Valve May Be Entering the Console Market with "Steam Box"

[dessertmonkeyjk]

Wait a second... my specs are similar to that and it can't even run Crysis 1 without a little chugging. Then again, does it even matter?

Hold on, steam workshop... mod support on a console?! Valve, I dare you to make that happen.

 

[Strazdas]

This is a sad day guys, we lost another one. Only blizzard still stands.
then again, they are making their own console, thats pretty darn brave, and from what it looks, their finally doing it right (games via internet, not the obsolete disc mechanism, reasonable hardware that could come close to PC at least for a while, functionality for other things (and i mean it works, not how microsoft live pretend to work))
as for its new competition, wii u, well, i guess its no competition. eggsbox720 may show something and who knows what sony does, because PS3 so far could handle competition well even being at a disadvantage (expensive blueray discs).

Wait a second... my specs are similar to that and it can't even run Crysis 1 without a little chugging. Then again, does it even matter?

Hold on, steam workshop... mod support on a console?! Valve, I dare you to make that happen.

hold on. you cant run crysis? do search for a fault in your maachine.
i ran crysis 1 on high on a 8600M GS GPU and a 2x2,4ghz intetel CPU

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Yeah, and pigs are growing wings.

 

[algalon]

Sounds too much like the Phantom to me. If Steam futureproofs hardware installations somehow, perhaps dropping in 1 single upgrade rather than 3 when new specs come, I could see this catching on. Otherwise, I expect to see at least a dozen proposed specs in the next few months. Then it will either release or fade into the internet ether.

 

[hooksashands]

Hopefully this is true if for no reason other than the required clash of the PC Master Race and the Valve Fanboy Army, particularly given such a large overlap between the two. I can almost smell the coming hypocrisy from here.

Similar to my thought. Yesterday PC-exclusive gamers wanted <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9440-The-Advisors>nothing to do with consoles, but today Valve farts a rumor about making their own pre-assembled hardware and you all start asking "How much?" What gives?

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go? After all, who cares how well Valve's factory team builds a tower when you can put together custom octo-core processors fitted to a NASA satellite diamond-encrusted motherboard that can hold sixty-bajillion terabytes worth of RAM with a super mega ultra HD videocard that has been enchanted by dwarven magic to project crisp, flawless images directly into your brain at 379 FPS?

EDIT: Sorry to use your post as the springboard for a rant, it's just this turn of events is pretty ironic to me, given how much PC whizkids brag about their systems (and how they can always build/afford better).

 

[snagli]

Can someone tell me how I should feel about this? Because I'm afraid and excited and interested and I don't bloody know.

 

[ResonanceGames]

Hopefully this is true if for no reason other than the required clash of the PC Master Race and the Valve Fanboy Army, particularly given such a large overlap between the two. I can almost smell the coming hypocrisy from here.

Similar to my thought. Yesterday PC-exclusive gamers wanted <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9440-The-Advisors>nothing to do with consoles, but today Valve farts a rumor about making their own pre-assembled hardware and you all start asking "How much?" What gives?

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go? After all, who cares how well Valve's factory team builds a tower when you can put together custom octo-core processors fitted to a NASA satellite diamond-encrusted motherboard that can hold sixty-bajillion terabytes worth of RAM with a super mega ultra HD videocard that has been enchanted by dwarven magic to project crisp, flawless images directly into your brain at 379 FPS?

EDIT: Sorry to use your post as the springboard for a rant, it's just this turn of events is pretty ironic to me, given how much PC whizkids brag about their systems (and how they can always build/afford better).

Eh? Most of the reaction I've seen from the enthusiast crowd has been "Who cares? It's just a PC."

Because apparently said PC enthusiasts can't conceive that other people besides themselves might exist in the world.

 

[Doom972]

Doesn't sound much stronger than my current PC, except maybe for the Graphics card which is a bit old on my side.
A machine that is guaranteed to run everything Steam has to offer is compelling, but I don't understand how do they plan to accomplish that without the machine becoming outdated like a regular PC.
Also, as good as it sounds, with future EA games being available only on Origin and certain Steam games not being available in my zone through Steam (but do through retail), I'm not sure I'm willing to buy a machine only for Steam games.

I'm very curious about what's going to become of this.

"Doesn't sound much stronger than my current PC"

I imagine you are not the type of customer they are looking at. They are after console users who might be interested in PC gaming, but are put of by the complication of it all, from their POV.

You missed my point. A console must have a lifespan of around 6 years, right? I think my computer will get old in 3-4 years, so I don't see it having the required lifespan.

 

[Farther than stars]

But really wouldn't it be the same as the next console generation when it does come out?

