Halo Studios too.
I did not know that, we will see. If they can do it, priced at the console prices and a similar performance profile, then I will be listening for sure.
They are getting the same 30% cut that the console manufacturers are, Steam got the benefits of a closed ecosystem in the open because their fanbase is crazy haha.
Anyway, I donât know how successful these devices will be. Itâll be an interesting competition though.
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Yeah they know that even if they donât close down their OS completely majority of people will mostly just use Steam anyway. But they also donât have the cash cow of paying for online which without it MS and Sony probably wouldnât bother subsidizing the consoles, or maybe they just have too much money and freedom to do what they want being private lol
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Your own point is slightly self-contradictory, no? If there were as many people âjumping shipâ as you imply, the Deck would be selling multitudes more than they actually are. As someone whoâs worked in the retail space, albeit years ago, most gamers want things simple and nothing is simpler than the console model - Valveâs own limitations in their own OS and the massive gaps in Steam offerings alone, eliminate that from the mix. Iâm sure it will be the most successful of the non-big three players, but thatâs an already incredibly low bar.
Do I think we see a massive influx of gamers jumping ship to SteamOS consoles, especially if itâs as fragmented as the original Steam Machines from a decade ago (yeah, remember those things that never took off⌠SteamOS and its promises arenât new)? Absolutely not, and I havenât been wrong in judging the market landscape in years.
Also, itâs funny how people have been ignoring the fact that none of your existing games will work in the new ecosystem. Consoles are simplicity and with BC being a standard now, good luck convincing someone that theyâll have to buy all their games again⌠I swear, I donât know if everyone talking like this doesnât have to worry about money, but the vast majority of people do.
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Donât think the Deck is really a good comparison, what handheld would they be jumping from? The Switch?
Also donât think Steam Machines from the past are a good comparison. Just consider how different the software selection was for PC back then to now. You still had PC games and console games, now almost every console game is on PC. Additionally Proton didnât exist so it had an even more limited software library. The PC nowadays is much more of a console replacement than itâs ever been.
It is one of the few advantages that Microsoft will have over Valve in the PC/console hybrid market. That and better game compatibility.
Iâm not saying that SteamOS is the answer, but many of the posts against it can be levied against any PC/console hybrid like⌠the next rumored Xbox.
I think thatâs the key issue. To sell a steam box to the general public it will need to be plug in and play and not much tinkering. Iâve also worked in the retail space years ago. I think many have to remember the average consumer even if theyâre gen z are still somewhat beginner level when it comes to tech. I remember when I was in school a couple of years ago many didnât know how to do simple PC tasks that millennials will know how to do and simple stuff like setting up a virutal machine or dual booting was difficult for them. So, we always have to remember the average gamer might now want to tinker with graphic setting, drivers, and other things.
Also, a key thing about a steam box they wonât have access to some of the very popular games people might want a PC for. Not having an easy way to boot up Fortnite, ea games, riot, and others is going to hurt them. Donât get me wrong steam and itâs OS are solid, but itâs still behind on certain things to make it console like experience. I might be wrong, but I donât think the average consumer wants to tinker if they want a console like experience. I remember when jailbreaking phones was a thing, and many didnât want to bother because they hate tinkering. I can see steam boxes running into the same issue
Except in this case it isnât. If you donât already own a bunch of steam games or dont own any games at all what is the appeal of a console like box that plays a fraction of the games available on it? The majority of Xbox game purchases are digital, and PS is shifting that way quickly. Who is throwing away their existing library of digital content to switch to a niche console like box running linux and, again, a percentage of the available library?
I would argue the abject counter to your position, I think people greatly overestimate Valveâs reach from a hardware standpoint. Steam got where it is by using an open platform to do it. It has the same inherent flaws as the original steam box concept. If it costs much more than a price of a console, and doesnt have the ease of use, its going to be a hard sell for anyone but the most ardent tech dweebs. Because the reality is if its just a PC in a small boxâŚyou can still justâŚbuy a PC.
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No? The pitch for that will probably not be for PC gamers or the intent of the PC experience, but for Xbox and console gamers. An Xbox console experience that just works, with an optional PC-lite experience whatever form it takes. Thatâs the current thinking and rumors at least.
Steam Machines of old were made with discrete CPU/GPU/etc. A Steam Machine in 2025 can be built off of an AMD APU similar to that in a console (like the AMD Strix Halo).
