Microsoft not fazed by Valve’s attempt to break into the living room market
By Tim Colwill on March 7, 2013 at 9:30 am
Microsoft’s president of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, has admitted that while Valve might be “doing some innovative stuff”, he doesn’t see their Steam Box as a serious competitor to what Microsoft is offering the living-room gamer.
“I love Gabe, I was there for his lifetime achievement award so it’s wonderful to see what they’re creating,” said Mattrick, but commented that Microsoft’s — and everybody else’s — offerings were “a little bit richer” than what Valve could deliver.
“The scale of products and things that are being brought to market are probably a little bit richer when I look at Sony, Nintendo, Apple, and Google,” Mattrick said.
“There’s a certain level of technical and production competency that people have to get through because we’re trying to curate great experiences,” said Mattrick when asked about moving to something similar to Valve’s more open model. “We’re trying to make sure that what exists upon our service on our system is done to a quality level and has interest for people who are likely to use it.”
Source: The Verge
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They should be fazed.
Why? I agree they’re fighting for different markets, you’re not exactly going to find games like Killzone 4 on that little device.
Exactly, but 80-90% of console games are on PC, that little box has access to more content than either MS, Sony or Nintendo can deal with. Oh and it’s pretty much in the same power regions as the upcoming hardware from MS and Sony.
I’d say they have a competitor, just like when everyone thought the PS One wasn’t going to decimate the console market, then suddenly SEGA is out, Nintendo is close to being out and MS steps in with their loss leader the XBOX.
History has this one pegged methinks…
I don’t know how they’ll compare in the games market, but I know everytime I try to stream media through my xbox360 it smacks me in the face how little effort microsoft sometimes goes to to provide a “richer experience”.
To be honest Valve Big Picture solves all my problems with console devices.
Having all my games in one massive library, all electronically downloadable and playable on both my TV and PC whenever I want? Yes thanks.
Not to mention not having to fork out insane prices for PS3 and XBox360 games. STEAM sales + console device = Win for all.
Microsoft and Sony can suck it.
Exactly, something most people haven’t factored in is the cost of gaming on Steam is far cheaper than MS or Sony could ever compete with. You buy a Console for $300-400 here. Then spend another $100 per game to end up with 6 games plus a console for $900-1000. Whereas with a Steambox you spend say $600-800 for the console and have your entire current library plus 100′s if not 1000′s more with steam sales and cheap games (some of which are damn good too!) galore.
As I said before, MS and Sony really should be worried, I think Gabe’s managed to pull a fast one on them ;)
I don’t. Steam Box will either be priced out of the market or priced competitively but will only be able to play a fraction of the titles actually available on steam. It’ll probably be a good little box for all the indie, controller friendly games available but don’t expect to be playing anything resembling a AAA game.
I think you underestimate how much a high initial asking price is a roadblock for most people. In the end it may be cheaper overall (though you are ignoring normal console game sales and waiting for prices to go down normally in your comparison) but many won’t be able to look past an immense initial asking price.
How exactly many games on Steam have splitscreen capabilities? From my library there’s Dungeon Defenders and Cortex Command.
Let alone this box requires you to have a gaming computer in the first place in some capacity and a steam account. It also demands an internet connection from you as you download games to play. Let alone is aiming to be priced higher for better hardware (we all know how that turned out for the PS3, despite the fact the PS3 architecture is obtuse), and even the PS4 is jumping on xbox controller specs with the inverted triggers.
It won’t compete on the same scale as the PS4 or x720, but if it does, I’ll eat my hat.
exe, what the?
Steam Box is basically just a Linux/UNIX Small Form Factor PC.
It can and will have as much grunt as any PC of similar pricing.
Do you know the subject matter you’re talking about?
I know i’ve seen the box and it is TINY. You can’t have top end hardware in a small box like that, it’s not physically possible. Even then last I heard the only confirmed hardware was an i3 processor, assuming it’s running onboard graphics that’s not a fraction of what you’d need to run most steam games, at the least not on decent settings.
Unless you have alternate hardware you can source? I am actually interested if there is other info out there that proves my assumptions wrong because tbh I can barely find any info out there on the thing other than “it exists” and what they want it to do/be.
Is the picture in the article suppose to be a steam box? Because last I saw the steam box was suppose to be something you could hold in a single hand.
There have been several comments from various interviews with Gabe Newell and others from valve that suggest that while Valve are making their own ‘console hardware’ (Steam Box), you will be able to run the software(OS) in conjunction with Big Picture on a multitude of different hardware variations.
In theory (atleast based on the current information I’ve seen), you should be able to build your own machine from compatible hardware (or if not, choose from a multitude of hardware variations from various Valve partners) and run Big Picture on it.
There are many relevant articles (google Steam Box +custom hardware)
Ok maybe nevermind then. Looks like the Piston thing shown off as being the steam box ages ago was…I dunno, one massive lie? Given the pics form the link below are nothing like what many articles claimed to be the steam box a while back.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/8/3852144/gabe-newell-interview-steam-box-future-of-gaming
So yeah they could fit in decent hardware with that (whatever the hardware ends up being).
