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[Alexios]

People (morons) really need to stop calling PCs (stationary or handheld or whatever other form factor they may come in) consoles for clickbait (or whatever else).

PC players tripping over themselves for a console?

Something isn't adding up…

It's a PC. And Steam OS being available for desktops is nice (I mean, presumably anyone will eventually be able to install it rather than just these specific systems).

 

[Cert.in.Death]

People (morons) really need to stop calling PCs (stationary or handheld or whatever other form factor they may come in) consoles for clickbait (or whatever else).

It's a PC. And Steam OS being available for desktops is nice (I mean, presumably anyone will eventually be able to install it rather than just these specific systems).

Sounds like a console with extra steps

 

[Tobimacoss]

I don't play any of this shit you listed.

You are the sun , and the world revolves around you.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

You are the sun , and the world revolves around you.

 

[Kacho]

Sounds like a console with extra steps

Console-like experience. Still a PC. More options are good.

 

[jshackles]

I think the only thing I've ever heard about the Steam deck is people like that it's portable. None of the friends I have care about this as they have a PC.

Now on the other hand, I want something to compete with Nintendo and Sony.

The Steam Deck released over 3 years ago, and in a lot of games it's still able to outperform the same games running as native Switch 2 ports (Yakuza 0, Street Fighter VI, Cyberpunk. etc.)

In addition to being a portable PC, it also: introduced a spec target for developers to hit (Deck Verified); caused Valve to make cloud saves that sync while a game is running; introduced the Steam feature that lets you install games locally over your own network; caused an incalculable number of improvements to be made to Proton for running Windows games in Linux; allowed developers to ship pre-compiled shaders specifically for the Deck (you know, the thing Microsoft was sniffing their own farts about when they introduced it today); and most importantly sold well enough to get developers and publishers to care about it.

If them introducing a "console" / "TV box" / "whatever you wanna call it" means that we get even a fraction of this innovation on the platform, I'm all for it. Is it going to sell more than the PS5 or Switch 2? Almost certainly not. But it doesn't have to be nearly as successful for us to all reap the benefits.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Console-like experience. Still a PC. More options are good.

Will I still be able to torrent porn while doing my taxes? If not, it's a console.

 

[Clintizzle]

RIP Nintendo and Sony.

 

[Buggy Loop]

The Steam Deck released over 3 years ago, and in a lot of games it's still able to outperform the same games running as native Switch 2 ports (Yakuza 0, Street Fighter VI, Cyberpunk. etc.)

What is even that comment. 9W handheld vs Steam deck? Or your claim is also against docked? Because if so, no fucking way.

Even handheld, in what world is this even remotely close in image quality? On a ~7% higher performance OLED model on top of the base steam deck to top it off.

 

[Kacho]

Will I still be able to torrent porn while doing my taxes? If not, it's a console.

Of course you can, just switch to desktop mode. Thats how you set up the emulators you want to use in gaming mode.

 

[salva]

RX 7600? I don't speak Lisa Su, what's the Jensen Huang equivalent RTX card?

 

[Buggy Loop]

RX 7600? I don't speak Lisa Su, what's the Jensen Huang equivalent RTX card?

Yea I realized after my hype for a steam console that they would be stuck on AMD RDNA 3

Is FSR4 implemented yet on 7000 series? I wouldn't buy an FSR3 one.

AMD by not participating in the nvidia open source tool to distribute DLSS/FSR/XeSS in all games and then not having a .dll swap for so long kind of fuck things up for a "console" like experience. If tweaking shit to mod DLSS games to support FSR or XeSS or maybe one day FSR4 but does it swap with FSR3 etc etc, what a fucking mess for a console like experience.

They have to figure that shit out before release.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Sounds like a console with extra steps

No, that's underselling how much customisation you can do. You have full access to mods of all kinds and a full desktop environment on top of a gaming focused very tight best in class launcher / game overlay you could wish for.

