Valve "Confirms" Linux for Steam Box

[Andy Chalk]

Valve "Confirms" Linux for Steam Box

The word on the street in Germany is that Valve's "Steam Box" PC will launch later this year, and it won't be rocking Windows.

It's no secret that Gabe Newell isn't a fan [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118706-Gabe-Newell-Thinks-Steam-Can-Help-Mainstream-Linux] of Windows 8, and so it probably won't come as too much of a surprise to folks who pay attention to such things that Valve's Steam Box will be based on a different OS. That's the word out of a Google-translated report from German site Golem.de, which quoted Valve engineer Ben Krasnow as confirming that the unit will be Linux-based.

Krasnow also said the pseudo-console will be out in 2013, and it apparently won't be alone. "The Hardware Lab also has a few secret projects that will be published in 2013," he said. "We have a good group of electronic and mechanical engineers, and we look forward to some... cool stuff." Alongside the Steam Box, Valve has been working on virtual reality and augmented reality projects, including some early-stage 3D goggles we heard about [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119503-Get-a-Glimpse-of-Valves-VR-Goggles] in September 2012.

Valve big dog Gabe Newell said in July 2012 that bringing a meaningful selection of games to Linux could help make it a serious competitor to Windows, but resistance [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118812-GNU-Project-Founder-Calls-Steam-on-Linux-Unethical] to the idea came from a rather unexpected source: Free Software Foundation and GNU Project founder Richard Stallman, who said that the advent of closed-source, non-free games on Linux are "unethical because they deny freedom to their users."

Source: Golem.de [http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.golem.de%2Fnews%2Fpc-spielekonsole-steam-box-ohne-windows-1212-96609.html]


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[adamsaccount]

So is the steam box confirmed? Last i heard it was a rumour that got discounted

 

[TheScottishFella]

So is the steam box confirmed? Last i heard it was a rumour that got discounted

It was confirmed at the VGA by Gabe newell himself.

 

[adamsaccount]

Oh sweet, howd i miss that one?

 

[Bostur]

It's getting interesting. I wonder if Valve will share some of the tech they develop with the Open Source community. That would be the customary thing to do.

It's hardly a surprise that Stallman warns about the development. And his worries are not completely unfounded. Some people might start thinking that Steam is Open Source just because it runs on a Linux based platform. That couldn't be further from the truth of course.

 

[Albino Boo]

I think its going to be a mistake. Valves commercial rivals are not going to port their games to Linux to aid the profitability of Gabe. Its going to have valves games and a few indie titles but that's about it. Steam presence on a platform does not make it instantly the gaming mainstream. If it did then MACs would have just as many games as a PC.

 

[Bostur]

I think its going to be a mistake. Valves commercial rivals are not going to port their games to Linux to aid the profitability of Gabe. Its going to have valves games and a few indie titles but that's about it. Steam presence on a platform does not make it instantly the gaming mainstream. If it did then MACs would have just as many games as a PC.

Maybe they could legally emulate or simulate the functionality of DirectX and other notable windows libraries. Then most Windows games would work out of the box. A lot of the work has already been done in the form of Wine.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Valve sees the big picture. They have seen the future. They see clearly that the industry is closing it's door to open source. Big players want more control. They see that Microsoft is trying to be more like Apple which would destroy PC gaming, and it's already threatening console gaming. So what is Valve's answer? A consumer friendly entertainment system. Fuckin' brilliant! This is why Gabe is one of very few video game billionaires. He is very much future oriented. He knows that in the long run being good to your consumers will grant you consumer loyalty. And there's nothing more important in the business in the long run. I can't wait to see where this goes next.
Big developers and publishers don't have to embrace Valve's system. Fuck them. Small independent studios will embrace it. They will profit from it and they will grow larger and more competitive. This is the way to innovate. Mark my words this is good for all gamers. It's the promise of a new Renascence.

