Steam Box

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ratsoalbion
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

It's the dinky factor that does it for me as a lounge gaming machine. Steambox will come with Linux as OS but you can install Windows on it if you like.
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Guy_JD
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Guy_JD »

ratsoalbion wrote:It's the dinky factor that does it for me as a lounge gaming machine. Steambox will come with Linux as OS but you can install Windows on it if you like.
to be fair I doubt you'll even see much of the OS, I'm sure Steam will have their own front end GUI
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Ghost World »

ratsoalbion wrote:It's the dinky factor that does it for me as a lounge gaming machine. Steambox will come with Linux as OS but you can install Windows on it if you like.
If your telling someone they can install Windows then the whole concept is pointless.

I'm behind the concept but if Valve want to go down this path they need to be really clear and concise what the thing is and keep it to only a few options just like the consoles do.

Maybe sell units that have Low,Medium,High Spec's for example because the ease of use market has to be the one there aiming to sell this idea to?
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Xantiriad »

It's the "Xbox" all over again. We are back to 1999

Here's why http://bit.ly/Sl05xJ
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

Yes, and that brand has done all right. Plus, it's smaller. I want one, though I'd prefer it if it was modular (i.e. super-easily upgradable - eg. slide out the old gfx card, slide in a new one that just clips in).

I'm about to get a new PC out of necessity, but I'm squarely in the ease of use market.
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Dante Fireseed
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Dante Fireseed »

It's fascinating to see how this pans out, and the concept is one I'm very much interested in.

Tony is right though, the fact is if they are going up against the consoles, then it has to be idiot-proof, not to put too fine a point on it. The beauty of the consoles, to the masses, is that you turn them on, put the disc in and it just works. The people who want just that are never going to hook their PC up to a TV, nor are they interested in installing a different OS. I think that it will have to boot up straight to steam and just simply allow you to browse, purchase and install/play games and that's it. Otherwise, I don't really see the point (other than the dinkyness).
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

I think that's exactly what it'll do out of the box - a Steam console basically, but with the option there to use it as a little PC.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Xantiriad »

ratsoalbion wrote:Yes, and that brand has done all right. Plus, it's smaller. I want one, though I'd prefer it if it was modular (i.e. super-easily upgradable - eg. slide out the old gfx card, slide in a new one that just clips in).
That's unlikely to happen. The PS Orbis dev kits and this Piston thing are all using APU chips (CPU and GPU on one chip) from AMD in the form of the AMD Infinity and Virgo A10-5800. I was actually looking at these when considering building a micro-PC before Christmas.

It's likely any "console", be it SteamBox, Orbis or Xbox Infinity is going to use this type of integrated technology just as the Tegra and Qualcomm chips do in tablets and smartphones.

More likely is that the emphasis will be on the consumer to "upgrade" to a new machine more frequently than the current fixed cycles Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have held on to.

The Android/iOS ecosystem is a good example of how this might look. People are happy to upgrade their smartphones/tablets every 12-24 months. I think SteamBox, Ouya, and probably the next Xbox will follow this model.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

I have no idea what Gary just said but the last bit made sense :)
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delb2k
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Re: Steam Box

Post by delb2k »

I wonder if that is a sustainable model? From a phone perspective it works due to the nature of payments taken over a fixed period to subsidise the cost of the phone so that balances out. Currently the tablet market is in boom times and apple seem to be able to hit the yearly to bi-yearly updates to good effect but that will only last so long. There will be a point where people are happy with what they have and do not see a need to upgrade bar the core contingent.

Which means again we come down to price. Make it not too expensive and it probably can be done but if you go over a threshold i would rather build my own unit and upgrade the parts myself. Will probably end up being cheaper and i can re-use the parts instead of having an out-of-date unit.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Xantiriad »

@delb2k I think that's why Microsoft have been trailing their $99 Xbox 360 on a 12 month contract in the US.
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RoboticMonk3y
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Re: Steam Box

Post by RoboticMonk3y »

Price point is certainly going to be an interesting one with the steam box.
If it's coming in at around the £200-300 mark then I'm going to be tempted.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Ghost World »

Dante Fireseed wrote: the fact is if they are going up against the consoles, then it has to be idiot-proof, not to put too fine a point on it.
Totally agree Dante, the only reason Valve are pursuing this is to get rid of the stigma that PC gaming is fraught with danger, that means the whole process of updating drivers etc will need to be handled seamlessly by the Steam Box via a custom OS.

I guess the point I'm making is you can already build/buy very nice custom micro units that boot straight into Steam via Big Picture mode thus essentially achieving the same thing. What interests me more is (1) are Valve going to subsidise the units to keep costs low or (2) are they going to just give their Valve stamp of approval to selective retail partners in a hope that it will be enough for consumers to bite and (3) is this an area people think Valve should be concentrating on? From the stuff I've seen there doesn't seem to be a strong vision of what this product is which considering it's been rumoured for years is a little surprising.

BTW if you haven't tried out Big Picture Mode on Steam you really should as it puts the equivalent XBL/PSN layouts and stores to shame IMO.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by countstex »

Xantiriad wrote:
More likely is that the emphasis will be on the consumer to "upgrade" to a new machine more frequently than the current fixed cycles Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have held on to.

The Android/iOS ecosystem is a good example of how this might look. People are happy to upgrade their smartphones/tablets every 12-24 months. I think SteamBox, Ouya, and probably the next Xbox will follow this model.
I think Gary is once more on the money here, say £150-£200 for the box with a £25-35 monthly sub for 18-24 months then you get a new box with the latest APU could be a unique and different enough tactic to carve a niche.

One more step on the road to being a pure service.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by Xantiriad »

Sounds good to me Count. I think Phil Harrison's statements this week allude to the same model.

@Tony: Answer 2. Valve don't have anywhere near the capital to do anything else.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

You may well be right but I'm genuinely intrigued how you could know Valve's finances that well Gary. They could probably attract considerable investment from backers.
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delb2k
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Re: Steam Box

Post by delb2k »

To Stex and Gary i can only see that model if the up front is tiny or free. It works with phones because you get calls, texts and data included so it feels like you are getting something for the fee, it works with xbox as it covers the LIVE subs cost (whether it is worth that is a different discussion) so the monthly fee has to be seen to be providing a monthly benefit on top of the capital already paid out.

If it is just another direct debit with no perceived value it becomes much much harder to sell. So it is finding a way to incorporate that in or just offer a finance plan as effectively that is all it is once all is said and done.

So either you pay in instalments or the full whack up front. People have to see some sort of value in a product in order to invest on a regular basis which is probably another question entirely.

If all you are selling people is a shop window, in this case steam, is it an attractive proposition to a critical enough mass? PSN and LIVE can tout integrated streaming services and continued app additions through a UI, steam will never do that unless the model changes. And your never going to use these devices for work, for that you would just get a PC. So outside of the people that want a front room steam player is the market there?
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Re: Steam Box

Post by JaySevenZero »

Xantiriad wrote:Valve don't have anywhere near the capital to do anything else.
Here's a Forbes article from a couple of years ago, regarding Valve and its financial status. Other than the economic downturn there's little reason their position has diminished over the last couple of years, even their famous sales appear to go down well with developers.
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Re: Steam Box

Post by ratsoalbion »

I imagine the combined film rights for Half-Life, L4D, Team Fortress & Portal are worth a staggering amount of $, should they choose to sell them (if they haven't already, I don't believe so)..?
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Re: Steam Box

Post by magicjoef »

I don't want everything to go subscription :(
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