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Valve's SteamBox Gets a Name and an Early Demo at CES
xynopsis writes "Looks like the final version of the Linux based Steam Gaming Console has been made public at CES. The result of combined efforts of small-form-factor maker Xi3 and Valve, the gaming box named 'Piston' is a potential game changer in transforming the Linux desktop and gaming market. The pretty device looks like a shrunk Tezro from Silicon Graphics when SGI used to be cool." Looks like Gabe Newell wasn't kidding.
Linux, games and gamechanger in the same paragraph, looks cool though. Would be cool.
offer modular component updates, including the option to upgrade the PC's CPU and RAM.
I will *not* get back into that chase again, thank you very much. The whole reason I left PC gaming years ago was because I got tired of the specs chase. Consoles meant never having to look on the box and see if I needed yet another upgrade to play a game. I've even still got the stack of old video cards and MB's to remind me of how much money I wasted back then.
Not going back to that. And if I was, I would just build my own PC and connect it to my TV (why bother with Valve's box?). After all, if I'm going back to the chase, may as well get the freedom of a PC too.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
...when SGI used to be cool.
"Captain, I'm sensing a bitter old man. I suggest caution."
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
if this means more games for linux on the desktop then yeah it could be big.
Otherwise - it's just another locked down console and I'm not sure what benefit it will have for linux on the desktop.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
It's a trap!
Word from Redmond is that Microsoft is going to attempt to clone Steam now.
They're working on a competitor called "Shaft."
CEO Steve Ballmer even said he "can't wait to Shaft his customers, it's going to be the biggest thing since squirting on the Zune. It's going to totally fucking kill Steam and Linux off."
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Maybe won't be the year of the linux desktop, but with that, and a few android based gaming consoles could be the year of the linux game console.
What's with all the ugly ports and "USB port dedicated for keyboard". They better have bluetooth for all the inputs, wifi, and miracast. Only wire you need should be for power.
Wake me up when people start making consoles that stack again
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Parent: Missing the point of Steam entirely.
Steam itself is not DRM. My library contains lots of DRM free games. On the other hand it also contains certain games which come with the same DRM as the boxed version. If you want to make a point buy the DRM free indie games on Steam and and don't buy the DRM ridden ones.
Don't dismiss something just because it can do more than what you need. Nobody forces you to pirate with bittorrent or murder your wife with a kitchen knife either.
This is just *a* steam-box, just a few days ago Ben Krasnow (Valve hardware designer) said that steambox would appear at GDC.
X7A, on which Piston is based, costs 999$. Good luck gathering adoption at this price point.
Linux is an operating system, not a belief system. It lets me use my computer how I want to, and the day it gets in the way of that I will swap to something else. If I want to install DRM laden software onto Linux, who are you to judge?
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
If you think linux's only purpose is to create DRM free games, or anything else for that matter, you're kinda missing the point. The purpose of linux afaik is to create freedom....to do whatever you want with the OS. If I want to play DRM games on my linux install, then its doing its job because its what I want to do with the OS.
When Linus made Linux he did not say "it is going to be DRM free", he even said that DRM is ok with Linux not too long ago.
How is "Linux + DRM" a point? What is the point of Linux then?
You are able to run DRM software on Linux right now anyway. Even if Steam is going to be big, it doesn't require DRM for the games which are distributed on it.
I fall to see how what you say matters. This could single handedly become the vehicle Linux can use to gain a foothold in the gaming industry. Combine that with the fact it also could put Linux in the hands of more users than ever. I'm thinking you're missing the big picture entirely. This is a big move for Linux. The fact valve is behind it even gives it done credibility.
Steam is a delivery platform with optional DRM. No game is required to use the DRM, and many indie games and older games do not. Once you purchase those games, you can move them wherever you wish and even delete Steam and still have usable games.
Word from Redmond is that Microsoft is going to attempt to clone Steam now.
They're working on a competitor called "Shaft."
So... new version of "Games for Windows â" LIVE"?