Sure, some of you will say how Steam is not open source and how it's a monopoly. But it's not evil. Steam is benevolent and it's necessary. Valve is one of very few big players on the block who knows how important customer loyalty and respect is. Steam is good for gaming community.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Linux huh, that is a very odd choice, after all this means a good portion of current Steam games will not function at all.
Then again Valve is rolling in billions (quite literately), so if anyone can entice devs to jump trains it is them, and who knows where this will end up.

And yes sir Stallman we know this isn't within the vision of freedom Linux was made for but the sad fact is people just aren't ready for that yet, in a couple thousand years maybe but right now we aren't even over mobs burning media for shits and grins.
Baby steps.

 

[grey_space]

I'm interested. It all depends on the spec and the price though. But if I could have access Steam and play even the indie/lospec steam titles from my account on my TV as well as whatever... Hmmmm it depends.

As usual on this forum when it comes to change, I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[bafrali]

snip

Slow down there Da Vinci. Leave some innovation for the rest of us.

This steam box thingy could be a fine replacement for my crappy laptop that can barely run half of my steam collection. Don't take too long about it OK Valve. I mean your software development is already at a snail pace and this is fricking hardware.

 

[OniaPL]

I'm very interested though it makes me wonder how they will deal with the fact that Steam games are rarely Linux compatible.

 

[Albino Boo]

I think its going to be a mistake. Valves commercial rivals are not going to port their games to Linux to aid the profitability of Gabe. Its going to have valves games and a few indie titles but that's about it. Steam presence on a platform does not make it instantly the gaming mainstream. If it did then MACs would have just as many games as a PC.

Maybe they could legally emulate or simulate the functionality of DirectX and other notable windows libraries. Then most Windows games would work out of the box. A lot of the work has already been done in the form of Wine.

You can't legally copy DirectX. As to emulation, the only attempt to for directx has already had allegations of copying Microsoft binaries but for a full commercial release, Microsoft will going over the code base looking for reasons to sue. Microsoft are not going to licence the technology to a rival of the xbox. However you can use openGL on both OS's but that would require Valves rivals to port to opengl from directX. I also supsect that the Xbox 720 will use the latest DirectX version making it easier to port to the PC/xbox.

 

[Ickorus]

Very clever actually, Steam Box is pretty much guaranteed to be reasonably successful so by being Linux based it means developers will have to pay more attention to that OS bringing a lot more games to Linux and making it a fair alternative to Windows for PC users.

 

[flarty]

I think its going to be a mistake. Valves commercial rivals are not going to port their games to Linux to aid the profitability of Gabe. Its going to have valves games and a few indie titles but that's about it. Steam presence on a platform does not make it instantly the gaming mainstream. If it did then MACs would have just as many games as a PC.

Maybe they could legally emulate or simulate the functionality of DirectX and other notable windows libraries. Then most Windows games would work out of the box. A lot of the work has already been done in the form of Wine.

You can't legally copy DirectX. As to emulation, the only attempt to for directx has already had allegations of copying Microsoft binaries but for a full commercial release, Microsoft will going over the code base looking for reasons to sue. Microsoft are not going to licence the technology to a rival of the xbox. However you can use openGL on both OS's but that would require Valves rivals to port to opengl from directX. I also supsect that the Xbox 720 will use the latest DirectX version making it easier to port to the PC/xbox.

If valve can nail porting engines to opengl, its open season.

 

[Rainforce]

2013 will be the year of linux consoles, what with all the android consoles taking off and now steambox as well.
then again, at the end of '13 I will probably complain about how too many people will use tablets and how the desktop pc slowly dies while a lot of people shift away from windows 8 to apple and linux machines.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

However you can use openGL on both OS's but that would require Valves rivals to port to opengl from directX.

Like they do for the PS3? You're right, they'd never do that.

 

[Beryl77]

The only way I can see this to be successful is if many developers are willing to port their games to Linux, which is unlikely I'd say. My only worry about this is that it won't have many games, sure the Valve games will definitely work on this and maybe a few others but I doubt it will even come close to the next PS or Xbox.

 

[FinalDream]

Linux... well there goes my purchase. I wanted something with good backwards compatibility with old games!