The Steambox is here!

It's funny I have a Gaming PC that is my office PC but I'm at the point where I'm not even sure I want that anymore. If anything I want to downsize. Having 3 or 4 platforms to play games just doesn't make enough sense to me anymore. The problem with the Steam Box\ OS is they will have that uphill climb toward compatibility on Linux. I'm sure with their own custom built OS and hardware to match specs it will work out but it's going to be awhile before the move from Windows takes place.

I might just get a small brix with a SSD to replace my big old desktop so I can at least play my current library and just move on. I'm pretty set on just gaming on PS4\Vita this next gen.

 
Yeah, most likely I'll just go PS4 this gen--maybe keep my 3DS around for the occasional Nintendo game.

Like you, I just can't justify a bunch of platforms anymore with only gaming 5 hours or so a week on average (some weeks a lot more, lots of weeks with no gaming).

 
dmaul1114 said:
Like you, I just can't justify a bunch of platforms anymore with only gaming 5 hours or so a week on average (some weeks a lot more, lots of weeks with no gaming).
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Heh, this is what happens when you get older. All the various demands on your schedule simply leave you with less time. I often find myself with a similar problem. I collect games, so it isn't going to stop me from acquiring more. But I do occasionally look at my library of titles and pine for more time.

When I'm finally able to retire, it's going to be a multi-year long gaming binge.

 
Richard Kain said:
Heh, this is what happens when you get older. All the various demands on your schedule simply leave you with less time. I often find myself with a similar problem. I collect games, so it isn't going to stop me from acquiring more. But I do occasionally look at my library of titles and pine for more time.

When I'm finally able to retire, it's going to be a multi-year long gaming binge.
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For me it's more just my interests have changed. I'm not much busier than I was in college or grad school. But I am more stressed out and tired so when I have down time I'd usually rather do something more passive like watch a movie or TV or sports than something interactive like gaming. Even more so since games can be frustrating and thus not ideal for relaxing. If I'm going to do something more involved, I'd rather do something that blows off steam/stress better for me like running, hiking etc.

So it's not so much that my free time has shrank, as it is my interests and priorities for what I do with it have shifted. I still enjoy games a lot, but in much smaller doses than before. And I prefer relatively easy, story driven games where I can just veg out and get immersed in the world and story for a while and relax without getting frustrated from dying a bunch and doing crap over and over.

 
dmaul1114 said:
Well the main appeal is steam sales. Why pay console prices for multiplatform games that go dirt cheap on Steam? If they put out a Steam console (i..e a small box, no keyboard/mouse, $500 or under) I could probably just live without console exclusives. But I'll never build a gaming PC as that's just too costly and too much hassle to get on the TV since I'd want to use it as my main office/work PC too.

And if it did well, maybe it would hasten console digital markets getting on a Steam pricing model.

If not, no skin off my nose. I'll just continue buying few games near launch, and selling every game after beating it to get game prices down to a level I can live with giving that gaming is down a bit on my hobby list/priorities these days.
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Steam sales are good but like any sale you have to wait years before games are dirt cheap. Honestly its not much different from console games for retail games, if you wait long enough the games will be cheaper. Digital only games are different and I do wish Sony and Microsoft discounted old digital games. I am a PC gamer myself but I still play most of my multiplatform games on console because I don't want to have to wait for a steam sale to buy my games and since steam games have no value after you buy them I tend not to spend anymore then $20 for PC games.

Have you tried renting games through red box or gamefly? Im like you in that I don't collect games so I dont want to spend $60 on a game just to beat it in a couple weeks and have it sit on my shelf or try to find a buyer to help recoup the costs. That's why I started gamefly a few years back and now I just spend ~$200 a year for a gamefly membership and that allows me to play all the games I want, on release date, for the 4 consoles I own(3DS,PS3,PS Vita, 360).

 
Sinfulfate said:
Digital only games are different and I do wish Sony and Microsoft discounted old digital games.
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Yeah, it's digital games I was talking about. I get games mostly for cheap now by not buying many at launch and selling everything I beat. Would be nice to have Steam like sales on digital games on Sony/MS consoles as then I could get games for the same or less as I do now without the hassle of reselling.

