why is there so much hype with the steambox?

why do you guys keep hyping this its just a barebones pc its not going to outsell any of the consoles

1.ppl who have gaming pcs are not going to purchase this it does'nt offer anything different I can go on newegg/tigerdirect get one of those barebones pc add a controller and done same thing

2. people buy consoles for its games that's nintendo fanboys number 1 excuse and they're right you can try to argue all you want but consoles have the advantage here

3.you give up the mouse and keyboard

4.pcs have better graphics but its not a giant leap to the everyday user and requires alot more power

5.many developers no longer care for pc or no longer place it under top priority example call of duty ghosts

steambox = OYUA has a limited market only for those who don't have really high end gaming pcs and want to get one

I don't think there's all that much hype around them, I think you're exaggerating that aspect. People are more curious than anything else

I don't think there is hype. There are no reasons to be hyped.

It could be a disaster. If multiple manufacturers are going to be making these boxes then its going to be their responsibility to market them. It means we are going to have essentially one product in a variety of different forms at a variety of different price points. Its going to become like buying a television. They all look essentially the same and all do roughly the same job but if you want to make an educated purchase you need to "learn and research" the product. This is going to put off the casual consumer almost immediately because they want something gratifying not a headache in a tech store.

I dont think the steambox actually has a market. Thats a concern. Eitherway with manufacturers footing the cost to make these boxes I doubt valve has too much to lose.

@seanmcloughlin: theres a post on here eveytime I log in http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/you-d-want-a-steam-box-instead-of-an-xbox-one-31006675/#50w

Well for every steambox thread there are 10 xbox/Ps threads. Really there is not that much hype outside gaming forums and some technology sides and the hype comes mainly for curiosity reasons .

Nobody is hyping them.

Also:

1-They're possibly going to be cheaper than that, gonna include the controller and come with SteamOS already installed.

2-about 50% of consoles are sold to casuals, they don't care for the games and exclusives, only buy sports games.

3-you can use m/k

4-what's "a lot more power" to you? You don't buy a big tvs because they draw more power? How bout a more powerful audio system? Or a dryer? How about A/C? I guess you don't use that cause it's the single most power hungry thing in a house.

This argument is stupid, always has been

5-That's true. Devs go where the easy money is. PC gamers aint' so stupid to buy games at full price day one in the MILLIONS like console people. Plus less piracy.

But so what? Is this another take on the classic "pc gaming is dead"="Steambox gaming is dead"?

because the herms think the Steambox will save PC gaming and eradicate consoles. Therefore...

But as it is the Steambox it's pointless.

What absolute nonsense. This casual/core thing is so misunderstood its beyond a joke. I consider myself a casual gamer, not because all I play is sports games but because I work and have a family and cannot devote as much time to gaming as I could in years gone by. I would consider a core gamer to be someone who invests an exceptional amount of time and money into gaming. I Someone could have every single EA title ever made and still invest 1000's of pounds and 1000's of hours into playing those games....yet that person is still casual??? Even though they spend twice as long playing fifa than you do spending 2 hours a week on your obscure JRPG because your so hardcore?

The casual consumer will not invest in the steambox because its convoluted but not because they are stupid or only play sports games.

So you have issues with your perceived definition of "casual gamer".

Whatever who cares, call them something else. Did a "core gamer (whatever the hell that means) bang your gf or summat?

I only used that term to indicate specifically people who bought the ps3/xb360 in order to play their sport games and little else, so "exclusives" are meaningless to them.

Well you have created a very specific consumer that apparently only buys sports games and then attributed 50% of the hardware market solely to them to reinforce your point. Thats quite impressive even for a statistic pulled out of your ass. Steambox gaming is a poorly executed idea based on its own merit.

I don't recall herms saying that. Me thinks you might be talking out of your ass.

So? it's one thread and it's a bait thread at that. One thread also means very little

Until you see a few threads on it a day on SW then you can assume hype is low.

1. It's not necessarily marketed at people with gaming PCs. That's because it ISN'T different. It IS a PC. You can probably get one from newegg or tigerdirect some time in the future. You just don't understand what it essentially is.

2. I don't see how you get "consoles have the advantage here" from "people buy consoles for their games". The "steambox" as you wrongly call it will have games too. In fact it'll technically have a library spanning decades. So it'll have more games.

3. No you don't.

4. What's your point? Don't like better graphics, buy a cheaper system. It's quite simple.

5. Many developers don't care for consoles. Many developers care for the PC. In fact due to things like greenlight and crowd funding, there's many more new developers making way because of the PC.

Any more stupidly uninformed rhetorical/sarcastic questions?

Save PC from what? Are you going to lie for me to only shut you down again?

I don't think there is a lot of hype. It's more of a head scratcher. The controller and OS seem neat, but they aren't exclusive to steam machines, and I don't think steam machines will come with windows, so they'll be limited to linux games. I think even Mac OS has more steam games available than linux does.

Beyond that, while Valve's intentions are clear, and they're interested in the long run, what do PC builders have to gain from manufacturing these systems (which currently have limited appeal due to lack of windows)? Is Valve paying them to produce these?

Because lord Gabe isn't dumb. If he's investing so much money in this, it'll be good

You actually took a thread from John Matherson seriously

I reckon it's a good estimate. Keep in mind system sellers like UC3 only sold 6m copy. That's 1/10th of the install base.

Heck, half of ps3/xb360 users being "random gamers"(hope this term doesn't hurt your sensibilities too) might be a conservative estimate.

Yes good exclusives pontentially move MILLIONS of units, but at the end of the day, they realistically won't stop SteamMachines (or any other competitor) to carve a 5 to 10 mil base "niche".

What matters most for the general populace (no, not gamespot or any other VG site reader) is BRAND RECOGNITION more than good games.

Then you guys might say "eh yeah Steam don't got no brand recognition then!!"

Ok you can make that argument instead, which is debatable, but the exclusives thing is baseless.

People here, like on many other enthusiast forums (be it PC, Audio systems, Smartphones, TV) live in a bubble, you gotta understand the vast majority of consumers aren't in the least informed.

At best they'll hear from some friend who is informed about second-hand info, or read some post on facebook or some other non-specific site. THat's it.