Steambox: who is this for?

Correct me if im wrong but steambox allows you to change the hardware, correct? The only reason someone who already has a rig would buy this is for the ubermegasuperspecialawesome TF2 hat.

I hope it kicks off and developers start releasing more games on Linux. As soon as that happens, adieu Microsoft!

The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.darkspineslayer

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

Been wondering myself. Could be an incoming flop. I have a console to play console games and a PC that does everything else.

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"]The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.Masenkoe

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

[QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"]The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.darkspineslayer

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

I know how you feel because I build my own too, I think everybody should.

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"][QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

Masenkoe

I know how you feel because I build my own too, I think everybody should.

I have no idea why anyone would want/need one. I guess we'll have to see the price. For $300-350 you can build a fairly capable HTPC that can play some games, so I don't see the need for this personally.

why we keep having this discussion? it's targeted at people who don't want a rig, it's targeted at people who think having a rig is "hard" or a hassle. yes it's targeted more towards consolelets.

HOPEFULLY steam sticks to their price formal but charging full or o most full cost for the steambox so prices stay the same on steam. That's the beauty of a pc. MORE you play on your pc, MORE YOU SAVE. MORE you play on a console, MORE YOU SPEND due to the pricing system

even if it cost 600-700, IF stupid apple can get away stuff trice as much trash off namebrand they can get off selling for the cost of it

when dude gave that on hardware for living room stuff ECT. HE also said it was for the normal pc gamer and it most likely be less open source as a pc. Even if you want go the pc rig route that option is still there.

[QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"] Fair enough, though even most (if not all) pre-builds would give you the ability to upgrade on your own. Personally, I would build a rig if I wanted to get into PC gaming, simply because its a better value-money ratio. That and I wouldn't fall for Alienware. :Psavagetwinkie

I know how you feel because I build my own too, I think everybody should.

Yes you do, if a part is broken when you recieve it you can complain. Have you not looked at 70% of the user reviews on Newegg?

People are more likely to complain when something breaks rather than state when something worked spot on.

Either way, I find Alienware PCs to be incredibly inbalanced. An i7 isunnecessary for gaming, and usually the graphics cards they put in the more "reasonable" models are low-mid range cards. So do you really get a good value? No. I also wouldn't ever pay somebody $200 for something that is so easy to do.

If it's a console with mouse support i'm in.

why we keep having this discussion? it's targeted at people who don't want a rig, it's targeted at people who think having a rig is "hard" or a hassle. yes it's targeted more towards consolelets.

HOPEFULLY steam sticks to their price formal but charging full or o most full cost for the steambox so prices stay the same on steam. That's the beauty of a pc. MORE you play on your pc, MORE YOU SAVE. MORE you play on a console, MORE YOU SPEND due to the pricing system

even if it cost 600-700, IF stupid apple can get away stuff trice as much trash off namebrand they can get off selling for the cost of it

when dude gave that on hardware for living room stuff ECT. HE also said it was for the normal pc gamer and it most likely be less open source as a pc. Even if you want go the pc rig route that option is still there.

k2theswiss

It's for the console players who can't afford a real gaming PC.

It is a competitive play. Gabe Newell is very concerned about the advent of Windows Store and Mac Store. The fear is that Microsoft will evenually only allow software from Windows Store to be installed. Apple has already done that with iOS and appears to be going that direction on Mac. Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo all have their individual stores. The whole "walled garden" software distribution model seems to be taking shape everwhere. Gabe sees a world (in a not to distant future) where Steam is irrelevant.

Valve could realistically loose Steam everywhere but Linux. If PC gaming and Steam are to survive in its current form, Gabe believes it will have to be on Linux. Linux is the life boat. Gabe and Valve want to see Linux become the new Windows when it comes to PC gaming. They almost have enough power to make that happen, and porting Steam to Linux was a start, but something will have to entice developers. Enter Steam Box.

Who is the target market? Good question. Hopefully they'll have one, but ultimately it is a competitive move to keep Steam alive and kicking. If they launch it and make Half-Life 3 exclusive to Linux, they might be able to sell enough Steam Boxes, or encourage enough people to install Linux, so more developers consider Linux ports. It appears from the rumors that Valve would be perfectly happy working with todays PC makers. I forsee more than just a Valve built console/PC. I believe there will likely be some sort of Steam-centric Linux distro and development kit.

