6 ms·

Well, the PC biz has not been great to gaming for a long time, if ever. Most PC's don't come with quality GFX cards, so PC games have to be least common denomin

Well, the PC biz has not been great to gaming for a long time, if ever. Most PC's don't come with quality GFX cards, so PC games have to be least common denominator, which is basically to port from the XBox360/PS3. From what I can tell the average selling price of PC's has dropped in the last 10 years from $1,000 to $500 or less. At a $400-500 laptop, you just don't get good GFX, so PC gaming kind of sucks. Steam helped a ton on the software side, but if the average gamer is going to have to swap out a graphics card to be able to play Skyrim well on their PC, they'll probably just buy an Xbox instead. The PC market needs some kind of "standard" box configurations with sane pricing and non-crappy software installs. Like, a $500, $750, and $1,000 machines loaded with stock Windows 8, no crapware, good gfx, SSD's, etc. If Valve did the same thing with their own version of Ubuntu running Steam, they could lower machine prices and also really reshape the PC gaming landscape over the next 10 years, esp. for indie developers who are already porting to Linux. Valve could even do something awesome with Steam where if you buy a "Steam box" it comes with your Steam account and games preloaded and ready to go when you start it up, sort of like what Amazon does when you buy a Kindle. If Valve goes down that road and tries to truly innovate, there is some real potential.

mtgx 14y ago
I can't imagine the next-gen consoles selling that well in the future either. Most people would want them for the media access, but there are and will be much better and cheaper options for that.
tomrod 14y ago
> If Valve did the same thing with their own version of Ubuntu running Steam, they could lower machine prices and also really reshape the PC gaming landscape over the next 10 years, esp. for indie developers who are already porting to Linux. At that point, why not just release their own console?
- illuminate 14y ago
  "At that point, why not just release their own console?" People aren't going to buy it with enough of a scale to make the investment worthwhile.
- flatline3 14y ago
  Nowadays, what's the difference between a standardized PC running a custom/customized OS and your hypothetical console? Now, if Valve actually moved backwards to a day when consoles were simple devices that didn't require OS updates, installation of the games, game updates, and a whole slew of other crap from the PC industry that makes it easier for vendors and harder for users, then they'd have a real 'console' that wasn't a PC. Otherwise, modern consoles are just PCs.
  - tomrod 14y ago
    > what's the difference between a standardized PC running a custom/customized OS and your hypothetical console? Typically software repository choice, versatility, and upgradability of components.
    - jiggy2011 14y ago
      Interestingly these are all things that you won't have if you buy a Windows 8 RT device. As consoles become more like PCs , PCs become more like consoles.
      - tomrod 14y ago
        Thank goodness I'm more intelligent than to use Windows 8! /end country bumpkin
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    I'd be very surprised if they released something that didn't do updates of some description. Even consoles these days do frequent updates, in fact I'd guess the only reason that earlier consoles didn't do this was because fast internet access was not ubiquitous at that point. The main difference between a console & PC is largely marketing and also the default UI which is presented to users "out of the box". What would be nice is a standardised box with a simple UI, good graphics hardware (and solid driver support) and a lowish price tag. That standard experience could be basically the "Steam box" but with an option for advanced users to unlock the underlying Linux System and install regular Linux software. This would allow games to be developed directly on the console itself, if this was combined with providing tools such as model editors , game engines etc for free or at low cost it could really lower the bar for Indie devs to produce some fairly high end games. Also if the console proved popular you would have "stealth installed" a Linux desktop in millions of homes worldwide.
talmand 14y ago
Actually, PC gaming is one of the biggest overlooked markets in the industry. If you account for all available sources of revenue then the market is incredibly large; it's just that some people who tally numbers only count boxes sold over the counter. Almost every computer sold today with AMD or Intel CPUs have a decent video card built in. It's true they won't run the latest and greatest in high quality graphical games but I bet they'll run 90% or more of the games available on Steam just fine and most of the rest with reduced settings that will match the quality of the consoles. Granted, there are exceptions to this. Most games that are ports of console games are done cheaply because of lack of focus or budget, not because of hardware. There are several franchises out there that make a ton of cash if made for and marketed to the PC market correctly. Most publishers don't bother with PC gaming any more because they no longer understand the market. What consoles are today is what PC gaming was five to ten years ago and they still get that, it's easy. PC gaming today is different and the expectations are different. Companies like Valve that understand the difference are the people making money. When the expectations of the console market catch up with PCs (possibly the next generation) then the current publishers better adapt quick or they'll suffer. Most of the larger computer makers have been marketing "game" PCs for years but there have no standard configurations because different customers want different things. I, for one, feel that's to the consumer's advantage but it does require a knowledgeable salesman that help make decisions. Your thought of an Ubuntu box with Steam is interesting but I can't see it happening any time soon, they need many, many more games to run on Linux for it to happen. It would be interesting if they did though. If Valve went this direction it would help fix the biggest problem PC gaming has ever had, Microsoft.
- krakensden 14y ago
  > Almost every computer sold today with AMD or Intel CPUs That's really only been true since Sandy Bridge though. Before that, Intel's GPUs were... bad.. Real bad.
  - sp332 14y ago
    talmand said CPU, not GPU. Almost every PC sold with an Intel CPU has a capable AMD/ATI or nvidia GPU.
shardling 14y ago
I find it disturbing that you equate quality gaming to graphics.
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  Well, it certainly is the first and most critical hurdle, aside from "Does your processor support SSE2". You can argue quality of experience all day long, but if your hardware is tragically lacking, you aren't getting anywhere.
Confusion 14y ago
I downvoted you, not because I disagree with your or think you are wrong, but because you didn't read the article and your reply is entirely offtopic. They are hiring industrial designers and allude to working on replacements for peripherals like the keyboard and the mouse.

