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"Big Picture Mode" for Steam announced - Controller based navigation designed for TVs

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V

V_Ben

Banned
VALVE BRINGS MORE STEAM TO GDC

Briefing Development Partners on New Features for 2011

February 28, 2011 – Valve, creator of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today disclosed its plans for a new “big picture” mode of Steam which will offer controller support and navigation designed for television interaction. Big picture mode will enable gamers to enjoy Steam and their library of Steam games on more screens throughout the house.

“Our partners and customers have asked us to make Steam available in more places. With the introduction of Steam on the Mac, and soon in Portal 2 on the PS3T, we’ve done just that,” said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing for Valve. “With big picture mode, gaming opportunities for Steam partners and customers become possible via PCs and Macs on any TV or computer display in the house.”

Details regarding big picture mode are among the highlights Valve plans to share with developers and publishers in its partner meetings during GDC this week in San Francisco, Ca.

Coming off the heels of Steam’s biggest year, Valve will also share with partners the data it gathered during the hugely successful launch of Steam Microtransactions late last year within its own multiplayer classic, Team Fortress 2. An in-game economy can now be readily created by partners using the microtransactions system within the Steamworks SDK.”We’ve come to understand what type of content sells well in TF2′s in-game store, and the various price points at which players value this content,” said Robin Walker, game designer at Valve. “Our players are continually teaching us what works and what doesn’t. Much of this feedback can be generalized to other titles on Steam, so we’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned with partners at GDC. We’re also interested in seeing partners get up and running with their own in-game economies, so they can collect game-specific data to inform their design decisions.”

Following the 2010 introduction of Steam for Mac, Valve will also discuss the integration of Steam features in its own titles, including its first day-and-date release for Mac, Portal 2. The upcoming Portal 2 release will also be the first to feature Steam on the PlayStation®3, enabling even broader cross-platform interaction and play between PC, Mac and PS3T.

“Steam continues to define itself as more than a digital distribution service by regularly adding new features for developers and customers,” said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. “GDC is a great venue for us to share what we’re up to, and what’s on the horizon for Steamworks. Plus, it’s a great opportunity for us to gather feedback from partners, to help inform our plans.”

Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of games and digital content with over 30 million accounts worldwide. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com.
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http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/28/steam-coming-to-a-tv-near-you-valve-announces-big-picture-mode/

Comfy... couch? Sounds like a cool feature.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
I'm not really sure what this is implying. Do they mean you can hook up your tower to a tv display like normal but navigate Steam with a gamepad? If so, that's not really that spectacular.
 
W

WillyFive

Member
That is fantastic!

zoner said:
I'm not really sure what this is implying. Do they mean you can hook up your tower to a tv display like normal but navigate Steam with a gamepad? If so, that's not really that spectacular.
Click to expand...

Why not?
 
Y

Ysiadmihi

Banned
That's cool, but I would imagine many people who play their PCs have a wireless mouse or multimedia remote for PC already.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Willy105 said:
That is fantastic!



Why not?
Click to expand...
You still have to hook everything up to your television. Still have to hook up the power, hdmi or dvi to hdmi(if dvi then the sound stuff as well), have to hook up your kb and mouse to actually turn on the PC and get to Steam.

Most modern games on Steam already have gamepad support so the most this will do is let you navigate the menus for the, what, 5 minutes that'll take? Maybe it's something more.
 
D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Does this mean just the steam interface will be controller compatible? Or that you will be able to play your steam games with a controller?

It would be pointless to browse with a controller if you still have to hook a mouse and keyboard up to play.
 
W

WillyFive

Member
zoner said:
You still have to hook everything up to your television. Still have to hook up the power, hdmi or dvi to hdmi(if dvi then the sound stuff as well), have to hook up your kb and mouse to actually turn on the PC and get to Steam.

Most modern games on Steam already have gamepad support so the most this will do is let you navigate the menus for the, what, 5 minutes that'll take? Maybe it's something more.
Click to expand...

For the first time, yes.
 
