News - More third-party Steam Machine details emerge from the CES

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Zotac, Alienware, Gigabyte and Scan Steam Machines detailed.

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Read more.

Scan just sent us a new nicer picture
http://hexus.net/media/uploaded/2014...8a9b2dc5fa.jpg

Looks like a flatbed scanner with go-faster vents. Hope the Alienware machine is decent, got a Dell company discount that stretches to Alienware

Oh Gawd!

It's as if they have taken the upgradability of a Mac, and mixed it with the cunning design of the original xbox.

ERGH.

No wonder steam ranted so much about windows 8 market place. They've got their own ecosystem they want to push.

Scan's system is one of the most interesting - but the form factor just confuses me. Maybe if someone got a photo of one next to a banana, for scale?

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Originally Posted by directhex

Scan's system is one of the most interesting - but the form factor just confuses me. Maybe if someone got a photo of one next to a banana, for scale?

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Good choice of fruit.

I think it will be interesting to see how people react to them, at these prices etc, see how they develop in the time before SteamOS is released.

I have to admit, virtually all the boxes so far are 100% fugly. The Alienware and Gigabyte ones being the worst by far.

The scan one, while not ugly, does look a bit odd.

nice

[QUOTE=shaithis;3160941...virtually all the boxes so far are 100% fugly...

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Didn't I see a case in the shape of a steam train not long back...they may as well bang the workings in that.

I really don't understand why anybody in their right mind would buy one of these over a PS4 or an Xbox One, or even a budget gaming PC from 3XS.

I just don't get it.

HL3 as a SteamOS exclusive?

Could happen.... ;)

I'm inclined to agree though - as I said previously I don't really see where Valve are heading with this: SteamOS doesn't have the native game catalogue to compete with consoles or PCs as a standalone gaming platform, but all the SteamBoxes announced so far are also way too expensive (and high spec) to consider as a companion streaming device to a Windows gaming PC. Unless they've got some seriously big names lined up to push linux/SteamOS ports of a lot of AAA game titles this year, so they can get the native game catalogue fleshed out and actually desirable, any steam box pulling more power than an A4-5000 APU is pretty much wasted as all your AAA games will need a Windows PC to run anyway....

Or am I missing something?

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

HL3 as a SteamOS exclusive?

Could happen.... ;)

I'm inclined to agree though - as I said previously I don't really see where Valve are heading with this: SteamOS doesn't have the native game catalogue to compete with consoles or PCs as a standalone gaming platform, but all the SteamBoxes announced so far are also way too expensive (and high spec) to consider as a companion streaming device to a Windows gaming PC. Unless they've got some seriously big names lined up to push linux/SteamOS ports of a lot of AAA game titles this year, so they can get the native game catalogue fleshed out and actually desirable, any steam box pulling more power than an A4-5000 APU is pretty much wasted as all your AAA games will need a Windows PC to run anyway....

Or am I missing something?

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Today there are 10x more games on SteamOS than PS4. At knock-down prices, comparatively. What does the future hold?

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Originally Posted by directhex

Today there are 10x more games on SteamOS than PS4.

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How many *desirable* games though? And how many compared to the PS3/Xbox360 (which it will also have to compete with)? And how many compared to Steam on Windows? How many AAA titles? It's not all about volume of games/apps in your marketplace. *IF* they can get devs to back it and develop/port games for native SteamOS, I'll be a) impressed, and b) an eager consumer. But so far I've not heard many game studios raving about SteamOS. Perhaps that'll come at a different trade show, fair enough. But right now? I don't see the point.

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

How many *desirable* games though?

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A very subjective question. Just remember that one of the best selling games in the life of the 360 was Minecraft.

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And how many compared to the PS3/Xbox360 (which it will also have to compete with)?

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About 800 and 1000 respectively, not filtering for regional availability (i.e. not all will be available in the UK)

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And how many compared to Steam on Windows?

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On sale today (excluding games withdrawn from sale but still in libraries)? 2450

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How many AAA titles?

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How are we defining AAA?

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It's not all about volume of games/apps in your marketplace. *IF* they can get devs to back it and develop/port games for native SteamOS, I'll be a) impressed, and b) an eager consumer. But so far I've not heard many game studios raving about SteamOS. Perhaps that'll come at a different trade show, fair enough. But right now? I don't see the point.

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I was expecting some announcements yesterday relating to major publisher support. We *know* 2K is onboard and has ported XCOM (which means Epic is onboard and has ported UE3)

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

HL3 as a SteamOS exclusive?

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Then they can keep it. MS tried the same trick with Halo2 and Vista,and it backfired in their face.

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

How many *desirable* games though? And how many compared to the PS3/Xbox360 (which it will also have to compete with)? And how many compared to Steam on Windows? How many AAA titles? It's not all about volume of games/apps in your marketplace. *IF* they can get devs to back it and develop/port games for native SteamOS, I'll be a) impressed, and b) an eager consumer. But so far I've not heard many game studios raving about SteamOS. Perhaps that'll come at a different trade show, fair enough. But right now? I don't see the point.

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I agree. ATM,at least looking at tha major titles I have played over the last year and indeed the ones I am looking forward to this year,only one has Linux support and that was Metro:Last Light MONTHS after it came out on all other platforms.

TBH,I think I would rather save the space on my SSD for another game than install SteamOS in its current form. But wait,you need a 500GB hard drive just to install it. Eh,nope.

ATM,I am decidedly meh about. Perhaps in six months time when Valve has tinkered with it more,maybe I will look at it again.

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

HL3 as a SteamOS exclusive?

Could happen.... ;)

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Nope!

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But don't expect Valve to make Half-Life 3 exclusive to SteamOS to help lift the Linux-based operating system off the ground. "It's against our philosophy to put a game in jail and say it only works on Steam Machines," says Valve's Doug Lombardi. Even though the company locked Half-Life 2 to Steam years ago, the team appears to have thought better of that decision. "That may or may not have been a good idea given the condition Steam was in at the moment." (Source)

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XB1 games will port to Windows easily.
PS4 games will port to SteamOS easily.

Devs should have an easy time supporting both Windows and Linux from the console variants, albeit with a bit of a learning curve....but I do see it picking up steam quickly (pardon the pun!) as long as valve push it, lets not forget that they are a fairly big player in the games market.

I may be in the market for one of these depending on how well they fit in a suitcase. A laptop does not cut it for me, and my desktop is too large.