Thanks to Valve's efforts you kind of have shader compilation issues solved and with Proton you have support for a huge variety of games that were PC only at a very good performance (to the point they were able to beat Legion Go's Windows performance).

 

[Darkness_Arises]

RX 7600?

I would have loved to get this. But RX7600 is a hard pass, they should have gone for the 9060XT 16 GB atleast. Still if this PC console can emulate the Switch Xenoblade Chronicle games at 1080p or greater res, I will be in day one. The S2 has been an absolute disappointment in that regard and I doubt an underwhelming upgrade patch that may or may not release will ever approach the emulated PC version of these games.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

4K upres in performance mode should be doable, native 1440p is safely 30 in most titles it seems. 1080p 60 safe. I agree this thing better have FSR4, otherwise would be a huge disappointment.

 

[Skifi28]

Still seems like a niche product. If you want simplicity and everything to work with no issues, you're probably better off with a console. If you want a PC, you're probably better off paying a little more and getting something more powerful that works for you, ideally with Windows for good compatibility. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

 

[Little Mac]

I love my Steam Deck OLED. I'll probably be all in on day 1 if they replicate it for the livingroom.

 

[Ovek]

Don't care about the console but I've really wanted to try that controller since it got leaked last year.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

All in. Anything that gets us closer to ditching windows for PC gaming and paid online for consoles is a win. I already have a massive steam library.

I think a lot of people are underestimating just how well something like this can do. And it doesn't even need to sell nearly as much as a PS or Nintendo system, since Valve is not at the mercy of their hardware to sell games on their store. They can just make as many needed to meet demand and I get the feeling this will be in much higher demand than the Deck.

Even though I don't own a Steam Deck, it was a brilliant move for them to release that system. It basically planted the seed for a more realized concept to grow from it, even getting developers on board to make configurations to be Steam Deck Verified.

As for the specs, it really doesn't need to be anything that crazy. This is an enthusiast forum so of course people here are looking to maximize the power of their PC, but most of the world is not like that. Besides, how many games are released these days that require top of the line hardware? We're well past those days.

There is a market for this and the time is ripe for a new option in the gaming space.

I made a thread in May asking people what they think:

Opinion Poll  Thread 'The Potential of a Steam Console?'

May 25, 2025

I think this is an interesting topic. The time now is ripe for something like this given the work done with Steam Deck and Steam OS, Xbox's apparent flat lining in the console space, plus the looming future of Windows 12 on PC.

Linux is just too much of a learning curve for the vast majority of people, it takes a lot of time and effort. Steam OS is the ticket for gamers that have already invested so much into the platform to be able to finally abandon Windows. And now that we are basically living in the digital future, there is much less incentive to go physical. Having a full game on...

• Pasta la Vista
• Replies: 130
• Forum: Gaming Discussion

• 
• 

 

[clappedcheeks]

I wonder how long it will be before the new steam hardware is unveiled? I'm not sure it's going to hit the price to power ratios that some are expecting as everything is so expensive now and I don't imagine they want to lose money but it'll certainly shake things up. Does anybody think there will be any changes regarding the use of anti-cheat in steam os that will allow the likes of battlefield to be playable in the future? I know it'll dual boot but I think most people buying a steam device want to escape the clutches of windows os. I'm most intrigued by the rumoured VR headset. If it's standalone and performance is good enough to have some form of VR injector for flat games it'll be the first steam device I will buy.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

All in. Anything that gets us closer to ditching windows for PC gaming and paid online for consoles is a win. I already have a massive steam library.

I think a lot of people are underestimating just how well something like this can do. And it doesn't even need to sell nearly as much as a PS or Nintendo system, since Valve is not at the mercy of their hardware to sell games on their store. They can just make as many needed to meet demand and I get the feeling this will be in much higher demand than the Deck.

Even though I don't own a Steam Deck, it was a brilliant move for them to release that system. It basically planted the seed for a more realized concept to grow from it, even getting developers on board to make configurations to be Steam Deck Verified.

