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Steam machines biggest flaw was they eschewed the biggest benefit of a game console, being a common hardware Target for devs. They should have a rolling releas

Steam machines biggest flaw was they eschewed the biggest benefit of a game console, being a common hardware Target for devs. They should have a rolling release built around a good Apu and move from v1 through to v2 etc revisions of the hardware every couple of years. Maybe throw in a pro version of the hardware for people with money to burn

deleted 9y ago
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bryanlarsen 9y ago
SteamOS / Linux releases are always and always will be afterthoughts. The games are developed for Windows and consoles. No significant effort is put into the Linux port, it's released because it's easy to do. So a common hardware target would do absolutely no good. No games would be developed specifically for that target.
- aaron-lebo 9y ago
  Don't see why that's a given. Had Valve really thrown their weight behind it, devs would have followed. Just because the market is a certain way doesn't mean that's out of necessity. There are large markets in developing economies that would benefit much (as would everyone else) from getting out of MS's grip.
  - bryanlarsen 9y ago
    Devs aren't the problem. There are a huge number of games available for Linux on Steam. Linux gaming on Steam is a success, well beyond the expectations of most. Steam Machines are the failure. Making them even more expensive would not have helped.
    - aaron-lebo 9y ago
      It seems to me that the reason why they failed was because they were too expensive due to a reliance on OEMs like Alienware who inevitably put out overpriced junk. There were too many options. That's not how you win the market. Not sure they were really interested in doing so...it was more of a hedge against MS.
      - 0x6c6f6c 9y ago
        Hilariously enough, Alienware put out one of the only reasonably priced Steam Machines. The lowest end Alpha was by all means a decent console contender in terms of size, graphics, processor, and memory, while also being one of the cheapest models of all Steam Machines. The majority of OEMs pushed out overpriced garbage, but for the most part Alienware wasn't one of them. They committed to a custom, low profile case design AND worked with Nvidia to create a powerful low power GPU based on the GTX 960m. $400 for that versus the other companies pushing poorly supported low end Radeons? Phenomenal. I bought on release day and still use my Alienware Steam Machine. Unfortunately, like many other said above, the developers simply don't optimize for Linux releases like they do for Windows, but the hardware pushes what you'd generally expect from what is effectively a couple years old gaming laptop hardware.
        aaron-lebo 9y ago
        Never would have guessed that. I take back my slander.
  - whywhywhywhy 9y ago
    > Had Valve really thrown their weight behind it Is Valve as a company actually ever capable of throwing it's weight behind anything? They had VR handed to them on a plate and all they've managed to ship is a tech demo. Almost feels like all these projects that should be major for them are treated like side projects. I know people still have a lot of love for the games they released 13 years ago but for me I've learned to accept that Valve today isn't what Valve back then was.
    - lmm 9y ago
      > They had VR handed to them on a plate and all they've managed to ship is a tech demo. Almost feels like all these projects that should be major for them are treated like side projects. They own the distribution of VR games. Even games that can't be distributed on Steam use their APIs, because it's the widely-supported way of doing it that works with all the headsets. Even if Valve never makes a VR game, they're going to make a lot of money from them if it ever takes off.
      - whywhywhywhy 9y ago
        My argument isn't that their (almost) monopoly on PC games sales allow them to print money. My point is they're not the visionary games and hardware company that most of their cheerleading fans think they are. They're just an online store, and for people like myself who grew up on Half Life it's a sad realisation.
        lmm 9y ago
        As someone using a less-popular VR headset (Windows MR, it's what works with my hardware), Steam VR has let me play a lot of fun games that I probably wouldn't have got to otherwise. I don't know about "visionary", but they've put in the legwork to make it all work, and deserve credit for that.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - mhermher 9y ago
    MS lost a shit ton of money pushing Xbox before it became profitable. Don't think valve has the will or even the resources to do the same honestly.

deleted 9y ago

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bryanlarsen 9y ago

SteamOS / Linux releases are always and always will be afterthoughts. The games are developed for Windows and consoles. No significant effort is put into the Linux port, it's released because it's easy to do. So a common hardware target would do absolutely no good. No games would be developed specifically for that target.

aaron-lebo 9y ago
Don't see why that's a given. Had Valve really thrown their weight behind it, devs would have followed. Just because the market is a certain way doesn't mean that's out of necessity. There are large markets in developing economies that would benefit much (as would everyone else) from getting out of MS's grip.
- bryanlarsen 9y ago
  Devs aren't the problem. There are a huge number of games available for Linux on Steam. Linux gaming on Steam is a success, well beyond the expectations of most. Steam Machines are the failure. Making them even more expensive would not have helped.
  - aaron-lebo 9y ago
    It seems to me that the reason why they failed was because they were too expensive due to a reliance on OEMs like Alienware who inevitably put out overpriced junk. There were too many options. That's not how you win the market. Not sure they were really interested in doing so...it was more of a hedge against MS.
    - 0x6c6f6c 9y ago
      Hilariously enough, Alienware put out one of the only reasonably priced Steam Machines. The lowest end Alpha was by all means a decent console contender in terms of size, graphics, processor, and memory, while also being one of the cheapest models of all Steam Machines. The majority of OEMs pushed out overpriced garbage, but for the most part Alienware wasn't one of them. They committed to a custom, low profile case design AND worked with Nvidia to create a powerful low power GPU based on the GTX 960m. $400 for that versus the other companies pushing poorly supported low end Radeons? Phenomenal. I bought on release day and still use my Alienware Steam Machine. Unfortunately, like many other said above, the developers simply don't optimize for Linux releases like they do for Windows, but the hardware pushes what you'd generally expect from what is effectively a couple years old gaming laptop hardware.
      - aaron-lebo 9y ago
        Never would have guessed that. I take back my slander.
- whywhywhywhy 9y ago
  > Had Valve really thrown their weight behind it Is Valve as a company actually ever capable of throwing it's weight behind anything? They had VR handed to them on a plate and all they've managed to ship is a tech demo. Almost feels like all these projects that should be major for them are treated like side projects. I know people still have a lot of love for the games they released 13 years ago but for me I've learned to accept that Valve today isn't what Valve back then was.
  - lmm 9y ago
    > They had VR handed to them on a plate and all they've managed to ship is a tech demo. Almost feels like all these projects that should be major for them are treated like side projects. They own the distribution of VR games. Even games that can't be distributed on Steam use their APIs, because it's the widely-supported way of doing it that works with all the headsets. Even if Valve never makes a VR game, they're going to make a lot of money from them if it ever takes off.
    - whywhywhywhy 9y ago
      My argument isn't that their (almost) monopoly on PC games sales allow them to print money. My point is they're not the visionary games and hardware company that most of their cheerleading fans think they are. They're just an online store, and for people like myself who grew up on Half Life it's a sad realisation.
      - lmm 9y ago
        As someone using a less-popular VR headset (Windows MR, it's what works with my hardware), Steam VR has let me play a lot of fun games that I probably wouldn't have got to otherwise. I don't know about "visionary", but they've put in the legwork to make it all work, and deserve credit for that.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- mhermher 9y ago
  MS lost a shit ton of money pushing Xbox before it became profitable. Don't think valve has the will or even the resources to do the same honestly.