To compete with Sony, they would need to be sold at cost, which rules out OEMs. Valve could produce a boutique product that sells a few million units but I don't think they have the scale to act as an Xbox replacement. In any case it would have very limited brand recognition and likely the only "exclusive" content would be the PC-only Steam releases.
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Is it time for Valve to take another crack at the Steam Machine?
- Thread starter FunkMiller
- Start date
Probably not but I don't think it needs to. A lot of people don't realise but Steam Deck isn't exactly competing with Switch and it's only sold a few million but it was beneficial enough for Valve for it to exist.
Sure. I was responding to the OP talking about "space in the console market opening up".
I see, thats true. I don't think it will sell 30M or dethrone Sony, but I think it would be a good time for a steam machine if MS suddenly said there is no xbox anymore. If there are a bunch of former xbox buyers who seem to have grown to hate playstation they're more likely to go towards that alternative. Same with a bunch of Sega fans who jumped to xbox previously.
Clintizzle
Lord of Edge.
Imagine a world where Apple and even nVidia enter the Console Market.
darrylgorn
Member
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
The Steam Deck is a PC. The Steam Machines were PCs. Their owners could still play any and all PC games that kind of spec PC would play anyway so them not selling as good as Deck or any other prebuilt PC or laptop or whatever brand didn't really change anything exactly because they were PCs.
Sure, they can try again if they think they can offer a compelling product among all the others and whether they succeed or not won't even change the usability for the folks who do get it. Unlike failed consoles not getting any more games, PCs still do. If they see a reason to or not is another matter.
If it becomes a huge success or even puts a damper on the chase for ever higher specs at ludicrous prices that Nvidia has been chasing that would be pretty nice if you ask me, maybe they'll eventually have to reduce their prices to get people, gamers and developers, back in the high end race at all.
Of course, low spec, cheap PCs are all around us already, whether Steam/Valve can be the spark that makes them mainstream/not a joke for gaming (outside emulation of weak/ancient machines) or not without the gimmick of being in stylish, portable form is unknown but is probably quite unlikely.
Intel had a big push for mini NUC PCs and those PC on a usb stick things like, a decade or so ago and other manufacturers never stopped since, the chipsets naturally got more powerful over time until we reached this point we see on the GPD, Steam Deck and other handheld form PCs nowadays
Sure, they can try again if they think they can offer a compelling product among all the others and whether they succeed or not won't even change the usability for the folks who do get it. Unlike failed consoles not getting any more games, PCs still do. If they see a reason to or not is another matter.
If it becomes a huge success or even puts a damper on the chase for ever higher specs at ludicrous prices that Nvidia has been chasing that would be pretty nice if you ask me, maybe they'll eventually have to reduce their prices to get people, gamers and developers, back in the high end race at all.
Of course, low spec, cheap PCs are all around us already, whether Steam/Valve can be the spark that makes them mainstream/not a joke for gaming (outside emulation of weak/ancient machines) or not without the gimmick of being in stylish, portable form is unknown but is probably quite unlikely.
Intel had a big push for mini NUC PCs and those PC on a usb stick things like, a decade or so ago and other manufacturers never stopped since, the chipsets naturally got more powerful over time until we reached this point we see on the GPD, Steam Deck and other handheld form PCs nowadays
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Holammer
Member
NOooOOoOoo, Valve's half-arsed attempt with Steam Machines failed back in 2015. So they can never succeed in the market.
Some will say unironically, because some are effin' stupid. I'm calling you out mothaf¤/"("()"!
Yes, they should have another crack at it. Deliver a Steam Deck with a console form factor and a new controller. With the user freedom of a PC, it would cause maximum disruption in the console space.
Some will say unironically, because some are effin' stupid. I'm calling you out mothaf¤/"("()"!
Yes, they should have another crack at it. Deliver a Steam Deck with a console form factor and a new controller. With the user freedom of a PC, it would cause maximum disruption in the console space.
Mr.Phoenix
Member
That has always been the issue with Linux. Dodgy Nvidia support and not user-friendly. I have dabbled in Linux a couple of times, at one point I had to use it for over a year... long story. And what I could never understand, is why everything... and I mean EVERYTHING about it, is just made that little bit more complicated. No one should have to work that hard, to just keep things running ow you set them to run two weeks ago.
If Valve does this right, there is nothing Microsoft can do about it. The issue is that doing it right would be a herculean effort. They don't just have to build a version of Linux Steam OS, they have to build one that makes it the best way to play games on a PC. While at the same time, is as easy and productive to use as a standard Windows based PC. To make the industry transition period easier. It's just going to entail so much work though, so many moving parts...and thats the only reason I dont see it happening.
But if anyone will do it, it would be Valve.
Perhaps, but Valve do not charge for online play so that would be a selling point.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Valve index was a PC VR machine in a time when VR didn't get the big boom it needed (and arguably it still isn't big enough for "runaway success" now)
I don't know why you mentioned that anyways when the Deck's the real success story from Valve in the hardware space, anyways.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Yeah. As a guy who does music production, Linux still isn't very ideal in that aspect. I don't just use my PC for gaming, and as good as Linux gaming is, the gaming experience (outside of shader compilation) isn't better than Windows. Especially considering Nvidia.
But competition is the only way Windows will, if ever, improve. So I think we should bring it on
After people spent years telling everyone how easy it is to hookup PCs to living room TVs, we’re pivoting to dedicated gaming PCs for living room TVs now?
Not sure what added benefit a Steam Machine would solve that you can’t solve with either a SFF PC build or just plugging in your laptop to the TV at that point.
I’m also not sure what advantages a SteamOS machine would have over Windows when we’re no longer talking handheld.
Not sure what added benefit a Steam Machine would solve that you can’t solve with either a SFF PC build or just plugging in your laptop to the TV at that point.
