Jay G.

The original Xbox was basically a x86 PC, albeit extremely locked down and with a specialized OS.


The 3DO failed because of the high price and lack of games. The idea of going with an Android or Windows PC based device is that the games will already be there, although they may need to be slightly modified for console play.

They would have PC-only games as their exclusives.

Tarantino

Just can't see myself giving up my 360 for this.

Deftones

I'd be interested in this if I could play pc games from my couch with a controller. I know you can do that with Onlive, but it's sort of a different way of doing it. I want the best possible graphics my tv can handle if I'm going to play from the couch.

glassdragon

Everyone is reading too much into this. They do not need exclusive titles, they are not going for exclusive titles. They are going for pc games on your home theater, that's it. There are plenty of pc games that are either pc only or the console versions are very poor ports of the pc version. Half life 2 being one of them. While the ps3 one was the worse of the 2, neither were anywhere near as good as the pc version. There are plenty of games like that, namely any game that was built as pc for it's major platform and ported to consoles.

Drexl

Right, but then they won't truly be exclusive.

Another problem is that a mouse and keyboard setup just doesn't work well in the living room. Look at people who build HTPCs. The vast majority are not sitting on the couch hunched over a mouse and keyboard on the coffee table. No, they have a remote control programmed to work with a 10-foot interface. I think that's a bigger obstacle than the price and sophistication of a PC. Notice how some here are saying they're only interested if they can use a controller.

glassdragon

Well most of the games on steam support a 360 controller config. And the ones that don't could possibly be set up to work with one depending on how well they can make the software to have a controller mimic mouse controls and how easily you can set up the buttons.

MoviePage

"Gabecube"

mhg83

There's a software program (xpadder?) that maps mouse and keyboard buttons to your gamepad. I imagine Valve can make a similar program that would work for all their games automatically.

glassdragon

As long as it has a developer login console in it with the password gnewell

Matthew Chmiel

A lot of games (for example, anything with the Games for Windows label) also have support built-in for specific controllers like the XBOX 360 controller.

glassdragon

Almost a year old, maybe they've been thinking about this for awhile.

Drexl

Hmmm, I'm not sure I like it if the "D-pad" is going to be buttons like that. I'd hope that's customizable as well. It also looks kinda big.

The modular stuff reminds me of the Phoenix Revolution for PS2:

RocShemp

The d-pad looks bad but the modular sticks are a pretty good idea (provided they don't cause any input response issues).

kgrogers1979

You already can. Most HDTVs have DVI inputs and/or most PC graphics cards have HDMI output. Either one will allow you to hook a PC to an HDTV.


Mouse and keyboard on a TV tray table works well for me.

RocShemp

That's how I game. It's great to sit on the couch and crank up the home theater.

And plenty of games work with the 360 controller.

Deftones

i don't want a mouse and keyboard. plus i want a smaller console sized computer. not some huge computer device.

Matthew Chmiel

Especially those games that are ported over from the 360 (i.e. Call of Duty franchise).

It was a blast playing Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops on a PC and kicking ass using a 360 controller. And that's when I decided just to purchase Modern Warfare 3 for the 360.

kgrogers1979

Most PC games in the last four years or so are compatible with the 360 controller.

PCs don't have to be huge. There are mini-towers which are much smaller than the standard PC tower. Actually the compact size is the biggest reasons that modern consoles had such bad failure rates with RROD and all that. These things put out an enormous amount of heat, and having it compacted in a small size is not a good thing. With no room to breathe, the heat is what causes 99% of the RRODs. So having a powerful PC in a small size is a VERY bad idea.

Jay G.

Matthew Chmiel mentioned the Alienware X51, a console-sized mini-PC, earlier in the thread. This review has pictures that compare the size to an original Xbox 360 and a PS3:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df...are-x51-review

Another option could be the Mac Mini with the dedicated graphics adapter, which is the size of a Wii:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/...-2011-mac-mini

There's likely other options out there. There's cases for HTPCs that a meant to look like a typical A/V stackable device, which could possibly be used for gaming.


The main thing is that the compact PCs on the market now are notably more expensive than current consoles (although they tend to be higher powered too). It'll be interesting to see if Valve could make something that's competitive to consoles in terms of price, size, and power.

One thing that could give an edge is that if it's running Windows, it would have access to a lot of video streaming programs right off (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, HBO Go, etc.) instead of waiting for custom apps to be built by the providers.

edstein

Update

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/8/37...room-steam-box

Matthew Chmiel

Valve confirmed what was already rumored. What we don't know:

• Are they going to be selling a pre-built PC dedicated specifically for Steam? Something similar to the Alienware X51 as already mentioned earlier.
• Are they going to build a custom console themselves and have their own OS (based around Linux) specifically for Steam?

If it's the former, I'm not that excited. I can build my own PC with better hardware for a fraction of the cost.

If it's the latter, I'll pre-order the shit out of it if Half Life 3 is a launch title.

fumanstan

I'd be curious if Valve could get all/most/many games to work reliably if they go with a Linux based OS, given the number of games supported natively is somewhat limited right now in the Steam Linux beta. I'd be afraid if they had to rely on some sort of app similar to the way people currently use Wine to play many games.

flashburn

Man, I wish I could spill some beans about this, but I can't. I'll just say, it's going to get interesting over the next couple of years. Yeah, I'm such a tease, .

Drexl

I don't see how they could compete with the "dedicated console" option. They're not big enough to sell the thing at a loss, are they?

Also, consoles need strong first-party EXCLUSIVE games. As good as their own games are, they only release about one or two per year. That's not much of a lineup, especially if the games continue to be available on the PC and even other consoles.

Supermallet

The answer is simple: Merge with Nintendo.