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Some good news about the whole Steam Machine parade, OC3D did a pretty long review of the ZBOX NEN SN970 and they liked it so much they gave it an award.
They seem like they are one of the few major websites to actually talk about it all properly, and actually put some thought into what they are writing:
QuoteLike most things that are new SteamOS and Valve's Steam Machines suffer from a few problems, most of which are simply due to the fact that SteamOS is new, different and not like PC gaming as we know it.
This is very similar to a new games console, and a lot of the issues with Linux/SteamOS gaming can be easily described as the plagues of being an Early adopter. Right now many people will argue that SteamOS does not have many games, to which I will say that neither did the Wii U, PS4 and Xbox One when it was initially launched.
Right now SteamOS has over 1000 compatible games on the Steam Service, which is a lot of games to say the least. While plenty of new games are not released on Linux right not, more are certainly coming, and more and more developers are becoming increasingly interested in PC gaming outside of Windows.
Stuff like this really gives me hope about our future, if only other sites were more positive on the experience. Hopefully in a year or so people will re-review it to see if it's any better.
What do you guys think? Would love one myself, but at £800 I can't afford it. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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well, most other consoles all had one `advantage`, if you will, which was that they had exclusive titles or at least top-titles on launch. honestly, I thought that could be HL3 here, I bet that this title would have kicked the steambox to a best seller.
Nevertheless, things are way better than they used to be, say 2 years ago. When the only linux titles were sim city 3000 and a handful others. no matter what happens next: I am very satisfied by now and how things turned to the good. not perfect, but clearly waaay better than these times when there was no steam for linux.
Nevertheless, things are way better than they used to be, say 2 years ago. When the only linux titles were sim city 3000 and a handful others. no matter what happens next: I am very satisfied by now and how things turned to the good. not perfect, but clearly waaay better than these times when there was no steam for linux.
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Nevertheless, things are way better than they used to be, say 2 years ago. When the only linux titles were sim city 3000 and a handful others.
3 years ago, even SimCity 3000 was not available anymore to Linux gamers! Back then, when I heard Valve was willing to push Linux forward, I decided to get a fuel-loaded Core i7 instead of my usual low-end PC + console combo. Never did I regret this decision, ever.
As to console exclusives, it is not that true anymore. Apart from HD remakes of Uncharted and The Last of Us on the Sony side of things, 1 or 2 Nintendo licences a year (true story) -- and almost nothing on Microsoft's part (Forza), people get mostly multi-platform titles to fulfil their gaming lust.
Look at this week's top sellers : Fallout 4, Call of Shitty, Tomb Raider, Need for Speed and FIFA. There's only Starcraft 2's latest full-priced extension which is a Windows exclusive.
Last edited by omer666 on 28 November 2015 at 3:35 pm UTC
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That's good news because OC3D is one of the best hardware reviewers out there.
I'm sure not only to me their advice has more weight than that of a dozen of those glorified unboxing channels that are so common nowadays.
Last edited by Caldazar on 28 November 2015 at 3:38 pm UTC
I'm sure not only to me their advice has more weight than that of a dozen of those glorified unboxing channels that are so common nowadays.
Last edited by Caldazar on 28 November 2015 at 3:38 pm UTC
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Mohandevir Nov 28, 2015
Because they did the review with console in mind and that's exactly Valve's target.
Valve couldn't have built a console with Windows if the goal is to attract console gamers. This kind of gamer doesn't want to administer a console. He wants to push the power button and play. This is what SteamOS does and does it well.
The missing part is Vulkan and with the list of Vulkan's contributers, I can't imagine how it could fail: Valve, Epic games, Blizzard, EA, AMD, Nvidia, Intel and even Dassault.
For those unfamilliar with Dassault, this is the company behind SolidWorks and Catia, leading CAD softwares.
Valve couldn't have built a console with Windows if the goal is to attract console gamers. This kind of gamer doesn't want to administer a console. He wants to push the power button and play. This is what SteamOS does and does it well.
The missing part is Vulkan and with the list of Vulkan's contributers, I can't imagine how it could fail: Valve, Epic games, Blizzard, EA, AMD, Nvidia, Intel and even Dassault.
For those unfamilliar with Dassault, this is the company behind SolidWorks and Catia, leading CAD softwares.
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Segata Sanshiro Nov 28, 2015
This was the one I thought had the most sensible hardware... But yeah, at £800 its's not going to get people off their xbones.
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Steam Machine on launch had more games to play than XBO and PS4. SteamOS is solid platform, works well, and for first iteration is clearly good quality product. I really fail to see why anyone should shun it - except you know, Windows vs. Linux tribalism.
