[Radec]

Way to justify your argument. It's not going to be some Ubuntu desktop. It will be Big Picture mode running on a Linux kernel and the games using an OpenGL derivative. Kind of like the PS3 (which uses Linux for the XMB). Crazy how many people think because it's not windows it's already a piece of shit. ...and more competition the better in my eyes.

Because you are overestimating Linux or the platform way too early. It doesnt matter if the PS3 runs linux, devs will make games to it even if it is running OSX. Why? because there are already millions of potential buyers.

Crazy how many of you are already jizzing just because Valve/Steam and even Linux is in it.

But w/e, ill enjoy the tears when this bombs. If not, ill enjoy playing on this too.

[Xater]

Sad to see people already negatively commenting on it because the OS will be based on Linux. What the hell...

I like the idea and I would very much like to own such a box, but I just don't see every dev jumping onto the Linux train.

[Exuro]

There are few GFWL titles, even fewer of which are Microsoft-published and thus will never see anything other than a GFWL/XBOX release. Valve has to promote and sell enough of these devices to make a linux version attractive to the publishers. If anybody can do it it is probably Valve.

Well I know I have quite a few gfwl games in my steam account. All I was saying was games with these types of drm wouldn't be able to be ported over.

It'll be interesting to see what they do in terms of promoting it. Exclusive tf2 hats!

EDIT: I wonder if this is what that hardware sign up thing was about(or possibly a controller.)

[angelfly]

I'm really surprised people actually expected these things to ship with Windows.

[Jadedx]

Linux-based, huh? I can't wait to not bother with it until several years later when it actually has a respectable library of titles.

Don't bother, it will be long dead before that happens.

[FACE]

Linux? Not interested.

[Metalic]

Come on guys, I am pretty sure we'll see more Linux ports as a result of this.

[Chinner]

rofl cant wait for pc fanboys to cry when wii u destroys steam and valve is bought out by EA

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

Well, if ms drops the ball with the Durango releasing weak hardware, I will def buy this.

[JaseC]

1)What the point? Why would anyone buy this thing when the entire library is already available on Windows/Consoles? 2) Does Valve have the man power to distribute this product in multiple regions around the world? I like Valve but I don't see how this will works in any possible way.

I don't think the idea is to compete with The Big Three at that level but instead assume Valve will partner with at least one PC manufacturer to make the Steambox a made-to-order product using typical PC hardware; you won't see it lining the shelves of your local EB Games.

My take is that the Steambox is basically Valve's answer to Alienware's X51, minus the Microsoft middle-man. It's not a new platform that the company needs to support via exclusivity; that's Steam itself.

[Diddy Kong]

Wii-U and Steambox for me.

[BigTnaples]

Yeah the linux thing throws me.


I mean if they are making a console like the PS4 and 720 that will run its own exclusives and not the steam backlogs people already have, then what ace in the hole do they have to make it worthwhile? Half-Life 3 is a great start, but even it can't do it alone. Especially since it would be on PC as well.


I mean, me, with near 200 Steam games and a High end PC. (also all consoles) What incentive do I have to buy this thing?

Then there is someone who doesn't have steam or a gaming PC, but they see Steambox, what is the incentive for them to go with Steambox over 720 and PS4? Unless it is vastly more powerful.


I just dont see where this is going. As excited as I was about the idea of a Steambox, it being linux really hampers it IMO. Yeah that's normal for Playstation because they are consoles and always have been. Getting into the console market new, without some sort of ace in the hole only means death IMO.

[Decado]

How so? People need to think of this more as a console gaming platform instead of 'b...b...but wheres my entire back catalogue'.

Then it will probably fail. We don't need another fucking console.

[lefantome]

Using Linux they can tailor the OS to be an optimised Gaming Os, not like android or Windows.

The existing games will be ported on that Linux version, during they years. Not every linux distro which could become a nightmare.
It has already happened with Mac. Most engines already supports OpenGL and SteamBox could be an interesting market.

Anyway don't forget that when you will buy a game on steambox you will have it also on windows. They won't transfer games like Nintendo.