Even with the above article it’s still not clear what the steam box is suppose to be. Based on your comments it almost sounds like a glorified PC which just brings with it the problem that newer games want better hardware which will just cause problems with the steam box’s static hardware (unless you can swap out components in which case makes the steam box completely redundant).
Someone explain this to me please. I just don’t get the appeal or purpose of this thing.
The Steam Box is meant to appeal to ‘console gamers’ who don’t have the slightest clue about PC hardware.
PC enthusiasts should be able to take advantage of “Big Picture” (the Software Steam Box was invented for), by utilising higher spec models of Steam Box, or installing the software on a supported Linux based system.
The concept of Steam Box (being a Valve console) likely doesn’t appeal to you, because its not meant to. But there should be alternatives that the more IT savvy customers can take advantage of.
xviper,
The more I read of this the more and more it seems like a glorified PC. It’s like a half way point between PC customization and consoles and that will be its downfall.
Consoles are popular because they work, they just simply work. You buy the console, you buy the game and poof, you’re playing. That doesn’t sound like it’ll happen with Steam Box (even if that’s the goal) what with the apparent tons of different hardware configurations and different hardware vendors possible (Valve is gonna license it apparently). Maybe there’s not as many roadblocks along the way as PC’s but they still exist.
I mean will Valve be asking devs to program for the steam box so that the game can run on linux and without the things hardware constraints or something? If so that kind of goes against the spirit of having so much of the steam library open what with the constant hindrances (does the game support linux? is the hardware in my particular machine good enough?)
Also for the record articles are STILL using that tiny piston box as what the steam box will look like.
xviper,
My point isn’t so much that it doesn’t appeal to me, it’s more that it looks like it still has all the shortcomings of the PC so I question why console users would care in the first place?
If I was a console user i’d rather get say Batman on my console rather than on steam box as from the sounds of it I still have to deal with multiple forms of DRM (GFWL, limited installs) and then adjusting settings so the steambox hardware runs at a decent pace. All this compared to my console where I just put the disc in and it plays. Not all games will have these problems (mainly indie games which is what I suggested this device would be best for) but the fact is you most likely will run into them.
Maybe Valve has a plan to fix all this, I don’t know, it’s kinda what i’m trying to find out.
Again I don’t hate steambox or anything, I just don’t understand how it could actually work.
I’ve been running my PC on the same hardware for the last 3 years, and it still runs the latest games quite well.
Overall the money saved not buying ridiculously priced games, will more than make up any possible hardware costs involved here.
As anything, there is a lot of potential here, both for success and failure. I guess we will see what happens, but my outlook is positive.
It has perhaps ‘most’ (but not all) the shortcomings of a PC, but almost none of the shortcomings of a console.
Until now console gamers have only ever had the selection of games for their given console, at the given price. Now people who want to play STEAM games on their big screen TV can do so easily.
Its like a console, so console gamers can use it.
It plays PC games, so PC players can use it.
It opens STEAM\Valves market to an audience it has barely touched until now.
Added some more to previous post.
xviper,
1st paragraph
I don’t personally think that’s much of an argument. My GTX260 can still play most (but not all) of the latest games but DEFINITELY not at the highest settings and definitely not completely lag free.
2nd paragraph
Yes steam sales are cheap but I feel like too much weight is being put on them. You guys talk as if sales at EB never happen. I’ve gotten TONS of cheap console games over the year. Maybe it’s not seemingly *as* common or *as* cheap as a steam sale but they do exist and you do get bargains fairly often.
Yeah the steambox has potential and much is yet to be seen but as I said I just personally don’t see it being successful. For indie games I can see it working but for AAA games it’s gonna flop imo. And ultimately that means it won’t be competing directly with consoles which was my original point.
Well this news post has now fallen off the “latest news” section of the forum, so I will no longer be following this article.
I see your point of view exe3, and accept your reasoning. :)
Thank you for a well reasoned discussion. :)
Gotta love the current comments section. XD Oh forums how I miss thee. :P
You can feel free to click the ‘subscribe’ link underneath the ‘post comment’ button, too! Jeeeeeeeeeez
No one is going to see this stream of logic. Sorry Tim :(
im sure the next xbox, playstation and what valve is cooking up will all be awsome. Looking forward to all of them!
Yeah unfortunately people like me don’t use/check isp email so subscribing to threads and the alike is kinda well you know pointless
Dude just change your email to one you actually check
Some people don’t like having their email spammed with notifications of new posts. I used to have it setup for the madman forums and it was SO annoying. (An email would come up and i’d check the thread, 10 seconds later a new email would come up so i’d check it again then ANOTHER email 10 seconds after that etc etc etc…) Not to mention it’s redundant when it takes all of 2 seconds to check for new posts under the forum system.
Just my 2c given this offtopic discussion keeps going.
I subscribe to threads on the forum and get mail about it all the time. Horses for courses, I guess!
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