Quote (Funion @ Nov 7 2013 01:08pm)
I don't know much about software and such which is why I am not commenting on the software aspect of this, but I am going to agree with you on the fact that they are making a mistake by not standardizing the parts because that will cause software issues, possibly (if I understood what you said correctly). I can see how using different graphics cards and processors in different models will cause driver issues, and I also see why it is pointless to say, if you don't want Steam OS on your steam box then put windows on it... that makes the entire purpose of a steam gaming system moot. Idk, it is a good idea but I feel that if they don't standardize their parts that it might be a huge flop.
The entire above statement is what I think, after reading this thread (and hopefully understanding all points made correctly).
This is exactly my point. Things that make consoles great:
1. Standardized hardware. It is much easier to pull incredible performance out of hardware when you don't have to write drivers that deal with all different permutations of hardware and software. It's also easier for the companies that write games and engines to really fine tune and sharpen their software and write really clever (and highly platform-dependent) optimizations.
2. Easy, turn key and hassle-free. Consoles can be purchased, brought home and you can be playing a game within an hour. You never have to mess with problematic drivers or weird software issues because of #1. When you start allowing consumers to yank apart the hardware or even fundamentally change the software what you have isn't a console, it's a gaming PC in a fancy package. Most people don't actually care about specs or e-peen bullshit and simply want to play games because they love playing games. These are people who buy consoles (and have the largest market share, like it or not) and they aren't going to want something like this.
With the "It's going to make Linux gaming a reality and topple Microsoft" and other semi-retarded illusions of grandeur: It's not. Every year since I've started using Linux-based OSs and derivatives has been "the year that Linux takes over". It's never happened. It never will happen. Why won't it happen?
Because the "Linux community" is entirely too divided, which is the nature of Linux. Linux isn't an OS, it's a simply a kernel and kernels don't really do much without a userland, a window manager (the GUI that you see, whether its KDE or Gnome or XFCE or blackbox or whatever the fuck),
drivers, system software (GNU tools handle this, fortunately so there's some semblance of uniformity in the toolkit). Each family of Linux distros is pretty different than the other and writing things like software installers, patchers, etc. is a huge pain in the ass and things are generally ported around to different distros by members of that community.
That said, think about supporting Linux as a platform as a game manufacturer. You can't just open source your game and expect Linux people to buy it too. Or even let them modify things to install on other distros. You are going to have to take care of that and you can't possibly have enough time to support more than one distro. So you have to choose, which narrows down the market even further for you. What's the financial incentive to do that?
Microsoft also has infinitely more money than Valve does. If Valve wants open war with Microsoft over who gets the mantle of the next gamer's OS the winner is not going to be Valve.
That said, the controller looks awesome.
Quote (Funion @ Nov 7 2013 01:14pm)
If the steam machines ONLY use the new AMD products that are mantle enabled that would be a huge game changer for AMD and the Steambox... it would fix all the hypothetical issues I think I understood
Unfortunately Valve is completely and utterly opposed to anything that could be seen as closing up the platform, which is shooting themselves in the foot.
This post was edited by rockonkenshin on Nov 7 2013 12:48pm