Valve Announces SteamOS

The devil is going to be in the details.

It looks awesome on the face of it. Free gaming/HTPC OS would be fantastic.

It remains to be seen how many titles will be supported under Linux, and how they implement the TV integration. They better have coded something that supports DVR of encoded TV channels, which currently doesn't work in Linux.

I'm cautiously optimistic, especially since there now is a vested business interest in making Linux a good gaming platform, something we have never had before.

I will definitely be testing it out when it launches.
 
Saturn_V said:
I still don't get why the industry (Nvidia and now Valve) is pushing home network Streaming Gaming as a viable feature. As attractive as it sounds, I don't want to play TF2 on 50" TV if controller fidelity isn't there and input lag is.
Click to expand...

Turn based f2p moba/mmo FTW? (with ingame credit bundle)
 
Too many boxes.. some have a Roku, XBOX/PS3, Ouya, Cable box, etc.. when does it end...
 
Why is it that I'm getting that Valve's recent anti-Windows campaign may just be build up/propaganda for the Valve Hardware Initiative? Most of Gabe's anti-Win8 rant has already been all but debunked, I've been enjoying my PC game library on a variety of hardware in Windows 8 and I rarely touch the Modern/MetroUI part of Windows 8 (I haven't even purchased one App in their store).
 
I dont see why it wont work. Both next gen consoles are basically PCs and while I bet the XB1 uses DirectX it wouldnt surprise me if the PS4 used a type of OpenGL. Most of the code for XB1//PS4 games will be very portable with the only issues being interfacing with the hardware. If SteamOS can standardize Linux audio & video APIs and make driver support much easier for users it'll remove one of big problems keeping games off Linux.

Also, I'd love there to be an ARM port. Raspberry Pi streaming devices in every room. :D
 
Did any of you guys listen to Gabe's talk at the recent Linux conference? There was some heavy hitting ideas in there. It sounded pretty clear to me that Valve was only using the living room thing as a foot in the door to create an open based OS for gaming.

Believe me, the tone of the address was that they saw this coming several years ago. With Win8 being as unpopular as it is... and with Valve being powerful enough to entice Devs to actually optimize drivers for this OS platform, yes they might be able to pull this off.

I'm not sure what I think about it, but perhaps it is time to have another solid PC OS. Valve may be able to get enough people to get behind one distro to finally, FINALLY make one viable in the mass market.

Not having to rely on DirectX for everything would be a good thing in the long run.
 
Skripka said:
Hmmm....Ubuntu: Steam Edition?
Click to expand...

SteamBuntu????

NOOO!!!!!!


Likely they build a distro from the kernel up.

Really there is a lot of success in the field of linux powered set top boxes and even decated PC doing media server duty with a slick interface.
I really think this is not a good thing but a GREAT thing. :D
 
sfsuphysics said:
So the honest question... which just happens to be funny... is will it run Crysis? :D

Seriously, windows based games... needs what emulator to run? In which case won't all the performance tweaks essentially go away?
Click to expand...

If we speculate that they use WINE to run windows based games (which is a pretty huge speculative leap), the performance need not be terrible. Wine is not a virtual machine, it's an implementation of the windows apis; for some benchmarks, wine is faster than windows on the same hardware. I wasn't able to find a scientific benchmark to link to though, just anecdotes; but the point is, don't assume the performance won't be there: it may well be there, but the worry is really compatibility.
 
devman said:
Regardless of the outcome more competitors in the market will be a good thing. I'd love to get this up and running in a VM and do the software equivalent of a teardown.
Click to expand...

Vm Heck, I have a spare PC, build from 'extra' parts to play with. Older cpu, mobo, gpu, but still kinda current if not super or even plain fast anymore,

I dont know how to do a 'tear down' but could be convinced by someone who knows Linux a lot better then my almost-nothing to work witht hem if they wanted to do work on a real system.

If I can find my s-video I can even hook it up the the TV I keep in my living room and never use.

I know there are DRM issues with linux and Netflix and the like, I wonder if that has been fixed or if streaming from another source, Roku, Main PC, Tablet or even a phone(?) is viable. Would it be smooth enough to make it 90 year old Aunt and Uncle ready?

I see a whole lot of possible good and awesome - never been much of a console guy, I like my keyboard too much. This could give my semi-console benefits without having to go pay MS, Nintendo or someone 1/4 a paycheck for something I occasionally watch a movie or play a game on.

