What sort of value would a SteamBox offer?

domo, suwatte kudasai.

I'm curious, over in the PC Hardware section, there are a few trolls who go on about Alienware being great.

If you do the maths, you can usually build something on-par/slightly better for about 80-90% of the cost of an Alienware (including Windows in the custom build). Obviously, you miss out on a few things by building yourself, like telephone support, and return-to-bench warranty repairs. Though if one can build a PC themselves, what do they need such support for?

But I'd suspect that Alienware get discounts on parts beyond what a consumer would when building it themselves. Therefore, perhaps Alienware could sell the machines cheaper, perhaps they could match the price of homebuilt? Perhaps they choose not to, as they like money.

I suspect this Steambox is unlikely to run Windows out of the box, this could save on costs. Also, I suspect that Valve are well aware that many Steam users are not clueless when it comes to building/maintaining PCs. Therefore, there needs to be something particularly attractive about this Steambox system to differentiate it, to add value to it, compared to it's competitors.

The discussion questions:

Is it possible that when Valve's Steambox releases, they use a combination of cheaper operating software, and economies of scale to push the price of their unit to lower than the price of an equivalent homebuilt pc?

Who do you suspect the Steambox's primary competition will be? Consoles? PCs? Apple TV? The Commodore 64? (jokes obviously, the Commodore 64 is peerless)

Do you suspect Valve would make Half-Life 3 either a full exclusive to the Steambox (eg, would not run on Steam in Windows, or just not available to buy)? Or perhaps a timed exclusive?

Could Windows be an option for the Steambox like how Windows is an option for Intel macs with Bootcamp? I guess it would if it's x86-64 based

Is it possible that when Valve's Steambox releases, they use a combination of cheaper operating software, and economies of scale to push the price of their unit to lower than the price of an equivalent homebuilt pc?

Who do you suspect the Steambox's primary competition will be? Consoles? PCs? Apple TV? The Commodore 64? (jokes obviously, the Commodore 64 is peerless)

Do you suspect Valve would make Half-Life 3 either a full exclusive to the Steambox (eg, would not run on Steam in Windows, or just not available to buy)? Or perhaps a timed exclusive?

Could Windows be an option for the Steambox like how Windows is an option for Intel macs with Bootcamp? I guess it would if it's x86-64 based

psymon100

I expect them to utilize a Windows OS with a Steam overlay... Whilst taking a loss.

It would be fully multiplat.

No doubt it would be possible... Though a lockout is inevitable.

Is it possible that when Valve's Steambox releases, they use a combination of cheaper operating software, and economies of scale to push the price of their unit to lower than the price of an equivalent homebuilt pc?

Who do you suspect the Steambox's primary competition will be? Consoles? PCs? Apple TV? The Commodore 64? (jokes obviously, the Commodore 64 is peerless)

Do you suspect Valve would make Half-Life 3 either a full exclusive to the Steambox (eg, would not run on Steam in Windows, or just not available to buy)? Or perhaps a timed exclusive?

Could Windows be an option for the Steambox like how Windows is an option for Intel macs with Bootcamp? I guess it would if it's x86-64 based

psymon100

1. i think they have to do that otherwise i'd just build another pc when considering the steambox

2. all of the above except the c64. it's not 1990 any more bro youre living in the past

3. half-life 2 was the vehicle valve used to get steam all over the world. clyde is right there would be a backlash, but so what. these companies like money. if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. it's entirely possible.

4. i suspect it will either be officially supported or someone will muscle a hacked version of windows on there.

steambox can go one of two ways imho.

1. all the best things a pc has, with all the best things a console has. eg - openoffice one minute, in a game next minute. controller to operate easily on the TV etc.

2. all the worst things a pc has, with all the worst things a console has. eg - no printing, no steaming media or only steaming of media of certain formats, crappy browser, cumbersome to operate with little errors popping up all the time, etc.