mtgx 14y ago

I can't imagine the next-gen consoles selling that well in the future either. Most people would want them for the media access, but there are and will be much better and cheaper options for that.

tomrod 14y ago

> If Valve did the same thing with their own version of Ubuntu running Steam, they could lower machine prices and also really reshape the PC gaming landscape over the next 10 years, esp. for indie developers who are already porting to Linux. At that point, why not just release their own console?

illuminate 14y ago
"At that point, why not just release their own console?" People aren't going to buy it with enough of a scale to make the investment worthwhile.
flatline3 14y ago
Nowadays, what's the difference between a standardized PC running a custom/customized OS and your hypothetical console? Now, if Valve actually moved backwards to a day when consoles were simple devices that didn't require OS updates, installation of the games, game updates, and a whole slew of other crap from the PC industry that makes it easier for vendors and harder for users, then they'd have a real 'console' that wasn't a PC. Otherwise, modern consoles are just PCs.
- tomrod 14y ago
  > what's the difference between a standardized PC running a custom/customized OS and your hypothetical console? Typically software repository choice, versatility, and upgradability of components.
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    Interestingly these are all things that you won't have if you buy a Windows 8 RT device. As consoles become more like PCs , PCs become more like consoles.
    - tomrod 14y ago
      Thank goodness I'm more intelligent than to use Windows 8! /end country bumpkin
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  I'd be very surprised if they released something that didn't do updates of some description. Even consoles these days do frequent updates, in fact I'd guess the only reason that earlier consoles didn't do this was because fast internet access was not ubiquitous at that point. The main difference between a console & PC is largely marketing and also the default UI which is presented to users "out of the box". What would be nice is a standardised box with a simple UI, good graphics hardware (and solid driver support) and a lowish price tag. That standard experience could be basically the "Steam box" but with an option for advanced users to unlock the underlying Linux System and install regular Linux software. This would allow games to be developed directly on the console itself, if this was combined with providing tools such as model editors , game engines etc for free or at low cost it could really lower the bar for Indie devs to produce some fairly high end games. Also if the console proved popular you would have "stealth installed" a Linux desktop in millions of homes worldwide.

talmand 14y ago

Actually, PC gaming is one of the biggest overlooked markets in the industry. If you account for all available sources of revenue then the market is incredibly large; it's just that some people who tally numbers only count boxes sold over the counter. Almost every computer sold today with AMD or Intel CPUs have a decent video card built in. It's true they won't run the latest and greatest in high quality graphical games but I bet they'll run 90% or more of the games available on Steam just fine and most of the rest with reduced settings that will match the quality of the consoles. Granted, there are exceptions to this. Most games that are ports of console games are done cheaply because of lack of focus or budget, not because of hardware. There are several franchises out there that make a ton of cash if made for and marketed to the PC market correctly. Most publishers don't bother with PC gaming any more because they no longer understand the market. What consoles are today is what PC gaming was five to ten years ago and they still get that, it's easy. PC gaming today is different and the expectations are different. Companies like Valve that understand the difference are the people making money. When the expectations of the console market catch up with PCs (possibly the next generation) then the current publishers better adapt quick or they'll suffer. Most of the larger computer makers have been marketing "game" PCs for years but there have no standard configurations because different customers want different things. I, for one, feel that's to the consumer's advantage but it does require a knowledgeable salesman that help make decisions. Your thought of an Ubuntu box with Steam is interesting but I can't see it happening any time soon, they need many, many more games to run on Linux for it to happen. It would be interesting if they did though. If Valve went this direction it would help fix the biggest problem PC gaming has ever had, Microsoft.

krakensden 14y ago
> Almost every computer sold today with AMD or Intel CPUs That's really only been true since Sandy Bridge though. Before that, Intel's GPUs were... bad.. Real bad.
- sp332 14y ago
  talmand said CPU, not GPU. Almost every PC sold with an Intel CPU has a capable AMD/ATI or nvidia GPU.

shardling 14y ago

I find it disturbing that you equate quality gaming to graphics.

sliverstorm 14y ago
Well, it certainly is the first and most critical hurdle, aside from "Does your processor support SSE2". You can argue quality of experience all day long, but if your hardware is tragically lacking, you aren't getting anywhere.

Confusion 14y ago

I downvoted you, not because I disagree with your or think you are wrong, but because you didn't read the article and your reply is entirely offtopic. They are hiring industrial designers and allude to working on replacements for peripherals like the keyboard and the mouse.