S

Salsa

Member
zoner said:
You still have to hook everything up to your television. Still have to hook up the power, hdmi or dvi to hdmi(if dvi then the sound stuff as well), have to hook up your kb and mouse to actually turn on the PC and get to Steam.

Most modern games on Steam already have gamepad support so the most this will do is let you navigate the menus for the, what, 5 minutes that'll take? Maybe it's something more.
Click to expand...

As i am sitting here, writing this from my widescreen tv wich only has one little cable connected to my VGA card, i really dont see, and never understood the "oh you have to hook everything up!" hate.

It's the same as hooking up any console basically.
 
I

iavi

Member
Willy105 said:
Why not?
Click to expand...


If you think about it, it's not actually all that much, if anything, spectacular. It is, however, a small feature that I've wanted in Steam for a while now. I'm more excited about the Steamworks additions that they'll be unveiling at GDC.
 
Y

Ysiadmihi

Banned
Deadly Cyclone said:
Does this mean just the steam interface will be controller compatible? Or that you will be able to play your steam games with a controller?

It would be pointless to browse with a controller if you still have to hook a mouse and keyboard up to play.
Click to expand...

Steam has tons of gamepad compatible games.
 
S

Salsa

Member
Deadly Cyclone said:
It would be pointless to browse with a controller if you still have to hook a mouse and keyboard up to play.
Click to expand...

Wouldnt be surprised if Steam pulled something like this as a feature.

Kinda like an X-padder inside Steam. I think devs wouldnt mind for their games to be available to play with a controller.
 
V

V_Ben

Banned
SalsaShark said:
Wouldnt be surprised if Steam pulled something like this as a feature.

Kinda like an X-padder inside Steam. I think devs wouldnt mind for their games to be available to play with a controller.
Click to expand...

Complete with user created profiles. :p
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
zoner said:
You still have to hook everything up to your television. Still have to hook up the power, hdmi or dvi to hdmi(if dvi then the sound stuff as well), have to hook up your kb and mouse to actually turn on the PC and get to Steam.

Most modern games on Steam already have gamepad support so the most this will do is let you navigate the menus for the, what, 5 minutes that'll take? Maybe it's something more.
Click to expand...
it'll let you much more easily switch between games when playing stuff on your tv.

i have my PC hooked up to my tv and monitor. when i hit 'Media PC' on my harmony, the PC switches to 1080p mirrored display, so i can navigate stuff at the desk and then go sit down on the couch to play, or whatever.

even so, this is cool. if they can make the guide button pull up the overlay, and they've made the overlay TV friendly, it's even cooler.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Willy105 said:
For the first time, yes.
Click to expand...
I doubt most PC gamers will want their tower hooked primarily to a television/away from their desk. If you want to build a second PC then I suppose that's an option but even then it's not much different from what you can do right now.
 
W

WillyFive

Member
zoner said:
I doubt most PC gamers will want their tower hooked primarily to a television/away from their desk. If you want to build a second PC then I suppose that's an option but even then it's not much different from what you can do right now.
Click to expand...

What if it's right next to the TV? It wouldn't be the primary monitor, just the secondary one.
 
N

nickrempe

Neo Member
Really pumped about this. I haul my computer up to the living room occasionally. I used a gamepad for VVVVVV, Burnout: Paradise and Fallout: New Vegas, might as well sit on the couch while doing it.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Willy105 said:
What if it's right next to the TV? It wouldn't be the primary monitor, just the secondary one.
Click to expand...
That is fine, but I believe that would fall under a niche group. It's great for that group, but it's not anything spectacular. I was thinking they'd be going for a less input laggy Windows Medica Center deal like the 360 has.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
zoner said:
I doubt most PC gamers will want their tower hooked primarily to a television/away from their desk. If you want to build a second PC then I suppose that's an option but even then it's not much different from what you can do right now.
Click to expand...
i just bought a long HDMI cord and ran it through the ducts over to my TV. most modern graphics cards have an HDMI out. mouse and keyboard games i play at my desk. pad games i play on the couch with my wireless xb360 pad.
 
