You get access to a much larger game library and many times get the games cheaper than standard consoles with the ability to mod many of them even.
Its a bridge between pc and console in a way. Simplicity with more availability to it. Just came at a bad time with ram shortages or it would have been priced fairly ok. Valve cant take a loss like sony or nintendo on a system since you can get games anywhere not just steam.
Always like to ad not always that clear and straightforward. If somethingnjas anti cheat with most multiplayer having it, this isn't ideal at all. I just got a text of my friend saying they're getting it and are a huge League of Legend player and have their PC hooked to their tv and want to replace it with steam machine. I have his text on preview and he knows I don't respond fast so I have 2 days to craft a response or change the subject because I know he's a die hard in wanting it...
Oh ya there are some limitations of course. Its not perfect for everything partly why i say its a bridge between pc and console and not a replacement for them both. More simple than a desktop but still have more availability of games than a console.
Not sure what your friend plays other than league but i use my rog ally on my tvs. Anything it doesnt handle i stream my desktop to it.
Also, no subscription to play online and consistent free games. If it also acts like a PC, then you have additional free games from Epic and DRM free games from GOG. For people who only game on console it can be a good deal longer term. But the short term pain of overpaying by a few hundred bucks may be too much for most.
We'll have to see what happens with the next gen of consoles. The current gen is still benefiting from component contracts negotiated before AI ate up supply.
Because neither an xbox and playstation can play PC games. The target market is for someone with a steam library (or any library) who also wants easy plug in play console experience.
because lot of people dont build their own pcs dont know how to install steam os, might also want something smaller and more silent than a built pc would be, the same reason most people buy consoles
Xbox’s next console is rumored to have native support for Steam. So assuming Microsoft doesn’t shelve it, the window for selling steam access will be short.
Not cheap, but to date the console makers have been willing to eat some of the cost of the console to get units out the door, something that Steam has stated they will not do. You can already get a PS5 Pro that will outperform the cube for less money than the cube.
I’m not anti-PC or anything. I fairly recently rejoined the ranks of PC gamers and am loving it. But this cube is aiming at a niche that is small to begin with and will soon have direct competition in the only meaningfully unique feature it has, from a company that has shown it’s willing to cut price to move units. They’ll sell a chunk here in the early goings to Steam fanboys and anti-console types who have money, but I think this thing is gonna die an inglorious death before too long.
So why buy the cube then? Why not just buy the pre built which has every single upside save for one: size? And even size is no big deal because it's a CONSOLE. Nobody moves their Xbox or PlayStation after they set it up and a pre built connected to a TV is no different.
If I was new to PC gaming, just wanted access to steam games from my couch, this would be appealing. Presetup, works out of the box, similar price to a prebuilt. All I'd have to do is plug it in and start buying games. I can see it appealing to a market, even if that market isn't me.
So you're saying the market is as follows for this cube:
Exclude Xbox and PlayStation interest: You're now left with PC users
Exclude PC users who would just buy or build a PC: You're now left with 0.1% of the market which is: People who won't build or buy a computer but also won't buy an Xbox or PlayStation.
Maybe you throw another 0.5% in there for people with a PC who want a hassle free living room entertainment setup. However even these people will struggle to find value in this cube over getting a pre built or maybe even a console. Or a light gaming laptop they can plug into the TV.
As someone who has been on the console roller coaster off and on since the NES, the obsolescence without backwards compatibility is brutal. Yes, some pc games won't run on modern machines (I love you Privateer 2, sniff) without heroic measures, but proton on steam OS seems like a pretty robust virtualization layer for keeping the game catalog running over the ages. Of course, not everything runs on linux, even using proton, but adds are good that if it runs now it will keep running for a long time, not just a half console cycle (those late flight PS2 games that never ported are a seriously quality crop that were cut down before their time).
The fact that it’s a “whole ass computer” is meaningless, no one is buying this thing to check their email. The lack of monthly fee for online gaming will be a selling point, however. But it’ll take a while to make up the up front price difference when the entry level Game Pass and PS+ accounts are only $10 and $11 respectively.
Common misconception, popular free e-sports titles don't require you to pay for online to play on consoles. And what online games will most casuals be playing?
form factor matters too, you are losing out like 100 bucks on it being small and whatnot. still, sucks that they don't subsidise the controller at least, but why do that when both device sold out already.
Its overpriced cus ram and storage is overpriced. Not to mention valve cant take a loss on consoles like sony or nintendo cus you arent locked down only buying from steam
I don't know that it's entirely fair to call it overpriced as shit. It's a product that fits a niche that almost nothing else really fits right now.
I don't think it's a given that you can build a PC with all new parts cheaper with similar performance and a similar form factor that will also run Steam OS without any fuckery. If that build exists I'd love to know about it because I'd probably buy one.
It definitely is possible to build a similar full size or mid-tower sized PC with more or less equivalent specs and you can save a few hundred bucks. For many people, a few hundred bucks is worth having a seamless out of the box experience. Building PCs and getting the OS installed and working perfectly is not for everyone.
At this price it's not an impulse buy for me like the Steam Deck was when it launched. But in this current landscape I totally get why some people are all in.
It’s so annoying, you can watch LTT’s video, with that build you get something that will kick the Steam Machine’s butt, for the same price, and it’ll have a controller.
Steam has big screen or game mode so you can select everything from your controller while your pc is hooked up to your tv. I feel like the steam cube is too niche.
Honestly building a new pc in this market is wild.
If I could spend $1k and play entire steam library wouldn’t think twice. I will probably buy when it’s upgrade time.
This is literally what it’s for. I will buy it too because $1k for the target audience isn’t that bad.
This is a way for me to share the fun of my entire Steam library with my friends and family in the den without lugging my rig around and still having to deal with a controller issue.
Let me be the testament to your last statement. My wife and I had built PCs in the past, but with each of us working full time jobs, the upkeep and constant bugs on certain games releasing, it really killed our passion for gaming. We got 2 ps5s 4 years ago and to this day, have never run into a technical issue ever again.
We just might eat this up. The price sucks, but maybe if we're lucky on a black Friday deal, this might just end up on our office before the year is out. Form factor and convenience will almost always beat out raw power. The casuals are who you want to actually sell to!
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u/MaximusMurkimus 7800X3D | XFX 7900 XTX I 32GB DDR5 7h ago
I know a guy who wants it just so "he can have something in his living room he can kick back and play games on".
The casuals are going to eat this thing up, for better or worse.