Ars Technica has written up an article about Valve's Steam Machines and how they seem to have sold less than 500,000 units in around seven months.
Valve's recent announcement about how many Steam Controllers sold was stated at over 500,000 units, and Ars are claiming Valve has told them directly that includes units sold with a Steam Machine. I have no reason to question that Valve told Ars that, but the problem is the comparison used here. Ars are directly comparing a niche PC platform with behemoths like Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's Playstation 4. Both of which had multiple previous generations with people already hooked into the platforms and both have massive advertising budgets. If you are going to compare it with those platforms, then yes, it will look bad. Steam Machines were not supposed to be console killers anyway, so I feel like this is comparing apples to oranges. It's meant to be an extension of the PC platform.
I'm going to be blunt here, who honestly thought they would sell like hot cakes? I didn't. I've said it time and time again that both SteamOS and Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success and it will take a long time for them to gain any real traction.
Another problem is that the mainstream gaming press has almost never been fond of the idea anyway, and the amount of articles out looking down it probably wouldn't have helped things. Ars hasn't exactly been kind about it at all in previous articles. Hell, even certain Linux websites like to use sensationalist article titles talking down Linux popularity on Steam. When actually, it's doing pretty well all things considered.
I do fully agree with other things Ars and others say though. We are facing real issues, like a lack of bigger platform-pushing titles and performance. Valve do need to up their own advertising a bit too, not just of Steam Machines, but of new Linux releases. They give big homepage banners to plenty of new Windows releases, but only a few SteamOS releases have been graced with such advertising. Valve haven't even managed to get their own VR device with HTC on Linux yet, they need to up their own game.
No matter what, SteamOS and Steam Machines have boosted Linux gaming immeasurably and will continue to do so for quite some time. Thanks to games we already have and games we expect to see in future.
SteamOS hasn't had time to truly mature, Vulkan has only recently been released (which should help with the performance issues) and hardly any developers are using it yet.
It's still too early to consider it a failure. Valve are one company who can afford to take their time, and it seems they are. It hasn't even been a year yet.
Windows is still a threat to Valve, especially with Windows 10, the Windows Store and Microsoft's plans for it with the Universal Windows Platform. I don't see them dropping SteamOS any time soon. They lose nothing by supporting Linux, but have the possibility in future to gain a lot from it. It's like a security blanket for them. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Valve's recent announcement about how many Steam Controllers sold was stated at over 500,000 units, and Ars are claiming Valve has told them directly that includes units sold with a Steam Machine. I have no reason to question that Valve told Ars that, but the problem is the comparison used here. Ars are directly comparing a niche PC platform with behemoths like Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's Playstation 4. Both of which had multiple previous generations with people already hooked into the platforms and both have massive advertising budgets. If you are going to compare it with those platforms, then yes, it will look bad. Steam Machines were not supposed to be console killers anyway, so I feel like this is comparing apples to oranges. It's meant to be an extension of the PC platform.
I'm going to be blunt here, who honestly thought they would sell like hot cakes? I didn't. I've said it time and time again that both SteamOS and Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success and it will take a long time for them to gain any real traction.
Another problem is that the mainstream gaming press has almost never been fond of the idea anyway, and the amount of articles out looking down it probably wouldn't have helped things. Ars hasn't exactly been kind about it at all in previous articles. Hell, even certain Linux websites like to use sensationalist article titles talking down Linux popularity on Steam. When actually, it's doing pretty well all things considered.
I do fully agree with other things Ars and others say though. We are facing real issues, like a lack of bigger platform-pushing titles and performance. Valve do need to up their own advertising a bit too, not just of Steam Machines, but of new Linux releases. They give big homepage banners to plenty of new Windows releases, but only a few SteamOS releases have been graced with such advertising. Valve haven't even managed to get their own VR device with HTC on Linux yet, they need to up their own game.
No matter what, SteamOS and Steam Machines have boosted Linux gaming immeasurably and will continue to do so for quite some time. Thanks to games we already have and games we expect to see in future.
SteamOS hasn't had time to truly mature, Vulkan has only recently been released (which should help with the performance issues) and hardly any developers are using it yet.