A

alphaNoid

Banned
Still not going to move my gaming PC to my TV/5.1 setup. I enjoy the desk setup for PC gaming, its part of the experience if you ask me. I dont want to play RTS at high res from 7+ feet away, I want to do it 1ft away. I'll keep my console on my TV, which allows me to choose where I want to game, couch or office at any given point.

Having a wife and baby, this decision is far greater than playing all my games in the living room. Sometimes I need/want to be in the office, be it gaming or photo/video editing.

Still though, GG Valve. I wont ever use this feature.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
zoner said:
That is fine, but I believe that would fall under a niche group. It's great for that group, but it's not anything spectacular. I was thinking they'd be going for a less input laggy Windows Medica Center deal like the 360 has.
Click to expand...
why? windows media center is built into Windows 7. even if you're using your TV as your primary display, you can already do all THAT stuff, but it's use for launching games is very limited.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
plagiarize said:
i just bought a long HDMI cord and ran it through the ducts over to my TV. most modern graphics cards have an HDMI out. mouse and keyboard games i play at my desk. pad games i play on the couch with my wireless xb360 pad.
Click to expand...
With the popularity of HDMI now, that's a pretty good point. I always heard the receiver for the wireless 360 pad was faulty though.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
zoner said:
With the popularity of HDMI now, that's a pretty good point. I always heard the receiver for the wireless 360 pad was faulty though.
Click to expand...
really? only issue i ever had was Dead Rising 2 not supporting it pre patch.
 
S

Salsa

Member
zoner said:
That is fine, but I believe that would fall under a niche group. It's great for that group, but it's not anything spectacular. I was thinking they'd be going for a less input laggy Windows Medica Center deal like the 360 has.
Click to expand...

I have one 19 inch monitor and a 26 inch tv. Have my PC hooked to both. Bad Company 2 ussually gets the small monitor treatment cause i can see and pay attention to anything. Something like Bulletstorm comes along and the game is so pretty that i just fire up my TV.
I also have my PC connected to my stereo system in wich i listen to music that i play from it.

Considering how many people have a TV + a PC on their room, and bedrooms arent generally that big, i think many people could fall under this "niche" group, it's up to them.
 
C

ColonelColon

Member
SalsaShark said:
As i am sitting here, writing this from my widescreen tv wich only has one little cable connected to my VGA card, i really dont see, and never understood the "oh you have to hook everything up!" hate.

It's the same as hooking up any console basically.
Click to expand...

Not really. A lot of people don't have their PC and desktop monitor plugged in near their TV.
 
S

Salsa

Member
ColonelColon said:
Not really. A lot of people don't have their PC and desktop monitor plugged in near their TV.
Click to expand...

I was refering to the "hooking up" procedure itself. It's not complicated at all.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Auto run steam maximised at startup, in bigscreen mode, support for gamepads for all steam games where possible.sounds like a great way to have a streamlined setup, much like the gaming equivalent of a HTPC.

I'd also like the ability to buy games from steam on another computer/web browser, and for them to automatically download on my selected target PC
 
T

Tiduz

Eurogaime
GOOD

THANK YOU VALVE. I LOVE YOU.

i havent been behind a desk in over a year, my 40" HDTV IS my monitor
 
S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Good news. That'll make gamepad + TV play seemless using Steam, I approve. Now I just need a blue tooth dongle for my PS3 controller~~~.

Plus, if this means I can navigate steam on my PC + monitor, that will be very convenient as well. Not a major deal since I use KB/M for almost everything, but it's still a nice feature.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
mrklaw said:
Auto run steam maximised at startup, in bigscreen mode, support for gamepads for all steam games where possible.sounds like a great way to have a streamlined setup, much like the gaming equivalent of a HTPC.

I'd also like the ability to buy games from steam on another computer/web browser, and for them to automatically download on my selected target PC
Click to expand...
Truly the holy grail.

It's the phantom but real.
 
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