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Steam by its very nature is a form of DRM. It is admittedly one of the better implementations though.
When "more than I need" includes randomly blocking access to things I paid for, I damn well will dismiss it!
I am one of the unfortunate people who learned to hate DRM through experience. Are you aware that Steam locks you out if you play in "offline mode" for too long?
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Oh, how? I can just start the game from the games own folder if I want to. No need to have steam even running. I guess that's DRM done right then... actually, it is!
That's strictly true, but Linux only lets you use your computer the way you want to because of the belief system that underlies it.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
I think he means if you don't use that feature you will be safe.
You do not need offline mode if you only buy indie DRM free games on steam.
To this kind of thing by waiting too long for a product line refresh. Gamers, like myself, are looking at the graphics and capabilities of modern PCs and seeing their consoles (a PS3 in my case) looking slow and antiquated. With no prospect of a new console generation from either of the two major manufacturers why not try to move into their space with a fresher platform, same development process as for PC games and much more power than the current consoles. If it ran BF3 I'd order it as soon as I could.
The concept is surprising because it is more a PC and less a console. With several hardware configurations, a luxury price ($500 - $1000) and upgradeable components, the Steam Box is not a fixed development target, but simply another form of PC. A fixed configuration would have been a more attractive target for a publisher. Many of them shy away from PC due to the QA nightmare of supporting an infinite variety of graphic cards and hardware configurations.
Safe? GP's use of 'lock out' is misleading. After a few months, offline mode fails to start, and requires signing in to be able to access offline mode again. IIRC, this is a bug. You are not getting your Steam account banned by playing in offline mode.
If I only buy indie DRM free games, I don't need Steam. I'd rather cut out the middleman and give the indie developer a bigger chunk of the sale price.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
I hope an emulator gets made soon.
So do not use offline mode.
To play the DRM free indie games you don't need to launch steam at all. You can launch them right from their exes.
And here I thought valve were serious. This thing is D.O.A.
And the sign-in fails, and you have to contact tech support, and wait days for a response. Twice now. "Lockout" is the word I use to describe that.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Good point, it would be nice to have something like steam though.
My preference would be to get the games into a repository and just pay for a CD key or something. The typical brain dead each application has its own updater is one of the most annoying things about windows/osx.
Mandatory Correction: Linux is a kernel. Android, GNU, and similar are sytem apps that help it become an Operating System.
That's a worthy intent, but requires the indie developer to run some sort of store, do all the marketing, etc. which they quite likely have little interest in doing. A decent publisher actually earns their piece of the pie. Things like Steam or the various App stores allow developers to focus on developing, and let someone else do all the annoying sales work. Okay, they probably need to do at least a little marketing too just to reach critical mass for the automated recommendation system to come into play, but then they're good.
Not that I don't admire the self-publishers, but do you really want to deprive Indie developers of your dollars completely because of their choice of publisher? Now the DRM thing is completely separate, I can understand refusing to support that, but as others have pointed out DRM isn't mandatory on Steam (though I haven't noticed if they tell you up front whether it's included or not)
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
I think they have a serious problem if they think a device costing anywhere near $1k will compete with the likes of Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii U. It would be a high end niche device only for folks that are also buying giant screen 4k tv's this year. I think they'll need to target $300 or less to have a chance of it taking off. People put $1k or more into PC's because you can (and most do) use them for a hell of a lot more than just video games.
Linux is not an operating system, it's a kernel.
Incorrect. Steam is a DRM and distribution scheme, in that it binds your purchase to your account, and you need to be authenticated to access that account. Your non-DRM games are inaccessible unless you are logged in to Steam, either Online or Offline. I know, from personal experience, that Offline Mode isn't for when your connection fails, as it requires you to cache your credentials prior to going Offline to work. You're SOOL if your router craps out and you can't tether your smartphone to enable Offline Mode. It's for when you're taking your library away from your network connection in a planned fashion, e.g. your laptop on holiday.