Sinfulfate said:
Have you tried renting games through red box or gamefly? Im like you in that I don't collect games so I dont want to spend $60 on a game just to beat it in a couple weeks and have it sit on my shelf or try to find a buyer to help recoup the costs. That's why I started gamefly a few years back and now I just spend ~$200 a year for a gamefly membership and that allows me to play all the games I want, on release date, for the 4 consoles I own(3DS,PS3,PS Vita, 360).
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It doesn't work out for me financially most years. I'm usually getting 5-7 games (10 max), buying cheap and selling after beating so I'm not spending $200 a year on games very often. Gamefly also doesn't work since I usually have one or two periods where I'm just playing one long game like Skyrim or Borderlands for 3-6 months.

Redbox I can see maybe using sometime if I have a free weekend (fiancee out of town and caught up on work and chores etc.) where I could rent a 10 hour or less game and blow through it. But that's pretty rare, and even 8-10 hour games tend to take me 3+ weeks to chip away at making a nightly rental fee impractical.

 
I don't play games on the PC so my Steam knowledge is very limited. So this basically is taking their service and making a console out of it? Essentially you'll be able to play PC games on your TV? If that's the case I'd be all for it since there's a ton of games out there that are PC-exclusive I've always wanted to try.

 
Navex said:
I don't play games on the PC so my Steam knowledge is very limited. So this basically is taking their service and making a console out of it? Essentially you'll be able to play PC games on your TV? If that's the case I'd be all for it since there's a ton of games out there that are PC-exclusive I've always wanted to try.
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Well it's not making a console out of it exactly. They are making an operating system that will be optimized for gaming in the living room with a controller. The actual "console" will be up to various different hardware companies who are working with Valve and can make a variety of different PCs. Many of these PCs will be designed for living room use.

 
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/

Oh snap!

My standard-controller prediction has come to pass. I'm 2 for 3 on accurately predicting these announcements. And what a controller! This is far more than just an attempt to create a Valve-backed dual analog pad. Valve is going all-in on an atypical controller that is designed to be symmetrical and PC-friendly. This is bold, more so than many probably expected.

I am very pleased. They are doing something meaningfully different with their controller standard. This is what needed to happen for them to really push PC gaming into the living room. I'm looking forward to see what can be done with this controller, and to hear impressions from the beta.

 
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Yeah, all I really want is to play some cheap ($5 or less) steam games in my living room on the big screen without having to deal with all the PC tweaking, and setting adjusting. (I grew up having to do that with MS-DOS. I've had enough)

It needs to be totally digital and have a small shelf space too.

 
Yeah... I think I just lost all interest in the Steam Machine idea. The controller looks incredibly silly and I think I would be much better served with either a wireless HDMI or HDMI over Ethernet solution to play my PC games on my TV. I just don't get what they're trying to do.
 
Nohbdy said:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/201195/Select_game_developers_used_the_Steam_Controller_Heres_what_they_said.php
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Interesting and exciting read. All the haptic feedback they're describing might alleviate dmaul's concern above.

I'm more optimistic now. I think the biggest challenge out of the gate will be for developers to map it in the best way possible. It seems like you can do a lot of different things with the trackpads in terms of zoning and haptic feedback... then there's mapping the back buttons (did I read something about paddles?), etc. A lot of options like that would be exciting but challenging.

 
I think the biggest challenge out of the gate will be for developers to map it in the best way possible. It seems like you can do a lot of different things with the trackpads in terms of zoning and haptic feedback...
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http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller

This guy from Team Meat had time with the controller with two of the most demanding platformers out there: Super Meat Boy and Spelunky. The controller managed both games just fine.

did I read something about paddles?
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Yes, those are the buttons on the underside. People are thinking one example of their use it to hold down either one of them or even both to toggle what the pads can do.