One of the most important questions about the SteamBox is: who is the targeted audience? I believe the answer is rather unknown at this point as a lot of the details about the product is still shrouded in mystery. There is not enough information at the point to really amount to any conclusion.

The backlash would be unreal.clyde46

Agreed. But, will this interfere with a business decision?

whats a steambox? lol whatever it is it probably wont offer anything what games are on there that ppl would actually want to play?syndrome83

Maybe this will help you mate.

It would be fully multiplat.lundy86_4

Half-life 3? That makes a lot of sense because it offers the greatest earnings potential.

half-life 2 was the vehicle valve used to get steam all over the world.MSXBOX4EVER

Yes actually I think this is a good point to keep in mind.

[quote="lundy86_4"]It would be fully multiplat.psymon100

Half-life 3? That makes a lot of sense because it offers the greatest earnings potential.

Exactly my reasoning. Plus, it's Valve. They won't ostracize the PC fanbase.

I really think if Valve made HL3 a Steambox exclusive, it would be a very bad business decision. PC gamers are Valves life blood, dont crap where you eat springs to mind.clyde46

What would make more sense would be is if Valve drops support for Xbox 360 and PS3, and makes games only for Steam from now on. They have their own contender in the console market through Steam Box, and making HL3 exclusive to Steam would give people incentive to either buy a Steam Box or upgrade their PC-- either way, it would expand the market that the Steam platform can access.

The Steambox is going to be a PC, so making HL3 an exclusive is basically making it PC exclusive

Valve would scam the sh*t out of you.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504534

Laughable and sad at the same time. Yes the game is bad, but the Steam store page is a joke, lies everywhere. Not the first time they do something similar like this.

Valve would scam the sh*t out of you.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504534

Laughable and sad at the same time. Yes the game is bad, but the Steam store page is a joke, lies everywhere. Not the first time they do something similar like this.

SaltyMeatballs

hmmm

half life 3 .... multiplat to make all the money in the world

or steam exclusive to make less money on the game, but maybe push more hardware.

hmmm

half life 3 .... multiplat to make all the money in the world

or steam exclusive to make less money on the game, but maybe push more hardware.

MSXBOX4EVER

Valve would scam the sh*t out of you.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504534

Laughable and sad at the same time. Yes the game is bad, but the Steam store page is a joke, lies everywhere. Not the first time they do something similar like this.

SaltyMeatballs

Man, looks like the truth is exposed well open there. Good for consumers.

I imagine it would be a good value to people who want to get into PC gaming without the hassle and (presumably) cost.

I imagine it would be a good value to people who want to get into PC gaming without the hassle and (presumably) cost.

The_Game21x

I never found PC gaming to be of a hassle, but that's me.

[QUOTE="The_Game21x"]

I imagine it would be a good value to people who want to get into PC gaming without the hassle and (presumably) cost.

GamerwillzPS

I never found PC gaming to be of a hassle, but that's me.

Building your own rig can be confusing, even with parts these days being basically plug n play. And if anything goes wrong, you don't have the safety net of a major manufacturer's support or warranty team to catch you.

For guys like us who know their way around SATA cables and CPUs, it's not a big deal but casual gamers will likely have some trouble with that stuff.

[QUOTE="GamerwillzPS"]

[QUOTE="The_Game21x"]

I imagine it would be a good value to people who want to get into PC gaming without the hassle and (presumably) cost.

The_Game21x

I never found PC gaming to be of a hassle, but that's me.

Building your own rig can be confusing, even with parts these days being basically plug n play. And if anything goes wrong, you don't have the safety net of a major manufacturer's support or warranty team to catch you.

For guys like us who know their way around SATA cables and CPUs, it's not a big deal but casual gamers will likely have some trouble with that stuff.

How coincidental my mobo started giving me red VGA and Boot LEDs and I basically spent an hour searching methods till I found that one of my RAM sticks was defective.

