Steam Machines
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| cybertao Nov 12, 2015 2:10 AM EDT |
I've been sceptical of Steam Machines gaining traction in the market. For a start, the market they are targeting is confusing. Steam Machines are virtually consoles, but literally PCs. It's hard to see how they will appeal to either console users or PC users. Console users will be confused by various specs and how the machines competitive on price with Xbox/Playstation won't be able to play all SteamOS titles. PC users aren't likely to buy one, and will be confused about the limited SteamOS range when every title is and will be available on Windows. The release wasn't even a whimper. All the focus is on Fallout 4 at the moment, a game not available on SteamOS. Valve put a lot of resources and PR into SteamOS at first. Now it feels like they don't care and want it to quietly go away. |
| JaseP Nov 12, 2015 7:35 AM EDT |
As long as Valve doesn't give up, they will gain traction. The nice thing about Steam Machines is the fact that they ARE PCs... It means users can mod them, and make them do more than a console can. Users can also build their own... You can't focus on one game title here. You can't play Halo on a PS4, after all. But a Steam Machine can be made to dual boot or run a VM... Steam Machines may very likely be the new junk cars of the 21st century... |
| jacog Nov 12, 2015 10:50 AM EDT |
Re the marketing. I think Valve is treating this in a similar manner to how Android works. Android as an OS is seldom marketed to the general public, but individual handsets are. |
| JaseP Nov 12, 2015 11:10 AM EDT |
Valve can probably make more money just licensing the Steam logo for a machine than to try and deal with actually getting a machine running. All they need for Steam OS is just the tweaks they need for their client and a few driver modifications. The rest is just Debian. |
| cybertao Nov 12, 2015 3:34 PM EDT |
JaseP wrote:The nice thing about Steam Machines is the fact that they ARE PCs... It means users can mod them, and make them do more than a console can.This is where it gets confusing. To a new market, Steam Machines are a console. You turn it on and it boots directly to Steam in Big Picture Mode. It looks like a console, it acts like a console, it doesn't play Fallout 4 like a console (available on Xbox and Playstation). It doesn't have exclusives like a console (like Halo on the Xbox...and Windows). To the existing market, Steam Machines are PCs. You can turn it on, jump through a couple of hoops, and get SteamOS to give you a desktop. A limited functionality desktop until you add Debian's repositories and force it to become more Debian than SteamOS. Nobody is going to start with SteamOS as a base. It still doesn't play Fallout 4 or Halo. You could play Fallout 4 and Halo if you install Windows on it. In fact, you can play Steam's entire back and future catalogue as a core requirement to list a game on Steam is having a Windows version. Provided you bought a good Steam Machine, the ones competing with consoles on price don't have enough grunt to play Fallout 4. Sure, Fallout 4 is just one game. A big deal of a game if Steam's store-front is anything to go by. The SteamOS games (also available on Windows) in the promotional sale pale into insignificance. And that's just one game - there are plenty of other 'big' titles not available on SteamOS that are available on Windows, Xbox, and/or Playstation. |
| jacog Nov 13, 2015 6:28 AM EDT |
cybertao - re no exclusives... it sort-of has, just not in the form of back-room exclusivity contracts, but instead games that will never be available on other consoles. Football Manager, XCOM2 will be "PC" only, Cities: Skylines, Paradox grand strategy games, etc. These are, of course on Windows, but I am making a pure console to "console" comparison. |
| cybertao Nov 13, 2015 2:40 PM EDT |
Yeah, but is that enough for you or anyone else to drop good coin on Steam Machine up to the task? When a PC running Windows is better value for money? |
| BernardSwiss Nov 13, 2015 7:08 PM EDT |
Define "better value for the money". For some people and use cases, a Windows PC will make more sense; for others a Steam Machine will be a better option. You're in the first group, but you're not "everyone" -- and not the target market. |
| BernardSwiss Nov 13, 2015 7:12 PM EDT |
And by-the-by, has Valve straightened out the OS polling/survey bug, yet? (When I clicked on this article, that's what I assumed the article was referring to). |
| cybertao Nov 14, 2015 4:39 PM EDT |
For people who find Steam Machines a better option, installing Windows on one is even better still. Same experience but with more games and performance. Because a Steam Machine is just a small-form-factor PC. |
| jacog Nov 23, 2015 6:22 AM EDT |
Just because Windows on a Steam Machine is a "better" option doesn't mean one should jump ship to it. Sure, it has many benefits - more games, better performance, etc. but the whole point of going with SteamOS is to build a gaming ecosystem free of Windows. The platform will improve, and so will the library of AAA games. This is of course not a sell for the average consumer, but that is the ultimate goal here. |
| skelband Nov 23, 2015 5:23 PM EDT |
> For a start, the market they are targeting is confusing. Steam Machines are virtually consoles, but literally PCs. Both the PS4 and the XBox One are both PCs. The original xbox was also a PC. Not sure where the confusion comes from. The steam machines are being marketed as consoles. |
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