Saying this, I am going to go home now and close Steam, then try and browse to Braid in the file structure of my Steam installation. If I can run it without logging in to Steam, I will take all I've said about it back. I don't think that will be the case, though.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Linux is an operating system, not a belief system.
Heretic! Heathen! Infidel!
If you repent and say three Hail Stallmans we'll let you off this time...
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
Unless Valve somehow gets Linus to infect the kernel with their DRM and close up the source, that is not going to change. I put the odds of the esteemed Mr.Torvalds doing that at about 1 in infinity.
Saying this, I am going to go home now and close Steam, then try and browse to Braid in the file structure of my Steam installation. If I can run it without logging in to Steam, I will take all I've said about it back. I don't think that will be the case, though.
Quite a few games check by location whether they're supposed to run Steam or not, so try copying it to a different directory if it does try to start Steam.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Or at least useful for crafting them. And specs call for 3 wood, 1 iron ingot, 1 redstone, and 4 blocks of cobble.
Get an Ax!
Consoles meant never having to look on the box and see if I needed yet another upgrade to play a game.
"Never" is a strong word. Several games for Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 required a RAM expansion cartridge.
And if I was, I would just build my own PC and connect it to my TV (why bother with Valve's box?).
Valve is targeting the mass market, which has shown itself unwilling to connect a device marketed as a "computer" to a display marketed as a "television". To the mass market, computers are for desks and consoles are for living rooms. See previous comments.
Otherwise - it's just another locked down console
There's a difference between "locked down" in the sense of Apple iTrinkets and "locked down" in the sense of Sony and Nintendo products. Apple encourages startups to develop for its iTrinkets; Sony and Nintendo seek only established studios with "financial stability" and "relevant video game industry experience". Is Steam Greenlight closer to Apple's model or to Sony's and Nintendo's?
I did not know that. Nice. Back when I was playing HL2E2 I hated how I had to keep steam running.
If I only buy indie DRM free games, I don't need Steam. I'd rather cut out the middleman
The middleman controls access to the living room. Without a console like the forthcoming Piston, and without building a PC to put next to your TV which almost nobody seems to want to do, how are you going to play these "indie DRM-free games" with real life friends on a television-sized monitor?
Is there a correlation between "casual" and "latency-sensitive"?
Yes. True, there are some turn-based hardcore games, such as the Civilization series that you mentioned. But I imagine that casual games are statistically more likely to be turn-based. Consider Words With Friends, Angry Birds, and the like.
The non-DRM (non-steamworks) games do not require Steam to be running, otherwise that would be using the DRM.... You were probably trying to run one that did have DRM.
Incorrect. Steam is a DRM and distribution scheme, in that it binds your purchase to your account, and you need to be authenticated to access that account. Your non-DRM games are inaccessible unless you are logged in to Steam, either Online or Offline. I know, from personal experience, that Offline Mode isn't for when your connection fails, as it requires you to cache your credentials prior to going Offline to work. You're SOOL if your router craps out and you can't tether your smartphone to enable Offline Mode. It's for when you're taking your library away from your network connection in a planned fashion, e.g. your laptop on holiday.
Yup, and of course the real problem is not steam. Its that most people producing games that require payment hate people ripping them off so much they insist on some sort of DRM to try and prevent this (even if it doesn't work they still want it to try).
Saying this, I am going to go home now and close Steam, then try and browse to Braid in the file structure of my Steam installation. If I can run it without logging in to Steam, I will take all I've said about it back. I don't think that will be the case, though.
I dont either, they guy who created Braid used their online savegame feature so at the very least you will lose your progress. It is probably possible to develop a game and publish it on steam with no DRM but that nobody uses it. The question is do developers ever want to leave it all to trust after they have decided to charge people for the game in the first place?
I dont read
I know more people with TVs that are wall mounted than not.
Among my family, it's the other way around: most TVs are not wall-mounted. Which is the normal case and which is the edge case?
