Valve unveal console hardware at CES

[localzuk]

I don't think it will really help Linux though, it will help the appliance - where Linux is strong already - and give the dwindling population of gamers another option. Linux is a base not a destination, cheap routers and phones use it by the tens of thousands but not because it is Linux, because it is a cheap framework to build upon for an actual UI and experience. Linux I still like assembly for usability in comparison to the other options.

 

It will help Linux though - as it means games will exist for Linux, and it means people can just go and get Ubuntu or Mint and bam, they have their games still. The fact the console runs on it doesn't really matter as a device, but the knock on effect is important.

[SYNACK]

It will help Linux though - as it means games will exist for Linux, and it means people can just go and get Ubuntu or Mint and bam, they have their games still. The fact the console runs on it doesn't really matter as a device, but the knock on effect is important.

 

It all depends on how 'open' they are with their code, sure it is a bigger market but a more locked in market may be more profitable. All is needs is one or two components like the horrific pulseaudio (strangly presient given it performance) or a gpu driver to break stuff.. Console exclusive etc. This is not about freedom, it is about profit. If Valve/Steam see greater value in locking people in the benefit will be at best partial. 80% of the way there is still great progress but it is still 20% short if it requires ConsoleX11 TM to work. You are still shut out, just less so.

 

You have to expect their console platform to be preferred and have some advantages, they are still a company after all. It may well be hacked, that is probably their plan as they can easily wait for the last 20% of the code to be delivered to them with a bow on.

 

OSS is not the way companies work in general, PROFIT++ is the language they program in, unless it is a dropkick into the black figures of profit it is unlikely they will bother. Already they have probably harvested several hundred thousand dollars of dev time off the community to make a console easier. It is down to their accountants if they pay that back with support or more barely veiled tasks for the developers to do in order to join the party they helped organise.

[localzuk]

They've already stated the platform will be fairly open, in that they'll be pushing their console device, but will also be making it available as a download for people to put on their own custom rigs (like it is now in the beta).

 

You're assuming they are hoping their console is the only way they will be aiming to make money. Their past performance has come purely from desktop and laptop gamers, so ignoring them would be downright idiotic. They are still yet to support Windows 8, and from their murmurings it looks like they won't be supporting it any time soon.

 

Valve have had a fair amount of support from the community for their idea, but they've also been giving back too - working with Intel, AMD and Nvidia to improve their drivers for example. The game seems to be that if everyone currently works together, they can all get a profit from it, whilst providing a better environment to the consumer.

 

So, yes, it is all about profit, but I fear you've been a little bit hit by the 'everything must be closed' attitude of other players. Valve have indicated that they're more keen on a more open ecosystem.

[SYNACK]

They've already stated the platform will be fairly open, in that they'll be pushing their console device, but will also be making it available as a download for people to put on their own custom rigs (like it is now in the beta).

 

You're assuming they are hoping their console is the only way they will be aiming to make money. Their past performance has come purely from desktop and laptop gamers, so ignoring them would be downright idiotic. They are still yet to support Windows 8, and from their murmurings it looks like they won't be supporting it any time soon.

 

Valve have had a fair amount of support from the community for their idea, but they've also been giving back too - working with Intel, AMD and Nvidia to improve their drivers for example. The game seems to be that if everyone currently works together, they can all get a profit from it, whilst providing a better environment to the consumer.

 

So, yes, it is all about profit, but I fear you've been a little bit hit by the 'everything must be closed' attitude of other players. Valve have indicated that they're more keen on a more open ecosystem.

 

Their actions hint differently, there is nothing stopping them from releasing steam to desktop mode on W8, it is the lack of 'control' that they are wining about with regard to metro/RT. This open thing is all well and good but their reason for it is bogus. It will probably work out well for Linux in the short term but their actions betray their asperations.

[Arthur]

I don't think this is *the* Steam box though - *a* Steam box, perhaps, but not the only one.

You're right actually. The Xi3 box is just one of many. Valve will be making their own console too.

 

Newell also tipped Valve's hand on target pricing for Steam Boxes built by partners, saying that the company sees three tiers of hardware specifications: "Good, Better," and "Best." He says the goal for a "Good" platform is a free device, but that one would probably start around $99 and eventually come down. Newell says a midrange device should cost around $300, and that the top-tier is only limited by how much someone is willing to spend. (Source)

 

The Steam Box will also be a server. Any PC can serve multiple monitors, so over time, the next-generation (post-Kepler) you can have one GPU that’s serving up eight simultaeneous game calls. So you could have one PC and eight televisions and eight controllers and everybody getting great performance out of it. We’re used to having one monitor, or two monitors — now we’re saying let's expand that a little bit.

 

We've heard lots of rumors about the Steam Box, including that Valve's own hardware would be "tightly controlled." Can you tell us more about Valve's own hardware effort?

The way we sort of think of it is sort of "Good, Better," or "Best." So, Good are like these very low-cost streaming solutions that you’re going to see that are using Miracast or Grid. I think we’re talking about in-home solutions where you’ve got low latency. "Better" is to have a dedicated CPU and GPU and that’s the one that’s going to be controlled. Not because our goal is to control it; it’s been surprisingly difficult when we say to people "don’t put an optical media drive in there" and they put an optical media drive in there and you’re like "that makes it hotter, that makes it more expensive, and it makes the box bigger." Go ahead. You can always sell the Best box, and those are just whatever those guys want to manufacture. [Valve's position is]: let's build a thing that’s quiet and focuses on high performance and quiet and appropriate form factors.

 

So are most of these going to be Linux-based Steam Boxes?

We’ll come out with our own and we’ll sell it to consumers by ourselves. That’ll be a Linux box, and if you want to install Windows you can. We’re not going to make it hard. This is not some locked box by any stretch of the imagination. We also think that a controller that has higher precision and lower latency is another interesting thing to have.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Arthur