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When Xbox goes third party., do you think Valve would make for an even better third company to fill in the void?

Would Valve be a superior replacement to Xbox in the console space?


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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Xbox is shit right now. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, everyone can see that. Games are lacking, console doesn't perform as well as PS5 in sales and game performance, Japanese pubs are skipping it left and right to cater for the fucking STEAM DECK of all things. Even the man behind the show is losing faith.
At this rate and under Phil's leadership i don't see it staying in this space much longer. 5 years of failure was enough to kill Sega, MS is well overdue to GTFO at this point. Any hope of them steering this ship around with Phil's oversight is well and truly done, and with how service obsessed MS's leadership are, whoever they bring up next will likely not be much better.

But when they leave, that leaves a massive hole in the market and enables Sony and Nintendo to essentially go wild in console dominance. No competition means more anticonsumer practices, 80/90/100 dollar games, more censorship and store regulation, the works. It's gonna suck big time for most people especially since there would literally be nowhere else to go, unless you have a grand laying around for a gaming PC.

Why not bring Valve onboard to carry the torch?

Their hardware has been proven to be good, with both the Steam Deck and Valve Index being top of the line in their respective categories. Only after 4 years of dominance would the index be dethroned by the PSVR2 as the best VR headset, and the Steam Deck is still the leader of the handheld PC space, with the ROG Ally having problems of its own that make it a tough sell despite the additional power and more compatible OS.

Their services and software are top notch. Most of their games are industry defining masterpieces that pushed gaming forward, and even if they don't release games much now, they're guaranteed to be a banger when they do, which is more than can be said for MS and Xbox. Half Life Alyx is still the best VR game 4 years later, and with a more consistent release schedule brought up by the pressure of having a console platform, they'd be well and truly suited to be a dominator in the industry- an evergreen publisher like NIntendo and Sony are. Speaking of, Valve also has their own VR headset and are planning to release another one in late 2023. It could provide competition for PSVR2 that'd put sony on their toes and make them want to go and support the platform better.

The software for the Steam Deck too, is well developed and extremely well optimized. The ability to choose your own custom control scheme, change the Hz the screen runs at, battery life, ETC. Steam OS in its current form is already better functionally than all the console UIs and with more customization and control over it it'd put even Windows to shame.
They could easily revive Steam Machines as a concept with all the development and maturity SteamOS and Linux has gotten, and they'd make it a runaway success. The library of Steam at a console gamer's fingertips, mod capability thanks to being a PC in console clothing, frequent sales and cheaper games, and Valve's own exclusive games as a cherry on top of the sundae. This is poised to sell better than any Xbox.

Finally, Valve listens to their fans more, and is far more in touch with their community. Their CEO is open like Phil, but unlike Phil he delivers and actively takes feedback. Gabe himself personally delivered the first batch of Steam Decks to people's homes. He's far better suited as a CEO and games manager than Phil will ever be.

Do you think it's a good idea or are we fine with the current system as is?
 
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kraspkibble

Permabanned.
God help us if Microsoft leaves. Valve would be in a strong position but if not then hopefully Apple or Amazon.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
A Steam "console" is quite doable at this point and yea I could see Valve trying it. After all, they started work on this to make sure they were not totally dependent on Microsoft and Windows. It's going to be a niche device though, highly doubtful they will ever be in a place where they are selling tens of millions of consoles.
 

feynoob

Banned
If MS goes 3rd party, gaming would be shit until a 3rd company joins the race.
Valve isn't that person as they have PC world.
 
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