The Steam Box. New Living Room Console in development.

[Fredward]

Total Biscuit has put up a very informative video showing his views on the subject. Very interesting, his input is very good and worth a listen.

Content Patch - January 9th, 2013 - Ep. 029 [Steam Box]


Here is a link to the other products they may be considered a 'steam box' Seems like it won't be one console but licensed to many different hardware similar to Windows tablets and Android devices are licensed I suppose, could go as far as say it's essentially a new OS specifically for gaming!


A streaming handheld, a gamepad that will stream your games from your computer. Nvidia Shield

http://shield.nvidia.com/

(a Total biscuit video on the subject.)
Content Patch - January 8th, 2013 - Ep. 028 [Nvidia Project Shield]

A gaming tablet... a tablet with an i7.. wha!?

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-edge-pro


The minature cute little modular PC.

(website seems to be down, but most of the above video is about it!)


Another mention I suppose would be the Alienware X51. essentially a high spec PC the size of a Xbox. Probably smaller. This may well be using the Steam/Steambox/Valve/Gabecube/companion cube OS!

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-x51/pd


This whole idea seems more exciting then I thought, it's more then just a new console, it's a new OS really!

 

[Meat Pie]

Forgive me if I'm missing something here as I am not a big gamer by any stretch of the imagination, but I should imagine that the big consoles would want to stay away from digital download as a sales method. I'm sure they'd look at the Film and Music industry and see how piracy has severely dented profits and would decide against moving towards a format that is more vulnerable to abuse.

 

[Nick]

That is a very good point MP, but I imagine that, due to advances in technology, cheaper price and accessability of Steam and that ridiculous new chip, selling games like this could potentially be a good idea. There is obviously the risk of piracy, but then again, people are more likely to buy games if it was easier and a more relaxing experience at home, and then the impulse buys would probably increase. Although I'm not sure the industry agrees, clearly placing financial gain over good customer satisfaction. Sounds like a company close to our hearts.

 

[Fredward]

Forgive me if I'm missing something here as I am not a big gamer by any stretch of the imagination, but I should imagine that the big consoles would want to stay away from digital download as a sales method. I'm sure they'd look at the Film and Music industry and see how piracy has severely dented profits and would decide against moving towards a format that is more vulnerable to abuse.

I don't think digital distribution has an affect on piracy, mainly because in order to use your games you still need to be logged in to your steam count, obviously hackers will find a way to unlock these games but that's almost inevitable, hackers would get the data of a game desk and clone it if they were determined enough.

Piracy aside, company's make a lot more money from digital sales rather then physical copies. firstly there is no risk of creating to much, essentially they have unlimited copies at no extra cost. While physical copies will produce a set quantity which may or may not sell. You also have the benefit of not paying for packaging a digital game.

Game developers also earn a higher percentage selling digitally then they would in a game store.

Going back onto the piracy angle, and going towards Mankeys controversial topic, but not quite as Steam aren't as big ducks as Sony and Microsoft! , game dev's lose more from pre-owned game sales then piracy in the console market, this method removes the pre-owned market from the equation, so even if the chance of piracy is raised the benefits it produces far out weighs that downside.


And as Nick says this method also makes it more convenient for the customer. It's essentially a positive out come, for all except the customers with slow internet.

 

[BigDave]

I must admit, nearly all my games I play are available as an online download. To me, having them almost constantly available online means that I don't have CDs cluttering my room. In addition, it's much easier to provide patches and additional content when you connect via steam or origin.

Having a powerful console that is designed for this type of gaming will be great. I'm not a huge gamer and would find it hard to justify paying out for a new console, but many people will.

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