Or the whole thing could suck monkey balls. I hope it works out though. This idea could let small, and/or indie game companies move into the console space and have the keyboard+mouse I want to play games with. (I dont hate controllers, I do have one, some few games I even use it)

I wonder would it make for a clean and smooth linux flavor with a nifty GUI? And obviate the need for learning (from the layman view-point) a bunch of esoteric and confusing commands?
 
Really want to take a look at this, especially with the Linux version of Metro Last Light coming soon. It will make for some interesting comparisons.
 
demingo said:
My prediction.

At some point Half-Life 3 is announced as a SteamOS exclusive. It is also free on SteamOS. This would be the push that would get many people to try SteamOS, and in the end, what Valve needs to do is convince people to try it.
Click to expand...

So let's see:
Step 1) Gabe gets pissed at Microsoft for shoving Win 8 down everybody's throat.
Step 2) Gabe creates SteamOS to fight the Win 8 platform.
Step 3) Gabe uses HL3 to shove SteamOS down our throats...

You know, you may be onto something there! Valve probably wouldn't see the irony of using HL3 similar to how Metro was forced on us, and the rest of your theory makes plenty of sense...
 
Jathanis said:
So let's see:
Step 1) Gabe gets pissed at Microsoft for shoving Win 8 down everybody's throat.
Step 2) Gabe creates SteamOS to fight the Win 8 platform.
Step 3) Gabe uses HL3 to shove SteamOS down our throats...

You know, you may be onto something there! Valve probably wouldn't see the irony of using HL3 similar to how Metro was forced on us, and the rest of your theory makes plenty of sense...
Click to expand...

I highly doubt the exclusive angle, however some form of significant discount or even free on SteamOS seems quite plausible. Incentive is a far more effective tool than mandate when trying to win hearts and minds.
 
The conspiracy theorists seem to have forgotten that Valve has no clear incentive in making any of their titles SteamOS-exclusive. The OS is free to download and free for system builders to integrate. There's no clear monetization scheme inherent in SteamOS itself.
 
wonderfield said:
The conspiracy theorists seem to have forgotten that Valve has no clear incentive in making any of their titles SteamOS-exclusive. The OS is free to download and free for system builders to integrate. There's no clear monetization scheme inherent in SteamOS itself.
Click to expand...

It's the install base they're after.
 
wonderfield said:
The conspiracy theorists seem to have forgotten that Valve has no clear incentive in making any of their titles SteamOS-exclusive. The OS is free to download and free for system builders to integrate. There's no clear monetization scheme inherent in SteamOS itself.
Click to expand...
If they can get lots of consumers on board with this then it means more games might get sold and they make a percentage on every game sold, correct?
 
Sounds great. Much easier than just installing the Steam client on Windows.
 
Gotta love how Google, Apple and now Valve are kicking microcrap ass around.
So, microcrap, how does it feels to be in a fight were the other can hit back? :)

On a more serious note, i like the idea of a "gaming" OS, if they can get the installer to run flawlessly and configure/compile this as lean as possible, it would give consoles a run for their money.
 
03grandam said:
If they can get lots of consumers on board with this then it means more games might get sold and they make a percentage on every game sold, correct?
Click to expand...
Yes, but how does that relate to title exclusivity? Regardless of what platform they get people on board with, they make no more per title. How does Valve concretely benefit by making a title SteamOS-exclusive?

The belief seems to be that Valve is fighting against Windows here, but I don't see how that's actually manifesting. They may be fighting against consoles, but they aren't fighting against any other PC-like platform. They're fighting for more of a presence in the living room, but not at the expense of the monetization capability of any existing Steam platforms.
 
The streaming feature is the most interesting part.

Being able to use old(ish) laptops in rooms around my house to allow gaming off my main rig in the office sounds tits. As long as I can do some non-steam games like FIFA, I'll be in good shape and not need to annoy the wife to let me build a HTPC and keep the graphics card current :)
 
So, will this be a free OS distro you can install on any given PC? If so, it makes sense, I would consider running an old machine just for the purpose.
 
Valve must run a tight ship. How come no rumors/leaks on hardware specs for the Box?
 
wonderfield said:
Yes, but how does that relate to title exclusivity? Regardless of what platform they get people on board with, they make no more per title. How does Valve concretely benefit by making a title SteamOS-exclusive?