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Steam Machine on launch had more games to play than XBO and PS4.
While I still find it hard to believe, Steam Machines had more titles on launch day than Xbox 360 or PS3 have today (according to Wikipedia's numbers)...
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It's always good to read good reviews on Steam Machines, but I think quality trumps quantity as gaming goes. It doesn't matter how many games a system has at its disposal, we're not getting many people's attention until we get franchises even non-gamers recognise as big deals, like GTA and Fallout. Let's keep pushing forward, though!
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I notice there's one criticism that keeps on cropping up, even in positive reviews by people looking at it from a console perspective:
No apps for Netflix and similar webby multimedia stuff. That's something well within Valve's power to fix, they should get on it.
No apps for Netflix and similar webby multimedia stuff. That's something well within Valve's power to fix, they should get on it.
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No apps for Netflix and similar webby multimedia stuff. That's something well within Valve's power to fix, they should get on it.
Indeed they should. That'd make me get a Steam machine instead of a Chromecast this xmas.
While I still find it hard to believe, Steam Machines had more titles on launch day than Xbox 360 or PS3 have today (according to Wikipedia's numbers)...
I'm sorry, but those numbers means zero - nill - nothing for the console customers.
Franchises like Fallout, GTA, Assassins Creed, Call Of Duty, Battlefront, Mass Effect: That's what matters. And not one hundred thousand indie games can make up for that: They don't mean squat.
Last edited by Beamboom on 28 November 2015 at 7:07 pm UTC
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$1200 for a console style computer is asinine. No one is going to pay that much for it no matter how good it is.
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Finally an article that was written by someone with intelligence who did some research.
Finally a review site that’s not been $ or doesn’t have a specific agenda ;)
A British one too, they don't mince around as much with their words , so if its shit its going to be called out as being shit :D
Last edited by on 28 November 2015 at 7:16 pm UTC
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[quote=Beamboom]
As you obviously asked all of them, who am I to diagree.
But I personally would like to have both - AAA and lots of games including many indie pearls.
I still find the fact impressive - more games at start than the last consoles have after nine years.
And no, these are also not all AAA games.
I'm sorry, but those numbers means zero - nill - nothing for the console customers.
Franchises like Fallout, GTA, Assassins Creed, Call Of Duty, Battlefront, Mass Effect: That's what matters. And not one hundred thousand indie games can make up for that: They don't mean squat.
As you obviously asked all of them, who am I to diagree.
But I personally would like to have both - AAA and lots of games including many indie pearls.
I still find the fact impressive - more games at start than the last consoles have after nine years.
And no, these are also not all AAA games.
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$1200 for a console style computer is asinine. No one is going to pay that much for it no matter how good it is.
Why do I even see people quoting the price? It's $1000 launch price and was on sale for $900 at Amazon. At LEAST bitch with proper numbers please. I also thought I seen it was $800 at Amazon at one point.
But to your statement about $1200 machines. Well Syber sold their X line completely. Maybe you should ask those? It was exactly $1200.
I'm sorry, but those numbers means zero - nill - nothing for the console customers.
Franchises like Fallout, GTA, Assassins Creed, Call Of Duty, Battlefront, Mass Effect: That's what matters. And not one hundred thousand indie games can make up for that: They don't mean squat.
Talk about exaggeration. Fallout 4 was a disappointment in many fan's eyes. SW Battlefront is just an overpriced shiny movie advertisement (with lack of game-play and terrible gun play). GTA V's own PC users get dicked over by its own DRM (guess Steam wasn't enough DRM?). Assassin's Creed Unity was so bad it made Ubisoft hit the panic button (free DLC/updates). Should I continue? Sure, big names sell, but people have grown tired of what has been spoon fed to them over and over as of late.
IIRC, it was the developers of Cities: Skylines who made a proper Sim City game this year, not Maxis/EA. It was Rocket League (which is coming to SteamOS) that got people kicking around a ball into nets this year, not PES. Pillars of Eternity made people remember how good a cRPG can be, yet Fallout 4 forgot that it was suppose to be an RPG altogether.
Stop drinking the kool-aid.
Last edited by Keizgon on 28 November 2015 at 7:56 pm UTC
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$1200 for a console style computer is asinine. No one is going to pay that much for it no matter how good it is.
Why do I even see people quoting the price? It's $1000 launch price and was on sale for $900 at Amazon. At LEAST bitch with proper numbers please. I also thought I seen it was $800 at Amazon at one point.
