Gabe Newell says Valve will release its own 'tightly controlled' hardware for the living room

[kemosabe]

Finally, Valve is doing exactly what Microsoft should do long back..Just give us PC focused on gaming, for example :

 

1. Game boot : the PC directly boot with Steam Big Picture mod with minimum service running at background (networking and a possible hardware based firewall may be)

2. If you want to switch to normal computing, give us a quick access to you and start all other necessary services and minimize steam

 

Linux is an excellent choice for OS as Valve can tweak the whole OS to get the best out of it. If they can generalize the interface for most of Windows user, I will say they really knocking at the door of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

If valve release their Steamworks Linux distro to their system integrator partners and offer a guideline to steam certified hardware there will be chance of gaming etopia.

I am very sure if you remove piracy and bring easy to use couch gaming experience, PC platform can offer much more and developing games on PC is much more cheaper and easier as there is no licensing cost involved and technology grows incrementally with almost indefinite backward compatibility. It will be a big win for gamers.The only worry is - how OpenGL can offer with newer hardware technology in compare to DirectX

[devil_angel]

I head from an inside source that the Steam PC will be running on Mac

[Solitaire]

Finally, Valve is doing exactly what Microsoft should do long back..Just give us PC focused on gaming, for example :

 

1. Game boot : the PC directly boot with Steam Big Picture mod with minimum service running at background (networking and a possible hardware based firewall may be)

2. If you want to switch to normal computing, give us a quick access to you and start all other necessary services and minimize steam

 

Linux is an excellent choice for OS as Valve can tweak the whole OS to get the best out of it. If they can generalize the interface for most of Windows user, I will say they really knocking at the door of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

If valve release their Steamworks Linux distro to their system integrator partners and offer a guideline to steam certified hardware there will be chance of gaming etopia.

I am very sure if you remove piracy and bring easy to use couch gaming experience, PC platform can offer much more and developing games on PC is much more cheaper and easier as there is no licensing cost involved and technology grows incrementally with almost indefinite backward compatibility. It will be a big win for gamers.The only worry is - how OpenGL can offer with newer hardware technology in compare to DirectX

 

 

Alright, but what happens to the whole 'standardized' gaming hardware complaint then? How will they make the experience even across the board without limiting the capability of hardware that they're putting in their certified PCs? Then it comes full circle to the current "consoles limiting PC gaming" complaint, only here it will actually be a subset of PCs themselves limiting the growth of PC gaming.

[kemosabe]

Alright, but what happens to the whole 'standardized' gaming hardware complaint then? How will they make the experience even across the board without limiting the capability of hardware that they're putting in their certified PCs? Then it comes full circle to the current "consoles limiting PC gaming" complaint, only here it will actually be a subset of PCs themselves limiting the growth of PC gaming.

 

I think that's the most challenging aspect in the whole equation. They can suggest some certain combination of setup for certain quality of graphical fidelity. For example :

 

Steam Ultimate box - top of the line configuration like i5-i7k series processor with 7970 or 680 kind of GPU

Steam Mid box- i5(non k) proceey with 7850 kind of gpu

Steam casual box - AMD APU setup

 

Or else they suggest you certain kind of options or configuration to play the selected in certain graphical settings like - resolution, detail setting,3D, physics etc..For example if you want to pre-order Crysis 3, they can check your current setting and suggest you what kind of gaming experience you can expect with your current hardware and what kind of setting should be required if you want to play at certain settings. It should be more a framework with robust driver support based on games release.

 

Valve can rally other game developers to follow their guideline to make their game steam-work-able.I think going forward individual talented focused game developer are more important than big publisher who sitting over lots of IPs and don't know what to bring up next and burn down studios and companies in the whole process.

 

 

In short it can be done up to an extent and we can expect such kind of innovation from Valve.