Ease of use isnât far off from console outside of needing to play with settings in games. If it has pre-defined power levels (and devices labeled âPowered by SteamOSâ are supposed to have been built in collaboration with Valve ) there are likely ways they could pre-define settings to remove the necessity of users having to do so. I think that if this is a product that they truly want to exist they will continue to work on ease of use.
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From the 44th minute.
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I think most gamers are just going to stick with what they know. Playstation fans will continue to buy Playstations and the same largely goes with the Xbox crowd. Some poeple might jump over, but I think gamers are much more likely to switch over to PC rather than a Steam OS box which is far more limited and will likely cost almost as much.
I guess itâll come down to cost and whether they can market it properly. Regardless, I donât see Millions of people jumping over to an unknown like that.
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Except those things are what steam users want (tinkering, etc) That is why the steam deck is as popular as it is. And again, you would be making âprofilesâ for whatever games actually run on it, which is already a crapshoot.
Im not arguing the thing wont have a place in the world, just that place will be similar to the steam deck. A cool novelty for steam fans, but generally irrelevant to a wider audience.
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Iâd be interested in seeing the usage statistics for Big Picture Mode and how they have trended over time. Canât find anything though lol.
I personally think you guys are underestimating the number of people who are open to a controller first/big screen PC experience, but I am one of those people so shrug
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Spot on. Thereâs a reason Phil Spencer talked about Xbox having âlost the worst generationâ when referring to the Xbox One. That being the generation when people started building their digital libraries in earnest.
It should be obvious for anyone paying attention that that is why Xbox is moving in the direction they are moving right now. Where they want everything to be an Xbox. Itâs a lot easier to sell someone on an app that works on a device they already own, than it is to convince them to ditch their existing ecosystem.
That simple fact, and the fact that streaming is so very obviously the future of the entire industry and not just Xbox, makes me really wonder about the wisdom of Valve dipping their toes in at this point.
If their end goal is to sell these boxes to the same folks who bought Steam Decks, then sure. Fair play. But if their end goal is to get console people to leave their current eco system, then⌠well, good luck, I guess.
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so he didnt say it.
Pretty much this. People who are invested into PlayStation or Xbox digitally arenât going anywhere for their primary gaming needs while the other or a Switch 2 will be their secondary device.
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I think there is a few counterpoints to the idea of built digital libraries built during the PS4/One era:
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These libraries are great to revisit old titles, but people do move on to newer libraries. I know someone who had a One and moved to the PS5. They still play their One library on the One. Theyâve built a new library on the PS5. The idea of a multi-generational multi-console gamer is not unheard of.
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Game Pass and PS Plus Premium allow people to build a âlibraryâ of accessable (not owned) titles pretty quickly.
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Older third party titles are pretty cheap so double dipping on their favourite games on their newer platform isnât a big deal for some.
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Thereâs a good number of gamers out there that do not have expansive libraries. There are many that play free to play titles like Rocket League, Fortnite, Warzone, Apex, Overwatch, etc. with many features being cross platform, from friends lists to purchased cosmetics, it really doesnât matter what platform they buy next as they move from generation to generation for these titles. The few games they have in their previous consoleâs library is likely not difficult to replicate on the new platform (again with subscription services and the reduced price of older titles).
I donât mean to say all of this as a counterpoint to what Phil said about the last generation being the worst one to lose, as I acknowledge the uphill battle. But I say this as a counterpoint to any defeatist attitude that would say itâs not worth fighting for console sales. Yes I know the industry has changed and console sales matter less but I think we can all agree that robust and healthy console sales are an undeniable positive for the Xbox business and helps ensure a better future for console gamers across the industry.
Maybe itâs too late at this point, but we have seen âsecond windsâ in previous console generations. The 3DS looked like a complete flop at one point. The PS3 turned things around through multiple efforts that improved the console in numerous areas, including 1st party exclusives. The 360 got a second wind through the Kinect which became the best selling peripheral in gaming history. The Switch plateaued in 2020, 3 years after its release, being tied with the Xbox One and then skyrocketed in the fall of 2020 and sold at an incredible pace since then.
At the beginning of this year, I thought that Xbox was going to get that second wind with all of the exclusives lining up for release. But with plans changing and opting for immediate profitability, itâs not in the cards.
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He actually did.