SteamBox specifications revealed

[EnaiSiaion]

I think the idea is that a Steambox is a console which runs PC games. You CAN upgrade it, or you can just buy the new edition after a couple of years, which is probably what most people will end up doing.

 

In the long run, PC gaming will inevitably die. As of now, a midrange gaming PC has about the same price tag as a regular PC plus a console, which is why PC gaming is a thing. But fewer people will own regular PCs in a couple of years when tablets start becoming useful productivity tools, at which point buying a whole gaming PC is prohibitively expensive. This console may well ensure the continuation of PC gaming.

[Thor.]

Lol pc will never die, if anything consoles will before pc will in the future, considering they are already glorified pc's anyways now.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Thor.

[bben46]

More info on the Xi3 Piston - It is NOT a steam box at all - That was just media fueled hype. It does NOT run Steam OS, it runs Windows. it is NOT made by Steam, it is NOT even endorsed by Steam. It was shown at the CES show as a 'possible example' of a future steambox and the media took it as THE steam box. - And, it costs US$1000 for an underpowered windows box with specs that could rival a US$600 laptop. It does use a proprietary motherboard - which will make it both more difficult and more expensive to upgrade to something useful.

 

http://kotaku.com/xi3-piston-why-you-should-stay-away-from-the-not-steam-1442597381/@ericlimer

 

Steam has released the specs for their 'steambox'. It will be pretty much ANY fairly standard PC with mid to high specs that can run the Steam version of Linux ( AKA Steam OS) They have even said it will not use any proprietary parts and you will be able to assemble one yourself with off the shelf components - and that the Steam OS will be released FREE to anyone.

[JimboUK]

I think the idea is that a Steambox is a console which runs PC games. You CAN upgrade it, or you can just buy the new edition after a couple of years, which is probably what most people will end up doing.

 

In the long run, PC gaming will inevitably die. As of now, a midrange gaming PC has about the same price tag as a regular PC plus a console, which is why PC gaming is a thing. But fewer people will own regular PCs in a couple of years when tablets start becoming useful productivity tools, at which point buying a whole gaming PC is prohibitively expensive. This console may well ensure the continuation of PC gaming.

 

I don't know where you get this idea that PC gaming will die from, people have been saying that since the original Playstation hit the shelves and yet here we are in 2013 and it's stronger than ever. Tablets are not a replacement for PCs, no one believes that outside of the Apple hivemind.

[Werne]

In the long run, PC gaming will inevitably die.

Heard that a looong time ago, that same thing has been said since Nintendo and SEGA were dominating the console market, yet the PC gaming is going stronger than ever. Consoles are consoles, PCs are PCs, each has it's strenghts and weaknesses. And the rest is still far from being even crap, not to mention being a rival to PC/PS/Xbox.

 

But fewer people will own regular PCs in a couple of years when tablets start becoming useful productivity tools

I can't help but laugh at that. :laugh:

 

Unless tablets grow a keyboard, mouse, an x86-based CPU and a 19" monitor, they will be as productive as a fifth wheel on a wagon. In a world where productive means using specialized hardware and software designed for workstations/HPPCs/desktops, tablets have no future - they are toys, period. I mean yeah, ARMs are cheap and you get some power for the price, but they are still way behind everything except smartphones. A 500$ tabled can't even compare to a 500$ PC, or a 500$ console, not even a 500$ laptop.

 

As for gaming, tablets have nothing to do in the gaming department, they are way, waaay behind.

 

And those couple of years you mentioned seems to me like a couple of decades at least, PC stood 40 years on top despite the consoles and laptops and it still is on top, why would you think a tablet (which is an oversized smartphone, minus the phone function) would be able to rival a PC in any way?

Edited October 9, 2013 by Werne

[bben46]

@Enai.

 

I think the idea is that a Steambox is a console which runs PC games.

