Steam OS - The XBOX1/PS4 Killer?
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Steam OS - The XBOX1/PS4 Killer?
Valve Released the first beta today of it's Steam operating system. The modified Linux distribution emphasizes "bridging the divide between PC gaming and the more relaxed style of console gaming, and to try and bring back the ‘PC games’ (i.e. non-console) audience, which has gradually eroded over the last decade."
In a nutshell, they want PC gaming to have 1 standard for playing and distributing games to PCs regardless of any make or model without the various system requirements and other stuff that makes playing PC games a pain to many and to entice the game makers to embrace the PC platform again as a viable market.
Now how they implement that remains to be seen but I would imagine that streaming will eventually be a big part of that. With streaming you can bypass a lot of compatibility issues and make for a more level playing field for all.
But are we there yet? Streaming has evolved leaps and bounds over the last few years but do we have the bandwidth that would be required for such demand? Not yet but we're getting real close. Sprint has already demonstrated their Spark network delivering a 1gb per second down speed and promise when implemented, users can expect a 50-60 MB per second speed minimum. A network with that kind of speed should be more than sufficient to enable stream gaming. If Valve can deliver on their end and Sprint and the other networks deliver on their end, things will get interesting.
Now how does that affect Microsoft and Sony, and to a lesser extent Nintendo? Valve doesn't seem to be stopping at unified PC gaming for PCs only. They're also designing consoles to take advantage of the Steam OS also. They're also promising integration of sites like Netflix, Hulu, and You Tube eventually. So now you have a console that pretty does what Xbox 1 and the PS4 does retailing for a fraction of what they charge for their consoles and all of a sudden you have a real problem for the Big 2 1/2 (Sorry Nintendo you're just not a factor at this time...yet).
Now Microsoft probably sees the writing on the wall which explains their mad dash to sign up cable networks to exclusive content deals. Sony, on the other hand, seems to just be trying to copy Microsoft and sort of oblivious to everything.
This leaves Nintendo. Although the sales of their last system have been pretty abysmal, they could be the company that actually provides Valve some headaches. First of all their hardware is relatively cheap when compared to the Big 2 and pretty close to the price point of some of the Steam boxes announced. Second, they have their network online already and running, something that is probably still at least a year or more away for Valve. If Nintendo can keep prices down and content up, they could be a serious concern to Valve.
But before we jump to that point, let's see what Valve does first. They still have a bunch of hurdles to pass before they can consider themselves legitimate players in the field. They're going to need a little luck to fall their way too but if they can get their ducks in a row, they might revolutionize the entire industry. Imagine having that console that was able to play ALL of our favorite games and not miss out on exclusive games from other systems.
Whether it gets to that point or not is something for the future but, at the same time, it should be fun to watch it develop.
In a nutshell, they want PC gaming to have 1 standard for playing and distributing games to PCs regardless of any make or model without the various system requirements and other stuff that makes playing PC games a pain to many and to entice the game makers to embrace the PC platform again as a viable market.
Now how they implement that remains to be seen but I would imagine that streaming will eventually be a big part of that. With streaming you can bypass a lot of compatibility issues and make for a more level playing field for all.
But are we there yet? Streaming has evolved leaps and bounds over the last few years but do we have the bandwidth that would be required for such demand? Not yet but we're getting real close. Sprint has already demonstrated their Spark network delivering a 1gb per second down speed and promise when implemented, users can expect a 50-60 MB per second speed minimum. A network with that kind of speed should be more than sufficient to enable stream gaming. If Valve can deliver on their end and Sprint and the other networks deliver on their end, things will get interesting.
Now how does that affect Microsoft and Sony, and to a lesser extent Nintendo? Valve doesn't seem to be stopping at unified PC gaming for PCs only. They're also designing consoles to take advantage of the Steam OS also. They're also promising integration of sites like Netflix, Hulu, and You Tube eventually. So now you have a console that pretty does what Xbox 1 and the PS4 does retailing for a fraction of what they charge for their consoles and all of a sudden you have a real problem for the Big 2 1/2 (Sorry Nintendo you're just not a factor at this time...yet).
Now Microsoft probably sees the writing on the wall which explains their mad dash to sign up cable networks to exclusive content deals. Sony, on the other hand, seems to just be trying to copy Microsoft and sort of oblivious to everything.
This leaves Nintendo. Although the sales of their last system have been pretty abysmal, they could be the company that actually provides Valve some headaches. First of all their hardware is relatively cheap when compared to the Big 2 and pretty close to the price point of some of the Steam boxes announced. Second, they have their network online already and running, something that is probably still at least a year or more away for Valve. If Nintendo can keep prices down and content up, they could be a serious concern to Valve.
But before we jump to that point, let's see what Valve does first. They still have a bunch of hurdles to pass before they can consider themselves legitimate players in the field. They're going to need a little luck to fall their way too but if they can get their ducks in a row, they might revolutionize the entire industry. Imagine having that console that was able to play ALL of our favorite games and not miss out on exclusive games from other systems.
Whether it gets to that point or not is something for the future but, at the same time, it should be fun to watch it develop.
Re: Steam OS - The XBOX1/PS4 Killer?
Thanks for your Review, Mojo, much appreciate it. I'm intrigued by the concept , and I don't own/play any of the other consoles. .strictly PC!
Have you played Portal 1 and.or 2 ? I want to play the first but have to find time to do it. I don't have either , and I don't have a Steam acct yet.
I bought /played TorchLight, which I found on HP's Gamesite Wild Tangent; Amazon had a hard copy and it was really kewl with the Boss Fights. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the game. It's a amazing how RL can interrupt Gamer's time, eh?
I hope they leave in the option to play SP, I don't have a whole block full of friends that wanna play the games I like. I'm not too keen on MMOs either.
Lone Wolf, that's me.
Wyz- Head Trooper
- Posts : 81
Join date : 2013-10-24
Location : West Coast
Re: Steam OS - The XBOX1/PS4 Killer?
Since November my one and only game I'm really playing is Batman Origins. While not as good as Arkham City nor as deep, it's really a pretty cool game. I still miss Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the voices of Batman and Joker but the voice acting is still well done.
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