Poll: Would you buy a Valve-made console?
- Thread starter Futurenerd
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!!!! My computer is also hooked up to a Sony Bravia 40" HDTV too. Its awesome!flaming_ninja said:
High Five!!
I've only heard from, in forums such as this, a rare few people complaining about steam and out of the shitloads of people i know face-to-face instead of digitally, none of the ones that have used steam have complained.fooddood3 said:
Anyways on to the question. This is a theoretical question but you have to be realistic if you want to answer it properly. Valve aren't a bunch of idiots. They would make sure they had all the required knowledge and resources to create a console, and they'd only attempt to create one at a time it would benefit them. Like when the next gen of consoles is rolling around but all the big players haven't put anything on the table.
So basically they'd have everything they need to make a good console with the Valve touch, aka long wait times but a good product in the end.
Console lovers could just get a console controller that plugs into their computer but i guess its cheaper to buy a console than a computer setup... Even though consoles only play games and computers do a hell of a lot more.
I voted maybe, because as a hardware-oriented geek, I reserve my tech purchases until after I know every specification available on a given machine. I didn't buy a PS3 until I had researched what CPU, GPU, and memory it was using, what sort of internal cooling it had going on (insufficient, by the way... first thing I fixed on it), and what sort of input-output capabilities it had.
I would do the same with this hypothetical Valve system you invented.
I would do the same with this hypothetical Valve system you invented.
My vote is maybe, but for reasons of VALVe-fanboyism and philosophy on my part.
I should vote yes, but Valve will never create a console. "Yes" as an answer meaning "never be a console" would be silly.
I fully admit that I am a PC elitist, and VALVe (Steam!) is a good part of the reason why. Because of my library of Steam games, I can play a lot of good games that are console ports. Every one of them would be so much better if it were coded for PC. Sure I can play Batman:AA on PC, but despite the ability to rotate with the mouse, the core 4 directions of console gameplay are there. And 'dodgy' camera. Very Annoying.
Capcha was cut off when sending a distress signal: Sheeler, earthisc
I should vote yes, but Valve will never create a console. "Yes" as an answer meaning "never be a console" would be silly.
I fully admit that I am a PC elitist, and VALVe (Steam!) is a good part of the reason why. Because of my library of Steam games, I can play a lot of good games that are console ports. Every one of them would be so much better if it were coded for PC. Sure I can play Batman:AA on PC, but despite the ability to rotate with the mouse, the core 4 directions of console gameplay are there. And 'dodgy' camera. Very Annoying.
Capcha was cut off when sending a distress signal: Sheeler, earthisc
Probably no. I love Valve titles, but their line of games are first-person-shooters, which I cannot play on a console. I just can't. So I'd stick to the computer. But that would be something, huh? Making a console, then releasing their news games only for that console. I'd have to fork up the money for that thing if I wanted to play Valve anymore. D=
PC has a shit ton of Dev's that make PC only games, more than console only exclusives go check it out, so if Valve jumped ship I still wouldn't care.bobisnowhere said:
really in the current state of things if youre luckey enough to have a laptop capable of running current games its a very good setup (especially since I somtimes have to travel a bit)Sean951 said:
I mean Id go out on a limb and say right now its not exactally worth having a monster rig
and if it wasnt portability I might as well get a console since thats where things are focused I do still love PC gaming though
Short answer: no.
Long answer: are we talking onlive-style console? where one could play the same games on both your PC AND TV? That I would love to buy.
Long answer: are we talking onlive-style console? where one could play the same games on both your PC AND TV? That I would love to buy.
why would valve do something so monumentally stupid. They get to release just about every game from every console on steam. They are making hundreds of millions off it. And it constantly gets upgraded as PC specs migrate upwards. It's 1000000x better then a console.
However if we are talking hand held. I'd be interested, have to see what it could do though
However if we are talking hand held. I'd be interested, have to see what it could do though
I watched the Portal 2 Co-op trailer again yesterday (too poor to buy it) and realised that Valve is so good at game design, they can take non-existant robots, environments and concepts like companioncubes look so realistic and believable... they are probably the best company out there at the moment.
So, yeah, I'm pretty much going to buy everything they put out.
So, yeah, I'm pretty much going to buy everything they put out.
I was going to say that this was a silly question seeing as reasoning that "Valve would make a good console because they make good games" is like saying "a baker might be good at building an oven because he makes good cakes".
But, hypothetically if they did, I imagine they'd do a decent job. They once tried to make a movie about half life, getting outside specialists and putting a lot effort into it but decided that if they made it, it wouldn't be of valve standard.
They don't release anything unless they know it's top quality. So yeah, I guess like 20 years from now if Extra Credits is wrong and consoles still exist and Valve made a decent quality one. But PC would still probably be their main platform anyway.
But, hypothetically if they did, I imagine they'd do a decent job. They once tried to make a movie about half life, getting outside specialists and putting a lot effort into it but decided that if they made it, it wouldn't be of valve standard.
They don't release anything unless they know it's top quality. So yeah, I guess like 20 years from now if Extra Credits is wrong and consoles still exist and Valve made a decent quality one. But PC would still probably be their main platform anyway.
I have a few questions:
To the OP:
Beyond an estimated price point, can you give us some speculative hardware specs? Maybe some theoretical features (beyond the usual Steam affair) or unique interface device(s). Basically, something that would differentiate "The Valve Box" from the other consoles and would warrant it's use over PCs.
