Valve announces SteamOS

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lightning2k3 said:
I don't believe that Microsoft has given up on that ship yet. 30% cut on all software is just too juicy to give up so easily.
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If that's the case, and again I don't think it will be as I don't think they'd get away with it, then we're all screwed. Valve isn't a savior. They're just another one off vendor.
 
animlboogy said:
I have another use case example:

I have a nice little ThinkPad that is great for work, but it doesn't have a discrete GPU so I don't use it for gaming outside of low-end and classic games.

I can install a small SteamOS partition, plug in an HDMI cable and a controller, and have all my controller-ready games streamed to my TV so I can chill out and play A Machine For Pigs in my living room. Which is exactly what I will be doing when this comes out.
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I don't think there's anything really stopping Valve from being able to stream to a Windows machine running Steam...
 
animlboogy said:
I have another use case example:

I have a nice little ThinkPad that is great for work, but it doesn't have a discrete GPU so I don't use it for gaming outside of low-end and classic games.

I can install a small SteamOS partition, plug in an HDMI cable and a controller, and have all my controller-ready games streamed to my TV so I can chill out and play A Machine For Pigs in my living room. Which is exactly what I will be doing when this comes out.
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You might even be able to boot SteamOS straight from a USB memory stick.
 
njean777 said:
The question I have is why is Valve so scared MS is going to close off the pc platform? Apple added an app store 2 years ago now and nothing is closed off on OSX, you are still free to install apps from anywhere.
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Probably because XB1 looks essentially like a glorified closed box PC. We're already seen them trying to push Xbox brand onto their PCs, tablets, etc, as it is. I would be fearing some dirty power moves from them as well to take the home PC users into a closed box atmosphere. Right now Valve is way too dependent on another company that they share no positive relations with and is showing they are trying to move past them.
 
maabus1999 said:
Why is everyone STILL going on about Windows in this thread? Go read the SteamOS webpage directly. The OS is designed for a media living room, where Windows has a very weak presence. This OS is not meant for your normal PC (you could use it, but...yeah).

This OS competes with AppleTV, VitaTV, Wii U, X1, and PS4. Then after all that...Windows. It is Steam's targeted extension and plan to pull Steam off your PC and into your living room, way more then Big Picture did.
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This is what I have been saying. This is not intended to go against Windows and would get crushed anyway. This goes against PS4/X1.
 
Proelite said:
Apple don't work with OEMs.

Are OEMS happy with Microsoft's stranglehold on the PC market? You tell me?

Was there an viable alternative for consumers? Now there might be.

Valve might not even want OEMs to dilute the brand by putting out shit SteamOS boxes.
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Yeah paying licensing fees just to develop hardware is always funny.

Then again I hope Valve put out a req for partners, if they want to make a "SteamBox" it must adhere to these minimum reqs.
 
I've never been interested in PC gaming until now due to the reliance on Windows.

Can this run standard applications?

This could easily usurp ChromeOS if Valve plays their cards right.
 
MrNyarlathotep said:
So what would stop them releasing a storefront app on SteamOS?

I have SlideME and Amazon appstores on my Android phone, neither of which 'support' Google as the maker of Android in any way.
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I'll be surprised if Valve allows SteamOS to go from cold to playing a game without Steam intruding at some point. Currently Origin and Uplay do not require me to interact with Steam.
 
lyrick said:
I'm not a networking guy, but what speed LAN is needed for a 1080p60 or even a 1080p120 image to transfer through a Home network?

Is 1000mbps sufficient? Could we get away with 100mbps?
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I don't have the answer, but I don't think you really need one unless you were planning to do it over wifi or something crazy like that. Home LANs of today should easily be fast enough to accommodate this as long as you are hardwired. The problem is the input latency, but it should probably be pretty good too.
 
Dark FaZe said:
Because hardware is necessary to run the OS/games.