 
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Wow... that controller looks like it'll take some getting used to. It looks cool, but not sure how it would feel to use it... especially as someone who's predominantly gamed on consoles using traditional D-Pad/analog stick controllers. 

 
Nohbdy said:
EA and Microsoft must be shitting their pants.
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Uh, corporate America isn't going to suddenly shift OS to w/e Valve cooked up. M$ couldn't care less about this and neither would EA because it's just another platform to milk money out of.

At any rate I'm not of the pool that drinks Valve's koolaid, so to me this is just another DOA console that the world doesn't need. Their target audience of PC gamers are smart enough to know how to hook up an HDMI cable from their PC to the TV if they wanted to play steam games there. Proprietary OS these days just create headaches for developers.

I thought we were over all this nonsense, Gabe.

 
Vinny said:
Wow... that controller looks like it'll take some getting used to. It looks cool, but not sure how it would feel to use it... especially as someone who's predominantly gamed on consoles using traditional D-Pad/analog stick controllers.
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Yeah, I couldn't see myself ever using it. It took me ages to get used to analog stick control (especially dual analog) after growing up with NES and SNES. And I never got into PC gaming much as I couldn't get used to the keyboard part of kb/m controls--I tried back in college before gamepad support was as widespread.

I just don't have the patience for another learning curve with new control types anymore. I still enjoy games with traditional controls, but I won't make the leap to something like that, or motion control/VR stuff. I'm just not into gaming enough anymore to bother doing more than just playing the types of games I've liked for years with traditional controls.

 
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Jodou said:
Their target audience of PC gamers are smart enough to know how to hook up an HDMI cable from their PC to the TV if they wanted to play steam games there.
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I really don't think their target audience is PC gamers who have their TV within range of their PC, although it does seem that the Steam OS could still have some benefits for them.

 
dmaul1114 said:
I just don't have the patience for another learning curve with new control types anymore. I still enjoy games with traditional controls, but I won't make the leap to something like that, or motion control/VR stuff. I'm just not into gaming enough anymore to bother doing more than just playing the types of games I've liked for years with traditional controls.
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I am tempted to mock you for being old and inflexible. But the fact of the matter is that the breadth of human experience has ample room for this manner of attitude. It's not even unusual. A lot of people find the kind of thing they like, and don't want to bother learning new systems. So instead of berating you for being a bit set in your ways, I'll just politely request that you not stand in the way of future developments. The nostalgia and retro markets are booming these days, so someone more comfortable with a D-Pad is going to have plenty of games to occupy themselves with.

As much as gaming has expanded over the years, I think there's room enough for multiple approaches. I personally enjoy learning and experimenting with new control types. I'm looking forward to trying out this strange new controller.

 
Fair points, but this is just a silly hobby we're talking about.  I learn new things--both knowledge, types of statistical analysis, new software packages etc. for work.

But my hobbies are just simply to relax--and gaming is already something I don't enjoy nearly as much as in years past as I've stated a bunch lately.  So I don't have much interest in learning new things since it's just a hobby and pretty much at the bottom of my hobby list.  To many hobbyist live for their hobbies and do little productive with their lives to make the world a better place.  I'm less interested in putting time to learn new things and keep up as hobbies change as I'm at a life point where I'm putting more time and energy into career, family, volunteering etc. than sitting on my ass playing games, watching movies etc.  But I digress....

Anyway, I definitely won't stand in the way of future development--though I'm not sure how one could as it's the mass market that determines the directions industries like gaming take.  I'd just quit gaming for good when it gets to a point that I just don't want to bother anymore.  I'll probably get a PS4 and game through next gen, but even that's not a sure thing as I have so many things I prefer spending my limited free time on these days.

 
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Richard Kain said:
As much as gaming has expanded over the years, I think there's room enough for multiple approaches. I personally enjoy learning and experimenting with new control types. I'm looking forward to trying out this strange new controller.
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I'm definitely looking forward to trying it out, but I don't really think it's that new of a control scheme, it's really just missing the sticks and has way more buttons. :)

 
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