4 ms·

Steam has been around for how many years now? They've effectively created a DRM system that people like. Copying them is not a technical challenge, and as far

Steam has been around for how many years now? They've effectively created a DRM system that people like. Copying them is not a technical challenge, and as far as I know there's nothing proprietary about it. Why other platforms like WiiU don't adopt this strategy baffles me.

mahyarm 14y ago
With Steam Big Picture coming into play, and half decent PCs costing around $300 that can play most games, if I get a TV, I'll just buy a $350+ HTPC. It will work with all video formats at high bitrates, play blu-rays, work with ALL of the streaming video services in one box, search the internet quickly, play all of my personal media and play video games as good as any console. Steam is just a few steps away from being the console replacement app and shipping a branded steam box and the masses would have something that's relatively easy to use. For the kids that love minecraft and other indie games, it would be perfect. It will also work easily as a NAS and a print server. It would replace about 3/4 different TV devices and cover all of the bases.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  There's a great guide on The Verge forums about building a Steam Box on the cheap: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-and-the-xbox-720-build-your-own-steambox-on-the-cheap http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-an... For all those gamers out there who are familiar with building their own gaming PCs, the Steam Box future is already here. There's currently a huge sale on Steam for games that use controllers. You can make it happen today. And the value of having a fully functional HTPC cannot be overstated. You can watch any content you want, no compromises. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, torrents, Usenet, it's all supported.
  - sliverstorm 14y ago
    Allow me to again share the writeup I did on my Steam Box http://gist.io/4199804 http://gist.io/4199804 w1ntermute, I think you've already seen this, but anyway... :) As mahyarm mentions, NAS work just fine with an HTPC- I've actually installed several games to my NAS via iSCSI.
  - ibrahima 14y ago
    Incidentally, are you the wintermute that was involved in DS homebrew way back when? (I recently started reading HN again and I keep seeing you pop up).
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      Nope, never done DS homebrew (or even had a Nintendo handheld since the GBA).
  - bitsoda 14y ago
    Very nice guide. But I wouldn't build a Steam Box. There's something to be said about consoles and how they provide developers with one standardized specification that they can target over a span of 6+ years that enables them to optimize games so they run smoothly while squeezing out every last drop of power the console has to offer. Gaming PCs lack this standardization that consoles enjoy. Sure, there's infinite flexibility with what you're able to do with a PC -- such as using it as a HTPC -- but over time, a Steam Box built today won't be able to play the latest games that 2017 has to offer with any grace, while the PS3 will be running a title like "The Last of Us" nearly seven years after the console's introduction. Sure, you could always upgrade the graphics card, CPU, HD, and other components, but now you've already overpaid what you would have had you bought a PS4/Xbox 720. Just something to keep in mind for anyone who decides to build a Steam Box in hopes that is can replace a console.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      It doesn't sound like you're the target market then. The Steam Box (at least in its current form) is targeted at PC gamers, who don't expect to have a single, static hardware platform that exists for a half-decade or more. This is more about taking what's great about PC gaming (the all-digital distribution system, customizability/flexibility of hardware, etc.) and bringing it to a living room, console-style gaming experience.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      Yeah, but in 2017 your console games will completely suck versus what you will have your PC-Steam Box if you renew it every 2-3 years or so. And you will have access to literally thousands on games on it, while your PS4-Xbox720 will still be hard at work building such a library of titles. And online play is free on Steam (versus 50 dollars a year on Xbox), games are cheaper too and regularly on sale for a fraction of the original price - overall you are SAVING by playing on PC if you play many games. It only makes sense to own a console if you 1) want specific, exclusive titles 2) do not play many games at all (and then it becomes more economical than a PC). That's why true hardcore gamers will remain on the PC no matter what consoles they bring on the market: best graphics, largest choice, and best use of your money is on PC.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
  Nintendo might just be the one game company that can get away with inane DRM clauses because of their ridiculously strong IP (read: exclusive 1st party games and iconic characters). In a way they're like Disney.
  - hayksaakian 14y ago
    But even Disney is signing deals with Netflix and buying star wars. As a business, making business decisions, I don't know what Nintendo is thinking.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      It's a problem all across Japan: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-06/japans-fear-of-risk-is-getting-dangerous http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-06/japans-fear-...
      - hayksaakian 14y ago
        That is quite sad, the combination of a disproportionately older population, with one that is culturally risk-averse is a recipe for stagnation.
        w1ntermute 14y ago
        Yeah, the culture is fascinating and they have so many basic urban problems that we can't solve in America down pat (public transportation, crime, and poverty, to name a few), but economically they just don't have that spark, and their educational system is an outdated waste of time that does little other than prepare students for standardized tests via rote memorization. I don't know, maybe it's because life is so safe there that you don't see the desire to innovate that you see in America.
        mc32 14y ago
        JP is defo an interesting place for many reasons, but I would say that they did not 'solve' those issues so much as they were forced on to them. Little land means you are forced to make good land use, thus preference for trains over cars. Poverty is a grave issue in Japan. Lots of elderly crime --the fastest growing crime, is being attributed by some to elderly poverty. Yes, crime in general is relatively low. No argument there. But their clock is ticking. Low birthrate combined with a distaste for immigration along with a patriarchal society (relatively low involvement by women in the workforce) is a recipe for economic decline. My favorite pet peeve is how excited people find it that the Japan train operators will provide you with a tardiness note if they are over a minute late. People think "wow, the punctuality". I think "wow, what a horrible atmosphere where you have to account for being a minute late to the office" (while at the same time having to while away time at the office if the boss remains behind afterhours, else be labelled as being "different".

