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I don’t need a Steam Machine

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Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#91

Post by littlestymaar »

Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #46
CalRobert wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I got a free ps5 from my isp and was excited to have friends over for games. Come to find out that playing games with your friends apparently isn’t a thing anymore (I guess there’s fighting and racing games). What a lame-ass boring system.

Playing games with friends has never been more popular. I guess couch co-op has been replaced with online multiplayer. The assumption being that if you want to play with friends, they'll have their own device. But there's still plenty of couch co-op games. They're usually quite niche though and not your typical racing or shooting game.

> I guess couch co-op has been replaced with online multiplayer. The assumption being that if you want to play with friends, they'll have their own device.

What's the point with a console then though?

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#92

Post by socalgal2 »

Wurdan wrote: post #67
mariopt wrote: post #12

Steam Machines can become an existencial crisis for PlayStation and Xbox. A “console” that I can use as a PC? I am in 100%. You’ll get the world biggest game library at a discount, this is why I sold my PlayStation after spending 200 euros and watching it becoming useless. I also suspect a lot of game devs will optimize for steam machine and finally we’ll get a console like experience on PC. Don’t let the “low specs”…

I don't really get why people are calling it a console. It is a PC to me in all the ways that matter, and it's probably going to save me from spending 1500 euros on a mid-range gaming laptop that I don't really need. The only thing that I don't use my ipad for is playing games with my friends in other countries while we chat on discord. And the last 5 games we've played together do benefit from keyboard and mouse con…

To me, PC = Windows = Microsoft's Spyware and every other game company's anti-cheat root kits

Someone might say I can install Linux on my PC but then I have to deal with maintaining it.

So, what I hope the Steam Machine is, is effectively PC based console with no Microsoft, no root kits, and no maintainence.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#93

Post by dizhn »

Wurdan wrote: post #67
mariopt wrote: post #12

Steam Machines can become an existencial crisis for PlayStation and Xbox. A “console” that I can use as a PC? I am in 100%. You’ll get the world biggest game library at a discount, this is why I sold my PlayStation after spending 200 euros and watching it becoming useless. I also suspect a lot of game devs will optimize for steam machine and finally we’ll get a console like experience on PC. Don’t let the “low specs”…

I don't really get why people are calling it a console. It is a PC to me in all the ways that matter, and it's probably going to save me from spending 1500 euros on a mid-range gaming laptop that I don't really need. The only thing that I don't use my ipad for is playing games with my friends in other countries while we chat on discord. And the last 5 games we've played together do benefit from keyboard and mouse con…

If you don't need to get an expensive gaming PC your should not get an expensive gaming PC. The steam hardware isn't magic. You can already get equivalent specs for cheap.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#94

Post by nialv7 »

mrec wrote: post #14

I don't understand the "You can’t buy this without buying the Steam Controller." bit. If you want one, great, if not, it's no more necessary than with any other PC. I've been gaming for ~40 years without ever touching a controller, why would I start now?

Can't in the sense that it's irresistible :)

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#95

Post by timschmidt »

0x073 wrote: post #87
timschmidt wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> won’t try a third time I see no evidence for this, and plenty of evidence to the contrary. Notably, after the initially failed Steam Machines, we now have Steam Deck, Steam Machine Mark II, Steam Frame, Steam Controller Mark II, etc. And critically, Valve seems to be learning, iterating, and the Steam Deck and Steam Controller Mark II are both much more enjoyable to use than the first Steam Controller. From their p…

Because steam/valve ist bound to gabe, not sure who comes after him. (10 years between the steam machines) But such changes are mostly more negative.

Eh... again, Valve being a private company plays a role here. Whoever succeeds Gabe will likely be chosen by Gabe, not some board or activist investor looking to maximize short term profit. There is much more freedom in private orgs to make long term strategic decisions.

The 10 years Valve took between Steam machines was invested (wisely, I think) in Linux infrastructure like Wayland, Wine/Proton, GPU and audio drivers, etc. None of which Valve will have to repeat.

To make my point, there was only 1.5 years between the release of the Steam Deck, and Steam Deck OLED, and that involved a new silicon tapeout.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#96

Post by yreg »

mrec wrote: post #14

I don't understand the "You can’t buy this without buying the Steam Controller." bit. If you want one, great, if not, it's no more necessary than with any other PC. I've been gaming for ~40 years without ever touching a controller, why would I start now?

> without ever touching a controller, why would I start now?

I feel similar, but for us there's also no point to get a Steam Machine. Playing games while sitting on a living room couch in front of a TV with mouse and keyboard is not comfortable at all.

Using mouse and keyboard it is better to play games at a proper desk with an office chair and I already have such a PC.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#97

Post by input_sh »

cubefox wrote: post #78
Aeolun wrote: post #2

All of this is true, but Valve is one of the best companies I know and for now, I’ll happily give them money. It’s not about the fact that I’m actually going to use it. It’s about the fact that I want people to keep making things like this. It’s about the fact I want to reward them for not locking it down completely.

You wouldn't like Valve so much if you explicitly saw the 30% Steam tax, I mean fee, declared every time you bought a PC game on Steam. Imagine if Microsoft did that. +30% for every Windows software. Like iOS. Then Steam games would be +60% rather than +30%.

You don't have to imagine anything, Microsoft also takes 30% of every purchase made via Microsoft Store.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#99

Post by Kudos »

rvz wrote: post #54
mariopt wrote: post #12

Steam Machines can become an existencial crisis for PlayStation and Xbox. A “console” that I can use as a PC? I am in 100%. You’ll get the world biggest game library at a discount, this is why I sold my PlayStation after spending 200 euros and watching it becoming useless. I also suspect a lot of game devs will optimize for steam machine and finally we’ll get a console like experience on PC. Don’t let the “low specs”…

> Steam Machines can become an existencial crisis for PlayStation and Xbox. Not really. An existential crisis to System76, Framework computer and all the other Linux computer companies. > A “console” that I can use as a PC? I am in 100%. You’ll get the world biggest game library at a discount, this is why I sold my PlayStation after spending 200 euros and watching it becoming useless. No different to getting a regula…

This and machines with 5090s are a completely different market.

The Steam Machine is marketed primarily as something sitting under your TV. I don't have 5090 under my TV money, 99.9% of people don't. That's not the target demographic.

Re: I don’t need a Steam Machine

#100

Post by oliwarner »

dizhn wrote: post #93
Wurdan wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really get why people are calling it a console. It is a PC to me in all the ways that matter, and it's probably going to save me from spending 1500 euros on a mid-range gaming laptop that I don't really need. The only thing that I don't use my ipad for is playing games with my friends in other countries while we chat on discord. And the last 5 games we've played together do benefit from keyboard and mouse con…

If you don't need to get an expensive gaming PC your should not get an expensive gaming PC. The steam hardware isn't magic. You can already get equivalent specs for cheap.

You can? What am I looking for?

I've tried to hit the $600 mark and in the past few years it's gotten harder and harder. The GPU invariably ruins things. And normal APUs are too asthmatic to really game on.

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