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PC SteamOS

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Wickzki

Wickzki

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Looks to be the next evolution of Steam and PC gaming. You'll be able to play your entire Steam collection through your television whether those games be Linux or not.

More to come in 48 hours.
 
I don't get how it works?

Do you still need a gaming PC? Is it literally just running your computer through your TV? If so...who cares?
 
HBK619 said:
Do you still need a gaming PC? Is it literally just running your computer through your TV? If so...who cares?
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More details are to come. However, I'll answer your question.

Who cares? Companies such as Sony and Microsoft would definitely care or at the very least they certainly should.

Both of the major console developers have attempted - to varying degrees of success - to make their consoles more than just a gaming device. A PC can do this at a level that neither Sony or Microsoft are capable of achieving on a console. The possibilities are practically endless. A personal computer can also be upgraded continuously (so too would the theorized "SteamBox" (which may in fact be their next announcement). This means that in order to stay up to date there is no need to purchase entire consoles every generation rather you can simply make an upgrade to your existing system. Upon release the X1 and PS4 will only be "nearly" at the equivalent of a PC - as PC tech develops the margin will increasingly widen. Certainly, there are "poor" PC ports of games but there are a great number of games that have been optimized for PC play (the best FPS shooters, etc.). Finally, and perhaps even Steam's greatest selling point, is that their catalogue of games will be unmatched by what PS4 and X1 are capable of offering gamers. Imagine having access to nearly 3000 games from day one and having most of the top publishers on board.

If Steam play their cards right, and this is the only place where I'm on the fence as not all of the details have been released, it truly could change gaming forever. There just wont be a need to have a PS4 or an X1 if you're a lounge/living/games room gamer aside from exclusives (ND, etc.).
 

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I imagine it will be a like Steams big screen mode.

Given that the PS4 and XBOX one are a X86 architecture they've made a big step towards integrating with PC's and with a dedicated Steam OS you have PC gaming moving towards becoming like consoles.

As it stands the model for PC's and Consoles business models could well stay like it is at the moment until we see super fast internet and cloud gaming really take off. This model relies on infrastructure which is going to be patchy in a lot of places for a long time yet.

Perhaps in the medium term we'll see a hybrid system where consoles like the PS and Xbox become introductory gaming machines capable of streaming game services they weren't specifically designed for and perhaps we'll see dedicated gaming PC's which share a similar system architecture to the PS4 (shared memory pool), but are able to be customized like today's PC's.

On the flip side we've had The coolest aspect of this so far sounds like the streaming of games from one gaming rig to a lesser computer and the family sharing options.
 
I really hope this is successful. Steam is the best gaming platform I've ever used but until it can become a bit more of a mainstream success certain publishers and developers are going to keep ignoring it. If we start seeing games like Destiny, MGSV etc appearing on the platform I won't even bother with next gen consoles.
 
dexter_ said:
I really hope this is successful. Steam is the best gaming platform I've ever used but until it can become a bit more of a mainstream success certain publishers and developers are going to keep ignoring it. If we start seeing games like Destiny, MGSV etc appearing on the platform I won't even bother with next gen consoles.
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And how does a Linux based OS help this? o.O

PC games are easier to develop than console games, those games aren't exclusives for this reason... Steam is wildly successful, you're absolutely nuts if if you think publishers and devs 'ignore' it.
 
HBK619 said:
I don't get how it works?

Do you still need a gaming PC? Is it literally just running your computer through your TV? If so...who cares?
Click to expand...


I imagine their next announcement will be a formal reveal of the rumoured "Steam Box" which would be a box running on SteamOS. If the rumours are true, this is Valve's answer to the PS4 and Xbox One.
 
I still don't get how it changes things.

As Wickzki said one of Steam's biggest features over the competition is it's library. What happens to that library when you constrict it to hardware constraints?

Facts are, people aren't going to a) Ditch consoles just because they can play Steam on TV now if it still means they have to go out and buy a gaming PC, because that process is too hard and too costly to maintain and upgrade (if you're not already doing it, this isn't changing your mind). And b) They (they being Valve) go for one of two options, a moddable Steam box that still has the same buy in issues as a PC or they try for some form of streaming service akin to Gaikai or OnLive, which the infrastructure in the world simply isn't ready for right now.

I still don't see how it's "a huge deal".
 

