid to high-end x86 PCs, if Valve were to target the Wii/smartphone gaming demographic they'd stand a decent chance at commoditizing consoles.

I would disagree here. Nobody likes fragmentation. If Valve can't deliver AAA on linux right away, then this will likely go the way of Ouya. The most interesting thing here is the streaming which could act as a bridge until we see native Linux AAA games.

Lastly, DirectX is so widely used in game engines. I haven't seen any hard evidence (not coming from Valve) that OpenGL can meet or exceed DirectX capabilities. I'd love to see real data on this.

Re: SteamOS

#253

Post by Mikeb85 »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #160
ihsw wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be ridiculous -- Canonical has taken control of Ubuntu development and now they have a reputation for being authoritarian and secretive. There are fewer ways to alienate the open-source community than that and yet Ubuntu's popularity soars. The more critical people are of Canonical, the more fervent Ubuntu supporters become. "How will they make money" will be parroted just as loudly, if not more-so.

Ubuntus popularity is anything but soaring these days, mint has more or less taken over its former crown.

Hah. I'd wager that in real world installs Ubuntu has at least 20x-50x the installs (Wikimedia statistics support this assertion), never mind Ubuntu server installs.

How many people ever visit Distrowatch (the only statistic on the web that supports the idea that Mint > Ubuntu) once they settle on a distro?

Re: SteamOS

#254

Post by nemothekid »

jdc wrote: post #152

Valve doesn't need all the AAA titles initially. What if SteamOS were released to a group of perspective and current gaming hardware manufacturers à la Android? Despite the DirectX platform being incumbent on the mid to high-end x86 PCs, if Valve were to target the Wii/smartphone gaming demographic they'd stand a decent chance at commoditizing consoles.

The Wii/smartphone demographic proved terrible for Nintendo and ouya. A dedicated box cannot compete with iPads and iPhones, no one wants to play Angry Birds on their 40"

Re: SteamOS

#255

Post by Apocryphon »

topbanana wrote: post #120

Most Steam games require keyboard and mouse. I don't see how that can work in the living room

Keyboard/mouse peripherals have been sold as add-ons for game consoles as early as the original Playstation, if not earlier.

Re: SteamOS

#256

Post by csomar »

trycatch wrote: post #193
makmanalp wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The interesting thing is that convincing AAA publishers to port merely requires them to think it'd be profitable. 20 years ago, if someone asked to raise a quarter of a billion into a video game, they'd be laughed out of the building. Now it happens often. Over the years, increasingly big-budget games got funded and created. So, all they need to do is to replicate a similar process. First you move all the indie games…

Total production costs of the famous Atari's E.T. (1982) were $125M according to Wikipedia. It's more than $300M in 2013 dollars.

Next Generation Magazine reported that Atari earned US$25 million in sales, but netted a loss of US$100 million.

Doesn't seem like it was a good idea, though.

Re: SteamOS

#257

Post by asdasf »

sliverstorm wrote: post #213
asdasf wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to see them just publish docs so we can get good drivers instead. Bluescreens from video drivers are still a problem on windows, it is an even bigger problem on linux with fewer resources going into making the driver, and fewer people using them to serve as paying testers. Nvidia and ati/amd have both made it very clear that they either do not have the desire or they do not have the resources to make good dr…

I'd love to see them just publish docs They have in the past, and got nothing but flak.

No, they haven't. They have released bits and pieces under NDA, but never actual complete docs. That's the problem. Maybe you should have listened a little closer to the "flak" to see if it was actually legitimate problems.

Re: SteamOS

#258

Post by ascendantlogic »

rkalla wrote: post #26

This is effectively the software-only equivalent of a console launch. Is anyone else skeptical that they can motivate publishers to spend time/money porting their games to the Linux platform? Valve certainly has a better chance than most at pulling this off (and likely enough user/market data to make this seem like a valid investment) I am still super skeptical that these publishers are going to spend the time portin…

I see Steam's long tail being more on the Indie side of things, giving the little guys a way to monetize their hard work without needing huge budgets. As long as they come along for the ride I think the platform can be grown organically. That said, Valve's own AAA titles alone will be good for the platform, so if they can get a handful of other major players on board I think it can be very compelling.

Re: SteamOS

#260

Post by NoPiece »

rlu wrote: post #215

What I'm curious of is most of Steam's users are probably avid PC gaming fans that prefer PC gaming over console gaming At least that's true for me and various of my 'internet friends'

I am with you, but I am a PC gaming fan, not necessarily a Windows gaming fan. WHat I like about this is not the ability to put a Steambox into my living room, but to replace windows with SteamOS on my PC.
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