So... this Steambox thing...

SilverUchiha

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I'm excited for the idea of a new console choice aside from the same tired three Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft. And while I was hoping this cycle would be broken by the return of Sega, Valve has somewhat surprised all of us by stepping into the field instead.

But while the Steambox sounds cool in terms of getting console gamers who don't already use Steam on the PC into that community, I have to ask, what's the incentive to the people who already know and love Steam and already do everything that the Steambox can pretty much do on a PC? The only thing I can think of is that it'd be a cheap alternative to a gaming PC if the timing works for you needing to upgrade your PC anyway. But what about everyone else who have perfectly functioning machines?

So while there's no news yet as to what all the features of the Steambox will be, I ask you escapists what are some of your ideas that would make the Steambox sell not only to newcomers to Steam, but to people who are already longtime customers of Steam?
 

ShinyCharizard

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I don't think they are going to try to market this to current steam pc users. This is more a move to capture the console audience.
 

TheSteeleStrap

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It doesn't seem like they are trying to replace PCs. If they are trying to bring Steam to consoles, that's in interesting idea. The sad thing is it would surely be more powerful than what I'm currently using for Steam.
 

Smooth Operator

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What incentive you ask? Laziness, never underestimate how lazy people are, and more importantly how lazy they get.
My mate is buying his 3rd Xbox+TV for the holidays because he is just too lazy to step into one of the rooms that already has them.

And as people get older they get progressively lazier so the market for this is ever growing.
 

SilverUchiha

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SajuukKhar said:
Steambox wont happen.

Valve is to busy with VR goggle headsets.
Um. They made the announcement within the past week that the Steambox is happening. It might get delayed a bit due to Valve-Time, but they did say it will be coming (potentially within the next year).
 

Vigormortis

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From everything Mr. Newell has said so far (which hasn't been much, admittedly) it appears that this "Steambox" idea is designed to bridge the gap between consoles and PCs.

Essentially, a controlled, unified hardware environment, but an open software environment.

In other words, a series of gaming units with the same hardware profile, but an open operating system; one in which the user may install any software they like and modify as they please.

If this is the case, I am 100% in support of this "Steambox" idea. The idea of having a unified environment for game design, that is also open to "free-use", is one of the more exciting prospects to hit the industry in a long time. It could be the answer to all of the draw-backs to PC and console gaming; no matter who makes it happen. Valve or someone else.
 

Something Amyss

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SilverUchiha said:
I'm excited for the idea of a new console choice aside from the same tired three Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft. And while I was hoping this cycle would be broken by the return of Sega, Valve has somewhat surprised all of us by stepping into the field instead.
Yegads yes. I'm tired of Microsoft. they've been in two whole console generations!
But while the Steambox sounds cool in terms of getting console gamers who don't already use Steam on the PC into that community, I have to ask, what's the incentive to the people who already know and love Steam and already do everything that the Steambox can pretty much do on a PC?
"Steambox" will BE a PC. It's just going to be a closed system. In effect, you've pretty much answered your own question. This is pretty much solely aimed at console gamers or people who want a family unit. The announcement said as much already.

Where is the confusion? Why should this be a draw to PC users anyway, since the concept of Big Picture and "Steambox" is designed to run alongside?

Mr.K. said:
What incentive you ask? Laziness, never underestimate how lazy people are, and more importantly how lazy they get.
My mate is buying his 3rd Xbox+TV for the holidays because he is just too lazy to step into one of the rooms that already has them.

And as people get older they get progressively lazier so the market for this is ever growing.
Not just that, but a lot of people are scared of technology. I know we like to pretend it's just old people, but the internet didn't really hit its apex until any idiot with a phone could use it.
 

The White Hunter

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Mr.K. said:
What incentive you ask? Laziness, never underestimate how lazy people are, and more importantly how lazy they get.
My mate is buying his 3rd Xbox+TV for the holidays because he is just too lazy to step into one of the rooms that already has them.

And as people get older they get progressively lazier so the market for this is ever growing.
For the cost of all those xboxes and then a little bit ont op he could have just built a beastly server from which to run game :p.

Thats aid setting that up to run everywhere in your house wired is a bit an effort...

Edit: Even if Valve did enter the market, I don't see them lasting more than 2 generations of it...
 

Austin Manning

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Personally I don't get the point of the Steambox. Most computers have HDMI ports now so that they can use TVs as monitors. Will it be powerful enough to run current games and will it be modular to run future steam games? Will I be able to download and install mods? When I play online will it be connected to PC steam users?

I have a moderately powerful PC and a PS3 and the Steambox hasn't given me a good reason to add to that.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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Bhaalspawn said:
Wonderful, now the other console manufacturers can advertise with "Playstation 4, it's not covered in buggy malware!"
"Playstation 4: we may be jerks, but at least we're not operating a functional monopoly."
 

Soxafloppin

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I hope it happens. It could force PSN and XBLA to get competitive with there prices for downloadable games.
 
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This is just for people who are too lazy to look into building a PC but want to play on PC. The Steambox like consoles is highly unlikely to be cheaper than the PC and the only cheap thing about it will be the start up costs and that's about it.
 

babinro

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Soxafloppin said:
I hope it happens. It could force PSN and XBLA to get competitive with there prices for downloadable games.
^
This is pretty much the best case scenario.
Aside from this the steambox really doesn't have a market IMO.

Why would a console gamer get a console that offers no exclusives?
The only reason I could see is price. If steambox as a console is 1/2 the cost of the big 3 then maybe the budget gamer would consider it.
 

SajuukKhar

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SilverUchiha said:
Um. They made the announcement within the past week that the Steambox is happening. It might get delayed a bit due to Valve-Time, but they did say it will be coming (potentially within the next year).
That's what they say....... but this is valve.
 

ResonanceSD

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TheSteeleStrap said:
It doesn't seem like they are trying to replace PCs. If they are trying to bring Steam to consoles, that's in interesting idea. The sad thing is it would surely be more powerful than what I'm currently using for Steam.
It won't be a very powerful console at all. That's the problem for the high end, because Devs won't bother coding for anything above console level anyway.
 

Something Amyss

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babinro said:
Soxafloppin said:
Why would a console gamer get a console that offers no exclusives?
there are a lot of games exclusive to PC. Having what is effectively a console as a dedicated player could readily entice people to play PC-only titles. This will probably be most effective for games with controller support, but it's not like those are in short supply, either.
 

ultimateownage

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The idea of a Steam box has a hell of a lot of potential. I'm not sure Valve will be able to nail something like that, but it's something that could be a really good idea to close the final few gaps that make console gamers afraid of the PC. And if the do manage to get it right then it might make some very healthy ripples in the business practices of the other console makers.