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A few thoughts from someone who has a windows computer plugged into the tv

*Navigating Windows on a couch with a mouse and keyboard is functional but cumbersome - If you can operate the system perfectly well with a gamepad that would be a big plus. Obviously K+M would still be usable where necessary. I maintain that a Wii U style peripheral would be perfect for this.

*Streaming from a dedicated PC to a smaller PC under the TV sounds nifty but I can't imagine it would benefit too many people. in fact, in my case it sounds like it would be beneficial to buy a $200 notebook with an HDMI port, install SteamOS and stream from my windows PC which is already under the TV. Madness.

*One of the creeping frustrations of gaming in general is having to sign in to every bloody thing. Games for Windows, Rockstar Social Club, Origin, UbiPlay or whatever it's ****ing called. Gives me the shits. If SteamOS can have all this assorted rubbish happen in the background, automatically signing me in (or having a universal sign in), with all my games in the one place, I would be very pleased. Almost certainly not going to happen but I live in hope.

*Speaking of which, would like to see all other assorted media in the one place one through the one application if possible.

*Possibility of a Steam store with downloadable music and video content? ITunes is a bit of a rort.

*General sexiness of the OS will be a consideration. Windows 8 would look just fine if you could keep it from reverting to desktop mode, but you can't, so it doesn't.

*The problem re: Linux games library vs Windows game library is significant at the moment but who knows how things will turn out here? I have enough issues getting windows games to run on a windows system. not likely, but would love it if I could buy a game and be guaranteed that it runs perfectly without having to spend half a day scouring gaming forums for fixes.

Ah well it is free, and everyone thought Steam was garbage 10 years ago when it was forced upon us, so I am happy to wait and see. Just not sure how it will benefit me just yet.
 
Wickzki said:
A personal computer can also be upgraded continuously (so too would the theorized "SteamBox" (which may in fact be their next announcement). This means that in order to stay up to date there is no need to purchase entire consoles every generation rather you can simply make an upgrade to your existing system.
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That's a fair bit less simple than upgrading your console though - $500-600 for a new console every 5 years vs $100 every year on various bits and pieces for your PC that you have to install yourself. A PC's innards are pretty intimidating.
 
Valentino Dmitri said:
That's a fair bit less simple than upgrading your console though - $500-600 for a new console every 5 years vs $100 every year on various bits and pieces for your PC that you have to install yourself. A PC's innards are pretty intimidating.
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Software, BIOS, firmware ect is intimidating, but it's getting better all the time. They go to great lengths to provide easy to follow programs that hide all the code behind UI. If you choose a simply hard drive solution then PC's aren't going to consume a lot of time and energy.

The hardware aspect of PC's is dead simple.
 
I'm sure you're absolutely correct - I've only ever once upgraded graphics card myself, about 5 years ago, and despite my nerves there really was nothing to it.

I think intimidation is the key word, people like myself would generally talk themselves out of it before giving it a go - especially in the knowledge that with a console the most difficult part of setting it up would be hooking it up to your network I guess, and knowing everything you buy for it will run exactly as intended with no research required to get it going. Obviously this is just based on my own assumptions and nothing more.

Really interested to see if the Steam Box is an actual thing, see how it handles upgrades and whatnot.
 
Well this certainly has the potential to make PC gaming more accessible as far as the software side of things goes.

I don't think this is going to attract people who aren't interesting in building there own PC, because if you aren't interesting in going down the custom PC route the value simply isn't there with manufacturer built gaming machines. So id question the systems ability to draw more people into PC gaming from consoles in the short term.

So they're going after the tech heads who build their own PC's and thus those willing to already put time and energy into managing their PC's. If Steam Box becomes a licensed product then we can see suppliers and servicing streamlined for the general consumer then custom gaming rigs might become main stream.

At the moment the high end gaming PC market is on the rebound.
 

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Wickzki said:
Oh and NVidia are getting fully behind this as well - with a somewhat surprising (certainly out of nowhere) decision to work with Linux properly.
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It's surprising until you consider which company all the console manufacturers are using for the new generation.
 
I can't see the appeal. Either I'm simply not in the target market or I'm missing something. I signed up for the beta, but I was one of 65,000 at the time - just a few hours after the announcement - so it's a pretty forlorn hope!
 
Donners said:
I can't see the appeal. Either I'm simply not in the target market or I'm missing something. I signed up for the beta, but I was one of 65,000 at the time - just a few hours after the announcement - so it's a pretty forlorn hope!
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Well I hope you don't get it then.
 

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