Do you use your PlayStation to accomplish work on? Do you upgrade its hardware?
Everyone who’s waiting for a Steam console should simply build a computer and hook it to their TV, makes no sense to wait for something that might never come and that will just be a prebuilt computer anyway. It’s not a Deck, there’s no hardware that’s hard to replicate to create a specific form factor and there’s much better OS options for what a computer can be used for.
With how Valve has been playing things, a new steam console would likely be a working Linux PC, but have a default gaming GUI that you can plug into whatever screen you want, and switch over to the Linux desktop mode to “do work”. This is how the steam deck functions.
As for why not just build a PC? Valve can probably sell a steam box cheaper than you can build the equivalent and have it in a smaller, more portable package.
The power of the console is that it comes preinstalled with everything you need to game. Tell roidrage Steve or TikTok Sally to build their own gaming rig. It’s not happening. That’s why there are consoles.
The Steam Machine can be used for work, but that’s not its primary function, neither is that the Steam Deck’s function.
These people aren’t buying a Steam machine either.
Bazzite has a Steam “big screen” mode if that’s the only thing stopping you from building your own setup. Hell, buy a prebuilt computer and install bazzite and there you go, “Steam” machine!
You’re still not understanding: people buy stuff for convenience. Buying a console which you can play all the latest games on with a controller is convenient.
The target audience for Steam Machine (or whatever they’ll call it) is not you or some linux dude who like setting things up themselves, it’s people who just want things to work ™.
What you’re saying is “Why would I buy bread when I can make it at home? Nobody’s going to buy bread!”.
And what you’re not understanding is that casuals won’t be buying a computer to play Steam games when they already have a computer to play Steam games.
It likely won’t be targeted at people who have a computer to play Steam games. It’ll be targeted at people who want to buy a box at Best Buy or Walmart, plug it into their TV, and have a list of nearly every PC game released in the last 30 years to buy and play. No tweaking, no screwdriver, no price comparisons or performance optimization. Default settings across the board.
I’m talking about people who want to just sit down and play, not people who are developmentally disabled to the point where they can’t entertain recommendations from their friends on how to sit down and play.
So a console?
Do you use your PlayStation to accomplish work on? Do you upgrade its hardware?
Everyone who’s waiting for a Steam console should simply build a computer and hook it to their TV, makes no sense to wait for something that might never come and that will just be a prebuilt computer anyway. It’s not a Deck, there’s no hardware that’s hard to replicate to create a specific form factor and there’s much better OS options for what a computer can be used for.
With how Valve has been playing things, a new steam console would likely be a working Linux PC, but have a default gaming GUI that you can plug into whatever screen you want, and switch over to the Linux desktop mode to “do work”. This is how the steam deck functions.
As for why not just build a PC? Valve can probably sell a steam box cheaper than you can build the equivalent and have it in a smaller, more portable package.
The power of the console is that it comes preinstalled with everything you need to game. Tell roidrage Steve or TikTok Sally to build their own gaming rig. It’s not happening. That’s why there are consoles.
The Steam Machine can be used for work, but that’s not its primary function, neither is that the Steam Deck’s function.
These people aren’t buying a Steam machine either.
Bazzite has a Steam “big screen” mode if that’s the only thing stopping you from building your own setup. Hell, buy a prebuilt computer and install bazzite and there you go, “Steam” machine!
You’re still not understanding: people buy stuff for convenience. Buying a console which you can play all the latest games on with a controller is convenient.
The target audience for Steam Machine (or whatever they’ll call it) is not you or some linux dude who like setting things up themselves, it’s people who just want things to work ™.
What you’re saying is “Why would I buy bread when I can make it at home? Nobody’s going to buy bread!”.
And what you’re not understanding is that casuals won’t be buying a computer to play Steam games when they already have a computer to play Steam games.
It likely won’t be targeted at people who have a computer to play Steam games. It’ll be targeted at people who want to buy a box at Best Buy or Walmart, plug it into their TV, and have a list of nearly every PC game released in the last 30 years to buy and play. No tweaking, no screwdriver, no price comparisons or performance optimization. Default settings across the board.
“What the hell is a Steam? Oooh, new Switch!”
Console gamers with no previous interest in PC gaming
I’m talking about people who want to just sit down and play, not people who are developmentally disabled to the point where they can’t entertain recommendations from their friends on how to sit down and play.