Clock Crew

http://vglens.com/2013/01/steambox-is-linux-based-and-launching-this-year/

It will probably fail. Why would anybody want a steam box when they could just have a gaming PC?

Quote from: Thor;1936052http://vglens.com/2013/01/steambox-is-linux-based-and-launching-this-year/

It will probably fail. Why would anybody want a steam box when they could just have a gaming PC?

I'll start this with this is old news Thor.

OLD. HOW COULD YOU BE SO LATE.

And secondly, you have to factor in a few things. Typical PC manufacturers have to purchase parts, and purchase the OS. They lower the cost of OS slightly by adding bloatware, and then sell it onto the consumer. Considering the lack of liscensing fees for Ubuntu, they can use that as a base, then modify the steam program to automatically open up to the big picture mode on boot. Running a barebones linux OS that uses xORG solely for Steam would likely boot in a few seconds (2-5) and would provide a standard level of power that would be on par with their work and encourage others to meet to it (My guess is a i5 processor with an Nvidia card or two) to power through a generation or two of gaming. Given the supposed close proximity to a new source engine, I could see the "STEAMBOX" as being a "bar" set to let pc game studios know what they're setting the bar at. Given the popularity of Steam, I could see more games being made to that standard.

And we can also consider the idea that they take the alternate route of "steam OS" being liscensed to 3rd party manufacturers ala windows phone. Set a base requirement list to what it means to be a SteamBox, and then these companies can release their own gaming computers without Windows, charge less and gain a higher profit margin on each unit.

No, I could see steam boxes being quite popular Thor.

It'll be as big as WebTV!

Quote from: ScrewdriverClock;1936062I'll start this with this is old news Thor.

OLD. HOW COULD YOU BE SO LATE.

And secondly, you have to factor in a few things. Typical PC manufacturers have to purchase parts, and purchase the OS. They lower the cost of OS slightly by adding bloatware, and then sell it onto the consumer. Considering the lack of liscensing fees for Ubuntu, they can use that as a base, then modify the steam program to automatically open up to the big picture mode on boot. Running a barebones linux OS that uses xORG solely for Steam would likely boot in a few seconds (2-5) and would provide a standard level of power that would be on par with their work and encourage others to meet to it (My guess is a i5 processor with an Nvidia card or two) to power through a generation or two of gaming. Given the supposed close proximity to a new source engine, I could see the "STEAMBOX" as being a "bar" set to let pc game studios know what they're setting the bar at. Given the popularity of Steam, I could see more games being made to that standard.

And we can also consider the idea that they take the alternate route of "steam OS" being liscensed to 3rd party manufacturers ala windows phone. Set a base requirement list to what it means to be a SteamBox, and then these companies can release their own gaming computers without Windows, charge less and gain a higher profit margin on each unit.

No, I could see steam boxes being quite popular Thor.

:this: Couldn't have said it better myself.

It's not a guaranteed success by any means, but there's a lot of potential behind the idea.

Quote from: Thor;1936052It will probably fail. Why would anybody want a steam box when they could just have a gaming PC?

I think Thor's main point is that many gamers will turn their noses up at it. They have to do a damn good job marketing it... so it doesn't become poser fodder.

Quote from: pop-tart;1936067I think Thor's main point is that many gamers will turn their noses up at it. They have to do a damn good job marketing it... so it doesn't become poser fodder.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3, Exclusively for Valve's Steambox!

Quote from: RobClock;1936068Half-Life 2: Episode 3, Exclusively for Valve's Steambox!

Don't even joke about that unless they've announced it's only going to be $50 or something

I know that rumors about steam box have been flying around for a long time, but this is the first really solid proof I've seen that it will actually be released. Previously there have just been speculation based on valve hiring hardware engineers.


Plus there isn't a thread about it yet so EAT IT

Quote from: Thor;1936084I know that rumors about steam box have been flying around for a long time, but this is the first really solid proof I've seen that it will actually be released. Previously there have just been speculation based on valve hiring hardware engineers.


Plus there isn't a thread about it yet so EAT IT

I was referring to this article.

And to what others say, I will just reiterate that it will likely be a low price, mid to low-high end computer, stripped of unnecessary bulk and likely a locked bootloader, so it makes the most of its hardware. Sure you can build your own thats much more powerful, but for the average gamer on a budget, I could see this going well. Maybe they can go the route Google did with their Nexus 7 tablet, sell it at parts value and then make profit off of the Steam purchases. Or include a steam giftcard with each computer to entice using the store.

can you play with PC users while on steambox or will it have its own network

Quote from: MiracleFruitClock;1936090can you play with PC users while on steambox or will it have its own network

Valve has been very keen on integrating all their users for years now. PC/Mac cross compatibility is something they've done with their games for quite some time and they've even integrated PS3 players of Portal 2 to steam so they can play with PC/Mac users.

I'd assume since the steambox is obviously running steam, Valve will make sure it's fully integrated with the current steam clients available for PC/Mac/PS3/Mobile.

As for whether or not the games will support cross platform play, that's an issue for the developer. Most games that comes out these days with a mac/linux version and multiplayer supports PC cross platform play so I'd doubt it will be an issue.

Quote from: Thor;1936052http://vglens.com/2013/01/steambox-is-linux-based-and-launching-this-year/

It will probably fail. Why would anybody want a steam box when they could just have a gaming PC?

exclusives is what makes consoles work sooo.

I'm pretty excited for this myself

In retrospect I was pretty naive