The belief seems to be that Valve is fighting against Windows here, but I don't see how that's actually manifesting. They may be fighting against consoles, but they aren't fighting against any other PC-like platform. They're fighting for more of a presence in the living room, but not at the expense of the monetization capability of any existing Steam platforms.
Click to expand...
The same way console makers have been doing it for many years now. If it's a highly anticipated title then some people will do what ever it takes to be able to play it. If you can buy a system with SteamOS pre installed and ready to game on, Steam box, and it's cheap enough then they might also be able to get little Jimmy to talk his parents into getting him one. Little Jimmy might never have played PC games before and if he likes it then he now talks mom and dad into buying him even more games for it. Now they are selling games to people who have never bought games off Steam before, more money for Valve. it's not about more per title, but more titles being sold. Expanding.

Not sure I got this across with how I see it in my head but I'm sure you get the idea.
 
brinjin said:
Valve must run a tight ship. How come no rumors/leaks on hardware specs for the Box?
Click to expand...

Its not really about the box. The announcements this week are a lot more significant than the specs of a particular box. We're witnessing the beginning of a paradigm shift in x86 gaming. A pure gaming OS. Make no mistake, this is Valve trying to A) beat Google to figuring out how to become the Android of the living room TV box, while B) hedging against Microsoft's direction with Windows becoming increasingly closed to third parties and OEMs by diversifying to another OS platform.

This is only "the exposed part of the iceberg" of Valve's long game, this is just the beginning. More choice = more competition = consumers win.
 
DPI said:
Its not really about the box. The announcements this week are a lot more significant than the specs of a particular box. We're witnessing the beginning of a paradigm shift in x86 gaming. A pure gaming OS. Make no mistake, this is Valve trying to A) beat Google to figuring out how to become the Android of the living room TV box, while B) hedging against Microsoft's direction with Windows becoming increasingly closed to third parties and OEMs by diversifying to another OS platform.

This is only "the exposed part of the iceberg" of Valve's long game, this is just the beginning. More choice = more competition = consumers win.
Click to expand...

This I agree with. Well, mostly the first half. I don't think Microsoft will kill itself like that.
But, Valve is setting itself up to be a big player for the long run.
 
Hardware might be mostly reliant upon OEMs, in which case they might not have much to announce themselves.
 
SteamOS can only bring good things for us, and developers. The openness means no developer is limited by Microsoft's edict. Technically, a developer wouldn't even need to have their game on Steam for it to work on SteamOS.
 
They lost me at linux based OS. Not cause linux sucks.. But I use steam for games :/
 
King Icewind said:
Too many boxes.. some have a Roku, XBOX/PS3, Ouya, Cable box, etc.. when does it end...
Click to expand...

When you hook up a real windows based PC as an HTPC and get rid of everything. Then you can afford to spend all that money on a good sounds system.
 
Ion Silverbolt said:
SteamOS can only bring good things for us, and developers. The openness means no developer is limited by Microsoft's edict. Technically, a developer wouldn't even need to have their game on Steam for it to work on SteamOS.
Click to expand...

Or it could mean bad things as developers look at the PC market and say. well some portion are now on Linux so instead of me needing to ready my game just for windows I now need to ready it for windows and Linux, hmm, not worth it bye.
 
I'm a little skeptical but I hope it successful. I'm not really that excited about the announcement of a steamOS and steambox anymore.

For me now that I've gotten a decent HTPC to do everything within windows I don't have a desire for another piece of hardware I have to hook up.

I do like when theres competition. I know its a pipe dream I hope it bring the cost of games down.
 
I don't think this will touch the cost of games, to me the dream is just that valve / PC gaming will be able to reach a wider audience. A direct drop in replacement for consoles that you can tell your tech dumb friends and family to buy.

Anyhow we will see when they discuss hardware.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
This I agree with. Well, mostly the first half. I don't think Microsoft will kill itself like that.
But, Valve is setting itself up to be a big player for the long run.
Click to expand...

It may take Microsoft longer than they would like to get kill the desktop, but not for lack of trying to kill it faster.

Put another overly simplistic and yes silly way, if you see your girlfriend spending morning, noon and night on match.com exchanging email with dudes, are you going to wait around like some sad sack for the day she finds some dude and breaks the news?

Valve is in part responding to the intentions and direction MS is demonstrating, as far fetched as MS's direction may seem relative to where the desktop is today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top