The Steam Machine is Dead

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Valve has sent its Steam Machine initiative the way of the dodo bird. While Hot Hardware points to the inexpensive Steam Link being the final nail in the coffin, we have always felt that Valve's bungling with selling its own hardware like the Steam Controller was its own self-imposed major obstacle that neutered the Steam Machine movement out of the gate for OEMs that were working with Valve. But that is another story and one I am not at liberty to openly discuss. Maybe one day.... Of course, for the Steam Machine to be dead, it would have first had to be alive, right?

Now when you click or hover on Hardware, it only shows links for the Steam Controller, Steam Link, and HTC Vive. You can actually still find Steam Machines by doing a search in Steam or by loading up the old landing spot manually. However, the actual hardware is gone, now replaced by a search list with links to external websites where they can be purchased outside of Steam.
 
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I personally felt if they entered the market like another console. Actually had stuff on store shelves like Walmart etc.... They could have moved the system like Sony or Microsoft. Obviously being Linux based they just had to bring games... Possibly exclusives to help entice people to their platform just like any other console.

All the while people that didn't want to buy a pre-made console (steam Machine) they could just build there own or buy one from like Alienware for most likely a ton more money.

No one knew about the steam machine and even on the steam program store it was looked over because there was never anything serious except a controller that was ever marketed on it.
 
Personally, I think the streaming option from your main PC to any other connected PC is what killed it. I use that option quite a bit and it works pretty well. Have a low powered HTPC upstairs connected to the big screen and my main PC downstairs. I can play games from my Steam library with little to no discernible lag or glitches.
 
always thought valve was making a mistake when first steam machine pics were leaked. not sure why everyone was so excited about. end of the day it was small itx pc with steam machine label attached.
 
......and OEM's killed them.

in typical fashion they over fucking charge for basic hardware.

SURPRISE!

They were entirely too expensive for the hardware contained inside. I never considered one because of that reason alone. Then new Intel and Nvidia hardware came out and they still had the old stuff in the Steam Machines for the same jacked up price.
 
Is SteamOS still being supported? The article doesn't say.

SteamOS was literally Linux with Steam Big Screen mode (or whatever they call it) slapped on top. Easily achievable with any Windows setup. As long as they support Big Screen mode, "SteamOS" will continue to exist.
 
'The Steam Machine is Dead'
Was it ever alive? It was one of the poorest marketed products in the last ten years. With confusing hardware specs, and a controller that turned potential customers off right from the get-go.
Its too bad, could have been a good chance to bridge the gap between PC and console gamers.
 
The hardware aside, I really liked SteamOS. I picked up a relatively cheap Dell/Alienware Steam Machine and played through several games with an Xbox controller on a TV. Worked great, even if the graphic quality wasn't fantastic. For games that could completely use the controller, it made a great alternative to a game console. Sometimes I'd even stream from my desktop with a better GPU to it.

However, I also found a Steam Link that was wired in to the network with a PS4 controller worked great too. Just had to ensure my main desktop was up and running.
 
I actually love that darn controller. The way you'll are talking I might need to order a few more before Valve decides to move on from them. ;)

The best feature of them is laying in my bed and running my entire PC with the controller.
 
Except that with Windows the license cuts into your profit, but with Linux, there is no license fee. At scale that kind of an improvement in margin can make a big deal.

SteamOS was literally Linux with Steam Big Screen mode (or whatever they call it) slapped on top. Easily achievable with any Windows setup. As long as they support Big Screen mode, "SteamOS" will continue to exist.
 
I never understood the concept of buying a steam machine that couldn't even play all the games in your steam library anyway.
And as others have mentioned, people familiar with PCs knew they were overpriced for the hardware inside.
 
SteamOS was literally Linux with Steam Big Screen mode (or whatever they call it) slapped on top. Easily achievable with any Windows setup. As long as they support Big Screen mode, "SteamOS" will continue to exist.

You can easily install the Steam client on many different flavors of Linux. A good bit of them come with it pre-installed. And all of them can run in Big Picture Mode. As far as their own custom version of SteamOS goes; I'd be surprised if it continued to be developed and supported for much longer.
 
A lot of the systems from oem like Alienware were to damn expensive for what you got. Up front cost scares people away. Not having access to the entire PC library hurt it too.
They cost as much as their windows based counterparts and in some cases more.

I always thought it was a bad idea and basically steam has been dead from day one.
 
Except that with Windows the license cuts into your profit, but with Linux, there is no license fee. At scale that kind of an improvement in margin can make a big deal.

The cost of Windows was just added to the cost of the device, Windows "Steam Machines" were never priced the same as Linux based ones. At the volume these things sold it hardly mattered anyway.
 
I won't go as far as saying this may be a nail in linux gaming coffin, but certainly is a huge setback.
 
I won't go as far as saying this may be a nail in linux gaming coffin, but certainly is a huge setback.

I think there's a enough of a Linux following where Linux gaming will exist. But it's going to be very niche so long as the title counts are so low. Yes, there's more Linux games than ever but that's also true of Windows 5 times over. The latest Steam Hardware Survey actually had VR gamers ahead of Linux gamers, .40% vs. .33%.
 