Until we hear about an actual steambox Windows can't really be removed from the conversation.
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Again, unless you built a HTPC that is plugged into your TV, you'll most likely be using a Steam "sling" box from your Windows PC. Yes Windows. And if Valve wants to up the service to allow direct Streaming of games without hardware, like OnLive, then that is the closest thing you'll have to "SteamOS" taking on Windows as it would make some people not buy a gaming pc...maybe.

This OS is not meant to replace a dedicated, office environment PC. And going off Valve's old comments and what their website states, this is 100% a "in living room" endeavor. So you have to put the appropriate competition in its place.

There is very, very, very little marketing correlation between the Windows OS and the Steam OS.
 
Sushigod7 said:
I don't fully understand everything yet but I'm excited so excited I may can the PS4 order and get a Steambox.
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So you will cancel buying a PS4 which you have bought in the first place to play PS4 games to then switch to buying a Steambox which won't allow you to play PS4 games at all which are the reason you bought a PS4 in the first place.

Yeah, ok.
 
InsaneZero said:
People shouldn't be thinking about SteamOS boxes for TVs, they should be thinking about TVs that come with SteamOS.
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It will likely be both but to start it would make sense to offer SteamOS boxes. Not everyone is going to go and rush out to buy a new HDTV to play Steam games. Google released a Chromecast device that acts in the same manner as TV's with it built in for those who want that experience but not having to buy a new TV.
 
I wonder if you could have a SteamOS app for Xbox One, PS4 or WiiU? Now that would be something.
 
yami4ct said:
If that's the case, and again I don't think it will be as I don't think they'd get away with it, then we're all screwed. Valve isn't a savior. They're just another one off vendor.
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Well, to be fair, they are a vendor more interested in pushing games and game communities than Office and Bing searches. Microsoft had their chance to be the steward of PC gaming. I will be nice and just say they had other priorities.
 
As it is, this seems like Valve want to create its own PS Vita TV or something of that nature. However, we still have two more announcements left before we get the big picture mode.
 
Lynn616 said:
This is what I have been saying. This is not intended to go against Windows and would get crushed anyway. This goes against PS4/X1.
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Unless they get all the major publishers on board (which I doubt, unless they let EA put up an Origin store there), you will still need a Windows machine to play a lot of games.
 
Dark FaZe said:
Because hardware is necessary to run the OS/games.

Until we hear about an actual steambox Windows can't really be removed from the conversation.
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Who's saying that Windows is removed from the conversation? In the short term, it's simply extending Steam to the living room. There are long term developments that could take place but it's not certain. The potential of Steam OS is certainly interesting.
 
Louis Cyphre said:
I don't think they will either. I expect Valve to sell their own SteamOS device and it could be priced very low. This will target more against something like AppleTV and Google Chromecast. It's funny how console suppliers tout how they love working with indie developers but in reality it's just to get consumers to buy their hardware as it's a closed box. That's why I want PC gaming to evolve and this looks to help make that happen.
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In theory, I fully agree, but so far, no one has really explained why this is going to sell. That post people praised was discussing why it's good for Valve, I don't think anyone couldn't see why this would be good for Valve, but why is a gamer going to buy it?

There are three 'SteamBoxes', there's the low level $100 (not an exact number, just Gabe's estimate a few months ago) streaming machine. This is the only one I think anyone can make a real use case for. You have a gaming PC in your den, and you want to play a controller friendly game on your nice big TV. It won't feel as good, or look as crisp as playing on your gaming monitor, and $100 is far far more than a HDMI cable that would do this much better, but some people don't want to, or can't disturb their walls with new cables, or various other reasons that someone would do this. It's bad, but it makes sense for a number of users.

The second SteamBox is the 'console' spec version. This doesn't make sense to me. Gabe claims they can match performance and price with consoles. This is logically not the case, because consoles are sold at a loss at launch, and they're manufactured in far greater numbers than a SteamBox will be, and they get better performance with their spec than a similar spec PC. But let's say none of that is true, and they can match PS4 perfectly with performance and cost, why would someone buy it? People who have never bought a console haven't heard of Valve. Valve fans have gaming PCs already, and they could buy a console and get the exclusive games for it, a SteamBox gets you no exclusive games (and if it did, people would lose their shit).