[Des0lar]

What if Valve has developed some secret dark magic that makes porting games to Linux easy as pie?

[Nilaul]

Linux?

Aint like nearly all games console os based on Linux?

[Polishin8r]

Linux? sounds awful.

sounds amazing!!! like12?? of my games are already compatible on linux through steam ubuntu beat :D

[Swifty]

Sad to see people already negatively commenting on it because the OS will be based on Linux. What the hell...

I think it's a valid concern. Steam has an enormous library of Windows based games it can leverage. Creating a brand new platform negates that.

Valve could be pursuing a strategy that won't necessitate the need for such a large library but you have to admit that the risk is still there. I don't think people are necessarily poo pooing on Linux but people are definitely concerned about keeping their existing library and what other customers will think of that.

[Felix Lighter]

Like I mentioned earlier, I'll be very relieved if crossplatform play is commonly pushed on this box. The only thing that makes me nervous is the fact that Steam is now a very important aspect of the PC gaming community at this point and if Valve pulls some portion of the audience to this new machine while others remain on PC, it could end up having a very negative impact on both platforms, unless both groups can in most cases play together.

[benny_a]

Sad to see people already negatively commenting on it because the OS will be based on Linux. What the hell...

Because it running Linux means it won't run Windows, which is the primary platform that Steam is currently running on and every game on the service is compatible with.

So unless Valve came up with a silver bullet to make every Windows game compatible with Linux, it will have a very small library at launch.

[Derrick01]

Sad to see people already negatively commenting on it because the OS will be based on Linux. What the hell...

Well it's easily the biggest negative about the thing so why not?

[Visualante2]

1)What the point? Why would anyone buy this thing when the entire library is already available on Windows/Consoles?

Console like experience without the cost or shitty performance associated with console gaming.

[diamount]

I really think Valve are overestimating their influence.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

WTF sooo a vaaaaaaast majority of steam library won't work will need some minor work. great idea

I fixed your post for you.

[GarthVaderUK]

I mean, me, with near 200 Steam games and a High end PC. (also all consoles) What incentive do I have to buy this thing? Then there is someone who doesn't have steam or a gaming PC, but they see Steambox, what is the incentive for them to go with Steambox over 720 and PS4? Unless it is vastly more powerful. I just dont see where this is going.

Same here, don't know why they're bothering with this really.

[Eideka]

I don't see why not. Steam is the platform, not the device.

Good point but what about the discrepancy between linux and directx ?

Are they going to bother with the Steambox ?

[Woo-Fu]

It kind of has to be Linux. It can't be Windows because of what Microsoft would do to them sooner or later.

[GayForMaster]

pretty sure steambox will make ps3/xbox obsolete. Dat couch experience + dem sales

[MrCunningham]

If it uses Linux, isn't that going to limit what games can run on it significantly? Guess we will see but my hype is a bit diminished now.

If it uses Linux, there is a pretty good chance that you will be able to reformat the harddrive and install Windows on this thing if you really want to. There's certainly nothing wrong with Linux, you can still run a lot of windows games through Wine. But unfortunately, of you want a platform to play steam games on, Windows is still the best way to go....

[Visualante2]

I fixed your post for you.

Minor work? Most games on Steam will use DirectX and .net stuff. It's not a minor bit of work to change to OpenGL.

[MrNyarlathotep]

it will have a very small library at launch.

Like every other hardware platform ever released.

[Zabka]

I'd rather they just up the price by $50 to $100 and have it run all my existing Steam games.

[Radec]

I can see PC gamers getting divided by this when Valve releases exclusive games in this steambox.

[diamount]

pretty sure steambox will make ps3/xbox obsolete. Dat couch experience + dem sales

Not a snowballs chance.

[JaseC]

Good point but what about the discrepancy between linux and directx ? Are they going to bother with the Steambox ?

That's the million dollar question. Obviously Valve's own stuff will be OpenGL-based and will work just fine on Linux, but the matter of third parties, namely the likes of the large multinational publishers, is nothing but a big unknown at the moment. Valve has to prove that porting to Linux is relatively painless and, more to the point, worth the investment, however slight it may be.