I’m also not sure what advantages a SteamOS machine would have over Windows when we’re no longer talking handheld.
WitchHunter
Banned
They should first bring their fucking web frontend up from the basement. Like don't show game videos in a fucking stamp like area, when you can use the whole width of the screen. We are in 2024, not in the 90s for fucks sake. Also implement a proper image viewer. Also fix the recommendation system not be braindead shit. Zero all the reviewer shills who collect games just for kicks, behead the curator system, and implement a proper discussion platform. Also punish the retarded shits who tell bullshit advice in discussion forums. Thank you.What with Phil overseeing the apparent destruction of the Xbox as a console, and Jim turning the Ps5 into a GaaS guzzling machine, is it time for our lord and saviour Sir Gaben Of Newell to have his company take another crack at the Steam Machine?
The Steam Deck has been a massive success. How about a much more powerful machine (that can rival any kind of Ps5 Pro), with the same OS as the Steam Deck, slapped underneath your TV?
I'm buying one, that's for certain. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have exactly been doing a good job of being gamer and consumer friendly in recent times. I would love a competitor with a more open source format. There might well be a space in the console market opening up, and I think valve are the best suited to slide into it.
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
If it were subsidized it could act a MS a cheap entry point to pc gaming.
ReBurn
Gold Member
Well yeah, they were different from consoles. Steam Machine was a minimum spec, not a standard. For the most part they all just used off the shelf PC components. The SteamOS platform is already out there. Valve literally gives you instructions for how to build your own Steam Machine with SteamOS on their website. To make Steam Deck a fixed spec like a console would probably be a mistake. Given the state of many PC ports and the quirks of Steam OS support, it probably wouldn't be that great of an experience for console gamers looking for a consistent experience.
I would assume Valve built the Steam Deck to allow people to access their PC library on the go. It certainly isn't upending console or PC gaming in any meaningful way, so I'm not sure what the purpose of the question is.
crackajack
Member
I am not sure if steam machines, the hw, are worth it. Compatibility got better with the Deck, so Steam OS for PCs should be more interesting than it was back then. I think that is actually the job of the Linux guys themselves though, to finally get their act together and streamline every bit of work that Valve did to form a product that is, like Linux itself, compatible with almost everything. So bascially killing Stteam OS by integrating it into the core of the relevant distributions. But as dumb as they are 100 different new forks will be created and all will have specific pros and cons.
Del_X
Member
They have to be based on something like a dedicated APU. They cannot be a bunch of off-the-shelf parts in a pre-packaged box. There needs to be some kind of cost-benefit ratio that keeps costs low while offering better performance than a similarly priced PC. It can absolutely be done but you're really looking at an $800-1000 box that performs like something approaching $2k. Higher-tier than existing consoles, losing some of the cost-effectiveness, but still punching way above what other consoles do.
I think there's a market for this type of device that plays 99% of your steam library and really makes you reconsider a mid-range PC.
I think there's a market for this type of device that plays 99% of your steam library and really makes you reconsider a mid-range PC.
ResilientBanana
Member
They have big picture mode. Why would they need to do this? It makes your PC you just bought only a game machine and that's not why I or many others have a PC to begin wtih.
justiceiro
Marlboro: Other M
I mentioned because it was the hardware that got the most investment from valve. They made a fricking exclusive half life for it. Also, the technology was novel.
Investing in yet another box under your tv in 2024 is betting on the past.
Prior to steam deck there were portable windows machines like the GPD Win from which people could access their steam library. Valve built the steam deck for the same reasons regardless, it might see the benefit of building a Steam box too. Was just saying that if you can find a reason for the steamdeck to exist the same reasons would be there for steam box. A valve endorsed standardised PC to lower BOM of a prebuilt and make the experience better and cheaper.
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
They'd have a point selling these if they were to get rid of all the little annoyances that come with using Windows. Like for example make the thing turn on with the press of a button on your controller.
ozz ex machina
Member
That's literally the only difference between a pc and a console. Press the power button lol. You can literally press the controller button once its logged in and auto launch big picture. A PC is already as easy as a console for me.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Traditional console design is destined to be a relic of the past.
A Steam Deck where it can broadcast to a TV is the natural way to go. There’s no need for a big plastic box anymore.
A Steam Deck where it can broadcast to a TV is the natural way to go. There’s no need for a big plastic box anymore.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Steam box was unfortunate for steam many don’t know it exists.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Torrent of Pork
Banned
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
Not having to get off the couch to turn on or wake up the machine:Windows sleep mode:
YeulEmeralda
Member
Why would Valve subsidize hardware when they already pretty much own the PC market?
SEGAvangelist
Gold Member
I think a Steam Machine would appeal to a lot of people right now. I would actually consider one.
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
Absolutely. Logical step before Deck 2.
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BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
Really no point. Ship the next steam deck with a more elegant docking solution and a controller from 8bitdo or something.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Thankfully they didn't give up refining the process since SteamOS / Steam Machines first launched, so your statement isn't really true anymore.
SteamOS 3 (aka the one that ships on the Steam Deck) is miles above the old "big picture mode" in terms of form and functionality. The Steam Deck has the console-like ease-of-use combined with the ability to easily tweak performance settings, so I'd argue that it strikes a good balance of having the "good features" of both PC and consoles. With Vulkan updates, the "issues" are few and far between - in fact I've yet to boot up a Steam game on the Deck that was "playable" or better, that didn't just work. The Steam Deck has also benefited greatly from it being a spec target for developers to try and hit, which has been notoriously missing from the PC space forever.
If Valve made a new Steam Machine console with PS5-level specs, I would 100% buy one. Having one massive library of everything that is playable on TV, PC, and handheld - with cloud saves syncing data seamlessly between them - has been my dream for a long time.