The third SteamBox is a full priced gaming PC, this is the most pointless of all. Buy a second full priced gaming PC to put under your TV. Almost no one would do that.

Of course Valve want to break away from Windows, but why do the users?
 
Dark FaZe said:
as opposed to me being locked into the steam storefront and missing out on glorious Battlefield 4?

there are no angels here
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Who says it'll be locked down? Gabe has said in interviews that Steambox wouldn't be locked down prior to this announcement, so unless this has changed.. yeah.
 
Mihos said:
Well, to be fair, they are a vendor more interested in pushing games and game communities than Office and Bing searches. Microsoft had their chance to be the steward of PC gaming. I will be nice and just say they had other priorities.
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In terms of PC gaming, I'd rather have my main OS be someone who doesn't really care and lets me use whatever stores and services I want rather than have a vendor locking me down to stuff I buy from their service.
 
Of All Trades said:
I'll be surprised if Valve allows SteamOS to go from cold to playing a game without Steam intruding at some point. Currently Origin and Uplay do not require me to interact with Steam.
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I would imagine Steam is the entire GUI of SteamOS.
That doesn't preclude anyone else from putting their own storefronts on if it is succcessful.

EA sure a shit aren't going to let Activision have free reign on Steam, and Activisions use of steamworks would suggest activision would be fine with a SteamOS.
 
So this is basically Steambox without the box?

If this is just another flavor of linux, I wouldn't mind throwing together a cheap pc together to play around with it. I kind of wish there was some unified way to do this though as I was already thinking of getting Vita TV and I'm totally going to run out of HDMI ports and electrical outlets with all these different systems competing for my TV real estate. :p
 
WolvenOne said:
Okay, lets play "What it'll take for SteamOS to reach 25 million users."

For consoles, this is the magic number at which it becomes difficult for developers to ignore a platform. So lets pretend that for SteamOS/SteamBox, the same general number holds true.

So, what, Left 4 Dead 3, exclusive and free2play?

Portal 3? Half Life 3?

What would it take?
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-Valve should implement a new policy, where they take a smaller cut of steam games if those games have a steamOS/Linux version.
-Valve own games could be temporary SteamOS exclusives as to force people to experience it.
-Valve should push companies like LG, Samsung, Nvidia, Asus, etc, to do their own "steamboxes" and should not restrict its effort to HTPC, we could see laptops and desktops that come with SteamOS in the future.
-Focus on great UI, usability and freedom for the user to customize the OS, while still offering an easy to use interface for those who just want a simple experience.
-Official software support from within steam, so we can install LibreOffice, VLC, Chrome as easy if we were installing a game.
 
ridethepiggy said:
You mean the fully working no limit offline mode? Ok. Or do you mean the optional DRM that is left to the publisher? Oh yea.
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Maybe they mean not being able to download an installer at their leisure and install it on any computer, at any time, without any further contact with Steam. Like GOG.

Honestly I see this venture doing more to damage Valve than anything else unless they massively revamp their business practices with respect to things like customer service. "delete client.blob" isn't going to fly.
 
elementalsin said:
I didn't say anything like that, but it sounds like someone touched your buttons a little too much there thunder.

Not that I was commenting/talking about the android at all, but since you seem to think I was and brought it up... The android platform is far from a failure, but IS a fragmented mess with all the billions of manufacture differences, updates that work on this device but not this one, and UI layers and nonsense.... So now that I actually did comment on android, what the fuck are you talking about? Where is the 'doomed to failure' for android (or what I was actually talking about, which was steamOS)? Confusing/fragmenting is not equal to doom and failure. Take that linux/steam/android/whatever hat off for a bit, calm down and quit blindly lashing out at anyone not championing your favorite brand.
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You utterly missed my point. Which was demonstrating the shortsightedness of dismissing the potential impact a new software platform due to hardware "fragmentation", by comparing to an equally fragmented but wildly successful platform.

