So let's talk about Valve...

[The Enquirer]

So they've had two massive announcements. It seems like we're going to have an actual contender in the console race against Sony if word spreads about this and they advertise for it. For those of you who haven't seen it check this link out http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.829330-Four-Year-Old-Patent-May-Hint-At-Valves-Next-Announcement

So we've gotten two really huge things from them this week and possibly a third. From those of you who are console gamers, what do you think about this? And Pc gamers, do you think these sort of things can make the consoles relevant again? A while ago I made a topic questioning the relevance of consoles in the present market and one of my big gripes with consoles is that they were trying to be glorified computers, not a specific platform dedicated to gaming. Part of the reason the ps2 dominated its generation was because it was so dedicated to the games. Now we may be seeing that again with Valve entering the console market.

At first I was not going to be getting a console, then I saw some of Sony's interviews and I really like what they were doing with it so I will get one down the line. Now I'm considering getting this new Valve console. I'm going to have to wait for pricing but I would like to support both companies in this because they're starting to do some great things with it.

The one question that I have right now about the SteamBox is about local multiplayer. The Steam Library/Store has games that are meant to be played on Pc obviously. So does that mean if you download a game for the Steambox you will be getting the Pc version of the game with no local multiplayer? That really diminishes the purpose of the console as that is a huge reason I would be getting the console in the first place. If you get a console port of the game, does that mean that you won't be able to play it on your Pc? Or will you have access to both versions of the game?

Those are just my thoughts with all the recent things happening with Valve. What are yours?

Just for those of you who haven't gotten a chance to read all these articles:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128065-Valve-Reveals-SteamOS
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128156-Valve-Unveils-Steam-Machines-Hardware-Beta-Coming-Soon

 

[shrekfan246]

A while ago I made a topic questioning the relevance of consoles in the present market and one of my big gripes with consoles is that they were trying to be glorified computers, not a specific platform dedicated to gaming. Part of the reason the ps2 dominated its generation was because it was so dedicated to the games.

You know what console currently on the market is "dedicated to the games"?

The Wii U.

You know what console people aren't buying?

The Wii U.

I'm not saying correlation = causation here, and the lackluster sales of the Wii U can be greatly attributed to a moderately weak library (hell, the biggest reason I'm only just considering buying one is because of Sonic Lost World), but the same is almost guaranteed to be true of the PS4 and Xbox One on launch and I imagine they'll both sell gangbusters regardless.

Though if they have worse initial sales than the Wii U did, I'm going to laugh.

As for Valve's announcements, I can't really muster up any opinions one way or the other yet, because there's so much vague nonsense and so little hard answers and explanations that for all I know they could be releasing a pachinko machine with an internet connection.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

SteamOS is trying to bring console gamers to the PC platform by offering them a dedicated Steam machine, and at the same time it's aimed at hardcore PC gamers by offering them a free open source OS to tinker with and use as they see fit. It doesn't ask us to let go of Windows. Even though I would have no problem with that if all the Windows games could work on SteamOS alone. There is nothing wrong with this idea. It's actually an improvement and PC gamers should be excited for the possibilities. This coupled with AMD's Mantle API could revolutionize PC gaming and move us away from dreadful Microsoft's Windows and DirectX.
For those of you who are unaware, AMD had recently announced their own API called Mantle, that is supposedly a lot better than DirectX. It's similar to the API used in the PS4. In fact, Battlefield 4 as well as other Frostbite 3 games will fully support it and we'll be able to use it instead of DirectX 11.

It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Microsoft doesn't give a shit about PC gaming and that lack of commitment is what hurts PC gaming the most. But in the recent years PC gaming managed to hold on, mostly because of Valve's efforts, and the developers are taking notice. Outside of mobile gaming, it's the fastest growing gaming market. Developers would be foolish not to take advantage of these innovations.

 

[The Enquirer]

A while ago I made a topic questioning the relevance of consoles in the present market and one of my big gripes with consoles is that they were trying to be glorified computers, not a specific platform dedicated to gaming. Part of the reason the ps2 dominated its generation was because it was so dedicated to the games.

You know what console currently on the market is "dedicated to the games"?

The Wii U.

You know what console people aren't buying?

The Wii U.

I'm not saying correlation = causation here, and the lackluster sales of the Wii U can be greatly attributed to a moderately weak library (hell, the biggest reason I'm only just considering buying one is because of Sonic Lost World), but the same is almost guaranteed to be true of the PS4 and Xbox One on launch and I imagine they'll both sell gangbusters regardless.

Though if they have worse initial sales than the Wii U did, I'm going to laugh.

As for Valve's announcements, I can't really muster up any opinions one way or the other yet, because there's so much vague nonsense and so little hard answers and explanations that for all I know they could be releasing a pachinko machine with an internet connection.

To be fair, the Wii U was just doomed to fail from the start when they locked you in with a stupid controller lol

 

[Juste Goose]

To be fair, the Wii U was just doomed to fail from the start when they locked you in with a stupid controller lol

No, it was doomed from the start when they named it the "Wii U."

Most of my non-gamer friends still think it's just an upgrade for the Wii, like the DS Lite to the DS.

 

[Maximum Bert]

To be fair, the Wii U was just doomed to fail from the start when they locked you in with a stupid controller lol

No, it was doomed from the start when they named it the "Wii U."

Most of my non-gamer friends still think it's just an upgrade for the Wii, like the DS Lite to the DS.

Agreed plus the Wii had attached a stigma that I think they will find hard to shake especially when they dont even change the damn name (except adding a U on the end). Most of my friends bought a Wii but abandoned Nintendo because of it and now play on 360 PS3 or PC I think I am the only one who actually still has a Wii set up and if it wasnt for a few standout titles that would have been packed up long ago. The WiiU just did not have enough good games on launch to justify a purchase and it still dosent to many people myself included. I am looking forward to some games on the system next year but it may be to little to late.

As for whatever Valve annouunces I really dont care I dont like them and while I wont not give them some money if they provide something which I really really want and isnt available elsewhere I generally dont support them and wont if there is an alternative that I see as better (i.e most alternatives).