• wvstolzing@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    But they’re already back! The Steam Deck is the resurrected Steam Machine.

    • cron@feddit.de
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      8 months ago

      It seems sort of a waste of resources to use a steam deck as a stationary device. However, I don’t think there is a really large market for a console-like steam machine.

      • wvstolzing@lemmy.ml
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        8 months ago

        Right; a stationary Steam Machine (upgradable, etc.) would be a desktop PC running SteamOS, which should probably remain outside the purview of Valve’s hardware division.

        • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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          8 months ago

          on the other hand something as sleek, cheap and ready to go out of the box as consoles, with guaranteed support for a while AND the biggest library of games on release? that could bring a lot of console people over to “PC” if done correctly. or market it more as a streaming server, that would be cool too.

          • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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            8 months ago

            It would need to be priced aggressively and have competitive specs to get enough volume of sales to justify building. They’d also need a new controller.

            But if you want that, wouldn’t you just buy a pre built from literally anywhere and install Steam and enable big picture mode? That’s really not that hard, I do it on my laptop for when my kids want to play on the big screen.

            • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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              8 months ago

              i havent looked into them in a while but arent they more expensive? reducing cost is realistic if valve could pull off the same punch as a steamdeck by using similar but better powered SoCs, or be able to sell at a loss as a calculated risk to get people spending on steam. sony and microsoft do it and it works.

              make it convertible as a computer, like the deck is and as upgradable as possible (at least a gpu slot pls!) and you got an easy low cost linux based introduction to the pc ecosystem. with all money going to portables i dunno if they would do it but it would change that part of the game, it would certainly make it more open.

              • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                8 months ago

                Their SOC makes sense in the Steam Deck because it’s running at a lower resolution. If you try to run at 1080p, you’ll get significantly worse performance, and that’s kind of the bare minimum resolution for a console.

                Valve would need a significantly stronger SOC to run on a home console, and it would likely need to be stronger than what’s in existing consoles because they don’t get the benefit of devs targeting that SOC.

                I’m guessing they’d need to sell for ~$800 for it to make any sense. That’s quite a bit more than existing consoles, but it’s a competitive price for a gaming PC. And I’m guessing the market for a Steam console is a lot smaller than a handheld.

                  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                    8 months ago

                    Would be nice, but I think it would cost Valve more than Microsoft and Sony because volumes would be a lot lower. I’m guessing a small percentage of existing PC gamers would want a console, because a lot of the point of PC gaming is either using what you have or customizing your rig. I’m also guessing the same is true for console gamers, because they already have a console and probably want to stick with the same ecosystem.

                    I could be wrong, but that’s my take. I’m more interested in them refreshing the Steam Link and Steam Controller. I guess they could reuse the same SOC, but that would run really hot, so they’d probably want a check ARM SOC instead.

                    But who knows, maybe there’s a big enough market for it.

          • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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            8 months ago

            This is what nvidia did with the shield, and they don’t make a mobile version anymore. The set top box was just that successful.

        • Trarmp@feddit.nl
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          8 months ago

          What resolution do you use it at? How do activate FSR on TV resolutions? I’ve tried it once or twice but my TV is 4K, and that makes the interface and games on the Deck kinda sluggish.

          • jsomae@lemmy.ml
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            8 months ago

            I have an old low-res TV. Never thought about the problem you’re encountering. :s

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      If I’m going to game stationary, something with more than 10W of horsepower would be nice.

      I agree that the steam machine was too early. People hadn’t been fully disillusioned by the planned obsolescence of their console libraries yet. Today, in a world of $600+ consoles that are impossible to find within 2 years of their release, hardly any worthwhile exclusives, and Nintendo trying to make you repurchase the old games at full price again, a steam console could potentially sweep the industry.

      • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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        8 months ago

        I agree that the steam machine was too early.

        I don’t know how it could ever start from zero without having to go through a growing stage. I think it was just necessary to have modest expectations, and so far as I can tell, valve partnered with third party vendors and didn’t lose $$$ on it.

        Moreover, the downstream effect has been to set the foundation for the Steam Deck, which has been a smashing success. It just takes time to build up a mature ecosystem.