The Steam Box is not a console but just another PC. One that can run the as yet not released Steam OS - which is just a variant of Linux just as the Google Chrome OS is. A PC has always had the capability to do far more than play games - and consoles have in the past been limited to just playing games. The original concept of the console was an inexpensive game box for kids to play their games on. And nothing else. Over time, more and more kids have come to need a PC. Many do have a PC for schoolwork and a console for games. But the games are sneaking onto the schoolwork PC. The schoolwork is not (yet) sneaking onto the consoles. ( I do believe that is an option for the consoles to stay relevant) Now, if the family has a budget crunch, and the PC is needed for school - the console will be the looser. :rolleyes:

 

 

In the long run, PC gaming will inevitably die. As of now, a midrange gaming PC has about the same price tag as a regular PC plus a console, which is why PC gaming is a thing. But fewer people will own regular PCs in a couple of years when tablets start becoming useful productivity tools, at which point buying a whole gaming PC is prohibitively expensive.

 

This is a variant of the "There can be only one!" concept - where one format will eventually become the only format - and as you have seen, we still have Windows, Linux and Mac based PCs - as well as consoles that are gradually becoming PCs. Instead of the consoles displacing PCs for gaming, the consoles are becoming PCs by adding PC features such as web browsing and programs that do something other than just play games. And as they add these features, the price will increase to that of a PC. :huh:

 

As for tablets taking over - where have I heard that before. :tongue: Tablets are wonderful gadgets and work very well for some games, and some business applications as well, and not so well for others. Just as a PC will work better for some type games and business uses but not so well for others. And, a tablet is just another kind of PC - one that has supposedly done away with the keyboard/mouse - actually, they all have a keyboard built in for typing - how else would you do word processing or spreadsheets on them? (voice control isn't quite up to speed with these kind of uses yet ) And the mouse function is not being done away with, but being incorporated into touch screen & gestures.

 

 

This console may well ensure the continuation of PC gaming.

 

:thumbsup: This new variant of a PC (not a console) will definitely help the continuation of PC gaming - I see it more as a natural evolution of PC gaming into a newer phase.

[Korodic]

I think it's highly unlikely that Valve would release a box that doesn't work/over heats/explodes. They'll have been testing this stuff for years so if they say it works, it works. Probably going to have to assume some sort of liquid cooling is going on.

 

Got to also remember that Nvidia are massively on board both in the driver department and the hardware department. They've got nothing to lose as it's all AMD in the new console generation. Valve and Nvidia have been working very closely.

 

The whole point of the Valve OS is to take the best parts of Linux's OS, the openness, and patch up the massive short comings of it: the driver support and game support. The number 1 issue isn't going to be the driver support, it's going to be the fact so many games aren't Linux compatible. The Valve assumption will be that if enough people sign up for the Steam Box then developers will want to make their games compatible with the platform. And in the mean-time they're doing this streaming thing, which sounds completely crap.

As a PC gamer I would love to have competition or at least some other choices with my OS.

 

if games came to linux, I might actually make the switch...

[Rennn]

I think the idea is that a Steambox is a console which runs PC games. You CAN upgrade it, or you can just buy the new edition after a couple of years, which is probably what most people will end up doing.

 

In the long run, PC gaming will inevitably die.

 

That's just ridiculous.

 

Console sales are down, even the 360 or PS3 never sold as many units as a PS2 or even a PS1. Current gen consoles sold more in the first 6 months, which is what most studies base their stats on, but consoles have otherwise been steadily dropping in popularity since 2007.

http://tekrevue.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/20130317_videogameconsoles_sales.jpg

 

Meanwhile, PC sales and PC game sales have been rising slowly for the last 2 decades, and sell almost as much as all consoles combined.

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/57523/_1373942503.jpg

Edited October 23, 2013 by Rennn

[JimboUK]

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-machine-prototype-from-ibuypower-for-revealed-runs-at-1080p-and-60fps/1100-6416393/

 

Interesting, AMD CPU and GPU in this thing (R9 270).

[Thor.]

judging by the stance optimized for linux only. i'm guessing with that statement mantle is a no go???