As much as I respect Valve, if they can't push thing under $200, it's DOA. And to be honest I thought this was going to be a Console like a PS3 or Xbox
For one thing, Xbox 360 debuted at $399, and PS3 debuted at a price of "five hundred ninety-nine US dollars" that inspired YouTube dance remixes. For another, sometimes it's worth paying more for the box if the games are cheaper, and Steam games tend to run cheaper than console disc games.
Damn it, Ray! Egon said not to cross the memes.
The middleman often provides the service of letting you know of the indie developer's product.
If done well it's better than googling for games that you might like, and possibly worth paying for.
Linux is an operating system, not a belief system. It lets me use my computer how I want to, and the day it gets in the way of that I will swap to something else. If I want to install DRM laden software onto Linux, who are you to judge?
Coward, Anonymous Coward.
Steam itself is not DRM.
Patently false. While Steam might occasionaly serve to let you download DRM free games (the Humble Bundles come to mind) which continue to work with steam uninstalled, you MUST have a valid Steam account to play the vast majority of games you purchase from the service, indie or otherwise, ON TOP of any other DRM which might be loaded onto the game.
If you're cool with buying cheap games, with the understanding that you will have to bend over for whatever shit they feel like shoving into the unilaterally modified contract down the line, then so be it. Cop to it and don't let anyone try to talk you out of it.
But don't lie.
I'll make this short, but it deserves an article of its own.
People pirate software.
Steam requires tethered installation and play.
Pirates have to download cracked versions to avoid Steam.
Pirates also need cracked updates.
The cracked files contain malware.
The malware is used to send spam and for other annoying purposes that affect us all.
Without Steam, there would be fewer zombie PC's in the world. It's a simple fact. Casual pirates would just borrow games from friends. Sophisticated pirates would run clean copies that did not include malware. You can't make the pirates go away -- if you could then it would have been done by now. Steam represents a small incremental increase in revenue to game companies and a huge cost to everyone in the form of botnets etc. Well done Valve.
Don't dismiss something just because it can do more than what you need. Nobody forces you to pirate with bittorrent or murder your wife with a kitchen knife either.
Oh for the love of... Is that you posting anonymous again Hans??!
Seriously, a $1000 console that has the expectation of being upgraded? Valve doesn't quite get console gaming it seems.
Piston will have backward compatibility with many popular titles in the Steam library, which means that many people will already have licenses for several games that play on it. True, it's not the vast majority of Steam games, but Xbox 360's original Xbox emulator didn't cover the vast majority of original Xbox games either. I don't know whether it'll do Netflix and the like, but that'd be a plus.
There are lots of people claiming that the little SFF computer called the Piston does not have the power to adequately run Steam games under Linux. But I have Linux Mint KDE 14 AMD64 installed on an HP nx9420 laptop which is 5 years old. It only has a dual core 2.16GHz processor, the equivalent of an Nvidia GT 7900 GPU and 4GB of ram. I was playing Dark Descent, Team Fortress 2 and Killing Floor all weekend. It worked great. If this laptop will do this well, I'm sure that little SFF computer will be just fine also. I wonder if Valve will release them with a subscription like mobile phone companies do.
Oh, yeah! Wise guy, huh? Woob woob woob woob! Nyuk! Nyuk!
That is just an Xi3 mini computer running steam on it. You can buy that hardware and run anything you want today.
Months? I moved recently and Steam forgot my user info after a couple days offline.
Yes, I can't wait to hear from the steamed-up malcontents who feel they've been PissedOn by Balmer, the old Shaft Cranker, and his minions.
BTW - given Microsoft's apparent lack of stellar performance with Windows8, how long before they start calling him 'The mBalmer'?
Except he's right. Steam is not DRM. Steamworks is the DRM, and it's not mandatory.
You're missing the point: it's not Steam or Valve's fault if the games you buy use DRM. It's the publisher's decision. If the game wasn't on Steam, it'd have another form of (likely much more annoying/shitty) DRM. What Steam provides is fairly mild DRM (yes, I say mild, because honestly I prefer having an account that adds a lot of value to my games versus limited activation, phone home schemes, or plain and simply unreliable bullshit ala StarForce).