mahyarm 14y ago

With Steam Big Picture coming into play, and half decent PCs costing around $300 that can play most games, if I get a TV, I'll just buy a $350+ HTPC. It will work with all video formats at high bitrates, play blu-rays, work with ALL of the streaming video services in one box, search the internet quickly, play all of my personal media and play video games as good as any console. Steam is just a few steps away from being the console replacement app and shipping a branded steam box and the masses would have something that's relatively easy to use. For the kids that love minecraft and other indie games, it would be perfect. It will also work easily as a NAS and a print server. It would replace about 3/4 different TV devices and cover all of the bases.

w1ntermute 14y ago
There's a great guide on The Verge forums about building a Steam Box on the cheap: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-and-the-xbox-720-build-your-own-steambox-on-the-cheap http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-an... For all those gamers out there who are familiar with building their own gaming PCs, the Steam Box future is already here. There's currently a huge sale on Steam for games that use controllers. You can make it happen today. And the value of having a fully functional HTPC cannot be overstated. You can watch any content you want, no compromises. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, torrents, Usenet, it's all supported.
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  Allow me to again share the writeup I did on my Steam Box http://gist.io/4199804 http://gist.io/4199804 w1ntermute, I think you've already seen this, but anyway... :) As mahyarm mentions, NAS work just fine with an HTPC- I've actually installed several games to my NAS via iSCSI.
- ibrahima 14y ago
  Incidentally, are you the wintermute that was involved in DS homebrew way back when? (I recently started reading HN again and I keep seeing you pop up).
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    Nope, never done DS homebrew (or even had a Nintendo handheld since the GBA).
- bitsoda 14y ago
  Very nice guide. But I wouldn't build a Steam Box. There's something to be said about consoles and how they provide developers with one standardized specification that they can target over a span of 6+ years that enables them to optimize games so they run smoothly while squeezing out every last drop of power the console has to offer. Gaming PCs lack this standardization that consoles enjoy. Sure, there's infinite flexibility with what you're able to do with a PC -- such as using it as a HTPC -- but over time, a Steam Box built today won't be able to play the latest games that 2017 has to offer with any grace, while the PS3 will be running a title like "The Last of Us" nearly seven years after the console's introduction. Sure, you could always upgrade the graphics card, CPU, HD, and other components, but now you've already overpaid what you would have had you bought a PS4/Xbox 720. Just something to keep in mind for anyone who decides to build a Steam Box in hopes that is can replace a console.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    It doesn't sound like you're the target market then. The Steam Box (at least in its current form) is targeted at PC gamers, who don't expect to have a single, static hardware platform that exists for a half-decade or more. This is more about taking what's great about PC gaming (the all-digital distribution system, customizability/flexibility of hardware, etc.) and bringing it to a living room, console-style gaming experience.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    Yeah, but in 2017 your console games will completely suck versus what you will have your PC-Steam Box if you renew it every 2-3 years or so. And you will have access to literally thousands on games on it, while your PS4-Xbox720 will still be hard at work building such a library of titles. And online play is free on Steam (versus 50 dollars a year on Xbox), games are cheaper too and regularly on sale for a fraction of the original price - overall you are SAVING by playing on PC if you play many games. It only makes sense to own a console if you 1) want specific, exclusive titles 2) do not play many games at all (and then it becomes more economical than a PC). That's why true hardcore gamers will remain on the PC no matter what consoles they bring on the market: best graphics, largest choice, and best use of your money is on PC.
hkmurakami 14y ago
Nintendo might just be the one game company that can get away with inane DRM clauses because of their ridiculously strong IP (read: exclusive 1st party games and iconic characters). In a way they're like Disney.
- hayksaakian 14y ago
  But even Disney is signing deals with Netflix and buying star wars. As a business, making business decisions, I don't know what Nintendo is thinking.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    It's a problem all across Japan: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-06/japans-fear-of-risk-is-getting-dangerous http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-06/japans-fear-...
    - hayksaakian 14y ago
      That is quite sad, the combination of a disproportionately older population, with one that is culturally risk-averse is a recipe for stagnation.
      - w1ntermute 14y ago
        Yeah, the culture is fascinating and they have so many basic urban problems that we can't solve in America down pat (public transportation, crime, and poverty, to name a few), but economically they just don't have that spark, and their educational system is an outdated waste of time that does little other than prepare students for standardized tests via rote memorization. I don't know, maybe it's because life is so safe there that you don't see the desire to innovate that you see in America.
        mc32 14y ago
        JP is defo an interesting place for many reasons, but I would say that they did not 'solve' those issues so much as they were forced on to them. Little land means you are forced to make good land use, thus preference for trains over cars. Poverty is a grave issue in Japan. Lots of elderly crime --the fastest growing crime, is being attributed by some to elderly poverty. Yes, crime in general is relatively low. No argument there. But their clock is ticking. Low birthrate combined with a distaste for immigration along with a patriarchal society (relatively low involvement by women in the workforce) is a recipe for economic decline. My favorite pet peeve is how excited people find it that the Japan train operators will provide you with a tardiness note if they are over a minute late. People think "wow, the punctuality". I think "wow, what a horrible atmosphere where you have to account for being a minute late to the office" (while at the same time having to while away time at the office if the boss remains behind afterhours, else be labelled as being "different".