HUGE: SteamBoy revealed. R.I.P. 3DS and VITA

Hmmm, you have my attention if it has TV out as well.

Oh so that thing is real after all..

Taking my entire steam catalog on the go with me is a complete game changer!

My steam games on the go? ok valve..i'll bite

No thanks!

I'll stick to the handheld that has actual exclusives.

I see this thing finding a solid niche if 1) the steam controller itself catches on, 2) if this thing is an adequate streaming device, and 3) if the price point is reasonable. It will probably end up filling a similar niche the the Nvidia Shield-- the Shield is a very powerful piece of hardware, but unfortunately the games it plays natively are all either android garbage or emulators. As an emulation box or a streaming device, the Shield is great, but the form factor is never going to fit in your pocket.

I don't know if the Steamboy will be the same way, but it has kind of the opposite (potential) problem from the Shield-- it has access to the entire Steam Linux library natively, but many of those games will not be playable on a handheld system's specs, as opposed to the Shield where they gave you a great controller and specs, but they were both overkill for the lineup of Android games that are all built around weak phones and touch controls.

This is the inherent difficulty in making a handheld that can piggyback off of an existing library-- unlike handhelds from Sony and Nintendo, where the caveat is getting games made for the systems, with these alternative handhelds the trick is actually making hardware that is suitable for the library-- as a handheld made for PC gaming, the Steamboy is going to have a pretty obvious cutoff point for when new games stop being viable, and I suspect that aside from indies, that cutoff point has been passed before this system was even announced. As a means of accessing your PC games on your home network though, it could be a very comfy device to use, and there will be lots of lower-requirement PC games and emulators that I'm sure it will be quite capable of running.

This thing is a niche device-- there is no way it's "the DS killer," but for people who want an alternative way to play some PC games and enjoy handhelds, it might be a fun toy for them, and I think it is quite advantageous that it can access the Steam Linux library natively as opposed to Android Marketplace.

It's just a handheld gaming device for your Steam library. If someone is interested in playing their Steam games (less demanding games) on the go, then they'll buy it.

This has PC exclusives, it's a handheld PC. Assuming x86-64 architecture (as far as I know, SteamOS does not run on ARM), you could even install Windows 8.1 on it.

If the retail price isn't massive, I am very interested.

Yeah, I'll be worried when the next Persona game comes out for it exclusively, until then I'll be content playing my Steam games on the PC.

Where are the analog sticks?

Fake unless they're working with M$

This thing will cost a bomb if it's real that is.

Wow that device looks horrible.

Title would be more accurate if you removed the colon

@jhonMalcovich: Nvidia Shield tried to do the same, they failed hard

Nividia went for Android gaming though. The scenario is kinda different this time.

That handheld won't have exclusive, who will develop for it?

looks fake.

It doesn't need anyone to develop 'for it', because it's essentially a handheld PC. It plays PC games.

oh ok, but doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Do you know any handheld that can play Portal, Counter Strike or Half Life ? No. Then here you have your exclusives.

who will develop for it?

Anyone who develops their games for Steam

The name alone makes it sound fake as hell.

I honestly think that the only one can survive the handheld market is Nintendo. This will bomb just as bad if not worst than the Vita.

And laptops and tablets already exist.

I'm trying to imagine a world where this is a hit, but I'm struggling to do so. Who is this aimed at? The smallest segment of the gaming industry, I think.

Awesome! Almost there (Full Windows Handheld Gaming Machine almost there!.. this only Linux right?)!

I knew something like this would come

I have a pc for pc games

I have consoles for console games

I have handhelds for hand held games

Steam seems to be trying to provide services where services are hardly required.

The base has already been acquired.

They should stick to software and leave it at that.

Not really. I would think of it as an extension of your PC experience, except it can also function as a stand alone. This allows you to bring your Steam library with you, in a form factor that's smaller than a laptop.

Obviously performance will be limited compared to a desktop or laptop, but it will most certainly be more powerful than a PS3 or Xbox 360.

Well yeah, PS3/360 only had 512k ram

So? This is just a gaming oriented PC in an even smaller form factor.

Personally, i just don't see the market. 3DS has Nintendo games, Vita has cross buy games. Both have exclusives. I just don't see the appeal

For the same reason someone buys a gaming laptop or builds a HTPC, to best suit their needs in an appropriate form factor. Those that do invest in one will have a handheld gaming device with an vast number of quality games (SteamOS or PC library) and even more capabilities than any of the competition. Of course, this won't be the only handheld PC device we'll see in the next year or so.

I was saying to another user before, this type of device could be a complete flop in sales, but it will have no negative impact on the library or ecosystem. This wouldn't hold true for the PS Vita or the 3DS.

True, but its not the same experience either

I see this taking off but not anytime soon.

Cloud saves and 1 software purchase

PC Gaming at home

PC Gaming on the Go

Seems great.

But... Analogues... No K&M... Lower quality settings... No self upgrades... This is like... the anti-hermit...

My eyes rolled so fucking hard, I thought we were finally done with the stupid Inception horn.

It's probably just going to be like a mid range or low end PC on the go. So basically direct competition for the Vita. Have fun with that small ass market that's already shinking, Valve

Cool device for hemits (even if some of them care) Other than that, its going to be a complete failure though...That isn't a huge problem with the some people that like it. These things always seem like a PC handheld wannabee. That thats just me.

The Vita's failure has shown us people don't want a hardcore purely dedicated gaming handheld. With 32GB of internal storage what kind of PC games will this even be able to play? Given the Steam OS's catalog all I see is a crap ton of Indie Games that the Vita already has.

Would much rather own an Nvidia Shield.

@vashkey@verbalfilth

The SteamBoy coming from a 3rd party. Valve is not responsible for this device.