But Steam doesn't force anyone to use the DRM in their games.
No one "needs" a distribution platform, it just makes it nicer to manage games. Not to mention coordinating with your friends, seeing what they're doing, etc.
If you're the kind of person who likes to play solo games and doesn't have the internet/friends, then yes, Steam is a waste.
Too small for respectable performance. Good enough for Source and Unreal engine 3 (tegra 4 can run UE3 games easily, when ported, off course). Those engines should be part of the past, now when Source 2 and Unreal 4 are announced. Seems like a fail product to me.
The issue is that this requires knowledge that your average person wouldn't know how to do, a form of DRM by obscurity. While in China Steam blocked me from playing my games for over a month that I paid for and already installed. It is DRM.
The belief system is completely separate of Linux. Any logical person would use and make free programs because the best programmers program for fun. The entire belief system that surrounds the Linux is just a bunch of religious bigotry that hurts what Linux really is, a great piece of work created by the community to the betterment of everyone.
The general community around Linux does not reflect the core of what Linux is. Most interviews of core developers are level and logical, but you get the Linux zealots and any chance of a discussion it thrown out the window.
Hail Stallmans? That'd be for pennance to the Church of the GNU. Don't you mean, Hail Torvalds'?
Desura is no steam but it's something.
The problem being, of course, that sometimes they do release games that the console is under-specced for, resulting in unexpected slowdowns etc
This is especially true when multi-console releases are attempted and the hardware specs don't quite line up. At that point, you've got a game that runs just as poorly on the console as it would on an under-specced PC
Hail Stallman, full of gnu, the 1337 is with thee; blessed art thou amongst activists, and blessed is the fruit of thy keyboard, GPL. Holy Stallman, Giver of GPL, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Copyleft FSF, Boston, MA, 1989
ethernet is needed as well not all areas have good wifi and ethernet is better for systems fixed into place.
It might be based on $1000 hardware, but unless they release a game console under $400, then it will be stillborn.
Actually, Steam better sell this thing at a significant loss considering that it is a front end to their walled garden. The Steam Box should be sold like a printer, taking a hit on the hardware and recuperating profit through the sale of content on the platform.
If Valve tries to profit on the sale of hardware to front their Steam service they will be seen as being the same as all the greedy f--ks Gabe has been speaking out against for the last 8 years.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I can buy a $300 PC for $850!
I think that the reason I can't switch to a Linux-only setup is the vocal minority who believe that, since Linux is FOSS, everything that runs on Linux should be FOSS.
This provides the benefit that for everything you need, there is a free version.
However, there are things I want, and these tend to be harder to find on Linux. That is, unless you're fine with suffering through a potentially unstable or severely handicapped version on Wine.
http://i49.tinypic.com/scw9pk.png
Are you aware that Steam locks you out if you play in "offline mode" for too long?
Or my personal favorite, to enable "offline mode" at all, you must be connected to the Internet.
Of course, the reason I wanted to use "offline mode" in the first place was that I didn't have an Internet connection at the moment! But, no, as far as Gabe is concerned, you're supposed to plan ahead for an unexpected major Internet outage in your area.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
I wonder if low spec consoles forces game companies to engineer their code better. A well engineered code engine should provide value all the way up the spec ladder. Of course art assets created for a lower spec don't always scale up the ladder. So it does hold some things back.
The Linux "belief system" is codified by the GPLv2 license. That's not the GPLv3 licence, not the BSD license, but the GPLv2 license. If the belief system were anything other than this, they could have changed their licensing model long ago.
As long as Valve obey the terms of the GPLv2 license, they are fulfilling their obligations to the Linux community- both actual and philosophical. That means they need to release a copy of the code that they use on the products they ship; and that's it. Hopefully any changes or additions they make can be made use of back upstream.
The preferred moniker is GNU/Torvalds.
