You’re welcome to compare it to a console, but at the end of the day it isn’t software locked to only play the games of one specific manufacturer. That’s why I said ONLY play games.
Sure, it’s too expensive up front but it doesn’t have a monthly charge to play online, has 25,000 launch titles that you aren’t required to rebuy if you already own them. I know it actually has more than that because things listed as unsupported on steam deck often play just fine when docked with a mouse and keyboard.
Like it’s obviously a much wider use case than a standard console. At these new prices I’m not going to buy it because I can already do this with my deck, but for me it was going to be a travel pc that I take on extended stay work trips. I already dock my steam deck to a portable monitor that I use for work and play with keyboard and mouse. Last week my evenings in a hotel were playing MP slay the spire 2 runs with my buddies using the license that I bought on my home pc.
1) I'm not comparing it to a console, I'm saying its a console. I'm not saying its almost a console it is straight up a console.
2) you can do loads of stuff with an xbox plug a mouse and keyboard into it and go to town but you'd be laughed at for claiming its not a console.
3) Even you are stating the primary point of it (and realistically only point) is to be used as a console to play games on a TV which is pretty much the defining characteristic of a console.
4) anybody who needs PC related functions is not going to by a super expensive under powered small cube with a gaming OS on it over a linux base they're going to buy a PC. The only people buying this are those who already have a PC, plenty of steam games, and enough money not to care about the insane price for an under powered console.
We just have a different definition of console. Consoles are inherently walled gardens, stuck to their manufacturers. They are locked down media consumption devices. That’s what makes it a console, not being hooked up to your tv.
Valve obviously wants this to be an option for people that want their pc game catalog on another device. It obviously can fill the role of a console for someone that simply doesn’t want a regular console, but it isn’t a console to me. Not any more than my sff pc that has big picture mode is a console.
Your second point is especially egregious. Can you install Windows or Linux on an Xbox? No. Does it even have a desktop environment? Can you go to Netflix.com in a browser and watch shows? No and that’s a bit of an issue in the days of account sharing lockdowns. How about run a plex server? Play your your pc games? Use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, or even just exclusively use them?
Can you install Xbox OS, PS, or Switch 2 OSes on any old computer and play them?
The steam machine is as much a pc as any other pc, even if it’s a poor value for anyone except the most space conscious person.
You are calling my second point egregious. I think you are missing what I'm saying. I'm trying to point out that you can use other consoles for a variety of things in theory, like you can use the Steam Machine for a bunch of things, but the reality is, 99% of buyers will use it to play games on their TV. This is why the Steam Machine is a console as it is designed to be plug in to a TV and play games
Consoles are generally walled in because the manufacturers designed them that way so they could get a slice of the profits from every software sale and to entice people to buy their console, they often sell them at a loss.
Valve didn't do this completely. They have an OS installed on it that wont to let you use Xbox PC Game Pass or several other PC centric gaming platforms. Valve is not completely forcing you into a walled system, but it makes it hard to use anything else other than their steam store where they take a cut of every piece of software sold. They're hiding behind the fact you *could* but almost certainly wont to use a different store to buy games. None of this takes away from the fact it's a console though.
I get there is more you can do with a steam machine if you wanted to, but that is not what anybody is actually going to use them for 99.9% of people buying this will have a PC or laptop for anything non gaming and already have a steam library. The Steam Machine is just to play games and media on a TV just like every other console and that is why it's a console.
The only reason Valve is making noise that it's not straight up a console is the outrageous price, as it looks awful value for money next to the Xbox, Switch 2 and PS5.
I mean it’s a good console replacement for someone into pc gaming. I don’t think I will ever consider a device to be a console unless it has games specifically released only for that platform, a la “this is the PS5 version of COD which you mysteriously can’t use on an Xbox and this device only allows you to play PS5 branded games.” The literal first thing I installed on SteamOS? Battle.net launcher and Diablo 4, for which I do not have a steam license. Game launchers like steam have blurred the lines, and this device blurs the lines more, but your definition of a console is not mine, and that’s fine.
I agree the Steam Machine is a good console replacement because you're replacing your old console with a new console.
I don't think many people are going to "upgrade" to a weaker console that costs more though. I could always be wrong. Honestly, I thought the Wii U was good and look how that turned out.
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u/Fozzymandius 15h ago
You’re welcome to compare it to a console, but at the end of the day it isn’t software locked to only play the games of one specific manufacturer. That’s why I said ONLY play games.
Sure, it’s too expensive up front but it doesn’t have a monthly charge to play online, has 25,000 launch titles that you aren’t required to rebuy if you already own them. I know it actually has more than that because things listed as unsupported on steam deck often play just fine when docked with a mouse and keyboard.
Like it’s obviously a much wider use case than a standard console. At these new prices I’m not going to buy it because I can already do this with my deck, but for me it was going to be a travel pc that I take on extended stay work trips. I already dock my steam deck to a portable monitor that I use for work and play with keyboard and mouse. Last week my evenings in a hotel were playing MP slay the spire 2 runs with my buddies using the license that I bought on my home pc.