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[Coldsnap]

Justin Mcelroy had a pretty funny tweet about this:

https://twitter.com/JustinMcElroy/status/382191152536895488

Ha. Don't know what's worse, that or a 50 foot HDMI / Display Port cable.

 

[RPGamer92]

So is this gonna be an actual console or an app?

 

[Talon]

Everybody wants to own their software stack.

 

[Gattsu25]

So if the first circle is the SteamOS, the second circle is a box around the OS - has to be the SteamBox, right?

So what's the third button, which looks like SteamOS + SteamOS? Some sort of multisystem-based announcement?

1. Steam OS
2. Steam boxes ($99 streaming, ~$300 base game player, $900+ monster rig)
3. Steam Game streaming? I'm guessing something similar to OnLive

 

[Cardigan]

I unhook my PC and move it to the location of my tv and hook it up there. Then I unhook it from the TV and move it back to my desk when i'm done with it. I find it works pretty well.

Sounds like a total pain in the ass. I don't want to lug my computer downstairs every time I want to play a game on my couch.

 

[Lagamorph]

They really are saying FUCK YOU Windows 8. We gonna make our own OS.

It's more just Gabe Newell throwing a tantrum and spitting out his dummy over Microsoft trying to use the Windows 8 marketplace as a Steam competitor.

 

[gofreak]

I don't understand why anyone would use this on PC. I mean, none of the Windows applications will work and it will take a while for most of the games to support it (and games released in the past will obviously not work). And unless I missed something, they didn't announce any cool features that the OS has..?

It's just the start.

I think some Valve hardware will be coming that may end up working better than or exclusive to SteamOS.

(And if graphics perf is actually better under SteamOS than Windows, I think a lot of people will use it where they can)

 

[The Cowboy]

I seriously think that putting the PC next to the television and using Steam Controllermodething is a better solution...

Already doing this, I'm on my TV right now with my quad core/GTX580 system, I use a wireless Enermax Aurora trackball keyboard and wireless 360 controller.

Only thing is, the PC is actually in another room (a storage room) and all the wires are routed across the floor under the carpet (in little channels I made)..

 

[Lexxon]

360 Controller Support.
This is critical.

I am expecting them to start supporting their official controller, which will probably be one of these announcements.

That said, I sure as hell hope they build it so on Windows, at least, it will show up and function just like an X360 controller for the many games that support it so well right now.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Xbox One = Xbone
SteamOS = Stamos

LOL the 2nd zinger here.

 

[Impeccable]

Incoming PS4 relation megaton!

 

[S0N0S]

Briefly, my predictions...

If O = SteamOS,
then [O ] = SteamBox & O+O = SteamDev ?

• Steam -> SteamOS
• SteamBigPicture -> SteamBox
• SteamWorkshop/Marketplace/EarlyAccess -> SteamDev

At least, it makes sense considering:

Last year, we shipped a software feature called Big Picture, a user-interface tailored for televisions and gamepads.
This year we’ve been working on even more ways to connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living-room.
Soon, we’ll be adding you to our design process, so that you can help us shape the future of Steam.

Each line describes a circle.

 

[witness]

Alright Valve, you got the OS solution. Now show me a reasonably priced box (in comparison to the new consoles), and then you give me a hard decision to make because I don't have a gaming PC.

 

[Fafalada]

But most people might just use an old PC they have lying around, or buy a cheap SFF PC with steam OS preloaded on, and stream games from their current computer.

It seems like an odd proposition though, given that we have wireless HDMI devices now that cost quite a bit less than a cheap PC, and offer this lag&compression free.
Maybe they plan to follow up with a bigger push of native ports, but right now this feels - redundant at best, and I feel like I'm part of their target market.

 

[MikeE21286]

So the most interesting thing is what platforms does Valve develop on now?

Is Valve still a Windows developer?

 

[O.DOGG]

This is actually pretty good news. I hope this makes Linux a viable OS for gaming, and everything else will follow (Photoshop, etc.). I am giddy about the possibilities.

 

[inm8num2]

Xbox One = Xbone
SteamOS = Stamos

Haha fantastic!

 

[ghst]

whenever i consider my reaction towards this in its present state, i can't help but remember how i originally felt about steam.

 

[QaaQer]

I hope they manage to work with EA and Ubisoft on better integration of uplay and origin into a controller focused steamOS

it is an open os. ea and ubi can build their own apps for it if they want and sell their games through their own stores. Valve will not be able to lock down the os.

 

[Seanspeed]

This is going too fast for me to ask questions here. I'll wait til tomorrow to ask why I'm supposed to be excited about this. I don't really understand a lot of it.

 

[Maninthemirror]

Will gamers be able to Accept an os which is for gaming and gaming alone and does not contribute when someone is not gaming and wants to perform non gaming tasks ? Combine that with Linux drivers and the fact that developers would have to port to Linux every game they have on non Linux systems

 

[silentQ]

I like this idea a lot but I would still like access to the rest of my PC from Steam OS if this thing lets you stream to the desktop and all the functions of your PC sign me up for the $99 dollar device that runs it.

 

[NIN90]

I'm genuinely interested in SteamOS. I have my PC linked to an LCD in my office over HDMI and one of my gripes with BPM is that sometimes Windows will switch from the game I'm playing back to steam BPM making me get up and have to alt-tab back. Hopefully SteamOS will make this a lot more elegant.

You could try setting up a joy2key profile that lets you alt-tab with your controller. That's what I did to toggle playback of podcasts (for reference, I used Back+LT for that).

