Valve's Steam Box

Open discussion about any topic, as long as you abide by the rules of course!
scared?
Posts: 20988
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:28 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by scared? »

Lol $1,100...
User avatar
Eraser
Posts: 19177
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2000 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Eraser »

obsidian wrote:However, this can be widely successful for console noobs who don't want to invest in a full gaming PC.
Eraser wrote:I think your assessment of the target demographic isn't entirely correct. I think this thing is mostly appealing (on paper) to those who already have an appreciation for Steam and Valve.

Yeah, at a $900 - $1100 price point I'm even more confident that this is not aimed at console noobs.
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

Like they are going to sell it at a profit - Valve will make a killing if they sub this down to next gen console prices, which I see at around £350 - £400 ($600 - $650)
Mogul
Posts: 1635
Joined: Wed May 23, 1973 12:48 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Mogul »

Transient wrote:That's pretty small for a gaming PC. How's that going to run FPS games coming out in 2013, I wonder?
Since none of them will run on Linux, we will never know.
This line only remake is total rubbish I've ever seen!!! Fuck off!!! --CZghost
User avatar
MKJ
Posts: 32582
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2000 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by MKJ »

shit, wheres the optical out? :/
Deathshroud
Posts: 2103
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:22 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Deathshroud »

For around $1k, I fail to see how this is a better alternative than buying a pre-built gaming PC with a decent video card. That price point can't compete with consoles, so who is the target audience?
Mogul
Posts: 1635
Joined: Wed May 23, 1973 12:48 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Mogul »

:olo: Reminds me of that scene in Napoleon Dynamite when Kip backs over the tupperwear and breaks it.

http://kotaku.com/5974123/the-coolest-t ... Socialflow
This line only remake is total rubbish I've ever seen!!! Fuck off!!! --CZghost
obsidian
Posts: 10970
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2002 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by obsidian »

That's the exact same Xi3 prototype that they were trying to crowd-source a while back. Valve is investing in the company but there is certainly no indication that that's the actual specs or even the actual prototype. Grain and salt and all.

Here's Newell's actual quote about Steam's console:
"We’ll do it but we also think other people will as well,” Newell said, referring to other hardware makers who might release their own living room PCs along with Valve. Newell suggested that Valve’s hardware may run on a Linux-based operating system, in a “very controlled environment,” while users who wanted more flexibility could go with a more general purpose PC.
So to re-iterate what I said earlier, this is a small gaming PC for console noobs who don't already own a gaming PC. Why Linux? It sidesteps any licensing issues and minimizing costs of selling a 'PC' with Windows. This is all more about pushing the PC into the living room to compete with traditional consoles.

Will it succeed? It doesn't have to. Steam's goal is to sell games, not actual hardware. What they are interested in doing is pushing the PC into the living room, and all they have to do is drum up interest among hardware manufacturers and gamers to actually do this themselves, be it with Steam's console with Linux or some other hardware with Windows.
[size=85][url=http://gtkradiant.com]GtkRadiant[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com]Q3Map2[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com/docs/shader_manual/]Shader Manual[/url][/size]
User avatar
Transient
Posts: 11357
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2001 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Transient »

If they had made a cheapo console and focused on controller-enabled indie games instead of bigger retail games with heftier system requirements, they could have captured a burgeoning demographic. I'd buy an Indie Box for my living room (if I didn't already have a gaming PC).
[quote="YourGrandpa"]I'm satisfied with voicing my opinion and moving on.[/quote]
User avatar
Eraser
Posts: 19177
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2000 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Eraser »

According to Gabe Newell it comes preloaded with Linux but you can install Windows on it if you want: "This is not some locked box by any stretch of the imagination".
User avatar
DooMer
Posts: 3068
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 1999 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by DooMer »

The piston is only one of many. Valve is making their own steam box as well.

There aren't many Linux games at the moment, but they are trying to position themselves for the future. Gotta start somewhere.
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

I guess selling it with Linux makes it instantly playable without the licence fee woes of using Windows. But then Windows could be installed via the purchaser.

It is an interesting prospect I think and a very brave move on Valves part - but then the Xbox was a brave move on Microsofts part and its the best console on the market now and has been for some time.