No, if Valve's history is anything to go by, then every other company in the world will spend the next three generations trying to catch up with it. My prediction now is that their console would have the same formula that every one of their major ventures does: late to the party, but all that time spent making something incredible that blows everyone away...

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go?

Probably back to your imagination where they've always been.

 

[thiosk]

I've been waiting for home console digital distribution. I haven't bought a physical copy of a game in so long, aside from a couple used Wii games i got so I could play guitar hero with mah buddies.

Dying dinosaurs decidedly disintegrating into dust.

 

[Farotsu]

Funny thing is, I thought that they should consider doing something like this before there was any rumour about it. Sure it might not be something for people who already own a good PC but it sure should get console gamers straight into steam market, which is a great move from them.

 

[hooksashands]

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go?

Probably back to your imagination where they've always been.

Or probably back to telling console players "You did it wrong," implying there's somehow a right way to waste $2,000. Fuck PCs.

 

[Strazdas]

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go?

Probably back to your imagination where they've always been.

Or probably back to telling console players "You did it wrong," implying there's somehow a right way to waste $2,000. Fuck PCs.

there is no right way to waste 2000. there is however a right way to invest them.

 

[Me55enger]

The bastion of PC elitism builds a console with a console controller...

Steasm big, but is it big enough to fight Microsoft?

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Where did the tech geniuses with unlimited splurge-money go?

Probably back to your imagination where they've always been.

Or probably back to telling console players "You did it wrong," implying there's somehow a right way to waste $2,000. Fuck PCs.

I sincerely hope your trolling or just a Slowpoke in which case I shall use Thunder Wave followed by 2 Super Fangs and an Ultra Ball. PCs do not cost 2000+ in any of the three major world currencies(£,$,?) if you are building a gaming computer. Anywhere between 500-1,000 if you really want to push it and "future proof" it.

OT: If they got financial support and backing that would make a lot more sense. Valve are a private company and not a massive one at that and the console market is a huge Oligopoly with high barriers to entry. I still don't think it is the best idea with the Oligopoly and the specs given for the console but we will wait and see. I do hope they add keyboard and mouse support properly and allow people to play RTS games on consoles, as trying to do that with a controller is an abysmal experience.

 

[hooksashands]

I sincerely hope your trolling or just a Slowpoke in which case I shall use Thunder Wave followed by 2 Super Fangs and an Ultra Ball. PCs do not cost 2000+ in any of the three major world currencies(£,$,?) if you are building a gaming computer. Anywhere between 500-1,000 if you really want to push it and "future proof" it.

Nope, neither. But I could be likened to a Snorlax because I'm about to bodyslam you and go back to sleep.

This is what it would cost to build something like the X51 model mentioned in the article:
Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz = $190
Mini-itx motherboard = $130
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM = $60
Gigabit Ethernet card = $30
22x optical drive = $40
7,200rpm 1TB hard drive = $100
240 watt power supply = $50
19" tower case = ??? (varies)

That's over 600 dollars not including a monitor, HDMI hook-ups, a mouse, a keyboard, speakers, an operating system or games. Maybe I exaggerated; it doesn't come close to breaking 2 grand, but it's still more money than I'm comfortable spending all at once. I have $356.87 in my savings account at the moment. So I couldn't even afford a mediocre game PC with middle-class income.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I sincerely hope your trolling or just a Slowpoke in which case I shall use Thunder Wave followed by 2 Super Fangs and an Ultra Ball. PCs do not cost 2000+ in any of the three major world currencies(£,$,?) if you are building a gaming computer. Anywhere between 500-1,000 if you really want to push it and "future proof" it.

Nope, neither. But I could be likened to a Snorlax because I'm about to bodyslam you and go back to sleep.

This is what it would cost to build something like the X51 model mentioned in the article:
Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz = $190
Mini-itx motherboard = $130
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM = $60
Gigabit Ethernet card = $30
22x optical drive = $40
7,200rpm 1TB hard drive = $100
240 watt power supply = $50
19" tower case = ??? (varies)

That's over 600 dollars not including a monitor, HDMI hook-ups, a mouse, a keyboard, speakers, an operating system or games. Maybe I exaggerated; it doesn't come close to breaking 2 grand, but it's still more money than I'm comfortable spending all at once. I have $356.87 in my savings account at the moment. So I couldn't even afford a mediocre game PC with middle-class income.

That is fair enough if you can't get over the initial start up costs but PC gaming is just as "cheap" as console gaming in the long run over a generation. I understand some people need the lower start up costs or just like the reliability(ie no troubleshooting) of consoles but it gets annoying with the constant exaggeration of prices.