As for the specs, it really doesn't need to be anything that crazy. This is an enthusiast forum so of course people here are looking to maximize the power of their PC, but most of the world is not like that. Besides, how many games are released these days that require top of the line hardware? We're well past those days.

There is a market for this and the time is ripe for a new option in the gaming space.

I made a thread in May asking people what they think:

Opinion Poll  Thread 'The Potential of a Steam Console?'

May 25, 2025

I think this is an interesting topic. The time now is ripe for something like this given the work done with Steam Deck and Steam OS, Xbox's apparent flat lining in the console space, plus the looming future of Windows 12 on PC.

Linux is just too much of a learning curve for the vast majority of people, it takes a lot of time and effort. Steam OS is the ticket for gamers that have already invested so much into the platform to be able to finally abandon Windows. And now that we are basically living in the digital future, there is much less incentive to go physical. Having a full game on...

• Pasta la Vista
• Replies: 130
• Forum: Gaming Discussion

• 
• 

100% on point. I don't have the current numbers, but it's been almost a meme on GAF for a while now that most Steam users according to their own surveys have something like a 2060/3060/4060 type GPU. The RX 7600 can easily keep up with that, and you know what's also true? The biggest games on Steam don't require that much hardware power to begin with. People play League, TF2, Counter Strike and so on. The RX 7600 gives you triple digit fps in those games at 1080p, which is still a widely used resolution. This thing can have global appeal.

 

[DryvBy]

The Steam Deck released over 3 years ago, and in a lot of games it's still able to outperform the same games running as native Switch 2 ports (Yakuza 0, Street Fighter VI, Cyberpunk. etc.)

In addition to being a portable PC, it also: introduced a spec target for developers to hit (Deck Verified); caused Valve to make cloud saves that sync while a game is running; introduced the Steam feature that lets you install games locally over your own network; caused an incalculable number of improvements to be made to Proton for running Windows games in Linux; allowed developers to ship pre-compiled shaders specifically for the Deck (you know, the thing Microsoft was sniffing their own farts about when they introduced it today); and most importantly sold well enough to get developers and publishers to care about it.

If them introducing a "console" / "TV box" / "whatever you wanna call it" means that we get even a fraction of this innovation on the platform, I'm all for it. Is it going to sell more than the PS5 or Switch 2? Almost certainly not. But it doesn't have to be nearly as successful for us to all reap the benefits.

This entire thing looks like the more consoles became a PC (mouse keyboard support, digital games, etc), the more the PC is looking to become a console. Some weird unity thing going on with platforms haha

 

[Magister]

It's actually real, wow. I fully expect this to be a niche device like Steam Deck.

 

[viveks86]

What is stopping them from making a higher end system? Not a big enough base to sell to?

 

[Kacho]

What is stopping them from making a higher end system? Not a big enough base to sell to?

Probably. It makes a niche product more niche.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

What is stopping them from making a higher end system? Not a big enough base to sell to?

Likely not big enough of an audience to cater to. I would assume Valve looked at the most popular games on Steam and the Steam hardware survey to make such a determination.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

What is stopping them from making a higher end system? Not a big enough base to sell to?

Yeah definitely. Switch sells better than PS5 which sells better than PS5 Pro. Cheap + good enough will sell better than a premium device.

I'd expect the size of the "gamers who want a high end Steam machine but don't want to build a gaming PC or buy a pre-built" is fairly niche.

Plus I'd expect that other OEMs will sell their own SteamOS consoles with different/more powerful hardware.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

A Console that can't play FortNite, Madden NFL, EA FC, COD, Battlefield, GTA, Minecraft, and no Gamepass.

If it doesn't die by itself, the next gen Xbox Magnus will kill it completely.

Aw, you're scared. That's cute.

Here come the Sony boys

TBF I've seen both diehard PlayStation AND Xbox fans downplaying or completely dismissing Fremont. You can take guesses as to why.