But to your statement about $1200 machines. Well Syber sold their X line completely. Maybe you should ask those? It was exactly $1200.
It might be people who already have a big 4k display in the living room (and those early adopters are likely have more spare money than your average console gamer, so $1200 price tag is less of a concern)
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Segata Sanshiro Nov 28, 2015
$1200 for a console style computer is asinine. No one is going to pay that much for it no matter how good it is.
The US pricing is actually $900, converting it doesn't work because everything in the UK is WAAAAY more expensive when it comes to computers. I'd say $900 isn't too bad, but they would have been better off having an i3 instead of i5 and a smaller HDD to shave off a bit of money. Those two components are just overkill in this machine and with a 960, the i5 would add a couple of FPS over an i3 - which really isn't worth it.
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As you obviously asked all of them, who am I to diagree.
It's not me - it's statistics. Fallout 4 shipped twenty million retail copies the first 24 hours after release. GTA has so far sold fifty million retail copies world wide. And this is not including the digital sales - only physical copies.
Point is, those are the franchises a platform must offer. Those are the games that push machines. The indies are a nice bonus, but that's all they are.
But I personally would like to have both - AAA and lots of games including many indie pearls.
Indies are everywhere, man. Absolutely everywhere, including iPads, smartphones and of course both the PS4 and Xbone. There's no reason to purchase anything in particular to get to them. An "indie console" is not gonna sell. I'm sorry but it won't. Look at that budget Android-based console that were kickstarted a while ago - "Ouya". Gems, plenty of them, but no flagships. It flopped, to put it gently.
I still find the fact impressive - more games at start than the last consoles have after nine years.
And no, these are also not all AAA games.
I got 178 titles on my Steam account - a whopping 139 of them runs on Linux. For an old Linux fan that's surreal to see listed.
... But it's only half the story. I've only purchased Linux titles the last two years. And thus missed out on GTAV, Fallout 4, Witcher 3, Dragon Age Inquisition, Watch_Dogs... All titles it really pains to miss out on. I'd pay for them TWICE if I had to - heck slap a pricetag three times as high for the Linux version and I'd shell out in an instant.
Sure, I've got plenty to spend time on. And titles like Xcom, Borderlands 2, and Dying Light has really saved the day for me. But man... I really really hate missing out on those games. Had I not been a Linux nuthead, I'd not even consider a platform without them. But I am, so I hardheadedly put my money where my mouth is. :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 28 November 2015 at 9:54 pm UTC
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Of course the numbers mean something. People are impressed by big numbers. You tell someone a console has well over 1000 games at launch, there is going to be a certain "Wow! Really?" factor there.
But it's still true that people want the big popular games, and the Steam Machine is woefully short of the biggest, top-selling titles. I don't personally care--I basically don't even play the genres those games are always in--but it's a brutal fact when it comes to selling boxes.
Mind you, the few indications I've had about how many Steam Machines are actually selling give me the impression that sales have been fairly, perhaps surprisingly, brisk. Another brutal fact is that Steam is a really, really huge sales channel. There are a lot of people on it buying things, and Valve don't have to spend big money to dangle those machines on the screen half the time when you log on.
But it's still true that people want the big popular games, and the Steam Machine is woefully short of the biggest, top-selling titles. I don't personally care--I basically don't even play the genres those games are always in--but it's a brutal fact when it comes to selling boxes.
Mind you, the few indications I've had about how many Steam Machines are actually selling give me the impression that sales have been fairly, perhaps surprisingly, brisk. Another brutal fact is that Steam is a really, really huge sales channel. There are a lot of people on it buying things, and Valve don't have to spend big money to dangle those machines on the screen half the time when you log on.
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and more and more developers are becoming increasingly interested in PC gaming outside of Windows.This usage of "PC" in the press made my day.
Ok, there's only 5 minutes of it remaining, but nonetheless :)
For those unfamilliar with Dassault, this is the company behind SolidWorks and Catia, leading CAD softwares.To me, it's more like the company behind the Mirage & Rafale Fighters, or the nEUROn drone :)
Last edited by MayeulC on 28 November 2015 at 11:05 pm UTC
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Mountain Man Nov 29, 2015
well, most other consoles all had one `advantage`, if you will, which was that they had exclusive titles or at least top-titles on launch. honestly, I thought that could be HL3 here, I bet that this title would have kicked the steambox to a best seller.I doubt it. Something tells me that making Half-Life 3 a SteamOS/Linux exclusive even for a limited time would just piss a lot of people off.
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