I think if steam had a netflix, hulu, and media sharing app, steam machines and the steam link would have been much more desirable. I don't know how they planned on taking over the living room without being able to do at least what gaming consoles can do. This is one of the reasons I was excited for the steam link. With proper support it could have done everything my roku does plus allow me to stream my games while coming in at a lower cost.

Valve wasted a lot of potential on this whole endeavor.
 
RIP Steambox. We barely knew ya!

Obviously being Linux based they just had to bring games... Possibly exclusives to help entice people to their platform just like any other console.
That would have required that Valve actually make a game, something they are certainly out of practice in doing.
 
They were trying to make this stupid shit, were they?
 

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I think there's a enough of a Linux following where Linux gaming will exist. But it's going to be very niche so long as the title counts are so low. Yes, there's more Linux games than ever but that's also true of Windows 5 times over. The latest Steam Hardware Survey actually had VR gamers ahead of Linux gamers, .40% vs. .33%.

What games in general need is Vulkan support so that not only can performance improve in general, games can easily be ported to other OS such as Linux.
 
I liked the idea more than the execution. They weren't sure if it was a PC, a console, or what. As a result of that confusion I never felt like they were able to communicate why someone would want one.
I still hate the Steam controller, too. I never knew playing with a controller could be such a hassle.
 
What games in general need is Vulkan support so that not only can performance improve in general, games can easily be ported to other OS such as Linux.

Even with cross platform APIs and tools, developers still have to invest development time and testing in other platforms. I have no idea at what point everything comes together to make macOS and Linux worth the effort for developers to just make all or at least most of their PC games cross platform but for now the numbers aren't there for Linux and not even macOS.
 
They should have just made Half-Life 3 or started a new IP. Maybe go back to what they were once great at?

Considering how much money Valve has, the Steam Machine was no great loss.
 
The problem is that not enough games are ported to Linux. Can't play Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V, and Dark Souls 3 even to this day. Wine is either not working or requires to jump through rings of fire to get those games working. Those aren't even 2018 games, those were made in 2015. Today people are focused on PUBG and Fornite. Both games are not available in Linux.

The Steam machine idea is a good idea, but you need to make sure that all new games made are ported to Linux. Which doesn't exactly get all the games since you have EA's Origin and Blizzard/Activision as well.
 
They should have just made Half-Life 3 or started a new IP. Maybe go back to what they were once great at?

Considering how much money Valve has, the Steam Machine was no great loss.

Half-Life 3 - Steam OS Exclusive!! :punch:
 
I never understood the point of Steam Machine. If Valve wants to do something make better hardware peripherals for gaming. The steam controller was a good concept, but improve upon it. Take cues from good hardware designs that's currently exist already. The track-pads on it for example should be made convex like performance Sanwa arcade buttons. In fact they could combine the trackpad's into optical spring loaded buttons for on the fly adjustable DPI sensitivity to make them even better. Perhaps 8 small directional indents on the outer edges as well or in a ring between dead center and the outer edge. The only other thing I'd change is the build quality and the comfort design of the controller because I haven't heard great things about it.
 
I never understood the point of Steam Machine. If Valve wants to do something make better hardware peripherals for gaming. The steam controller was a good concept, but improve upon it. Take cues from good hardware designs that's currently exist already. The track-pads on it for example should be made convex like performance Sanwa arcade buttons. In fact they could combine the trackpad's into optical spring loaded buttons for on the fly adjustable DPI sensitivity to make them even better. Perhaps 8 small directional indents on the outer edges as well or in a ring between dead center and the outer edge. The only other thing I'd change is the build quality and the comfort design of the controller because I haven't heard great things about it.
Yep that and stuff like the Nostromo n50 or 52.. keep the client alive and well with aim to full blown custom os for which people can build their own hardware.
 
No, on the same hardware, Windows is a license cost that Linux doesn't have. The hardware cost does not change (the OEM being Alienware for example). HARDWARE doesn't magically change cost just because of the OS. However SOFTWARE licensing costs do.

The cost of Windows was just added to the cost of the device, Windows "Steam Machines" were never priced the same as Linux based ones. At the volume these things sold it hardly mattered anyway.
 
They should have just made Half-Life 3 or started a new IP. Maybe go back to what they were once great at?

Considering how much money Valve has, the Steam Machine was no great loss.
Why? all Gabe has to do is wake up sucking air and he's making money

I wish he would have let us buy the actual steam machine case.

It was pretty awesome when it came out.
 
Yeah, it's too bad - I really liked the idea behind them. But Valve was way too lax in its implementation.

This was ALWAYS the problem. Valve wanted NONE of the risk of creating hardware. They wanted to sell the idea of Steam in the living room and left everyone else to make the hardware. Valve probably showed charts to Alienware and all these companies who ended up making Steam Machines of how the PC gaming market is going up and wanted to equate that to somehow being the same as buying a computer box you stick next to your TV.

I am really sick of Valve's lax stance on everything nowadays. It's like Gabe isn't in charge of everything and just does whatever the rest of the employees want instead of leading them in a direction that would bring back faith in Valve. I just want them for Steam and Half Life and they only delivered on one of those over the last decade.
 
I bought a Steam controller when it came out. I really liked it, but the support for it fell quickly and was basically only being supported by the community making custom settings/controls for it and various games. Unfortunately, due to valve ignoring it, the community quickly fell apart as well. Now it's only good as a paperweight.
 
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