The new Steam Machines :

General and high profile video game topics.
Segatarious1
Posts: 1110
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby Segatarious1 » January 8th, 2014, 2:24 pm

Edward makes some great points.

You just get the feeling they are not very committed to this. Its kind of like 'here are some consoles - ain't we cool - who gives a damn?' Not enough details. Controller opinions from the media have been mixed at best, I would love to try it. Overall, the impression you get is - how well will this be executed and supported? They brag about how easy it is to mod things, but how about the other end of the spectrum - how much standardization will there be?

Has anyone seen pricing on the controller yet?

weallmissedme1
Posts: 397
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby weallmissedme1 » January 8th, 2014, 8:08 pm

I like this idea. As for porting games over, that's a non-issue. Anyone could throw whine on there anyway, just to run Windows games. This console, I may actually buy. Steam is my go-to service. The deals are great. This console single handedly takes away those "I'm too stupid to build a gaming PC and I don't want to spend a fortune" arguments (though if you can't put together a PC, I feel bad for you, as it's not difficult at all). I see this beating the Xbox One, and the Wii U in that case for sales, but not tge PS4. So yeah, second place seems likely for this system.

a1
Posts: 3032
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby a1 » January 8th, 2014, 8:10 pm

I don't get this. Why would anyone pay over $1000 for one of these instead of just getting a pc? Companies must be insane to think people would buy the high end ones.

darkrage61
Posts: 1678
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby darkrage61 » January 9th, 2014, 12:21 am

weallmissedme- It dosen't take away the argument that if you already have Steam on your PC, then there's really no compelling reason to buy a Steam console as well.  The notion that it can possibly beat any of the next-gen systems in sales is short-sighted at best.

Oh and there's need to act condescending towards people who don't have the technical know-how to build a PC, just because it's not hard for you dosen't automatically it's easy for everybody[rolleyes]


Edward1
Posts: 297
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby Edward1 » January 9th, 2014, 8:47 am

[QUOTE=weallmissedme]I like this idea. As for porting games over, that's a non-issue. Anyone could throw whine on there anyway, just to run Windows games. This console, I may actually buy. Steam is my go-to service. The deals are great. This console single handedly takes away those "I'm too stupid to build a gaming PC and I don't want to spend a fortune" arguments (though if you can't put together a PC, I feel bad for you, as it's not difficult at all). I see this beating the Xbox One, and the Wii U in that case for sales, but not tge PS4. So yeah, second place seems likely for this system.[/QUOTE]


I believe WINE is an emulator for windows on Linux.  You are wrong, not everyone can use it.  It takes someone technically inclined.  Also, building a PC is not as easy as you make it sound.  I've tried twice and messed one up. Since then, I've never done it again. Not everyone is as technically inclined as you are.


There is also no way the Steam box is beating the xbox one or even the Wii U in sales.  The Steambox has a very targeted audience, not the mass appeal of the main systems.  In essence this thing needs to be easy to use for it to get large sales.  If people have to fiddle with emulators etc to get it to work, they will just buy a PC instead, so that they can get the benefits a PC comes with it.  This thing needs to be as "console like" as possible, while making PC games playable on the coach to succeed.  To be fair, that is a tough goal to achieve.  If it can achieve that goal, it may be a success.  It won't be as big of a success as the main systems, because of its niche appeal.  Most people who want a console, will buy a traditional console.  However, if the Steam box has any success at all, it should help extend the popularity of steam.

Astrosmasher1
Posts: 1107
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby Astrosmasher1 » January 11th, 2014, 10:23 am

There are 75 million Steam users world wide.  Just check the site and you will see it gets loads of traffic.  If 10 percent bought a Steam machine that would be double the installed user base of the Wii U. 
It is worth bearing in mind that not everyone wants the console view of everything. 

darkrage61
Posts: 1678
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby darkrage61 » January 11th, 2014, 1:14 pm

That dosen't necessarily mean those millions of users will want a Steambox though, if they already have a PC with Steam, what would the box give them that they can't get on a PC?

LS6501
Posts: 119
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby LS6501 » January 11th, 2014, 1:55 pm

I just can't see this doing well. You can buy a dedicated gaming console for (much) cheaper, or you can get a powerful PC that does more for the same price.

Segatarious1
Posts: 1110
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby Segatarious1 » January 11th, 2014, 4:25 pm

[QUOTE=Astrosmasher]There are 75 million Steam users world wide.  Just check the site and you will see it gets loads of traffic.  If 10 percent bought a Steam machine that would be double the installed user base of the Wii U. 
It is worth bearing in mind that not everyone wants the console view of everything. [/QUOTE]

The point is, has Valve given '10%' of the STEAM user base a reason to invest in these consoles?

You are giving a benchmark of 7.5 million, and if they do not come close to that - is there any point in them doing this at all?

I just wonder at the price, commitment, and the direction of all of this.

When you buy a Nintendo console, for example, you rest assured knowing Nintendo has put the most talented game studios in the world behind it, to deliver the software. There is sure-fire commitment behind the product. This feels like Valve planting some trees, not sure if they will bother to water them, or care for them, but if they happen to grow anyway, great.

I want Valve to cater to my needs - the needs of the mainstream - and release an ultra competitive price, base line product, instead of this nonsense -  having a dozen 'distinct' 'models' the are selling between $800 to $1700. That is ridiculous. None of them have a chance in hell at making any dent into the console space, so what is the point?


Sudz1
Posts: 816
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

The new Steam Machines :

Postby Sudz1 » January 11th, 2014, 5:23 pm

I'm a proud and happy Steam user.  I'm also a PC builder.  And a console owner.  I'm not sure what a Steam console may offer to entice me into purchasing one.  Yes, I have a nice Steam library over well over 100 games, but I can already play those on my desktop PC or laptop.  If I prefer a controller over keyboard/mouse, I can just plug an Xbox controller into any free USB port.  I'm probably as likely a candidate as any to pick one of these up, but I have yet to see the upside to getting one as opposed to, say, a Wii U or some other console I don't yet own.  I love Steam, I think Gabe Newell is a genius, but again what does a Steam console give me that I can't already get on my home PC(s)?


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