-- Using the preview button since 2005
Well it seems Valve just piston all its customers with its locked-down steam box.
Nominated for Best of Slashdot 2013. And here it is only January...
Contrary to our favorite meme of never reading the article, xi3.com and xi3.org are both slashdotted into oblivion. Not only did we read the article, we searched on the company name mentioned (but not linked) in the article, then followed the links we found. Take THAT, meme!
And why did nobody mention Xi3 when I was babbling about a cube computer a couple weeks ago? I got modded up to +5 Interesting and nobody knew about these guys. Judging by both the moderation of my post and the slashdotting of Xi3, I'm not the only one who thinks the form factor is appealing. With hardware specs as good as any desktop, this thing is really promising. Here's hoping this is the prototype that gets the nod as the official Steambox, so it can benefit from serious mass production and get the price down to something competitive for its specs.
One last thing. Considering the connectors on this thing, it's designed to conveniently connect a bigscreen TV (the standard DisplayPort HDMI-enabled connector) plus two Oculus Rift displays (the mini-DisplayPort connectors with no HDMI). It looks like Gabe Newell decided to use Kickstarter as his source for new hardware ideas when Microsoft made their app-store move. Anybody know if he's found a game controller design there too? Maybe one of those that incorporates a touchscreen, as well as hardware controls? Wouldn't surprise me if he has. And if he hasn't, it's because the hardware guys have missed the boat—somebody needs to fill that space, if it isn't already. Can't have Nintendo alone in the marketplace.
Nobody has written this blog post yet, and I don't have a blog, so I'll say it here: Kickstarter is the new Go To place for angel investors looking for new ideas. You heard it here first.
Linux might not be a belief system, but GNU/Linux is.
No it is not. It is a platform that can be used that way should the people putting out the game wish it to be.
"but ultimately it restricts your use of the games."
oh?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Except the use of steam gives them wide access. So they actually make more money, overall.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Only games that use steamworks have DRM.
Note the period.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
how do you have a working Linux bocx is every single thing on it is FOSS?
Can you do anything with it? Who makes the drivers? the firmware? where did you find DOSS Disk drive firmware?
What is you BIOS?
Or maybe everything isn't FOSS?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Linux is an operating system, not a belief system.
Heretic! Heathen! Infidel!
If you repent and say three Hail Stallmans we'll let you off this time...
Whoa there! I wasn't expecting a Spanish Inquisition!
Defining Statistics and Social Research
You are referring to positive freedom, as in being able to go where you want etc.
Stallman's Freedoms are meant to be a protection of positive freedoms beyond just using it (being able to construct a bicycle to go where you want even faster etc).
Freedom and doing whatever you want are not identical. You may choose to blow your head out to cure a headache or other such things that are harmful to your freedom, even if it is what you want.
Stallman is idealistic and not very pragmatic. His message, however, is worth reflecting on.
I'm too tired atm but you get the point.
Defining Statistics and Social Research
AFAIK there are no consumer grade Free computers. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be desirable. If people could download shape files to print their own computer in e.g. a country of few resources for their benefit it would be great.
Atm, we must take reality into account and use what we can.
Defining Statistics and Social Research
Why would a console be a thousand dollars and only have some kind of integrated graphics. Why the emphasis that it be small and power efficient vs. powerful enough to play any game at max settings. I mean does this thing seem like any "gaming" rig you've ever seen? I think they should just compile a list of hardware that can be put together and be "steam" certified and be done with it. Just give the developers something to target.
Steam itself is not DRM. My library contains lots of DRM free games. On the other hand it also contains certain games which come with the same DRM as the boxed version. If you want to make a point buy the DRM free indie games on Steam and and don't buy the DRM ridden ones.
Lies lies lies. Steam itself *IS* DRM. Let's see you play those supposedly "no DRM" games without a fucking internet connection. Go ahead and say offline mode is an option. It is NOT. It is a temporary grace period while you get your connection fixed.
Steam itself IS DRM.
