So are Steam machines a failure?

Steam machines were supposed to destroy consoles, but PS4 is still kicking ass and taking names and now both PS4 and Xbox One are getting upgrades. And yet, we still don't hear much about Steam machines. Can we say game over to these things? Pun intended.

Did any reasonable person actually believe that?

Steam machines were meant to put PC gamers into the living room. It was never meant to compete with consoles because it's practically a home theater PC. It's better to just build one yourself.

Steam Machines are just PC's, so no, they're not a failure.

I think the pre-built ones are. Has anyone bought one? Steam OS may have value as the library continues to grow and people can build their own steam machines. Honestly, the target consumer for a steam machine is the type of person who can and will build one when the value is there (i.e., myself, other pc gamers).

Episodic gaming - Flop

Pay for mods - Flop

Steam Machines - Flop

Steam Controller - Flop

Steam VR - Flop

Making games - CBA

It's just much better to build your own PC with a mainstream OS such as Windows because it is obviously better. SteamOS was for things like that shitty Alienware platform, to play on the living room but hell just move the tower there and hook it up to the tv. You can use the trusty xbox 360 controller with no issues and you're good.

I bought a Alienware Alpha a while back to test and i can see the merit but i dont think they are marketed well. Console gamers arent really into tweaking settings and PC gamers want more power. They are ok for console gamers who just wamt to play pc games without modding or overclocking as usung steam big picture doesnt allow that. You'd have to boot in desktop mode.

The steam machine is just a waste of cash, but I really like the steam controller, much better than any other controller I ever tried.

They had zero impact on consoles and never will.

LMMFAO, what else would they be. LOL AT THE HERMS THAT THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A SUCCESS.

Console gaming as always been the future eversince it stared. And pc gaming floats away into mindless mmo land.

Hermits were laughing from the beginning. They knew these things were underpowered and overpriced and even the weakest versions were more powerful than the consoles. Console owners were hyping because they could play PC games and claim PC had no exclusives.

It still has a long way to go. I'm impressed ever since Valve announced their Linux gaming plans the amount of support for Linux has drastically increased in 5 years Linux could be considered almost as viable as Windows as a gaming platform. I doubted that Linux would be anywhere viable for gaming but look at it now.

It seems clear that SteamOS is far from complete as Valve still calls it a beta. Valve needs to get apps like Geforce Experience, AMD Gaming Evolved, Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, and etc onto Steam Big Picture and SteamOS. Not to mention getting big publishers like EA, Activision, and Ubisoft to make SteamOS and Linux versions of their games.

They're also lacking in marketing.

@navyguy21: I never heard one console gamer hyping steam machines, maybe you're from an alternant universe or something?

Anybody that ever thought that Steam Machines were going to destroy consoles is very out of touch with reality.

@thepclovingguy: i'd be interested in hearing more about the controller - i'm intrigued

Steam machines weren't designed to destroy consoles, they were out to push a new custom Linux OS build that Valve could profit from in the long run by subverting the Microsoft / Windows for gaming paradigm, they failed. They tried to push a narrative that Windows was a closed system. It obviously wasn't, and Gabe knew that, he just saw an opportunity to make a power play and he took it. I mean, sure he failed, but what did they fail at? They didn't take over the PC world, they're still the top dog digital retailer for gaming. And, at least out of it they got MS giving them lip service to guarantee Windows 10 wouldn't interfere with Steam's ability to work on their new OS, which if anything is nothing more than ego massage for Gabe.

Of course they are.

Everyone instantly forgot about them shortly after release.

The are overpriced and underspecced compared to just building a gaming PC or going to BestBuy.

There used to be a time when consoles were good, and now they clearly aren't.

I attribute this to Steam Machines.

Yeah. I called it too, but I remember quite a few Valve fanboys on this board arguing with me, calling me ignorant, and saying I would be wrong.

I wonder where they all are now.

No sales data.

@beardmad: Maybe you haven't heard, but consoles are selling like crazy, pretty sure they're still good.

The good thing to come about from it all, was the Steam Controller. It's pretty good.

As a software platform, SteamOS is a failure.

With the steam consoles they seem to be prepared for a specific audience so they were definitely not going to sell like hotcakes. I mean if you think about it, its for the people who don't want to deal with the complications of installation and building a pc. Its also nice it is a steam console meaning it should work with games on steam while introducing the Linux os.

I don't really consider them PCs though, they're really just advanced consoles with no console exclusives.

I wish I was in charge of some of these companies.

Valve: Let's Build steam machines against the ps4/xb1/wiiU (you're fired)

Microsoft: Lets Build windows phones vs all the ios/android (you're fired)

Sony: Lets build PS Vita vs all the smartphones/tablets (you're fired)

Think how much money some common sense would help these companies? It's not like you can't see these things getting utterly annihilated. Let's get rekt'd by a saturated market.

They were a failure, a big failure. Too underpowered for PC gamers and nothing interesting for console gamers. Poor marketing, I could walk into my nearest GAME and pick up a PS4 or X1 console yet I couldn't buy a "Steam machine".

overall yes but to break it down.

OEM steam boxes: a failure. not one OEM managed to get the balance of price and performance just right. OEMs have a long history of making a mess of initiatives to try and sell PCs. i suppose one of the big problems is that OEMs dont make games so they have to sell the hardware at a profit. but they still didnt do anything to try and attract people to steam boxes.

