Valve planning on releasing Switch-esque handheld gaming PC

[wings012]

There are enough weird indie multiplayer games that having a portable device for them might be a somewhat attractive prospect if you got the friends to play them with. Though I don't know how well this will catch on though. And many of these indie multiplayer games tend to be on the Switch as well.

 

[Gergar12]

I brought the steam box thing that streams 1080p for dollars after they still to get rid of it. It works..., but lacks a variety of games.

A steam Box would have to be like A window's PC, a gaming pc, and allow modding for it to work. Also must use window OS, if not why not just get a regular PC, also needs to feature innovations like I can plug it into my monitor, and TV.

 

[Gordon_4]

Yes I’m an LTT fan and probably shill, sue me. But here are literally two devices that already do something pretty similar to what Valve is spruiking here. It’s just gonna have the valve logo or the lambda on the back.

 

[Trunkage]

Hahahaha. Good damn, I needed a good laugh today

Fuck Valve

 

[Chimpzy]

Yes I’m an LTT fan and probably shill, sue me. But here are literally two devices that already do something pretty similar to what Valve is spruiking here. It’s just gonna have the valve logo or the lambda on the back.

Yeh, I mentioned them in the OP. Tho it should be mentioned devices like these so far have been by small companies doing fairly small production runs, like only a couple thousand units, usually meaning relatively high cost and limited availability. Looking at the price and number of units for the GDP Win3 and Aya Neo, this holds true. Hence why they're very niche.

Valve is a multibillion dollar giant with way more resources and clout. If they really wanted to, they could leverage that to produce something that is more widely distributed and at a more attractive price point. Tho I suspect it would still amount to a pretty niche product. Probably like 100k sold to maybe a million units if we're generous, kind of similar to what the Steam Controller and Valve Index have managed, but not the millions you'd need to become a serious competitor to any of the big 3.

 

[Worgen]

So what happened to Valve? All these bullshit devices, gimmicks, Steam is a garbage fire, and they can get a bunch of goodwill back just by making Left 4 Dead 3, and Portal 3.

I like how you are wrong about pretty much every single thing you said here.

 

[SilentPony]

I like how you are wrong about pretty much every single thing you said here.

Wait, they don't do gimmicks? Steam is NOT a garbage fire? People hate Portal and Left 4 Dead?? The Steam controller wasn't a bullshit device?! Fuck me, my reality is out of sync.

Or was it not Valve all along?!?

 

[Worgen]

Wait, they don't do gimmicks? Steam is NOT a garbage fire? People hate Portal and Left 4 Dead?? The Steam controller wasn't a bullshit device?! Fuck me, my reality is out of sync.

Or was it not Valve all along?!?

The steam controller was meh, but Steam is a pretty fantastic service and if you think otherwise then you are just wrong. The steam link was a cool device that was rendered pointless by smart tvs that could just load up a steam link app and do the same thing as the device. The ability to do remote play together is still really impressive, not as good as literally being at the same machine but really damn close. Plus Valve's Index is still a great VR device even if it did have the misfortune of coming out right before we got good wireless VR tech.

 

[Gordon_4]

Wait, they don't do gimmicks? Steam is NOT a garbage fire? People hate Portal and Left 4 Dead?? The Steam controller wasn't a bullshit device?! Fuck me, my reality is out of sync.

Or was it not Valve all along?!?

Steam is still the best digital game store front on the market, with GoG hot on its heels. It’s crowded and they desperately need to start really hammering home the asset flips and other shit that gets vomited on there but compared to Origin (single company and a catalogue you can peruse in about an hour), uPlay (why oh fucking why does it launch games after updating them?) Epic Game Store (really?) they are a beacon of excellence.

You not liking them is not the same as a bad service.

 

[Dalisclock]

So what happened to Valve? All these bullshit devices, gimmicks, Steam is a garbage fire, and they can get a bunch of goodwill back just by making Left 4 Dead 3, and Portal 3.

BUT WHAT ABOUT ARTIFACT?

Oh, that's right. Nobody cared about Artifact. I barely remembered it existed until we started talking about Valve's pet projects.

 

[Satinavian]

Another cool idea project doomed to fail.

does anyone still have the Steam controller?

I have one. It works. Does exactly what i bought it for : playing console-to-PC ports that never bothered to introduce good keyboard+mouse controls. And as i had most of those in Steam, buying supposedly compatible Steam-hardware seemed a good idea.

Why do people consider it to be a failure ?

 

[Chimpzy]

Why do people consider it to be a failure ?

I'm guessing because people probably thought it would be the next big leap in controller tech, something on the same level as the introduction of the analog stick, something that would combine the best features of m/kb and controller in one. Which by all accounts, it wasn't. Not really.

 

[SilentPony]

Steam is still the best digital game store front on the market, with GoG hot on its heels. It’s crowded and they desperately need to start really hammering home the asset flips and other shit that gets vomited on there but compared to Origin (single company and a catalogue you can peruse in about an hour), uPlay (why oh fucking why does it launch games after updating them?) Epic Game Store (really?) they are a beacon of excellence.

You not liking them is not the same as a bad service.

And people still hate Portal?!

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Honestly I'm not as skeptical of this as I initially thought I'd be. Yes there's been a lot of failed attempts to follow Nintendo in the past and failures by Valve in general but something Valve has that is a huge edge for them is the Steam library. If Valve can make a decent system at a comfortable price and make it so it has access to the gigantic Steam library so many gamers have on Steam then they very well could make a huge killing on this.

Think about all those smaller games all of us have gathering dust in our Steam library because we don't want to sit down at our computer and dedicate our time to them and how much incentive we'd have to play them if we could do so on the go in our spare time when we're not doing anything else, or how much better Valves online multiplayer is compared to Nintendo. Valve has a good possibility of making this a huge success if they do it right.

 

[Schadrach]

beats my release model.

Depending on your serial number, you can trivially run home-brew on your release model, which opens up a ton of options closed to later switches though, like emulation or open source games. There are ports of RetroArch, Tyrian and Blood I know of offhand.

 

[laggyteabag]

Why do people consider it to be a failure ?

"Valve announced in November 2019 that it had discontinued further production of the controller and sold off its remaining inventory at a significantly reduced price. "

Successful products don't tend to be discontinued, without a replacement in sight.

 

[Gordon_4]

And people still hate Portal?!

Well I don't like the games at all; and I'm not being facetious either. Was not a fan.

 

[laggyteabag]

BUT WHAT ABOUT ARTIFACT?

Oh, that's right. Nobody cared about Artifact. I barely remembered it existed until we started talking about Valve's pet projects.

The only reason I remember Artifact even exists, is because of the crowd's reaction to the announcement.

 

[BrawlMan]

And people still hate Portal?!

I never hated nor loved Portal, it just didn't interest me. I did see the appeal of it though.