Personally, I'm interested. Get that W11 garbage outta here tho.

Steam machine 2.0. Hyped up by the minority and ignored by the majority.

It's funny how the first thing many of you are running with to dismiss this thing, are sales. Forgetting that Valve are even less reliant on hardware sales than even Microsoft, let alone Sony/SIE. Every single Fremont they sell is just a bonus.

This is a play for keeping Steam users engaged with the ecosystem, providing an alternative to Windows for PC gaming, and if it pulls in new people, that's cool too. It's not going to live or die by how many millions it sells, unlike certain other platforms.

New steam controller expected to release at same time

I'm assuming this is going to have a similar trajectory as Steam Deck in terms of 3P OEMs getting involved. As in, it'll first probably just be Valve, but a bit later a couple other OEMs might start making variants.

In any case, I hope this is successful. I will definitely be considering one myself, and they already have a blueprint in Steam Deck with regards how to make this a successful platform at the performance, features, and ease of use level. It's just a question now of: how large with volume of production be, and to what degree will presence in physical retail be for it (along with maybe some commercial advertising).

A lot of people like to try saying Steam Deck is a failure because it "only" sold 4 million but completely ignore they did that with intentionally lower volumes than Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft, barely any physical retail presence and no traditional advertising of any sort. Guaranteed, if Sony/SIE did that with PS5, you'd at best be looking at a third of the numbers they've actually managed to sell so far, and that's being very generous.

I can't stress enough how those critical those three things are towards a platform's mass-market proliferation, and Valve wasn't actually intending for any of that with the Steam Deck but still managed 4+ million (it's probably closer to 5 million now at least).

Seems like a weird chose then for a device that will be releasing in the final years of the 9th gen consoles.

Still interested but I can't see myself dropping my ITX build with a 4070 Super/5600x for this despite wanting to get away from Windows badly.

Cross-gen for 9th/10th-gen will be even longer than for 8th/9th-gen. So if Fremont has PS5-level performance that won't be a problem for a long while, and there's also the chance they may have a variant SKU with higher performance.

 

[Sentenza]

Can't say I'm personally interested, but what I would like is for this to be aggressively priced, so it can become the "baseline prebuilt PC" that you can comfortably suggest to friends without adding a 20 minutes explanation about how to pick parts.

 

[Sentenza]

Sounds like a console with extra steps

Like the Steamdeck for the handheld market, it would be a "console" where you can instantly import your entire library without having to start from zero.

 

[Tobimacoss]

Aw, you're scared. That's cute.



TBF I've seen both diehard PlayStation AND Xbox fans downplaying or completely dismissing Fremont. You can take guesses as to why.

Personally, I'm interested. Get that W11 garbage outta here tho.



It's funny how the first thing many of you are running with to dismiss this thing, are sales. Forgetting that Valve are even less reliant on hardware sales than even Microsoft, let alone Sony/SIE. Every single Fremont they sell is just a bonus.

This is a play for keeping Steam users engaged with the ecosystem, providing an alternative to Windows for PC gaming, and if it pulls in new people, that's cool too. It's not going to live or die by how many millions it sells, unlike certain other platforms.

What's there to be scared of? SteamOS is an open platform in name only, similar to Google Android before they started to lose the anti trust rulings.

Valve wants to bring a PC based console to the TV, MS is already undercutting Valves plans by creating a true open platform that isn't just tilted toward Steam only. One that can play both PC and Console games.

As for you talking crap about windows, you will still be using Windows games, windows code, windows APIs to play those SteamOS games. It is the hard work of all the windows engineers and DX team that has built PC Gaming, Valve is simply a distributor.

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

P.S. I do own a Series S, but I don't have any intention of buying more hardware. (Maybe a Xbox Ally X in few years). Mostly a Cloud only player, we are a new breed, all we care about is if a game is part of Play Anywhere, on Gamepass, and/or in xCloud Buy and Stream.