Ultimately I think the goal is to attempt to revolutionize PC gaming and make the Dells and HPs of the world start building hardware to take on, or provide an alternative to, consoles. Who will buy it is an after thought, but one they will ultimately have to provide an answer to.

The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience. darkspineslayer

A daunting task for the novice. Someone looking to get into PC gaming might not want to go to the trouble at all, and probably wouldn't like the idea of paying for a ridiculously priced pre-built PC either.

Valve, I think, is trying to ease into that sweet-spot in between.

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"] The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience. jethrovegas

A daunting task for the novice. Someone looking to get into PC gaming might not want to go to the trouble at all, and probably wouldn't like the idea of paying for a ridiculously priced pre-built PC either.

Valve, I think, is trying to ease into that sweet-spot in between.

I think to call it daunting is a bit much. The difficulty of building a computer is extremely exaggerated, while it may take a couple hours to learn enough to put one together it doesn't take much more than that a few google searches and youtube videos. It's quite simple.

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"] The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience. jethrovegas

A daunting task for the novice. Someone looking to get into PC gaming might not want to go to the trouble at all, and probably wouldn't like the idea of paying for a ridiculously priced pre-built PC either.

Valve, I think, is trying to ease into that sweet-spot in between.

Putting together and setting up a PC isn't much more difficult than building with legos nowadays. Everything snaps together, you install the OS, and you're good to go.

I think to call it daunting is a bit much. The difficulty of building a computer is extremely exaggerated, while it may take a couple hours to learn enough to put one together it doesn't take much more than that a few google searches and youtube videos. It's quite simple.Masenkoe

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"]The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.Masenkoe

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

People who are ignorant about PC's but want the games.Zeviander

right here

The same people that buy alienwares, prebuilts, gaming laptops as their go to pc gaming experience. Also curious newcomers that would like to try pc titles, but in a simpler form like a console that play pc games.

Seems like a niche system for me. I have not seen Valve pull off any serious marketting before besides portal 2 on tv, and even then they would need lottts more of it to be somewhat competitive. They need to create awareness on what is a steambox to the mainstream or else it will be a niche system(unless that is what they intended) or a complete failure.

It is meant for all the gamers that complain about how complicated PC gaming is, how they prefer controllers and sitting on their couch.

My PC can barely play Far Cry 3 I have to use the Ultra Low Mod for it to get it in a stable sate. Im holding off buying a new PC to see what the Steambox is about before I make any decision. It will be interesting to see what they come up with I believe Valve said games experienced a 15%-20% increase in performance when they run on Linux maybe games would run even better if they were optimised properly for it, hell I don't know never touched Linux before In my life. But the idea of a more Focused PC OS catered towards gaming without all the BS Microsoft shoves into it sounds like a good idea to me.

Valve doesn't have to pay MS to run a modified version of its OS so that saves them money on each unit, plus if it is true that games could potentially run better on a Linix OS, could mean the SteamBox could use Cheaper hardware and games would still run reasonable well on them,cheaper for Valve cheaper for the consumer.

Valve takes a 30%? cut of Sales from the games it puts on steam, what if they cut it down to 20% if the Developer ports their game to the Steambox, might get more Publishers and developers interested in porting their games. Hell we have nothing to go on so for now we can only guess, valve is a smart company and obviously a smart business so I have faith in them. System sounds great for people like me that are not hardcore PC gamers but want the freedom of PC Gaming and the cheap games that come along with it.

As it stands, you can use your steam account on multiple computers a time just not online on multiple computers at once.

I don't see that really changing anytime soon.

Probably for those looking to getting into PC gaming but feel too intimidated. EliteM0nk3y

I won't be bothering with it. I have a top of the line rig, a medium rig hooked up to another monitor and a minor rig hooked up to my TV, I also have a PS3 and a Wii U, I really don't need anything else.

