Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
80% of the disagreements in here is because no one can agree on standard definitions of terms lol.
What category should Steam Machine be classed under?
- Thread starter RetroGamingUK
- Start date
March Climber
Member
I already called it in my spoiler, but to put it to an analogy, if anyone watches wrestling this is how it feels...
Let's say there's a triple threat elimination match for a championship title. Then during the match, a fourth wrestler enters the ring and then the announcer is told to officially say it's now a fatal four way elimination for the title. The fourth wrestler doesn't really participate, but they simply kind of stand around within the ring.
Everyone who watches or has watched wrestling before knows that if the other three opponents ring out, count out, or are KO'ed somehow, that fourth guy wins the match and the title.
Now imagine that a large group of people, who like the fourth guy, keep trying to tell the rest of the wrestling crowd that he isn't trying to compete and that the other wrestlers shouldn't bother taking him seriously. Now on a technicality, they could maybe be seen as right, since he isn't directly participating.
However, the huge problem here is that he is in the ring, he is part of the match, and he has the potential to win. That means he is a competitor for the championship belt.
That's why I find this song and dance of "well it's just a PC" odd and funny. Steam is the wrestler pretending to be invisible in the ring yet is fully capable of winning everything in due time.
Sinfulgore
Member
It's a PC that runs Linux, so it should be categorized as what it is, a PC.
pudel
Gold Member
So the moment Valve offers many different of these little pc's in many different configurations....only THAN its a pc! And if they only offer one config...than its a console. Got it!
laptop or mini-pc!!! Try again.
VitoNotVito
Member
It's a PC. Just like any other small form factor desktop computer out there.
Parazels
Member
In theory you can try launching some game on your glitchy mini-pc just out of curiosity. But that still won't make it a game console.So the moment Valve offers many different of these little pc's in many different configurations....only THAN its a pc! And if they only offer one config...than its a console. Got it!
laptop or mini-pc!!! Try again.
The Steam console is designed for gaming by default. That's the difference!
pudel
Gold Member
Yep, but only reason for this is the "console-like" SteamOS which will be on it. And you can slap SteamOS on any pc you want. This doesnt make anything a console.
Parazels
Member
Your can slap big wheels on your roadster but that won't turn it into a 4x4 off-roader.
The Steam console is a branded product designed with gaming in mind from the start. If you asked a Valve engineer: "Hey, are you developing a Photoshop-and-Excel machine?", he wouldn't even understand the question! Because he was building a gaming console first and foremost.
pudel
Gold Member
If I slap SteamOS on my desktop pc...I have an absolute power monster "console" which is doing the exact same thing as this little steambox...just way more better.
Parazels
Member
That's yet another sign we are talking about a console. You don't need to "slap" anything onto your Steam Machine, because everything works perfectly, right out of the box.If I slap SteamOS on my desktop pc...I have an absolute power monster "console" which is doing the exact same thing as this little steambox...just way more better.
Little Mac
Member
Don't care ... buying one ...
pudel
Gold Member
But if I put SteamOS on my desktop pc....it works perfectly, right out of the box as well. It still doesnt make my desktop pc a console.
And yes...you dont need to slap anything onto yr steammachine...BUT YOU CAN! Thats the difference to a console which is usually locked down to just one OS with very limited access and also usually not transferable to any other device....because Sony wants to sell their very own console, right? Valve is just giving out this little box as an "beginner friendly" entry pc...but you can build yr own beefy steambox (because its just a pc) easily and put SteamOS on it and you have the absolut exact experience (just with more fps
).
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Parazels
Member
By your, guys, logic, the Steam Console is designed for anything but gaming! In reality nobody is going to "customize" it except a few geeks. People just want a convenient plug and play device, that's it!
pudel
Gold Member
No, because its exactly this. A mini pc with a linux OS installed on it. It seems just very hard for some people to grasp this fact.
Guilty_AI
Member
winjer
Member
Imagine a company that only works on PC.
Makes a small form factor PC. With PC hardware. With an OS for PC.
Using PC game versions. Using a PC only Launcher (steam)
Says on their on literature, that this is a PC.
Yet some people still think this is a console?
Seriously, WTF is wrong with you?
Makes a small form factor PC. With PC hardware. With an OS for PC.
Using PC game versions. Using a PC only Launcher (steam)
Says on their on literature, that this is a PC.
Yet some people still think this is a console?
Seriously, WTF is wrong with you?
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Guilty_AI
Member
Sooo, a gaming laptop is also a "console"?
DeltaPolarBear
Member
Some of us like having a low hassle prebuild that works out of the box and has matching VR hardware and isn't ripping us off. The fact that it doesn't have Windows is just a bonus.
Parazels
Member
A laptop is a portable personal computer with an integrated screen, keyboard, and pointing device, designed to be used in various locations.
pudel
Gold Member
And thats what you get when you install SteamOS on any pc and plug it into yr TV. You dont need this little box for it. (because its not a console...its a little pc)
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
If I buy a desktop from Dell, I also don't need to "slap" anything onto it because everything works perfectly, right out the box.
Valve have called this a PC because it can do anything a standard PC can do. It's just geared more towards games.
I can't believe there is still confusion over this.
Guilty_AI
Member
But its a gaming laptop, built for gaming, advertised for gaming, everything working out of the box, and bought with the explicit purpose of being used to game....
Parazels
Member
Yes, everything related to its desktop nature will work.