It's still too early to consider it a failure. Valve are one company who can afford to take their time, and it seems they are. It hasn't even been a year yet.
Windows is still a threat to Valve, especially with Windows 10, the Windows Store and Microsoft's plans for it with the Universal Windows Platform. I don't see them dropping SteamOS any time soon. They lose nothing by supporting Linux, but have the possibility in future to gain a lot from it. It's like a security blanket for them. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
slaapliedje Jun 3, 2016
Well, let's just throw this out there, it has been theorized that if Commodore had been able to sell even 100,000 CD32s, they would have remained in business.
So if they actually sold 'less than 500k' I'd say that's a damn good start!
Actually if they released an upgraded model with a 1070GTX in it, I'd buy one. I've been thinking I need something out in my living room because dragging my current tower out there for some room-scale goodness is becoming annoying. They need to patch up the SteamVR/Vive stuff for Linux support, and since most (all?) VR games are created via Unity or Unreal engines, the ports should be easy.
Once they get some of the annoyances fixed up (like was previously mentioned about ETS2 and the controller, I've ran into games where the controller just isn't detected. I don't blame the controller, I blame the developers for only utilizing strictly xbox controllers and not bothering to fix it.) But for just as many games that have issues, there are 1500 more that don't.
I do agree that what SteamOS really needs is the 'apps' that the consoles have, like being able to play Netflix, Amazon Vidoes, etc. Integrate Kodi into big picture mode somehow and that'd help a ton as well. At least they started supporting movies in their store. Though it'd be nice if we could have them not show when we only care about games. I tend to not buy digital movies / music. I'd rather buy the bluray or CD for that.
Also I have to state this, number wise, can we honestly say any other single HTPC style computer has sold anywhere near 500k? My guess would be no.
So if they actually sold 'less than 500k' I'd say that's a damn good start!
Actually if they released an upgraded model with a 1070GTX in it, I'd buy one. I've been thinking I need something out in my living room because dragging my current tower out there for some room-scale goodness is becoming annoying. They need to patch up the SteamVR/Vive stuff for Linux support, and since most (all?) VR games are created via Unity or Unreal engines, the ports should be easy.
Once they get some of the annoyances fixed up (like was previously mentioned about ETS2 and the controller, I've ran into games where the controller just isn't detected. I don't blame the controller, I blame the developers for only utilizing strictly xbox controllers and not bothering to fix it.) But for just as many games that have issues, there are 1500 more that don't.
I do agree that what SteamOS really needs is the 'apps' that the consoles have, like being able to play Netflix, Amazon Vidoes, etc. Integrate Kodi into big picture mode somehow and that'd help a ton as well. At least they started supporting movies in their store. Though it'd be nice if we could have them not show when we only care about games. I tend to not buy digital movies / music. I'd rather buy the bluray or CD for that.
Also I have to state this, number wise, can we honestly say any other single HTPC style computer has sold anywhere near 500k? My guess would be no.
0 Likes
nattydread Jun 3, 2016
I never trust any publication with Arse in the title.
0 Likes
I stopped reading ars technica with the whole gamergate thing. And ars are windows fanboys. I never expect anything good from their articles anyway.
0 Likes
ProfessorKaos64 Jun 3, 2016
I remember seeing somewhere it where it a comment said "The Phillips CD-i of gaming PC consoles." Please. Besides title support, I've been thoroughly happy with SteamOS. Early on, audio and display bugs were pretty bad, but with Intel/Nvidia hardware, I've had good luck. Even with my crap Gigabyte dual-BIOS, I made due. I love the idea of being able to control my system and have fun with it. It's my own personal toy. Build and add software I want, script, game, anything I feel like doing. If I knew how to design and code a competent UI, i'd happily distribute tools like my SteamOS-mega-downloader. I will use things like this when making USB drives again, since I am too lazy to buy more for some reason :)
However, in reality some things need large attention this year, or the media will just continue to spit on this:
1. Multimedia from an actual application-like interface. Using a browser is clunky, even if I do it and it's fine for me.