Steam OS: sadly, so far, it hasnt made any sort of dent. the reality at the moment is that linux is still not ready for gaming. as i have said, it could be a fabulous gaming OS. but developers dont develop for 1% of the market. personally i continue to use steam on ubuntu and buy my games using a linux based OS as much as possible but i wouldnt recommend it to anyone who just wants to sit down and play some games. if you are curious and have a spare or old gaming computer though then it can certainly be interesting.

drivers are still an issue. on the AMD side we may finally, finally, be getting the drivers sorted with more open drivers which is great, but polaris will be in a bit of a no mans land in terms distro releases until october.

there has been a lot of progress in terms of game engine support, tools, debugging and so on it has to be said and, in fairness, the games i have played on linux generally just work (serious sam 3 is the only anomoly so far). games also keep coming. not the AAA blockbusters (which would certainly help) but it has better 3rd party support than the wiiu at least :P. but its still very much a work in progress.

at the moment i just dont see where the breakthrough will come from though in terms of more people using it. the desktop is pretty much the only area where linux is not thriving. unless HL3 is announced as a steam OS exclsuive (which would be a disaster) or there is a sudden breakthrough and all of a sudden all games are working faster on linux it is a hard sell at the moment. i do hope there is a breakthrough though.

on a side note though...my old PC (using a Phenom 2 X5 955BE and 4GB of ram and ubuntu 16.04) just clobbered windows 8.1 on a core i7 4700mq on boot speed (both using SSDs). linux distros are properly quick and i reckon if games were developed for linux (and the drivers were sorted) then gaming on linux would also be quite the performer.

steam controller: absolutely brilliant and i think its doing pretty well. there are active communities around it. for a lot of games itll beat a traditional controller. the trackpads are awesome, the flappy paddles should become industry standard and, overall, its just a pleasure to use. there are some issues on the software side but there has already been a ton of improvements since launch and they are still coming with each steam update. as a concept i think its a great success. the only major change i would make is make the left trackpad small and have it stick out a bit more so that it can be used like a proper d-pad.

They filled a hole in a niche market. Not a failure, just not a success either.

I'd like seeing the sales figures put into perspective with the announces from Valve, it's boss, and the surrounding press/media's expectations and proclamations. It was hyped "politically" (Valve vs Microsoft Windows version x that's not game friendly...) as much as commercially . . is it a failure'success on some level that touts the beginnings or just trots along forgetting that scuffle?

I would say no, Steam Machines are just custom PCs like have always been sold. Just like all PC parts, people will buy them. Steam Machines were never expected to over take consoles or windows, it was meant to take Linux and SteamOS gaming to the next level, which was a success.

Steam Machines dont have to sell a million, all they have to sell are about 1-2K. Just like all expensive PC parts, they are designed for low sales. Yall think because only 2K people buy a Asus GTX 1080 its a failure? Nahh, the world dont work like that.

Juub1990

Aside from a handful of exclusives, consoles have nothing to offer over PC any more.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/gabe-newell-valves-steam-machines-outperform-conso-32735680/

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/are-console-gamers-scared-of-the-alienware-steam-m-31018735/

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/steam-machine-500-pc-impact-on-pc-gaming-30955240/

Memorieeeeeesssssss..

@tormentos: Now with the release of new cards like the Asus GTX 1080, Steam Machines just got cheaper. Gone be good!

If it weren't for SW, I wouldn't even remember that they exist.

Seriously, outside of this forum I've only talked to one person about it and he was just bashing the idea.

Pretty sure if I went around asking random people what a Steam Machine is, they'd think it's some kind of wrinkle remover.

Steam Machines are like micro consoles in the way that they're good ideas with a poor executions.

Tons of hermits on this board said they would destroy consoles. lol

I never expected much from them. Never saw the point. Why get a PC and limit yourself like that.

@lostrib: Look below, nyadc did and still does.

Who honestly said that in any serious way? They would be a literal moron.

Anyway, I haven't seen sales figures, so it's hard to say... Though they have seemingly fallen off the radar. Still, they were only small form-factor PCs at the end of the day.

I never thought they'd make an impact on console or PC gaming.

Conceptually a modular console could've been a thing, but it required more money to get off the ground than Valve appeared ready to commit. And it now seems MS is beating them to it (stay tuned).

1. Steam Machines weren't made to kill Consoles. They were made for people, who are looking to get into PC Gaming but don't know where to begin.
2. It's a long term plan and it's too early to say anything. Valve's bigger plan is to make linux more mainstream, and it'll take several years, just like how Steam took several years to become mainstream. In early years, people use to laugh at Steam and bash it, today it's biggest distribution platform on PC. So, I'll wait patiently and see where they go next in coming years first before concluding anything. Valve likes to take baby steps.

You forgot

Game store - Unbelievably successful.

Yes and no. No because Valve let third parties make them at non risk to themselves. Yes, it was a failure since it's real purpose was to scare PC gamers into abandoning Windows for Linux and hopefully adopting their OS build, which to plan future revenues from, over scare tactics that Windows would be a closed system, which still persists. Why don't people ever rebel and condemn Apple products for such reasons?

@lamprey263: They do, Apple use to be more closed, but now they accept other media formats then ones they own. Its a battle over accessibility. If Apple were in Microsoft shoes, they be under attack just as much. Microsoft can never be trusted because of how much control they have over the market and how closed they are.

Its why we give so much power to Linux, Google, Steam, and other open source supporters. We must find balance to counter such closed source control in the future.

Many countries around the world are uniting under the open source flag. These helps regulate greed and keep them in check. Even Nintendo sided with open source long ago. Nintendo even developed an open source OS and gives open source code. Can all be found here at Nintendos website.

And yet a SW user bought one. So there is at least one sale LOL

Seriously? Who?

Cant remember their name, but they had a female avatar with her butt partly uncovered; bought an Alienware Alpha steam machine. He didn't like it because the steam OS doesn't support every game at this point rendering his library partly useless.