[Choron ka raja]

I think that's the most challenging aspect in the whole equation. They can suggest some certain combination of setup for certain quality of graphical fidelity. For example :

 

Steam Ultimate box - top of the line configuration like i5-i7k series processor with 7970 or 680 kind of GPU

Steam Mid box- i5(non k) proceey with 7850 kind of gpu

Steam casual box - AMD APU setup

 

Or else they suggest you certain kind of options or configuration to play the selected in certain graphical settings like - resolution, detail setting,3D, physics etc..For example if you want to pre-order Crysis 3, they can check your current setting and suggest you what kind of gaming experience you can expect with your current hardware and what kind of setting should be required if you want to play at certain settings. It should be more a framework with robust driver support based on games release.

 

Valve can rally other game developers to follow their guideline to make their game steam-work-able.I think going forward individual talented focused game developer are more important than big publisher who sitting over lots of IPs and don't know what to bring up next and burn down studios and companies in the whole process.

 

 

In short it can be done up to an extent and we can expect such kind of innovation from Valve.

 

 

 

lots of ifs; no butts.

[kemosabe]

lots of ifs; no butts.

 

stupid reply

[Solitaire]

I think that's the most challenging aspect in the whole equation. They can suggest some certain combination of setup for certain quality of graphical fidelity. For example :

 

Steam Ultimate box - top of the line configuration like i5-i7k series processor with 7970 or 680 kind of GPU

Steam Mid box- i5(non k) proceey with 7850 kind of gpu

Steam casual box - AMD APU setup

 

Or else they suggest you certain kind of options or configuration to play the selected in certain graphical settings like - resolution, detail setting,3D, physics etc..For example if you want to pre-order Crysis 3, they can check your current setting and suggest you what kind of gaming experience you can expect with your current hardware and what kind of setting should be required if you want to play at certain settings. It should be more a framework with robust driver support based on games release.

 

Valve can rally other game developers to follow their guideline to make their game steam-work-able.I think going forward individual talented focused game developer are more important than big publisher who sitting over lots of IPs and don't know what to bring up next and burn down studios and companies in the whole process.

 

 

In short it can be done up to an extent and we can expect such kind of innovation from Valve.

 

 

You know very well - and so does everyone else here - how fast each of those configurations would become outdated and need replacement unless they get the industry to stop releasing GPUs and CPUs. If they stuck to even 3 established combos that would still create a somewhat console-like situation as far as hardware is concerned. And if it didn't, enthusiasts would still just build their own rigs.

[Ph3N0M]

Even after proclaiming so much about openness, I think they will enter the console-making business, and the PC state will leave as it is.

[kemosabe]

You know very well - and so does everyone else here - how fast each of those configurations would become outdated and need replacement unless they get the industry to stop releasing GPUs and CPUs. If they stuck to even 3 established combos that would still create a somewhat console-like situation as far as hardware is concerned. And if it didn't, enthusiasts would still just build their own rigs.

 

So far there is no word that you can not change the hardware of the steam console,we have to wait and see. I hope their console will not be locked to specific hardware.

 

Even after proclaiming so much about openness, I think they will enter the console-making business, and the PC state will leave as it is.

 

They are not forcing the console to all gamer, if you are an enthusiastic you can always build your own PC and enjoy, its the same way I can still using all my game in Windows 8 its not a catastrophe MR Gabe Newel

 

This whole concept is targeted for living room gamer who are happy to play in 7 years old console with 12 years franchise and does not care much about bleeding edge technology. I am not a fan boy of steam or anything other brand, I just like new players coming into the pictures and shakes things up.

 

And as for PC gaming technology change, yes hardware change at a very very rapid speed but with sensible choice of components you can last long with your configuration for a longer period - something like 2-3 years.

[Mysteryman]

Does that means Gabe is keeping Half Life 3 exclusive to his console in order to make it sell like Halo to the first Xbox.

[The JACKAL]

So Valve is going to release a console with a keyboard and mouse and call it a 'PC'? You dont see that anywhere

 

Knowing them they might make hl3 exclusive to this hardware just to establish it's presence in market. Either way i dont care , ive lost interest in the series a long time ago and half life is only a mere shooter .

[kemosabe]

HL3 being exclusive to steam box - I don't think they really need to do anything like that.Being their own console with custom OS will let them to expand their shop. And if Valve is such kind of company we will be playing Half Life 5 modern warfare or something like that, they are looking for a long long ahead..