Like DooMer said, it has got to start somewhere.
Mogul
Posts: 1635
Joined: Wed May 23, 1973 12:48 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Mogul »

The thing I'm really interested in seeing in action is Valve's "very closed environment" (or however Gabe phrased that). I imagine the experience to be a very Xbox-like. More or less booting up directly to Big Picture and so on. The "very closed environment" line was uttered before yesterday's claim that it was "by no means a closed system." These comments may be unrelated. And this may be the dumbest post I've ever made on q3w.
This line only remake is total rubbish I've ever seen!!! Fuck off!!! --CZghost
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

Mogul wrote:The thing I'm really interested in seeing in action is Valve's "very closed environment" (or however Gabe phrased that). I imagine the experience to be a very Xbox-like. More or less booting up directly to Big Picture and so on. The "very closed environment" line was uttered before yesterday's claim that it was "by no means a closed system." These comments may be unrelated. And this may be the dumbest post I've ever made on q3w.
Quoted for evidence in the future ;)
User avatar
Eraser
Posts: 19177
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2000 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Eraser »

Can someone actually dig up a quote on that "very closed environment"? Seems to completely contradict what Gabe Newell's saying now.
Mogul
Posts: 1635
Joined: Wed May 23, 1973 12:48 pm

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Mogul »

Here it is.

"Well certainly our hardware will be a very controlled environment. If you want more flexibility, you can always buy a more general purpose PC. For people who want a more turnkey solution, that's what some people are really gonna want for their living room. The nice thing about a PC is a lot of different people can try out different solutions, and customers can find the ones that work best for them."

So it's different from what I thought.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/08/valve ... -hardware/
This line only remake is total rubbish I've ever seen!!! Fuck off!!! --CZghost
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

Still an odd thing to say given the device has the ability to be upgraded and is going to run "open" software...
obsidian
Posts: 10970
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2002 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by obsidian »

"controlled" != "closed".

What I gather Newell means by this is that with the default hardware and software installed, you probably won't be able to run Excel off of this box, maybe not even browse websites. What it'll do is run some kind of Linux, Steam in Big Picture mode, and some games off of it. This is what he means by "controlled environment".

However, there's nothing stopping people from modifying the console, installing Windows on it, or building one from scratch with custom hardware. This is what is meant by being "open", you are not restricted to a set hardware or software configuration, you can do whatever you want with it.

I'll say it again: This is nothing more than a prebuilt and configured PC that you plug into your TV so that you can play games from Steam. If you're willing to build a box and install software yourself, you already have a Steam console. It is not a direct competitor to PlayStation or Xbox in the sense that it is not some fixed hardware.
[size=85][url=http://gtkradiant.com]GtkRadiant[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com]Q3Map2[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com/docs/shader_manual/]Shader Manual[/url][/size]
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

User avatar
Transient
Posts: 11357
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2001 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Transient »

If it can run "some" kind of Linux, why not just use a fully featured version, like Ubuntu, so you don't have to worry about a lack of browser and such? After all, it's free.
[quote="YourGrandpa"]I'm satisfied with voicing my opinion and moving on.[/quote]
obsidian
Posts: 10970
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2002 8:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by obsidian »

Ding! Interview with Newell on a bunch of stuff including Steam Box. Here are some of the related tidbits:

Steam Box:
We’ll come out with our own and we’ll sell it to consumers by ourselves. That’ll be a Linux box, [and] if you want to install Windows you can. We’re not going to make it hard. This is not some locked box by any stretch of the imagination... [Netflix on the Steam Box?] Oh absolutely. You can fire up a web browser, you can do whatever you want.
Controllers:
We also think that a controller that has higher precision and lower latency is another interesting thing to have... We think that, unlike motion input where we kind of struggled to come up with ideas, [there's potential in] biometrics. We have lots of ideas. I think you’ll see controllers coming from us that use a lot of biometric data.
Future of Steam Box:
The Steam Box will also be a server. Any PC can serve multiple monitors, so over time, the next-generation (post-Kepler) you can have one GPU that’s serving up eight simultaeneous game calls. So you could have one PC and eight televisions and eight controllers and everybody getting great performance out of it. We’re used to having one monitor, or two monitors — now we’re saying let's expand that a little bit.

...So this [Steam Box] is called "Bigfoot" internally, and we also have "Littlefoot." [Littlefoot] says "what do we need to do to extend this to the mobile space?" Our approach will be pretty similar. We also think there’s a lot that needs to be done in the tablet and mobile space to improve input for games.


He also goes on a fair bit about other stuff like Windows 8, images of prototypes (boring small black boxes) and other things... read the full interview:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/8/385214 ... -of-gaming
[size=85][url=http://gtkradiant.com]GtkRadiant[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com]Q3Map2[/url] | [url=http://q3map2.robotrenegade.com/docs/shader_manual/]Shader Manual[/url][/size]
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

Half Life 3? ;)
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/12/15/what- ... ooks-like/

Niiiiiiiiiiiiice
fKd
Posts: 2478
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:54 am
Location: Wellington
Contact:

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by fKd »

Meh, its just a pc. The controller looks interesting though, but also a little cheap in some shots i've seen.
Don Carlos
Posts: 17509
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Valve's Steam Box

Post by Don Carlos »

It's a beast!

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/12/19/steam ... -16gb-ram/
Post Reply