DeltaPolarBear
Member
So is Alienware. Except you overpay for Alienware.
This is a gaming PC with Steam branding. Just the same as you might buy a Dell or Asus.
This isn't that hard to understand, for a long time Prebuilds have existed for people who don't want to assumable their own.
But this time, it is built by a PC game store. I trust Steam over Alienware. So i will put my money on a trusted brand. That is all there is to it.
TrebleShot
Member
Valve told you it was a mini PC for gaming.
Maybe start there.
Maybe start there.
Parazels
Member
Napoleon Bonaparte:
"It was by making myself Catholic that I ended the Vendée war, by making myself a Muslim that I established myself in Egypt, by making myself an Ultramontane that I won over the priests in Italy. If I governed a nation of Jews, I would restore the Temple of Solomon".
In other words, Valve is now appealing to its current target audience, meaning confused pc-users.
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neocycle
Member
No. Because linux sucks. Some games won't even run on it. And when you try to use it for other things it will suck even more. Gabe just doesn't want to pay for the windows licence.
TrebleShot
Member
Well, it seems the whole industry is going that way, everyone is confused, they dont know what they are playing on , they look perplexed at their phones in the morning and mutter to themselves "but isnt this an xbox" and fumble around looking for a controller or an xbox button.
They then go downstairs and log into their computer and bafflingly look around as steam sits there open, but wait, isnt this a games console? where are my cartridges for MS WORD or DVD for Chrome.
Ok failing all of that they resign themselves to going into the living room to turn on the tv and their new steam machine to relax with some games but wait yet again they dont have a DVD or Cartridge, WHY is word starting up and excel? surely PC is just utilitarian work only?
OR
Maybe people just play games where they can access them, cheaply and conveniently, whether its a console or a PC is completely irrelevant.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Lol.
Comparing a Napoleon quote to Valve calling their device PC. Amazing
What are we even saying here? That Valve are pretending this is a PC to appeal to its fanbase?
Shall we ignore the fact that it is actually a PC?
Parazels
Member
It's clear that Valve is taking all possible steps towards consoles and away from pcs.Lol.
Comparing a Napoleon quote to Valve calling their device PC. Amazing
What are we even saying here? That Valve are pretending this is a PC to appeal to its fanbase?
Shall we ignore the fact that it is actually a PC?
pudel
Gold Member
They are just ADDING a "console-like" OS for people who want this on pc. I cant see them taking away anything.
DeltaPolarBear
Member
I have been using Windows all my adult life, I have never seen Windows trying to fight me over the control of the computer as much as Windows 11. I play on PC because i want control, and if Microsoft is taking that control away then they can get lost.
Guilty_AI
Member
Oh, i'm beginning to understand the motivations behind your delusion here
DeltaPolarBear
Member
If that was what they wanted, they could have just made it a closed garden. Your definition of "all possible steps" is definitely not mine.
BlackTron
Member
It has the part of a console that means you plug it in and play with zero config, knowledge or menus. Which IMO is the most important aspect, even if it doesn't tick all the other boxes of a console, like forbidding you from changing that config should you wish. That's the thing -it's a console when it's good to be one, but not when it's bad to be. Wait, you can use any USB controller you want? Well it doesn't qualify as console then, does it!
It's combining many of the better things about consoles while stripping away some downsides. By being a console-like, pre-configured PC.
It's combining many of the better things about consoles while stripping away some downsides. By being a console-like, pre-configured PC.
phant0m
Member
Glad we're on the same page!
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
How? Everything I can do on my PC I can do on the Steam Machine.
Because they're both a PC!
Parazels
Member
You can carry passengers in a truck or a sedan. But each vehicle still has its own purpose.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Yes. Both vehicles, but one is a truck and the other a car.
The Steam Machine and a PS5 are both computers, but one is a PC (general purpose computer) and the other is a video game console.
Parazels
Member
The shape of a thing defines its purpose and its name.
Both the PS5 and the Steam console are shaped for gaming - size, hardware, power efficiency, gamepad, interface, etc. Therefore, both are consoles!
rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
You can get a PS5 and/or a PS5 Pro that have different APUs and RAMs between then. So PS5 and PS5 Pro are not consoles. /yourlogic
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
An Atari?Ok. What would your grandma call the new device with a gamepad that you just unboxed and plugged into your TV?
rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Any seller of pre Build PCs can sell a mini desktop or laptop just as plug and play with zero config the same way.
phant0m
Member
They are separate consoles in the same family.
Everyone that buys a PS5 has the same thing: console.
Everyone that buys a PS5 pro has the same thing: console.
Everyone that buys a 'gaming laptop' does not have the same thing: PC.
Everyone that buys a 'Mac' does not have the same thing: PC.
Everyone that buys a Steam Machine will have the same the thing: console.
C'mon man, stop trying to be clever with weak-ass "gotcha" strawmen. The argument you want to make is Steam Machine is not a console because regardless of hardware you can install whatever OS you want and run any compatible applications/games.
rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Excuse me??
Everyone that buys a gaming laptop has a PC.
Everyone that buys a Mac has a Mac.
Everyone that buys a Steam Machine has a freaking PC with an Arch Linux distro that can also run full Windows(s).
Ding ding ding. Simple as that and you and some others are just next level trolling at this point.
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poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Until Valve lock down the software so you can only play games through their software - then no - not everyone has the same thing - they just have the same hardware. 100 guys buying the same laptop doesn't make it a console.