The steam machine sounds intriguing but there is already a big market for mini PCs and I don’t know if consumers would go out of their way to buy a steam PC box. I’m most skeptical about this one
You might not be the target audience. I’m comfortable building an HTPC and putting an OS and all on it and configuring it, but the benefit of a console is that someone just gets an all-in-one setup that works out-of-box. Well, and that game developers are specifically testing against.
Like, if it weren’t a barrier, you’d probably just have everyone using PCs instead of consoles in their living room. Might open the gates to let console-only folks do Steam.
Linux is a shit show for general purpose normies. You still have issues for days if you don’t buy the correct hardware. This will smooth the experience giving a known good start.
I think the mass market would still rather buy a console, so I assume most people interested in the steam machine specifically want a PC box. Now that I looked at the specs it doesn’t seem that powerful, and I doubt it will be cheaper than a PS5.
Digital Foundry’s analysis of it is that it could retail for somewhere between $400 and $500, but it will be slightly less powerful than a PS5, and therefore, it wouldn’t be as attractive at $500 retail. Valve probably knows that, too.
You might not be the target audience. I’m comfortable building an HTPC and putting an OS and all on it and configuring it, but the benefit of a console is that someone just gets an all-in-one setup that works out-of-box. Well, and that game developers are specifically testing against.
Like, if it weren’t a barrier, you’d probably just have everyone using PCs instead of consoles in their living room. Might open the gates to let console-only folks do Steam.
Linux is a shit show for general purpose normies. You still have issues for days if you don’t buy the correct hardware. This will smooth the experience giving a known good start.
I think the mass market would still rather buy a console, so I assume most people interested in the steam machine specifically want a PC box. Now that I looked at the specs it doesn’t seem that powerful, and I doubt it will be cheaper than a PS5.
Digital Foundry’s analysis of it is that it could retail for somewhere between $400 and $500, but it will be slightly less powerful than a PS5, and therefore, it wouldn’t be as attractive at $500 retail. Valve probably knows that, too.