The more and more I ask myself this question, the stranger it sounds to me. As it stands we're looking at a potential midrange PC with a Linux based operating system to run Steam based PC games and intended to be connected to a TV like a console. Who is honestly looking for this product? Soccer moms and retirement homes? Still happy with the Wii. Console frat boys? Perfectly happy playing CoD and sports games on their 360. Core console gamers? I could see a few converts, but anything serious? Why would they dive in now? Core PC gamers? They already have rigs that could run circles around the Steambox, and the ability to connect it to the TV, as they constantly bring up. The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience. A Linux based steam isn't exactly going to have the full library, probably ever. Windows is going to dominate PC gaming for a long time to come, right? This will probably be written off as a poor troll thread, but i hope some may be able to awnser this question. It's as obscure to me as the idea of Ouya succeeding on a major level. Where is the market here?darkspineslayer

It all depends on pricing. If Valve can offer a real gaming PC at a price of a nextgen console, i mean, 500-600$ then there a lot of people who want to incurse into PC gaming but they are not willing to pay for a $800-1000$. They are not willing to deal with OS installations, etc. The only thing they want is plug-and-play.

Besides Valve was consistenly reporting that Linux-based OS, perform 30% more efficient for gaming. So basically they want to develop an OS dedicated to PC gaming and not general tasks like Windows. That would allow, GTX660 on Steam OS,for example, have the same performance as 670 on Windows.

You see, PC dedicated to PC gaming, at 500-600$ that is plug-and-play would sell like hotcakes.

In another my thread I already showed a gaming pc at 607$ with the following build:

AMD FX-8150 6-Core 3.5 GHz
Gigabyte AMD 760G Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SUPERCLOCKED 2048MB GDDR5
Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500w
Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200RPM 2 TB SATA 6 GB/s

Cooler Master Elite 430 - Mid Tower

If I can build 600$ pc with quality components that can run BF3 in ultra 50fps, imagine what Steam can make for the same price if they go for bigger scale like contracts with AMD, Nvidia and other brand manufactures.

And this, with Steam OS, will be dedicated to PC gaming...

At a price of 500-600$...

You see potential now.

steam fanboys

Maybe the casual gamer looking to get into PC gaming.

Although its still early for now am not interested in Steambox, since I'd rather spend that money into building a new gaming PC..

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"]The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.Masenkoe

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.

If Steam can get this out early enough so that it beat the next Xbox and Playstation to market, and if they can show it is capable of high-end PC experience at a fraction of the cost, they might be able to appeal to enough console people and PC gamers to sell it. Those are some VERY big IFS and I have doubts.

That said I don't think that's what they are trying to do. What I actually believe is this is more or less a concept device. I have seen some articles that Valve would welcome PC makers building their own Steam Box, presumably with Valve providing the software to make the whole thing work. I think they are attempting to be the Google Android of gaming. They are not trying to knock Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo off a throne. The even said you need to buy a PC if you want a full PC experience. They want to revitalize the PC gaming market and ensure Steam's survival by creating a new type of device.

I am someone that use to play games on my console AND my PC. Once I got married, it would be hard to convince my wife to spend a fortune on a gaming right, especially when I wasn't sure I saw the value I once did. I would have fought for it if I thought it was worth it, but I was much better with dual analog sticks and the differences between console graphics and PC were harder to spot, especially with what I was willing to pay for a PC. I abandoned PC gaming willingly, and I wasn't alone. The market for high-end games on PC is not what it once was.

Something like Steam Box might be enough to entice myself and other like me back to PC gaming, but that probably won't be enough to start a revolution. I get what they want to do and why, but based on this forum, I think they have a very hard road ahead.

But then again you never know in this industry. The Wii and iPad were both devices that many people wrote off until it was apparent they had been wrong. The competitors to Wii from Microsoft and Sony took a while to materialize because no one expected the level of success. Also, the iPad got a big head start with almost no competition as well. There's always the chance Valve is holding an ace they haven't shown and will surprise everyone with something we're not expecting. I will say this: if it is more or less a Linux PC you hook to your TV for gaming without an ace in the hand, they had better have some masterful marketing planned.

(Even a Half-Life 3 exclusive would be a pretty good ace)

[QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

[QUOTE="darkspineslayer"]The core gamer looking at PC gaming? Why limit themselves? Build a rig and get the full experience.Lightning_fan

From my experience most people downright refuse wanting to learn how to build, many people buy prebuilts, a good amount of PC gamers do, just not enthusiasts.