Whatever Valve does will have no bearing on me, hardware wars are irrelevant. I was just musing about what they're trying to do. They lost their chance.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

What's there to be scared of? SteamOS is an open platform in name only, similar to Google Android before they started to lose the anti trust rulings.

Valve wants to bring a PC based console to the TV, MS is already undercutting Valves plans by creating a true open platform that isn't just tilted toward Steam only. One that can play both PC and Console games.

As for you talking crap about windows, you will still be using Windows games, windows code, windows APIs to play those SteamOS games. It is the hard work of all the windows engineers and DX team that has built PC Gaming, Valve is simply a distributor.

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

P.S. I do own a Series S, but I don't have any intention of buying more hardware. (Maybe a Xbox Ally X in few years). Mostly a Cloud only player, we are a new breed, all we care about is if a game is part of Play Anywhere, on Gamepass, and/or in xCloud Buy and Stream.

Whatever Valve does will have no bearing on me, hardware wars are irrelevant. I was just musing about what they're trying to do. They lost their chance.

I want no part of the future of gaming on a windows platform.

 

[rodrigolfp]

What is stopping them from making a higher end system? Not a big enough base to sell to?

Nothing is stopping them from having a high end variant.

 

[64gigabyteram]

I want something to compete with Nintendo and Sony.

no, you just want nintendo and sony.
This differentiates itself enough to be a decent competitor already. If a console hss to be exactly like nintendo & sony to compete, its short lived

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

but youd rather support some other even richer billionaires so they can build more yachts??

 

[TheUndeadGamer]

Maybe it will have a port so you can connect an eGPU?

 

[diffusionx]

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

"So I choose to support a company that has laid off tens of thousands of people to replace them with H1B Indians."

Are Microsoft shills really like this?

 

[Topher]

Here come the Sony boys

I'll see your "Sony boys" and raise you.....

What's there to be scared of? SteamOS is an open platform in name only, similar to Google Android before they started to lose the anti trust rulings.

Valve wants to bring a PC based console to the TV, MS is already undercutting Valves plans by creating a true open platform that isn't just tilted toward Steam only. One that can play both PC and Console games.

As for you talking crap about windows, you will still be using Windows games, windows code, windows APIs to play those SteamOS games. It is the hard work of all the windows engineers and DX team that has built PC Gaming, Valve is simply a distributor.

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

P.S. I do own a Series S, but I don't have any intention of buying more hardware. (Maybe a Xbox Ally X in few years). Mostly a Cloud only player, we are a new breed, all we care about is if a game is part of Play Anywhere, on Gamepass, and/or in xCloud Buy and Stream.

Whatever Valve does will have no bearing on me, hardware wars are irrelevant. I was just musing about what they're trying to do. They lost their chance.

 

[Senua]

I'll see your "Sony boys" and raised you.....

There's retards on all ends. There's just a lot more Sony ones now

 

[SABRE220]

I hope they put out a midrange 9070xt equivalent rdna5 [1060xt] at a midrange price. I'd they put a decently powerful midrange machine out, I am in. Sony has been a massive dissapointment this gen both from a technical and output point ofc view. If they put their exclusives on pc day 1, well damn not a lot of incentive to buy a ps6 honestly. Why pay 150$ for psplus every year, buy games at 70 dollars when you can just get them on steam at half the price on discounts within months and avoid any subscription. It's not even like their hardware is some extra bang for the buck deal anymore either. The ps5 pro is 700$ and is weaker than a 9060xt, it's terrible value and reading about the weak ps6 specs and the handheld anchor yeah they're making a competitive pc look incredibly enticing.

 

[Topher]

There's retards on all ends. There's just a lot more Sony ones now

I wouldn't necessarily say that's the case in this thread though. Mostly good responses and then whatever that was. lol....MS with the "true open platform". That takes the cake.

 

[clappedcheeks]

What's there to be scared of? SteamOS is an open platform in name only, similar to Google Android before they started to lose the anti trust rulings.