To some others:
Why are so many people assuming that, t'were Valve to make a console, it'd only have Valve games on it? The Playstation and the Xbox don't only have Sony and Microsoft games, respectively.
I also wonder why so many people are assuming Valve would make the hardware themselves. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo don't. They license hardware from other manufacturers. AMD, Intel, nVidia, etc, etc.
People seem to be under the impression that it would cost way more than any other new console. Not that it's beyond the realm of possibility (this is all pure conjecture after all) but I'd like someone to elaborate on why it would have to cost more. Besides, with all the cash they make on TF2 hats, they could probably put the thing out for free.
Honestly, I'm somewhere in between yes and maybe, with a strong possibility of swooping right into no. While I am fond of their games, it's their philosophy on gaming in general that would persuade me. They are avid supporters of open-source gaming, modding communities, indie or small developers, ease of account access, free or cheap content (DLC), timely and frequent bug fixes and updates, and sales. Not to mention free access to a wealth of online features. (Steam friends, Steam Cloud, matchmaking, etc) Essentially, concepts Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are against or features those three have, but done better.
Based solely on that, I'd think most people on here, even fervent Valve haters, would love a console by them.
I also think, if Valve actually wanted to do this, they'd probably follow the OnLive model and build a full featured cloud gaming rig that would also make use of Steam's features.
That said, considering how small Valve is (250 employees or less. not even close to the size of, say, Blizzard's or Bioware's programming departments.) I really can't see how they'd pull it off without spending a MASSIVE fortune designing the infrastructure for the service, designing the system, hiring a manufacturer to make the thing, and figuring out all the logistics of getting it to market, advertising it, and getting 3rd party support. Something they simply don't have the cash for. They'd have stiff competition from the Big 3 as well. They'd be a relative unknown to most console gamers and would thusly have a hell of a time breaking into the market without taking a huge hit financially.
To the OP:
Beyond an estimated price point, can you give us some speculative hardware specs? Maybe some theoretical features (beyond the usual Steam affair) or unique interface device(s). Basically, something that would differentiate "The Valve Box" from the other consoles and would warrant it's use over PCs.
To some others:
Why are so many people assuming that, t'were Valve to make a console, it'd only have Valve games on it? The Playstation and the Xbox don't only have Sony and Microsoft games, respectively.
I also wonder why so many people are assuming Valve would make the hardware themselves. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo don't. They license hardware from other manufacturers. AMD, Intel, nVidia, etc, etc.
People seem to be under the impression that it would cost way more than any other new console. Not that it's beyond the realm of possibility (this is all pure conjecture after all) but I'd like someone to elaborate on why it would have to cost more. Besides, with all the cash they make on TF2 hats, they could probably put the thing out for free.
Honestly, I'm somewhere in between yes and maybe, with a strong possibility of swooping right into no. While I am fond of their games, it's their philosophy on gaming in general that would persuade me. They are avid supporters of open-source gaming, modding communities, indie or small developers, ease of account access, free or cheap content (DLC), timely and frequent bug fixes and updates, and sales. Not to mention free access to a wealth of online features. (Steam friends, Steam Cloud, matchmaking, etc) Essentially, concepts Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are against or features those three have, but done better.
Based solely on that, I'd think most people on here, even fervent Valve haters, would love a console by them.
I also think, if Valve actually wanted to do this, they'd probably follow the OnLive model and build a full featured cloud gaming rig that would also make use of Steam's features.
That said, considering how small Valve is (250 employees or less. not even close to the size of, say, Blizzard's or Bioware's programming departments.) I really can't see how they'd pull it off without spending a MASSIVE fortune designing the infrastructure for the service, designing the system, hiring a manufacturer to make the thing, and figuring out all the logistics of getting it to market, advertising it, and getting 3rd party support. Something they simply don't have the cash for. They'd have stiff competition from the Big 3 as well. They'd be a relative unknown to most console gamers and would thusly have a hell of a time breaking into the market without taking a huge hit financially.
I actually agree with you to a certain extent. That has always bothered me the few times I've needed a tech support answer. But, every time it started bothering me, I remembered they have very limited man-power over there. (again, 250 employees) I can almost excuse the lack of live phone support with that in mind. Still, a slightly more accessible tech support forum/wiki would be nice. You hear that GabeN? Get on it.Rednog said:
It would be an interesting experiment for sure, but they would need to hire a complete new company division just for this because right now they barely have time to develop games.
So let's make some imaginary upsides to their console:
- Steam already exists and is well established so it's a quick transition
- Steam being on PC and PSN(if it comes back) adding their own console they would have the biggest joined community (well apart from the Wii, but it's hard to call that community)
- possibly the only console with free updates, DLC, and the thing we will never see on other consoles: mods and user generated content
- finally we would get cross-platform connectivity
All the rest would probably be the same old crap shoot, some good games but most bad, shoddy ports, rotten community, failing hardware, police state complex, ...
So let's make some imaginary upsides to their console:
- Steam already exists and is well established so it's a quick transition
- Steam being on PC and PSN(if it comes back) adding their own console they would have the biggest joined community (well apart from the Wii, but it's hard to call that community)
- possibly the only console with free updates, DLC, and the thing we will never see on other consoles: mods and user generated content
- finally we would get cross-platform connectivity
All the rest would probably be the same old crap shoot, some good games but most bad, shoddy ports, rotten community, failing hardware, police state complex, ...
I wouldn't. All of the good games would take too long to come out, and you probably would just get about 4 different games that focus on buying hats.