 

[pixlexic]

If I have a choice of running the same game on windows and steam os and steam is gives me a lot better performance with same hardware AND I get to download both the steam and windows versions from the sake buy... Of course I would use steamos.

It's a no brainer.

 

[ComputerMKII]

How can installing drivers be hard?

Try installing an AMD driver on Ubuntu.

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

Which is Linux...

Nope. BSD is not Linux.

 

[Symphonic]

Stream is only over the home network right? Would be cool if they developed something to let me stream it from work.

 

[fi1ip]

Next two announcements got to be controller and then steambox.

 

[Tensketch]

Looking at the symbols and todays announcement I think:

O = Steam OS

[O ] = Steam Box

O+O = Steam Box/SteamOS/Windows cross compatibility.

 

[Htown]

They make very few games

Games Valve has released since the release of the Xbox 360:
Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Portal
Team Fortress 2
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Alien Swarm
Portal 2
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Dota 2

 

[Virgman]

Xbox One = Xbone
SteamOS = Stamos

Agreed!

 

[fluffydelusions]

The issue for me personally with this would be having to dual boot since I'd want to play bf4 or any other game not on steam or supported on Linux.

 

[Proelite]

Valve needs to show that the perf for native games is better than on Windows in the first year or it's DOA.

 

[Zombie James]

I don't see it as a permanent solution but moreso as a clever bridge that allows gamers, publishers and devs to interface with the new OS and transition smoothly without abruptly changing the way they interact with one another.

It requires two computers and I'm not going to build a new PC just for SteamOS. Simple as that for me.

 

[d00d3n]

This question might be incomprehensible/stupid, but ...
Would it be possible for Valve to facilitate some kind of plugin system for SteamOS to allow native compatibility (through a "wine" like plugin) with Windows games? In this way they would not officially sanction a "windows hack", but would still get the benefit of supporting modern windows pc games.

 

[-SD-]

The next announcement coincides very closely with AMD's next-gen GPU reveal:

1. http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHfmM6QYWNM

Only two hours apart.

 

[Deadstar]

Incoming PS4 relation megaton!

Exclusive other os install for PS4 I'm sure. I remember Valve was on stage with Sony at one point so I've got to believe they are best of friends.

 

[Coldsnap]

What problem are they solving with focusing on streaming? Mini ITX and Micro ITX boards are awesome. I have a Micro ITX build and I have so much stuff crammed into it. Computers take up a lot less space now adays.

 

[FrontalMonk]

Cool software, Valve. Next up, show us the hardware.

 

[Jackl]

Highly modified linux most likely. They'll sell it as an base OS for media boxes and comfy couch kits. Much like an Android phone can be a 50 dollar crap phone, or a 500 dollar wonder device. Both lead to Google Play, and potentially more revenue.

"Steambox" I believe is simply going to be Valve's way of making PC and of course steam services more accessible. The hardware is a side story IMO.

I suppose it was fairly obvious.

 

[trixx]

i thought they were going after the console crowd by making pc gaming/steam more accesible to console gamers. In the respect that they will have a device that supports steam and has high graphical capabilities for a price that is comparitive to a console. Or uses any home pc as a hub and a device somehow allows it to play high end games, so that one wouldn't need to buy a high end pc, given that this were possible?

This seems beneficial only to those that have a gaming pc, granted there are still 2 more announcements which the second would likely be a console. But this announcement seems geared only to those that already have a competent pc.

Or i still don't get it

 

[Basileus777]

So the most interesting thing is what platforms does Valve develop on now?

Is Valve still a Windows developer?

Of course they are. It'd be throwing away money to do anything else.

 

[Durante]

It's more just Gabe Newell throwing a tantrum and spitting out his dummy over Microsoft trying to use the Windows 8 marketplace as a Steam competitor.

That's how I would formulate it if I was in Microsoft marketing. As I'm not, I would say this is Valve preparing for Microsoft inevitably deprecating the Windows desktop, and thus the end of Windows as a open marketplace.

 

[SparkTR]

So is this gonna be an actual console or an app?

It's an operating system that will be used in many gaming-related livingroom machines, from low-end to high-end. That's the idea.

 

[pixlexic]

Try installing an AMD driver on Ubuntu.

Gabes speech last week says they have a good way to deal with driver updates.

 

[TJUK]

When steamOS Is ready for the desktop and not just the living room, we'll talk.

 

[Tallshortman]

This...I don't know. I'm not feeling that excited by this. It just seems essentially like Linux with Steam and Big Picture installed.

What if there to be excited about? Why should somebody go from a Windows 7 PC or their current Linux PC with Steam already installed to this? Help me understand.

I get that they can use this for Steambox. I understand that. But outside of that.

That's the thing, this will likely be very niche as it is. I don't understand how some people here are predicting it will somehow majorly affect windows market share.

 

[The Omega Man]

Then SONY releases a SteamOS app for PS3 and Ps4

#DatMegaton

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

I did. It's Steam on your TV with a more consolized interface and an OS that no one wants to use. I can do that right now if I wanted to, but keep the OS that I and everyone else still wants to use.

This is how I feel right now... I don't get why this is a big deal for consumers.

edit: god damn bottom of the page!

 

[ComputerMKII]

Its already easy on Linux to do this.

No it's not. On Windows I can just go to AMD's website, use the menu which will find the right file for me, download, open the executable and let it do its thing.

On Linux, if you don't speak English and aren't willing to Google shit, you're fucked. You're also fucked when you want to uninstall or update the driver (or the OS).