Valve wants to bring a PC based console to the TV, MS is already undercutting Valves plans by creating a true open platform that isn't just tilted toward Steam only. One that can play both PC and Console games.

As for you talking crap about windows, you will still be using Windows games, windows code, windows APIs to play those SteamOS games. It is the hard work of all the windows engineers and DX team that has built PC Gaming, Valve is simply a distributor.

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

P.S. I do own a Series S, but I don't have any intention of buying more hardware. (Maybe a Xbox Ally X in few years). Mostly a Cloud only player, we are a new breed, all we care about is if a game is part of Play Anywhere, on Gamepass, and/or in xCloud Buy and Stream.

Whatever Valve does will have no bearing on me, hardware wars are irrelevant. I was just musing about what they're trying to do. They lost their chance.

Your commitment to Microsoft is commendable. You manage to insert their future gaming plans with XboxPC and Magnus in pretty much every thread you post in. The confidence with which you do it also seems like you're someone with inside knowledge. Coincidentally you only started posting around the time when Microsoft's future strategy was being unveiled, using an account that has been dormant for 7 years or so.

 

[Senua]

I wouldn't necessarily say that's the case in this thread though. Mostly good responses and then whatever that was. lol....MS with the "true open platform". That takes the cake.

Yea I meant in general, that account is an obvious shill that has just popped up, never seen him before and probably wont again for another few months lol

 

[Wolzard]

It is fixed, kernel level anti cheat is available for Linux, but it requires extra dev work. So "lol, coding is hard" argument.

It's literally a button. The reason these games don't run on Linux is an artificial limitation imposed by the developer. Some people manage to log in and play, but they end up getting banned.
The developers argument is that they don't want to support more than one platform.

 

[Deerock71]

Valve will take Nintendo out, right gaiz?

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Your commitment to Microsoft is commendable. You manage to insert their future gaming plans with XboxPC and Magnus in pretty much every thread you post in. The confidence with which you do it also seems like you're someone with inside knowledge. Coincidentally you only started posting around the time when Microsoft's future strategy was being unveiled, using an account that has been dormant for 7 years or so.

Oh shit, I was talking to a smurf?!?

 

[clappedcheeks]

Oh shit, I was talking to a smurf?!?

Although I'm not sure of the reference.

 

[graywolf323]

What's there to be scared of? SteamOS is an open platform in name only, similar to Google Android before they started to lose the anti trust rulings.

Valve wants to bring a PC based console to the TV, MS is already undercutting Valves plans by creating a true open platform that isn't just tilted toward Steam only. One that can play both PC and Console games.

As for you talking crap about windows, you will still be using Windows games, windows code, windows APIs to play those SteamOS games. It is the hard work of all the windows engineers and DX team that has built PC Gaming, Valve is simply a distributor.

And I would rather not support a platform owned by couple of billionaires (Gaben and his partner) so they can buy more yachts and yacht building companies.

P.S. I do own a Series S, but I don't have any intention of buying more hardware. (Maybe a Xbox Ally X in few years). Mostly a Cloud only player, we are a new breed, all we care about is if a game is part of Play Anywhere, on Gamepass, and/or in xCloud Buy and Stream.

Whatever Valve does will have no bearing on me, hardware wars are irrelevant. I was just musing about what they're trying to do. They lost their chance.

7 year old account with ~200 posts, who's alt are you?

 

[viveks86]

Although I'm not sure of the reference.

"A smurf is an experienced player who uses a new account to deceive other players into thinking he's a noob (newbie)"

Had to look it up myself

 

[nial]

TBF I've seen both diehard PlayStation AND Xbox fans downplaying or completely dismissing Fremont. You can take guesses as to why.

Steam bros trying to convince everyone that these hardware devices are way more relevant than they truly are is far more likely, tbh. Happened in 2021, will happen again.

 

[Parazels]

Can't wait for the next Digital Foundry podcast. What price tag will they predict?