This kinda blew up. For the record, there are probably decent use cases. I’m just befuddled by its popularity. The best I’ve seen is PC games on a TV more easily than moving an entire setup. But the form factor removes a lot of the upgradeability and repairablity that makes PCs so great, it has standard hardware like a console but still traps you in a (admittedly slightly better) ecosystem, it has Linux but masks it so well most people won’t notice or care. If it pushes gaming to a more linux-friendly place, great, but it feels like it’s packaging it to the point that it won’t push the player-base, only devs. It feels like it packages almost all of the limitations of the 3 groups with very few of the best benefits. Truly do hope I’m wrong, I often am.
I thought you were listing all the positives and pretending not to get it. The whole point is that it is a steam console designed for a primary purpose of playing steam games, and also has the full functionality of a PC which other consoles don’t.
I plan on getting one in addition to my PC for playing games in my living room that will be more fun in that format.
Steam doesn’t trap you into an ecosystem. You can even add non-steam games to to the launcher for convenience!
This. It’s an Xbox with access to the Steam library instead of Game pass.
I think there will be some PC folks who get one, but I bet that won’t be the biggest audience. Their target audience is console players who are currently putting their cash into Sony and Microsoft.
It answers the (console player’s) question: “why can’t I just buy a box that let’s me play steam games from my couch on my nice big TV?”
still traps you in a (admittedly slightly better) ecosystem,
That’s wrong. It comes with SteamOS which is an Arch based Linux Distro. While it launches into Steam’s big screen mode, you can always switch to desktop mode and have all the freedom you want. Install GOG, Epic, Heroic or another launcher? Go for it. Want to install Windows on your Machine or Deck? I don’t know why, but you can do.
Hooking a whole desktop to a TV is intrusive with most desktop form factors.
Most people who want a console don’t care about upgradability or repairability, and that’s certainly not the main thing that “makes PCs so great.”
Most people gaming on PC are equally “trapped in an ecosystem.” This has a desktop mode if need be, but hardly anyone does games outside of Steam.
“It has Linux but most users won’t notice or care” is a double positive.
“It won’t push the player base, only the devs” is a double positive.
The point of a console isn’t to make people into more technical proponents of open source projects. It’s to play games.
And if it’s competing in the console market, especially for people who aren’t terribly interested in the “Call of Duty” type AAA titles of today, it seems like a perfect fit.
Idk, to me it’s like veggie bacon. Stop spending so much time trying to make plants taste like meat when you can just… make the plants taste good. I’d rather be shown the advantages and explore the reason for a switch than have it try to be what I wanted to avoid in the first place. Maybe this is just a natural in-between step towards more universal adoption, it just kind of feels like the first step towards enshittification. Maybe I’m just jaded and cynical at this point, I’d just rather have something that is proudly itself rather than something trying to shamefully hide what makes it unique
This kinda blew up. For the record, there are probably decent use cases. I’m just befuddled by its popularity. The best I’ve seen is PC games on a TV more easily than moving an entire setup. But the form factor removes a lot of the upgradeability and repairablity that makes PCs so great, it has standard hardware like a console but still traps you in a (admittedly slightly better) ecosystem, it has Linux but masks it so well most people won’t notice or care. If it pushes gaming to a more linux-friendly place, great, but it feels like it’s packaging it to the point that it won’t push the player-base, only devs. It feels like it packages almost all of the limitations of the 3 groups with very few of the best benefits. Truly do hope I’m wrong, I often am.
I thought you were listing all the positives and pretending not to get it. The whole point is that it is a steam console designed for a primary purpose of playing steam games, and also has the full functionality of a PC which other consoles don’t.
I plan on getting one in addition to my PC for playing games in my living room that will be more fun in that format.
Steam doesn’t trap you into an ecosystem. You can even add non-steam games to to the launcher for convenience!
This. It’s an Xbox with access to the Steam library instead of Game pass.
I think there will be some PC folks who get one, but I bet that won’t be the biggest audience. Their target audience is console players who are currently putting their cash into Sony and Microsoft.
It answers the (console player’s) question: “why can’t I just buy a box that let’s me play steam games from my couch on my nice big TV?”
That’s wrong. It comes with SteamOS which is an Arch based Linux Distro. While it launches into Steam’s big screen mode, you can always switch to desktop mode and have all the freedom you want. Install GOG, Epic, Heroic or another launcher? Go for it. Want to install Windows on your Machine or Deck? I don’t know why, but you can do.
Hooking a whole desktop to a TV is intrusive with most desktop form factors.
Most people who want a console don’t care about upgradability or repairability, and that’s certainly not the main thing that “makes PCs so great.”
Most people gaming on PC are equally “trapped in an ecosystem.” This has a desktop mode if need be, but hardly anyone does games outside of Steam.
“It has Linux but most users won’t notice or care” is a double positive.
“It won’t push the player base, only the devs” is a double positive.
The point of a console isn’t to make people into more technical proponents of open source projects. It’s to play games.
And if it’s competing in the console market, especially for people who aren’t terribly interested in the “Call of Duty” type AAA titles of today, it seems like a perfect fit.
That’s the best sales pitch for linux I’d ever heard!
Idk, to me it’s like veggie bacon. Stop spending so much time trying to make plants taste like meat when you can just… make the plants taste good. I’d rather be shown the advantages and explore the reason for a switch than have it try to be what I wanted to avoid in the first place. Maybe this is just a natural in-between step towards more universal adoption, it just kind of feels like the first step towards enshittification. Maybe I’m just jaded and cynical at this point, I’d just rather have something that is proudly itself rather than something trying to shamefully hide what makes it unique
It’s a fully functional Linux distro though?