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
Steam IS the DRM. Let's see you play those DRM-free games without Steam running. Can't? Oh, so Steam needs to be running and it must have an internet connection or else it will refuse to run. Offline mode? Sure. Go ahead and try to use offline mode while you are traveling. What is that? Steam won't start in offline mode? Oh my. Have fun with your DRM-free games that you can not play because Steam is not DRM.
(Yes, I travel a lot. Yes, your efforts at claiming that Steam is not DRM cause me to feel bitterness.)
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
Maybe, JUST maybe, Valve DOES NOT WANT TO BE NAILED DOWN TO A SPEC FOR HALF A DECADE?
If you are a company that pushes the edge, being stuck on the same hardware for more then half a decade would have to suck. Perhaps Valve is trying to pull what Google did with Chrome, accelerate console development. Sure, you can buy a hopelessly obsolete Xbox or PS4 OR you can buy a Steam Box for the same amount AND get cheaper games that are made with this years tech not last decades. The current consoles are REALLY far behind.
And the current consoles were NOT cheap, you could buy a highly respectable PC for the price of the PS3 at launch and that PC spanked it on EVERY front as evidenced by console games being released on the PC with high resolution texture packs. The new Wii U has mediocre tablet as it gadget but for its price you can buy a perfectly decent mid-range gaming PC. Sure, there are gamers with 1000 dollar videocards but these are hardly needed, a 100 dollar card will already give you performance well above that of a console.
Chrome force MS to get off its ass and also helped speed up Firefox, lets see what Valve can do for console development. And all those who prefer the same gaming hardware for ten years (but replace their phone every year)... they can keep their old shit with memory less then a cheap feature phone.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
This vacation I've played Torchlight II in offline mode.
So not sure what you mean by "won't start".
Note that I switched to offline mode while being connected to the Internet.
A western-owned account suddenly being accessed from a Chinese IP smells like a compromised account. In the past seen a pretty big chunk of account hacking and credit card fraud coming from China. I'm guessing that Steam has some kind of fraud detection that tracks suspicious behaviours, and suspends accounts (or at least blocks possible damaging actions) when there's a reasonable chance of it being a compromised account.
Realistically, it's about as normal as going from not traveling at all, and never spending more than a few hundred dollars on a card, to hitting 5 countries in 5 days, making large purchases in each one. No wonder the credit card company would suspend the card or at least attempt to contact you.
Main problem I see here is that it presumably took a month to fix after you had first contacted support.
-- Using the preview button since 2005
With some luck it will make Sony/nintendo/microsoft think twice before annoying its customers?
No backward compatibility on ps4 to ps3 to ps2?
a steambox will run all your games, even the ones made for 386's
Downloaded game tied to the console (wii)
You will be able to redownload your games on a new or secondary steambox with no problem
Monthly fee to play your games online? (Microsoft/Sony)
PC games dont have this unless it is a subscrition based game
I will buy one or two of these for sure!
If you're not willing or capable of doing so...you'll have to live with the reality of how things are.
While I continue to progress slowly toward a more attractive portfolio, I have time to consider: Why is this reality unchangeable?
Only that $800 machine you talk about was more like $1,500+ back in 2005 when the XBOX 360 came out. I remember...I did the compare before buying my XBOX in 2005. And and you will have spent money upgrading it since then...it wouldn't be able to play some new games...even on low settings. My XBOX will still play new games for at least 3 yrs.
PC gaming is fine, but it's definitely more costly.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
The problem I have with PC gaming is I've been using a Mac since 2007. There aren't many games for the Mac (although it's improving) and I won't buy an additional PC just for gaming. Enter my game console. :)
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
The question is do developers ever want to leave it all to trust after they have decided to charge people for the game in the first place?
If people don't want to pay for a game, they'll just get a cracked version from The Pirate Bay or somewhere. So the real question is, do developers want to piss off the people who are actually willing to pay, potentially pushing them to the pirated version because the pirated version offers the better experience?
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