2. Game titles (no brainer, but I have way too much to play)
3. Broadcasting (why this isn't there is beyond me)
4. Source-SDK support
5. HTC Vive support
6. Accurate promotion while using the platform
7. Permanent wall space on major pages that feature new games / items.
8. More communication with the community, especially on the GitHub bug tracker. Most folks don't even know what is required, since their DIY page is vague on exactly what GPU's are supported. It's not hard to reference the current driver version's compatible cards and place that in a txt file.
9. Something, something, Dark Side....
Last edited by ProfessorKaos64 on 3 June 2016 at 11:45 pm UTC
However, in reality some things need large attention this year, or the media will just continue to spit on this:
1. Multimedia from an actual application-like interface. Using a browser is clunky, even if I do it and it's fine for me.
2. Game titles (no brainer, but I have way too much to play)
3. Broadcasting (why this isn't there is beyond me)
4. Source-SDK support
5. HTC Vive support
6. Accurate promotion while using the platform
7. Permanent wall space on major pages that feature new games / items.
8. More communication with the community, especially on the GitHub bug tracker. Most folks don't even know what is required, since their DIY page is vague on exactly what GPU's are supported. It's not hard to reference the current driver version's compatible cards and place that in a txt file.
9. Something, something, Dark Side....
Last edited by ProfessorKaos64 on 3 June 2016 at 11:45 pm UTC
0 Likes
ElectricPrism Jun 4, 2016
Blah blah blah we are the greatest blah blah blah we hate SteamOS.
0 Likes
Wait, did anyone actually expect Steam Machines to sell well within the current console cycle? Essentially no one I know of thought they were a marketable format that would have any sort of actual niche, and hey look about half a million sold.
I expect it'll be generation nine that is Valve's to lose. They are essentially making the same kind of deal for consoles as Gates did when he famously got IBM to agree to non-exclusivity for MSDOS. It'll take getting the OS much more up to snuff and getting a lot more of the AAA sector to target the platform but the eighth generation is only two years old and follows the longest console generation in history, so they have plenty of time to get really robust and get the devs and publishers on board.
Hell, a good step I'd personally like to see them doing is helping with getting Wine much better at being able to run all the older Windows exclusive titles in one version to the point they could at the very least convince the big AAA publishers to make the token effort of releasing a few older titles each in Wine bottles the way certain older DOS titles on Steam, mainly Id titles, are released with a preconfigured DOSBOX. So long as it counted as a Linux sale I suspect that'd be enough to get the AAA boys to sit up and take notice of the market potential they're missing on Linux which would help make Linux ports a much bigger priority.
To bring the Windows PC gamers over to Linux though is going to be a much bigger task. There are a lot of little details that all together make Linux unappealing to people used to Mac or Windows without a certain level of iconoclasm. The number of things for which the fix is "open a terminal and run this obtuse and possibly obscure sequence of commands" is a big example.
I expect it'll be generation nine that is Valve's to lose. They are essentially making the same kind of deal for consoles as Gates did when he famously got IBM to agree to non-exclusivity for MSDOS. It'll take getting the OS much more up to snuff and getting a lot more of the AAA sector to target the platform but the eighth generation is only two years old and follows the longest console generation in history, so they have plenty of time to get really robust and get the devs and publishers on board.
Hell, a good step I'd personally like to see them doing is helping with getting Wine much better at being able to run all the older Windows exclusive titles in one version to the point they could at the very least convince the big AAA publishers to make the token effort of releasing a few older titles each in Wine bottles the way certain older DOS titles on Steam, mainly Id titles, are released with a preconfigured DOSBOX. So long as it counted as a Linux sale I suspect that'd be enough to get the AAA boys to sit up and take notice of the market potential they're missing on Linux which would help make Linux ports a much bigger priority.
To bring the Windows PC gamers over to Linux though is going to be a much bigger task. There are a lot of little details that all together make Linux unappealing to people used to Mac or Windows without a certain level of iconoclasm. The number of things for which the fix is "open a terminal and run this obtuse and possibly obscure sequence of commands" is a big example.
0 Likes
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me