It's Time to Bring Back the Steam Machine - Steam Deck HQ
steamdeckhq.com
With all the layoffs and industry volatility, I think now is a great time to consider bringing back the Steam Machine, with a few changes.
  • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
    2 years

    I’d like the Steam Machine to come back with the addition of being an HTPC. Why? Because Valve is big enough to arm wrestle streaming services into releasing an official app.

    I basically want a user customizable, privacy respecting Xbox.

    • Kühlschrank@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2 years

      They are like 1-2 little steps away from a very good HTPC Steam Deck.

      Like if they could just take a little time to make Firefox work 100% in game mode (right now it’s not quite there, like you can’t go full screen with videos) and make controllers just a little more comfortable for browsing and it’d already be there for me.

      • towerful@programming.dev
        2 years

        Way back when netflix was new, windows had a Home Theatre edition of windows.
        Beautiful 10ft UI, worked with tuners, could record from them, had no issues dealing with auto-ripped DVDs and had a native netflix integration.
        Then netflix pulled out, but windows HTPC was still pretty decent.
        Nowadays, it’s basically “you have to pay for everything” with a smart TV or a set top android box, maybe lucky enough to have a tuner in it.
        Or it’s high seas.
        I don’t think there is really a middle ground.

        • fadedmaster@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2 years

          HTPC wasn’t a Windows thing though Microsoft did have Windows Media Center, which was a pretty slick interface for HTPCs

          I used to use XBMC, which is now Kodi, for an interface. Before that I just used a PC running Mandrake Linux with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Haha.

          Had a TV tuner, acted as a DVR, and also could play my library of SNES and NES games through it.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
      2 years

      A steam machine with a Radeon 7600 class GPU sold for under $500 would be a surefire hit and it would blow the deck out of the water in terms of performance.

      • David_Eight@lemmy.world
        2 years

        I think the biggest thing would be getting a PC with decent specs for $500. Why would anybody buy a Dell desktop or the like ever again? Like even if you don’t game and need to do office work it’d probably be the best option.

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
          2 years

          You can almost build something like that for this price. Or you can do it if you buy some second hand stuff. But for an OEM building a few million units it would definitely be doable.

          • David_Eight@lemmy.world
            2 years

            Yeah, but I was thinking more parents buying a console for their kids. Like oh little Jimmy can do his homework on this thing too, great I didn’t have to buy him another computer. Or imagine if Microsoft put windows on Xboxes, every office building would be full of them lol.

      • fishos@lemmy.worldBannedEnglish
        2 years

        They already exist. They’re called mini PCs or NUCs. Just buy one of those and you’re already there. Literally. This whole article and thread is garbage. They already exist. They just aren’t branded Steam.

        • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
          2 years

          Yeah duh. A real gaming PC you’d want to hook up to your 4k TV would need to have a GPU, not just an APU. Also, having to install everything yourself kind of defeats the purpose. Do you think the Steam Deck would have been successful if it had shipped with Windows?

          • fishos@lemmy.worldBannedEnglish
            2 years

            A lot ship with Linux. And having a full PC you can use is a downside? So you’d rather have a limited box? That’s not even valves philosophy, so I don’t know where you’re getting that BS from.

  • Gamoc@lemmy.world
    2 years

    Two popups before I can read an article means you don’t get read. Bye.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
      2 years

      Using an ad blocker is basically requirement of browsing the internet at the moment.

    • shaytan@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      2 years

      Is your statement true? Probably

      But if we set our standards to “enough”, there wouldn’t be any progress

      Was the switch enough for couch gamers? Sure. Did valve want to progress further? They did.

  • sunshine@lemmy.ml
    2 years

    I would love to have a Steam Machine. I love my Steam Deck. However… the nature of Steam games, so far, even on the Deck, is that you need to bop “ok” every once in a while, or even enter a username or something for some unwashed-ass game, and that’s a lot harder on a form factor that doesn’t have a touchscreen…

  • fishos@lemmy.worldBannedEnglish
    2 years

    It’s called a Mini PC or a NUC. They already exist. Go buy one and slap Steam on it. Done.

    The people who actually want this have already done it.

    • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      2 years

      Valve’s big advantage here is the same as it was with the steam deck: they can sell at a loss and make it back on software sales.

      A lot of the appeal of consoles is a polished experience and that they’re generally less expensive up front compared to a comparable power gaming PC. Many consoles are sold at a loss to hit that price point. Valve could actually make cheap gaming PCs that can compete in price and offer a smooth user experience.

      • fishos@lemmy.worldBannedEnglish
        2 years

        Install steam. Run in big picture mode. Done. That’s a steam machine. I don’t get what you think a dedicated machine is going to do any differently. There is a reason Steam abandoned the idea themselves.