[harSon]

If Valve makes the transition away from Windows more than likely more companies might join them. Imagine if Half Life 3 is Linux only.

They'll find themselves hurting financially if they constrain themselves to such a limited install base.

[Massa]

Then it will probably fail. We don't need another fucking console.

I would very much like to see a console that used Steam's practices for continued updates and support, distribution and sales rather than the archaic shit we can expect from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. That is the entire point of this box.

[Nilaul]

I can see PC gamers getting divided by this when Valve releases exclusive games in this steambox.

And so? They could make more money by forcing them to buy a console.

[ElTopo]

Not a snowballs chance.

I'd say even less likely than Wii U killing the competition.

I would very much like to see a console that used Steam's practices for distribution and sales rather than the archaic retail mode we can expect from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

Isn't it that archaic retail mode that has kept at least parts of the industry alive ?

[angelfly]

Linux is my main OS but I can understand why some people are upset. Valve games are a small portion of the Steam library so not having access to about 95% of what's currently on Steam is a big negative. Aside from some of the indies there isn't much. It's the same situation with the OSX version.

That said if they're treating it like a new platform then I'm sure they've already got some deals in the works and content coming going forward in the future. The big publishers may also already be porting games like AC3 but are working with Valve to release it once the SteamBox launches.

[Radec]

pretty sure steambox will make ps3/xbox obsolete. Dat couch experience + dem sales

yeah man. people will immediately stop buyung those consoles when they see this announced. all 3 should just pack it up go 3rd party.

[abstract alien]

Yeah, I really want to see how this works in terms of power and whatnot. The pc tech department moves quickly, so it will be interesting to see how it's handled.

[Bumhead]

Depends how many studio's are prepared to re-engine their Steam games for Linux support, I guess? We had that news story only a couple of weeks ago about THQ working a lot with Linux, which ties in pretty nicely with this. If even THQ are doing it (who you have to assume have pressing issues elsewhere right now) then I don't think it's a huge stretch to imagine other publishers with content on Steam are doing the same thing behind the scenes.

I don't think anyone who already owns a good gaming PC has any reason to show concern for this either. My interpretation of this entire idea is a simplified system and a one box solution to break down the barrier to all those people who would be interested in PC gaming yet have absolutely no desire to ever build their own rigs. PC gaming for the people who never game any further beyond the £300 box they walk into Gamestop every 5 or 6 years to buy. It's potentially a lucrative move for Valve.

I just built a new PC (like, literally finished it about 4 hours ago) but I'm excited to see what Valve have got planned this year hardware wise, be it the Steambox, controller hardware or both.

[Shion]

I mean, me, with near 200 Steam games and a High end PC. (also all consoles) What incentive do I have to buy this thing?

Steam Box is Valve's way of trying to get traditional console gamers migrate over to Steam.

Its primary target audience is console exclusive gamers, not PC gamers.

[ekim]

Way to justify your argument. It's not going to be some Ubuntu desktop. It will be Big Picture mode running on a Linux kernel and the games using an OpenGL derivative. Kind of like the PS3 (which uses Linux for the XMB). Crazy how many people think because it's not windows it's already a piece of shit. ...and more competition the better in my eyes.

Basically this. everyone should read that before stating things they don't buy it with linux.

[benny_a]

Like every other hardware platform ever released.

Then they should not call it a Steambox because if it can't play the vast majority of games you currently buy on Steam, what's the point?

Yet another console created by a very small hardware team from a company that has no experience doing retail business. Sounds like a winner.

[Xellos]

Sounds pretty awesome to me. Will be an uphill battle getting all these developers to move their content to Linux, but it will be worth in the long run. Really hope they can pull this off.

[beast786]

HL3, TF2, Dota2 and Portal 3: best launch lineup ever?

then no game for next 7 years

[Patrick Bateman]

JUST HOOK IT TO MY VEINS!

[vilmer_]

Day one.