And if you check my history you'll find out that I'm not a particular champion of either the Steam or Android brands. And neither Linux for that matter.
 
if games like LoL will work on SteamOS it could be really fast get nr.1 in China for gamers. WindowsXP support ends in a half year and there are dozen of millions with XP in China, a free gaming OS could be big in China.
 
Louis Cyphre said:
It will likely be both but to start it would make sense to offer SteamOS boxes. Not everyone is going to go and rush out to buy a new HDTV to play Steam games. Google released a Chromecast device that acts in the same manner as TV's with it built in for those who want that experience but not having to buy a new TV.
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Nobody would rushing out to get SteamOS TVs, but TVs can come with SteamOS to increase its value. Simply increasing the exposure that people have with Steam is a victory for Valve, and probably one of the many reasons the SteamOS was built.
 
I wonder just how much more efficient SteamOS is compared to windows. And will it only work with a restrictive set of hardware?
 
So we got...

PS4
Xbox One
Wii U
PS Vita TV
Ouya
iOS7 controller API
SteamOS

The next few years are going to get crazy for gaming. Empires will rise and fall. :o
 
I wonder if I can buy a game for Steam that I can't run on my macbook and stream it to the tv with this hardware they are planning. Like buy crysis 3 on my macbook air and stream it.
 
StuBurns said:
In theory, I fully agree, but so far, no one has really explained why this is going to sell. That post people praised was discussing why it's good for Valve, I don't think anyone couldn't see why this would be good for Valve, but why is a gamer going to buy it?

There are three 'SteamBoxes', there's the low level $100 (not an exact number, just Gabe's estimate a few months ago) streaming machine. This is the only one I think anyone can make a real use case for. You have a gaming PC in your den, and you want to play a controller friendly game on your nice big TV. It won't feel as good, or look as crisp as playing on your gaming monitor, and $100 is far far more than a HDMI cable that would do this much better, but some people don't want to, or can't disturb their walls with new cables, or various other reasons that someone would do this. It's bad, but it makes sense for a number of users.

The second SteamBox is the 'console' spec version. This doesn't make sense to me. Gabe claims they can match performance and price with consoles. This is logically not the case, because consoles are sold at a loss at launch, and they're manufactured in far greater numbers than a SteamBox will be, and they get better performance with their spec than a similar spec PC. But let's say none of that is true, and they can match PS4 perfectly with performance and cost, why would someone buy it? People who have never bought a console haven't heard of Valve. Valve fans have gaming PCs already, and they could buy a console and get the exclusive games for it, a SteamBox gets you no exclusive games (and if it did, people would lose their shit).

The third SteamBox is a full priced gaming PC, this is the most pointless of all. Buy a second full priced gaming PC to put under your TV. Almost no one would do that.

Of course Valve want to break away from Windows, but why do the users?
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The fourth steambox is your current PC with SteamOS downloaded and installed for free - no more windows tax. And optimized for gaming, so no more disabling and installing bloatware to claw back memory and performance.
 
yami4ct said:
In terms of PC gaming, I'd rather have my main OS be someone who doesn't really care and lets me use whatever stores and services I want rather than have a vendor locking me down to stuff I buy from their service.
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I wouldn't open any fortune cookies if I were you, it will be nothing but bad news.
 
maniac-kun said:
What happens when MS decides to go crazy with Windows 9?
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You are making the assumption they will. The audience for Windows will not care for that. I do not think MS is so stupid to shoot themselves in the foot like that. It would be suicide. Seems to me Gabe is acting as if they are doing this, when no evidence points to this. Who cares if they added a app store at all, it is just another place to sell stuff in the end. I am the last person that would defend MS, but nothing they have and are doing point to them doing this at all.
 
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