1st countdown came to an end! Valve announced the Steam OS

[TheProfosist]

Valve have clearly stated that this will be an open platform where you can install any program you want, and you can even install another OS or modify the existing OS. i.e. it's still PC. Albeit one that goes through a certification process to ensure it's gaming grade.

 

Remember Valve stand to benefit from spreading PC gaming. For them to benefit they don't need to cut out other digital distribution channels. They make truckloads of money on windows while still co-existing with origin, uplay, D2D and others. They have also spent a lot of time over the last couple of years courting the Linux community. If they suddenly turn around and make this a closed platform, or if they ask that all apps have to go through valve then they will incur the wrath of the linux community, and they will make it more difficult for other publishers and application developers and this whole attempt will be doomed. Also PC gamers like us will turn against them for becoming like Apple and being hypocrites.

 

No they havnt they started " "openness" " yes I needed double double quotes since they used double quotes. They have not yet stated what this mean I have stated what I think this is going to mean (possibly in the other valve thread ive been posting in, its here). Yea they said you could install a different OS because they already sold you hardware and/or someone else did and most likely paid them in some way.  Also who going to buy the hardware and mess with it since it probably wont be anything different from what we currently have. Well it goes through certification to grade it probably as one of 3 grades and mentioned as a possibility across the web. Im not saying their going to cut them out but they will have to go through them no doubt if they allow them. As for co existing on windows that would be because they coupldnt really do anything about that if you think about it since its windows not their own OS. I dont doubt that they will make it go through them in some way and my guess is that it wont be any harder than it is now. I mean its still way easier than publishing your game on console right? I mean I dont think itll be handled any different than the way steam handles things now except itll be bigger with more different types of things and well itll be your whole OS. A great example might be how well would your android app sell if it wasnt in the play store? The same may happen with Steam OS. As for turning against them this may fail to PC gamers but would you just up and drop your entire steam library? And what if they get enough people off consoles to sustain? This is why i think the timing of the announcement is quite good. Even though it wont be here to compete with consoles this christmas, people know its coming. Not everyone is going to switch to the new consoles right away since most of the new titles that will come out upon release will be available on the older platforms as well they have bit of time to catch up.

 

I think I might have explained some of my thoughts pretty thoroughly in the other thread I linked earlier.

[SMURG]

 

I dont think theyre trying to get eveyone to move to Steam OS for PC gaming. i think they are trying to get more people (console gamers) into "PC Gaming" (Steam). Also i have windows in the living room and it seems to be doing fine. I could install somethings to make it easier for others like XMBC or JRiver Media Center and put steam into "Big Picture Mode" but for me and my friends its working great. O I am still using WMC for recoding TV using a cable card because I dont have much of a choice with that.

 

I think Valve is aiming for a Steam Box to replace a console in many peoples homes.

 

I like the streaming for casual games though i think your still going to need at a bare minimum a low end apu since Valve has said nothing about Steam OS being compatible with ARM.

That first part is exactly what I've been saying; SteamOS is not intended as a replacement for Windows, at best it is intended to supplement it with the streaming feature. Again, getting more console gamers interested in PC gaming is definitely one of Valve's motives here, I'm just saying I think they're trying to create a new niche rather than trying to replace something that already exists. Valve cannot hope to replace the current/'next-gen' consoles with SteamOS for the foreseeable future because there just aren't enough games that support it, and they're smart enough to see it. I guess I just see that as a much more long-term goal.

There are ways to use WMC without running Windows as your primary OS, I was just pointing out that Windows is an OS designed for mouse and keyboard which is sub-optimal when you're sat in front of the TV. I really cannot get along with Windows when using any other form of input.

As for the system requirements, we haven't been given anything to go on so I'm still hopeful for my 'SteamPi'. Really it just depends what Linux distribution they've based it on; the GPU in the Raspberry Pi is more than capable of decoding the gameplay stream.

[zombiepixel]

How so? Not having to buy windows?

 

yes hundred dollars less and drivers are going to be reduced hopefully

[Humbug]

Valve cannot hope to replace the current/'next-gen' consoles with SteamOS for the foreseeable future because there just aren't enough games that support it, and they're smart enough to see it. I guess I just see that as a much more long-term goal.

