OMFG. OMFG. Valve to announce Steambox - steam console

[TheSonicRetard]

This is the best news fucking EVER

According to sources, the company has been working on a hardware spec and associated software which would make up the backbone of a "Steam Box." The actual devices may be made by a variety of partners, and the software would be readily available to any company that wants to get in the game.

Apparently meetings were held during CES to demo a hand-built version of the device to potential partners. We're told that the basic specs of the Steam Box include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GPU. The devices will be able to run any standard PC titles, and will also allow for rival gaming services (like EA's Origin) to be loaded up.

Part of the goal of establishing a baseline for hardware, we're told, is that it will give developers a clear lifecycle for their products, with changes possibly coming every three to four years. Additionally, there won't be a required devkit, and there will be no licensing fees to create software for the platform.

We're hearing that a wide variety of USB peripherals will be compatible with the boxes, though it will likely ship with a proprietary controller. It's possible that the controller will even allow for swappable components, meaning that it can be reconfigured depending on the type of game you're playing.

The Steam Box could be unveiled at GDC, though we're also hearing that the company may wait until E3 this year to show off what it's been working on.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/2/284...gaming-console

This is the greatest thing ever. It's basically the same concept of the 3DO - a console "spec" that can be built by any manufacturer -- or built at home by an individual. Only, unlike the 3DO, it's being built ontop of an already massively successful service, and, best of fucking all - NO LICENSING FEES TO DEVELOP FOR IT. That is unbelievable, this will wind up being the first, mainstream open-source console.

I am so fucking pumped.

[jerry coeurl]

Nice.

[eddiespruce]

I don't think this will do very well. It's a sad truth, but most people that game on PC's, want to stay on their PC's.

[DarkDragon]

I don't think this will do very well. It's a sad truth, but most people that game on PC's, want to stay on their PC's.

Not sad to me. Thats how it should be.

[TheSonicRetard]

I don't think this will do very well. It's a sad truth, but most people that game on PC's, want to stay on their PC's.

And your source on this is...?

People game on their TVs. The market is so big that Valve announced Big Picture mode specifically for hooking your PC up to your TV a while back.

This very post is being typed with my PC on my TV.

[TheSonicRetard]

Not sad to me. Thats how it should be.

I get the feeling that you guys don't understand what steambox would be. It's not Valve releasing a specialized, proprietary PC - they're not aiming to be a hardware manufacturer. Nor would you necessarily have to buy anything else.

Essentially, it's a revisiting of the 3DO concept, something I've always championed. The 3DO wasn't a traditional console in the literal sense, it was a spec. The idea behind the 3DO is that a bunch of game makers and hardware manufacturers would get together and create a standard for gaming, something which people could build to. That's what steambox would be.

It's valve, arguably the biggest force in pc gaming, getting together with a bunch of partners and saying, "ok, once and for all, let's define what the baseline specs for "pc gaming" will be." Then, presumably, after that, game makers would target that spec for baseline gaming. The idea isn't that valve creates the hardware - it leaves that up to alienware, dell, HP, even you yourself. If you have a steambox spec CPU, a steambox spec GPU, and steambox spec ram, then you can put it all together and download the steambox frontend (I would assume big picture mode), buy a steambox controller, and hook that bitch up to your TV, and play any game written for that standard.

The big difference between Steambox and 3DO, however, would be that Valve isn't interested in owning and licensing the specs. The 3DO failed because the 3DO company was out to make money on the standard, which greatly inflated the price of the console. By contrast, Valve's method would make the cost of PC gaming go way, way down as more and more manufacturers start releasing steambox spec gaming machines, without having to license anything.

This is something which has needed to happen to PC gaming for a long time. We live in a world today where every single game has different minimum requirements. This aims to create a world where all games have the exact same minimum requirements, where, at a bare minimum, if you buy 1 type of hardware, the games will run the same for every single user. This doesn't necessarily exclude the option of buying better CPUs, better GPUs, more RAM, etc for better performance. It's just a way for developers to know exactly what to target to allow their game to run by anybody who games on a PC.

That's why this is huge. I hope to god it is. This would be a PC gaming revolution.

[DarkDragon]

I guess that I forgot the 3DO wasnt a traditional console. I didnt pay much attention to it to know what it was. All games having the same requirements does sound like a great idea.

[eddiespruce]

And your source on this is...?

People game on their TVs. The market is so big that Valve announced Big Picture mode specifically for hooking your PC up to your TV a while back.

This very post is being typed with my PC on my TV.

Yeah, but you're not everybody.

[TheSonicRetard]

I guess that I forgot the 3DO wasnt a traditional console. I didnt pay much attention to it to know what it was.

That's why 3DO didn't make the 3DO itself. You have the Panasonic 3DO, the Goldstar 3DO, the Soundblaster 3DO, the Sanyo 3DO, and, although it never materialized, the Mitsubishi 3DO. They all played the same games, they were all 3DOs, but they were all made by different companies.

that's how the steambox would work.

[TheSonicRetard]

Yeah, but you're not everybody.

The market is so big

And considering how out of touch with ANYTHING modern you are, who are you to talk about current gaming trends?

[DarkDragon]

And considering how out of touch with ANYTHING modern you are, who are you to talk about current gaming trends?

Sorry Eddie but...

[eddiespruce]

And considering how out of touch with ANYTHING modern you are, who are you to talk about current gaming trends?

I know many PC gamers, and they live in front of their PC monitors. And what about the younger demographic? They wouldn't be able to spend the amount of time on their TV's that they spend of their PC, because their parents are going to be watching the TV sometimes, so they won't want their children spending 10 hours a day in the living room on their 52" TV.

[TheSonicRetard]

I know many PC gamers, and they live in front of their PC monitors. And what about the younger demographic? They wouldn't be able to spend the amount of time on their TV's that they spend of their PC, because their parents are going to be watching the TV sometimes, so they won't want their children spending 10 hours a day in the living room on their 52" TV.

I AM a PC gamer, and I belong to many PC gaming websites. I don't care what your group of friends thinks, tons, and tons of people hook their PCs up to their TVs. Go to any college dorm room in the nation and you'll see this.

And, by your non-logic, console gaming would fail because no parent would buy their kids a box to game on their tv with. Oops.

[DarkDragon]

Ok there's clearly a market for this but when you say "gaming revolution" are you saying it will be bigger than XBox 360. PS3, Wii, etc ?

[eddiespruce]

I AM a PC gamer, and I belong to many PC gaming websites. I don't care what your group of friends thinks, tons, and tons of people hook their PCs up to their TVs. Go to any college dorm room in the nation and you'll see this.

And, by your non-logic, console gaming would fail because no parent would buy their kids a box to game on their tv with. Oops.

You don't live in the same nation as me. Here's the thing, You seem to think that everything you say must be true, but it's not. PC gamers spend on average, more hours a day than a person playing a Mario game on their Wii.