Well, for one it would place upon the console base cheaper games.

One thing I realized switching to PC gaming, is that Console gamers get so ripped off it's ridiculous.

I remember Apex was going to release a "PC console" around the same time as the Xbox 360, but it never made it to release. It was going to use a special kind of software that eliminated the need to install a game, and let you just insert a disc and play it like it was a typical game console. The catch was that every game was going to have to be scripted to launch through the system manually, and that was going to contribute a fair amount to the long term cost of supporting the system, and with no royalties from software to make up for it.

With Steam Box, they are dodging both of those problems since they already have a distribution platform in place that will allow for the easy installing and running of games, and the royalties from distributing games through Steam will help their profit margins a lot. The one catch is that games will have to be ported over to Linux in order to run on the system, since Steam Box will be linux-based. There will be other HTPCs that will be derivatives of Steam Box that will be running Windows 8 (and there already are some, like the Alienware X51), however the goal of Steam Box seems to be to keep the initial investment price down in order to woo console gamers away from Sony and Microsoft.

The Apextreme was originally going to launch in two versions-- a $300 model, and a more powerful $400 model. Obviously neither version came out, but my gut tells me that with Steam Box, Valve is shooting for a $400 price tag. Historically that's the most that customers have been see to be willing to pay, and if they are going with a non-modular motherboard with soldered-on components and using a custom Linux OS instead of Windows 8, that could potentially cut off as much as $200 from what would otherwise be a $600 gaming machine.

I don't know just what to expect from Steam Box in terms of power, but my gut tells me that Valve wants it to be at least competetive with next-gen consoles in terms of both power and price. Even if it's a "budget" gaming machine compared to a custom-built gaming PC, I am curious to see what Valve is able to pack under its hood, and for what retail price.

It's not a console. The value of it is for people that want to buy a PC for games and stream it through their TV. Way too many people think of the "Steambox" as a console. The point of it is to make streaming Steam with Big Picture mode even more accessible. I mean, I could likely stream it from my desktop if there's a wireless solution OR just hooking up my laptop. So, Steambox isn't really for me. But that's all it really is.

It's not a console. The value of it is for people that want to buy a PC for games and stream it through their TV. Way too many people think of the "Steambox" as a console. The point of it is to make streaming Steam with Big Picture mode even more accessible. I mean, I could likely stream it from my desktop if there's a wireless solution OR just hooking up my laptop. So, Steambox isn't really for me. But that's all it really is.

NeonNinja

[QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

It's not a console. The value of it is for people that want to buy a PC for games and stream it through their TV. Way too many people think of the "Steambox" as a console. The point of it is to make streaming Steam with Big Picture mode even more accessible. I mean, I could likely stream it from my desktop if there's a wireless solution OR just hooking up my laptop. So, Steambox isn't really for me. But that's all it really is.

Timstuff

I agree, and I think it's a far better alternative to consoles. The price of the games is just far more appealing and to have a PC connected to your TV is far better than having a fully closed off console.

[QUOTE="Timstuff"][QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

It's not a console. The value of it is for people that want to buy a PC for games and stream it through their TV. Way too many people think of the "Steambox" as a console. The point of it is to make streaming Steam with Big Picture mode even more accessible. I mean, I could likely stream it from my desktop if there's a wireless solution OR just hooking up my laptop. So, Steambox isn't really for me. But that's all it really is.

NeonNinja

I agree, and I think it's a far better alternative to consoles. The price of the games is just far more appealing and to have a PC connected to your TV is far better than having a fully closed off console.

any real pc gamer knows alinanware is OVERPRICED and for the lazy gamer. This steambox/smaller pcs for living room gaming is not for your average pc gamer. IT is for attracting those people who have no clue about building a rig or don't want to deal with the normal pc or take the time to learn it.

If valve can bring steam box which they said would be less open source sounds to me that they will handle updates and stuff for you just like a console. to make it simple for the consumer.