They may be hoping that in 3-4 years time when the consoles will be showing their age, their hardware partners will be able to put together PCs which are a lot more powerful for a modest price. At that point if the game support is reasonable it may be appealing to the console crowd. Their hardware partners may get the edge since they are PCs, while the consoles will be stuck with old hardware.

[TheProfosist]

That first part is exactly what I've been saying; SteamOS is not intended as a replacement for Windows, at best it is intended to supplement it with the streaming feature. Again, getting more console gamers interested in PC gaming is definitely one of Valve's motives here, I'm just saying I think they're trying to create a new niche rather than trying to replace something that already exists. Valve cannot hope to replace the current/'next-gen' consoles with SteamOS for the foreseeable future because there just aren't enough games that support it, and they're smart enough to see it. I guess I just see that as a much more long-term goal.

There are ways to use WMC without running Windows as your primary OS, I was just pointing out that Windows is an OS designed for mouse and keyboard which is sub-optimal when you're sat in front of the TV. I really cannot get along with Windows when using any other form of input.

As for the system requirements, we haven't been given anything to go on so I'm still hopeful for my 'SteamPi'. Really it just depends what Linux distribution they've based it on; the GPU in the Raspberry Pi is more than capable of decoding the gameplay stream.

 

Once they have the games it should be a contender for consoles.

 

There arnt ways to use WMC (Windows Media Center) outside of windows as its kinda a part of it. i mean there is Sage TV and a few other things and there are even the two that I listed that can do the same sort of thing in windows. 

 

I can see what you mean by having to use a keyboard and mouse for windows but there are plenty of programs that can easily be navigated via a remote or game controller, just not windows it self. This is why I have my thinkpad bluetooth keyboard with trackpoint.

 

 

 

yes hundred dollars less and drivers are going to be reduced hopefully

 

hundreds? Win 8 Pro is like $150 normally and I got mine for $40 when Windows 8 came out. There are also bunches of ways to get it cheaper if your involved in education on either side. 

 

there probably wont be drivers... my guess is that SteamOS will just handle that with some sort of update service

 

The thing is is that unless all i did was game all the time I see it as a waste of the hardware's potential. This especially if you were to build or buy a rather powerful one as there is so much more that you could be doing on it. Now if your replacing your console and buy one thats at or below that price and it because your entertainment hub as well as your gaming system i see that as a great fit. Hell if I didnt already have a HTPC that does everything and more i would probably consider it.

[SMURG]

Once they have the games it should be a contender for consoles.

 

There arnt ways to use WMC (Windows Media Center) outside of windows as its kinda a part of it. i mean there is Sage TV and a few other things and there are even the two that I listed that can do the same sort of thing in windows. 

 

I can see what you mean by having to use a keyboard and mouse for windows but there are plenty of programs that can easily be navigated via a remote or game controller, just not windows it self. This is why I have my thinkpad bluetooth keyboard with trackpoint.

 

I didn't say you could run WMC without Windows, I said you could run it without Windows being your primary OS. What I was referring to was for example running Windows in a VM, so you could have WMC recording your TV shows in the background whilst you had something with a better UI as the primary OS.

Agreed that the issue of games not withstanding, Steambox is a viable alternative to console for at least a lot of gamers. The main problem I foresee is that traditional consoles are still going to been seen as more straightforward and easy to use, so I don't think we'll be rid of them that easily.

[TheProfosist]

I didn't say you could run WMC without Windows, I said you could run it without Windows being your primary OS. What I was referring to was for example running Windows in a VM, so you could have WMC recording your TV shows in the background whilst you had something with a better UI as the primary OS.

Agreed that the issue of games not withstanding, Steambox is a viable alternative to console for at least a lot of gamers. The main problem I foresee is that traditional consoles are still going to been seen as more straightforward and easy to use, so I don't think we'll be rid of them that easily.

 

I dont know if it would work properly in a VM just do to the hardware like a cable card tuner. Also isnt there stuff like DiretX/Direct3D that cant be used properly in a VM I may be wrong.

 

I think if they do it how I predicted itll just be a hardware customizable console essentially if you buy a prebuilt one. Hopefully it should eventually have a bigger better cheaper list of games too.