gameinformer has reported that Origin PC has decided against using SteamOS for what was going to be their Steam Machine, so time to stop calling it a Steam Machine.
Personally, i's not too bothered. Alienware has been doing a pretty great job sending it out to lots of people to review, doing interviews with people about it, and the Alienware Steam Machine looks pretty cool too.
It won't be long before Steam has to take down this page then. With a starting price of $899.99 USD I couldn't see many people buying it anyway. I hope Steam remove their page, otherwise it will show Valve don't care if a Steam Machine means SteamOS.
What are your thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quote“We decided that we will not offer Steam OS because we believe that a system that boots directly into Steam Big Picture mode coupled with an available Steam Controller already offers a seamless Steam experience within Windows,” a company representative told us. “We are confident this allows users to take full advantage of all the power and features that ORIGIN PC systems have to offer. We have also made this option available through all of our product lines with no charge for the Big Picture Mode toggle.”
Personally, i's not too bothered. Alienware has been doing a pretty great job sending it out to lots of people to review, doing interviews with people about it, and the Alienware Steam Machine looks pretty cool too.
It won't be long before Steam has to take down this page then. With a starting price of $899.99 USD I couldn't see many people buying it anyway. I hope Steam remove their page, otherwise it will show Valve don't care if a Steam Machine means SteamOS.
What are your thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Storminator16 Nov 13, 2015
Good, I think the fact there are multiple vendors selling "Steam Machines" isn't a good thing because it makes the focus of what Valve is trying to do a bit more fragmented. If they are just 2 or 3 vendors churning out boxes with custom GPUs, this gambit may have a bit more of a focus.
With that said, I have no idea what Valve is trying to do any more. Build it and they will come? I don't know. I'm just glad I can play games on Linux I wouldn't have been able to 4 years ago.
Last edited by Storminator16 on 13 November 2015 at 6:13 pm UTC
With that said, I have no idea what Valve is trying to do any more. Build it and they will come? I don't know. I'm just glad I can play games on Linux I wouldn't have been able to 4 years ago.
Last edited by Storminator16 on 13 November 2015 at 6:13 pm UTC
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That is frankly the Achilles' heel of the Steam machine, much as I hate to say it: There's no compelling reason from the consumer perspective why the thing should be running SteamOS rather than Windows, and significant reasons in the other direction. That could change, I hope it will change, but it remains something of a chicken-egg problem so far, although already not nearly as bad as it was just a year or two ago.
On the other hand, assuming they do get pulled from the Steam Machine page on Steam, good luck making up for that with whatever other sales channels you got, Origin guys.
On the other hand, assuming they do get pulled from the Steam Machine page on Steam, good luck making up for that with whatever other sales channels you got, Origin guys.
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I foresee this happening to just about all the manufacturers unless steam machine sales warrant a continuation of the production.
This will be the time when Valve will have to weigh in on the aspect of having their own paid for branded hardware they produce or have produced. unless this is the case with one brand already that I'm not aware of?
but for now I think Valve is more or less trying to push the Steam Links which are their own branded hardware they produce at the moment.
Once more companies come on board with Vulkan and produce more AAA titles cross platform to Linux then I think Valve will have more fuel to push the market.
This will be the time when Valve will have to weigh in on the aspect of having their own paid for branded hardware they produce or have produced. unless this is the case with one brand already that I'm not aware of?
but for now I think Valve is more or less trying to push the Steam Links which are their own branded hardware they produce at the moment.
Once more companies come on board with Vulkan and produce more AAA titles cross platform to Linux then I think Valve will have more fuel to push the market.
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Johan Lejonborn Nov 13, 2015
Playing it safe and sticking to Windows or taking a chance on a new OS for a chance to be a big player in a new market? Origin PC is playing it safe.
My guess is that Alienware looks at the market and sees a opportunity. People that want a gaming PC but do not want to admin and update a Windows PC. That is potentially a new market with completely new customers who would otherwise not have bought a gaming PC. I think that is where the market is for SteamOS, not trying to convince "PC Gamers" to ditch their beloved Windows but instead bringing new people into PC Gaming with a simple console-like experience where you can play quite a few games that are not available on traditional consoles.
I really hope it pays of for Alienware.
Last edited by Johan Lejonborn on 13 November 2015 at 8:12 pm UTC
My guess is that Alienware looks at the market and sees a opportunity. People that want a gaming PC but do not want to admin and update a Windows PC. That is potentially a new market with completely new customers who would otherwise not have bought a gaming PC. I think that is where the market is for SteamOS, not trying to convince "PC Gamers" to ditch their beloved Windows but instead bringing new people into PC Gaming with a simple console-like experience where you can play quite a few games that are not available on traditional consoles.
I really hope it pays of for Alienware.
Last edited by Johan Lejonborn on 13 November 2015 at 8:12 pm UTC
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I am not sure why would they do it. If they won't sell it with SteamOS they can't package steam controller and will not get any advertising on steam hardware. Not sure about advertisement, but in my opinion steam controller is quite important for pc gaming on the couch!
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Comandante Ñoñardo Nov 13, 2015
Like it or not, we need some good Linux exclusive games.. (exclusives for a while.. I don't know.. six months, maybe)
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Avehicle7887 Nov 13, 2015
From a business point of view they're right, at that price why offer a system locked to Steam when they can offer one that also serves as a normal desktop PC. Also considering a PS4/XB1 cost half of the price, it would be hard to turn a profit.
So far the only Steam Box I've seen that's worth the money is the Alienware one, the price/performance are comparable to a normal console or build-it-yourself system.
In my opinion Steam Boxes shouldn't cost a lot and should serve as an equivalent alternative to a PS4/XB1. At the end of the day I doubt many people are willing to shell 700e+ for a system focused just on Steam.
So far the only Steam Box I've seen that's worth the money is the Alienware one, the price/performance are comparable to a normal console or build-it-yourself system.
In my opinion Steam Boxes shouldn't cost a lot and should serve as an equivalent alternative to a PS4/XB1. At the end of the day I doubt many people are willing to shell 700e+ for a system focused just on Steam.
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyThere's no compelling reason from the consumer perspective why the thing should be running SteamOS rather than Windows, and significant reasons in the other direction.I'd say consumers have plenty of reasons to ditch Windows, but I'm sure most consumers agree with the above sentiment. (even though you personally mightn't)
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyThat is frankly the Achilles' heel of the Steam machine, much as I hate to say it: There's no compelling reason from the consumer perspective why the thing should be running SteamOS rather than Windows, and significant reasons in the other direction. That could change, I hope it will change, but it remains something of a chicken-egg problem so far, although already not nearly as bad as it was just a year or two ago.
On the other hand, assuming they do get pulled from the Steam Machine page on Steam, good luck making up for that with whatever other sales channels you got, Origin guys.
Actually, using SteamOS, you won't be annoyed with any of windows' aspects. No updates that automatically restart your computer, no bloatware, no viruses, etc. I can totally see how it would be appealing to a windows consumer. But it's true that these points are easily forgotten.
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