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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

#401

Post by abustamam »

tombert wrote: post #105
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…

My main game console right now is one of those little gaming boxes you can buy on Amazon for about $400, where I have installed NixOS + Jovian to get the "SteamOS" interface. I really like it. It really does feel like a "game console"; usually when I've made my own console using Linux, it always feels kind of janky. For example, RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi is pretty cool, but it doesn't feel like a proper commercial…

Which box is that? I personally have a Nvidia Shield with Steam Link to stream games from my gaming computer to my TV. I connected an Xbox controller and it works pretty well. I also use an old iPad for streaming games for games that don't lend themselves well to a controller.

It's obviously not a direct replacement since it still relies on my gaming machine, which not everyone has, but it gets a pretty good console experience, and it's portable.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#402

Post by msabalau »

crote wrote: post #207
wraptile wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are not winner games these days. Gaming trends are so fast that indie games like the one where you play a duck with a gun is what's driving the gaming community these days.

Sure, but those AAA games still exist, and people still want to play them. As a gamer, why would you want to spend a few hundred bucks on a gaming box, when it isn't able to play the biggest hits? Who would want to deliberately limit their ecosystem to indie games? There's a nonzero chance that BF6/GTA6/etc becomes a thing that everyone wants to play. If all your friends are raging about how much fun it is and are al…

If there is a non-zero chance that I might want to play such a game, from time to time, I can stream it.

Why would I want to limit my options for occasional AAA gaming to the graphics supported by a particular console, when I can spring for GeForce Ultimate for a month and play BF6 with amazing graphics at 120 FPS, on my TV or my laptop, or my iPad or my phone? And play with even better graphics two years from now, as the state of the art advances.

Sure a different option would likely be best for people who know they want to play AAA, all the time. Although, even for many of these people, the Steam machine is probably a great second box for many, that gets you however many 100s or 1000s of titles they have in their Steam library.

But a fear based "you might miss out occasionally" argument is unpersuasive. Especially in a world where some games are exclusive. My swanky new PlayStation is no help if everyone is raving about the new Nintendo game.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#404

Post by jijijijij »

noobermin wrote: post #164

I generally like the OP's posts, but I really don't buy their argument. If anything, the nintendo switch winning the last generation is a great example of how hardware isn't always that important, the game library essentially is what makes a console win, and in as much as the hardware enables the breadth of the library, that's all that matters. Like the steam deck, I don't know who other than power users who will buy…

I would totally buy it, if it's not silly expensive. I am not a power gamer or whatever, at all.

I absolutely do not want gaming mingled with my primary PC usage, work and stuff. For reasons of OS choice, data integrity, security and distraction management/work-play-separation. Can't over-emphasize the importance of this. But to me there is no question PC gaming is superior. However, I can't justify building a full-blown "gaming PC" just for gaming.

Some years ago, I got a PS4 Pro just to satisfy my occasional gaming urge and I love the console form factor, no tweaking and press power to play ergonomics. I wish I could install some mods for old games, tho, and the PS4 library is super limited compared to Steam. I also feel sad, the PS lock-down means unnecessary hardware obsolescence. And I hate Sony's rent seeking for online services and would never buy PS Plus.

I know quite a few people in my social sphere who are exactly in the same spot I am, who would love exactly what's shown with the Steam thingy. It will all depend on the price.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#405

Post by cestith »

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…

The x86 running Windows isn’t perfect. The x86 rack system running Linux isn’t perfect. Android isn’t perfect. The Ford F150 isn’t the perfect pickup. Budweiser is far from the perfect beer.

The phrase “worse is better” has a lot of historical significance in computing. Long before that, though, Adolphus Busch started his brewing empire. If you take a brewery tour at an Anheuser-Busch brewery, they’ll tell you that the company’s flagship product, the aforementioned Budweiser, was never intended to be anyone’s favorite beer.

That’s right. One of the top selling beers in the world was never intended to be a personal favorite of a single buyer or beer drinker. What it was designed to be was unobjectionable, approachable, and good enough to serve your guests when their preferred beer runs out. There are so many varieties of beer that are so different, and they are often loved by some and despised by others. So an intentionally unremarkable but quality beverage was marketed to be a very popular second or third choice.

If most households have a Playstation and a Deck or Frame, or have a Switch and a Frame, or have a PC and a Deck then in total numbers the Steam machines just might be the top seller even if it’s not a universal favorite.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#406

Post by butlike »

Arainach wrote: post #389
philistine wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to your logic, then no one should be currently buying a Switch 2, because it won't play GTA6. Yet people are buying that console! Is it you, or is it the children? No, it's definitely the children who are wrong.

The Switch 2 has exclusives that people DO want. The Steam Machine does not.

Risking pedantry here, but there are some windows-only games that could be considered PC exclusive (and by extension, steam machine exclusive)

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#407

Post by cestith »

badosu wrote: post #360
nobodyandproud wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Valve’s strategy being that Microsoft will continue down this user-hostile and privacy-hostile experience. Being computer-savvy means I’m still a relative outlier, but given the renewed shift away from Windows and Office; Windows unfortunately may become niche.

Why unfortunately? Isn't that a good thing? (Assuming > 0% will switch to Linux instead of iOS)

Honestly, as much as I prefer Linux for most things Linux staying pat and macOS stealing market share from Windows is almost as good as Linux taking those users. I think we’re currently seeing a trend starting of people leaving Windows for each of them, and some users for both of them.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#408

Post by wnevets »

hamdingers wrote: post #399
TheRoque wrote: post #51

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. Most consoles are sold at a loss, and the benefits are made when selling console-exclusive games. If you sell something at a loss, but users aren't forced to buy your games, then you're not gonna make any money. Hence, the Steam Machine (AK…

It's strange how neither you nor seemingly any of your replies have heard of the Steam Deck. Valve sold the Deck at a loss that GabeN himself described as "aggressive and painful," 3rd party estimates put it at $150/unit for the base model. I see no reason to believe they won't employ the same strategy for the Machine. If I can lodge my own bet, I think they'll price it somewhere between a PS5 digital and pro.

> I see no reason to believe they won't employ the same strategy for the Machine.

They have already said its gonna be priced like a computer and not a console. [1]

[1] https://youtu.be/bWUxObt1efQ?si=KCNHtUt1fGqkqlOn&t=58

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#410

Post by pizlonator »

radlad wrote: post #400
pizlonator wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have one of the higher-end beelinks. Super small, quiet, doesn't get hot and I can play modern AAA titles on it, driving my huge screen TV in my living room.

Can you quantify this? Which Beelink? Are you powering a 4K TV? When you talk about playing modern AAA games, which ones, and what settings do you run at?

Fortnite, Cyberpunk, Starfield, probably others I'm forgetting

I believe the TV is 4K, yeah.

It's the Beelink SER9 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 12core/24thread AI PC Turbo Freq 5.1GHz

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