The Furious Angels
Staff and News => News and Announcements => Topic started by: likwidtek on September 23, 2013, 12:35:49 pm
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So it started here:
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/)
Announcement 1: STEAM OS: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/)
YUSSSSS
Announcement 2: STEAM MACHINES: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/)
Nice! A valve prototype and sounds like some OEMs are on board to build theirs too!
Announcement 3: STEAM CONTROLLER
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/)
Steam controller with two trackpads, a touch screen, and haptic feedback.
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I wish they'd stop working on shit like this, and get back to working on shit that matters... Like games people like to play.
Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3, Portal 3...
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I'm totally okay with this development. I suspect the 2nd or 3rd circle will be a hardware announcement.
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STEAM MACHINES: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/)
Nice! A valve prototype and sounds like some OEMs are on board to build theirs too!
So pumped.
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The final announcement was a Wii U-like controller with two trackpads, a touch screen, and haptic feedback.
What You Need to Know
Valve is entering the console war. It's a console. It has an exclusive operating system (SteamOS on Linux), but unlike other consoles, it can be modified and hacked. That being said, the SteamMachines are meant to just power games and have a basic web browser currently, which is actually LESS functionality than modern consoles. They built a new controller designed to be backwards compatible with games that previous only used keyboard/mouse.
The Goal
The goal is to compete in the console market. I believe their unique angle is the appeal of COMBINING the PC gaming world and the console gaming world into just one market. You can still play games on the PC through Steam or you can play it on your Steam Machine on the TV, but there will no longer be a wall between "console gamers" and "PC gamers". I can play TF2 on my PC with you playing it on your TV.
Where Will It Go?
It's too early to tell, but the trend of computers is small, lightweight, portable tablets. I can see it coming down to either buying a $2000 gaming rig or buying a $400 Steam Machine, $150 controller, and $500 tablet. PC gamers might be tempted to get on board if the price point is right. The Steam Machines are supposed to be upgradeable and hackable, so it would be cheaper to keep upgrading the Steam box than to keep buying new consoles or keep upgrading the PC.
That being said, if you currently have a gaming PC, it's probably cheaper to just upgrade your existing rig. If you also already have an Xbox and/or PS4, you may not be looking to add ANOTHER console into the mix.
Any way you look at it, this has the potential to shake up both the console and the PC market, and in the end I'm not sure if it will be for the better or for the worse. My concern is that game design for mouse and keyboard will fade out completely (though with the Oculus Rift, that was looking to happen anyway). As long as SteamOS remains open, then we won't lose the modding/independent game community, but if Steam closes those walls like Apple, it could seriously hurt the true "PC gaming" momentum, since if Steam closes its walls it is essentially just another console.
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I'm sort of scratching my head at the new controller: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/ (http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/)
I dunno.
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The idea of making single-digit controls anywhere near as accurate as a mouse seemed laughable to me at first, but now for some reason I really, really want to get my hands on one of those bad boys.
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http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller (http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller)