What were they thinking?

They should have focused on SteamOS and making sure it was perfect before working on the hardware. I know a ton of people would give up windows in a heartbeat if they could play all their shit on SteamOS/Psuedolinux whatever they wanted to call it

They were thinking that they were unstoppable and had the golden touch. You have to remember that these came out at a time when Valve was practically untouchable and could do no wrong. Between
>Steamboxes
>Steam Controller
>Artifact
>Still no Half Life 3, Team Fortress 3, new Counter-Strike, or Left 4 Dead 3
I think Valve is starting to cash in a lot of the good will that they had built over the years. Artifact was probably their biggest dud since Ricochet, and it will be interesting to see if they will actually try to make good games again, or just go back to coasting on Steam sales

how? it feels so cheap. i'd rather give microsoft money and just buy a xbone controller.

It's kind of a niche thing. I grew up with consoles and appreciate their simplicity but getting older I've also come to like PC more. That doesn't mean I never want that modern couch console experience.

Picture related is what I recently bought. Have Windows set to boot in to Big Picture, have a 250 GB drive for OS + software and 1 TB for games. Bought a PC remote control with gyro for mouse movement so I don't necessarily "need" a full keyboard and mouse on my coffee table at all times. Have emulators set up and apps like YouTube linking to a portable browser executable. Windows apps like HDHomeRun and Netflix are a little trickier but can be done. I can also incorporate ad blocking in to this. Emulators out the ass of course. Plays modern games fairly well, have mostly high settings in RE2 at 1080p 60fps. Bought two more Rift sensors to throw around my living room for spontaneous VR parties with friends or just when I need more space than my room, not being forced in to buying more hardware like PSVR.

Thing is, I know I'm the minority. I still like my PC for desk gaming as well. No normie or even autist I know would go out of their way to set all this shit up like I have. I think Steam were misguided in forcing their SteamOS on the box because normal people aren't expecting that shit, not really sure what they are expecting honestly. I'm glad they at least tried though.

Attached: intel-nuc8i7hvk-large.jpg (2924x2751, 518K)

people can do that now, and guess what? no one is leaving windows for linux. why? because even after 7 years its still an ugly broken mess and the amount of time needed to get something to run even 2/3 as good as it does on windows is a joke and worth no ones time. even games that do run mostly fine still have bugs that make them inferior to windows.

It wasn't bad for 200 bucks when it was on sale. A good starter pc or secondary since you can just plop any os on it.

>release a $450+ Linux rig
>killer apps amount to games target-audience has on their laptops
>any existing PC-fag will just run an HDMI cable to their TV

>release a $75 PC streaming card
>get completely overshadowed by the $35 Raspberry Pi
>eventually have to admit complete defeat and release the software to Pi users

>drop who knows how much into VR
>release no killer app for 3 years
>every planned gimmick is already one-upped by games like Payday 2
>immense profits undercut by Mixed Reality headsets and Oculus Rift

>piss EVERYONE off with Dota 2 - Hearthstone Edition
>have to resort to the typical Plan B of buying a mod studio
>already way to slow on the uptake to maximize profit
>chinks already on route to release mobile alternatives

>Source 2 is still nowhere to be seen
>L4D3 stuck between fads and inexperienced devs
>no public SDK in sight for anytime soon
>already missed the window hard for market penetration thanks to UE4 and Unity

>Steam is still mid-2000s era in functionality and the FULL client update is still MIA
>more time spent on bloated community features
>new chat system is near-universally hated and underutilized
>the core library system is now behind Uplay and Origin in functionality
What exactly is Valve's plan going forward. If it weren't for Steam's early penetration into the market, they'd be dead in the water right now

steamlink is still going, you just dont need the little hardware thing anymore.

>Source 2 is still nowhere to be seen
Dota 2 got ported to Source 2 years ago, it was never meant to be an engine targeted to users like Unity/UE4 nor was it meant to be a revolutionary step, it was just a refresh to get rid of some legacy shit.

It seemed like a good idea in concept, but the problem is that you can only play Borderlands and valve games on it.

>>Steam is still mid-2000s era in functionality and the FULL client update is still MIA
What client is more functional than Steam?

>>more time spent on bloated community features
What features did they add lately and how do they "bloat" anything?

>>the core library system is now behind Uplay and Origin in functionality
What functionality?

I don't understand why people make shit up.

This, it works on almost any android device now. I bought the links for the compact size(and it was 1 buck lmao) but it works just fine on my cheapass 35$ box and even phone with bluetooth ps4 remote.

Have you really not used any other DRM client? Steam is archaic in the way it requires preset libraries to handle game file paths, the way it goes about recognizing existing installations, the complete and utter lack of controller navigation outside of Big Picture Mode, having to install all included software in _Redist folders, its piss poor download management system, the way it handles cloud sync, and so on.
While no client is picture perfect, Steam is behind pretty much all of its competitors in core functionality. Even the ever-clunky abomination that is GOG Galaxy is making bigger strides than Valve has in the past decade.

>Have you really not used any other DRM client?
I did, they're all fucking terrible with huge usability issues, corner cases, less features and somehow more bloated and slower than Steam.

Subsidiary of MikeRoweSoft

tell us how gog galaxy is a clunky abomination and also how its doing better than steam

if you're going to pay the premium for one then why not just build it yourself

Attached: ftw3.jpg (960x808, 136K)

Which is, of course, patently false as it's no longer 2011. Really, try them out sometime. I was actually pretty surprised when I booted up Uplay because I expected the same abomination that I got when I first tried playing Blood Dragon, but it was so lightweight that I didn't even realize it was running outside of the splash before games boot. They've come a long way, something that can't also be said for Steam.
In any case, the only thing that Steam wholly holds over its competitors are existing games, which is more thanks to its early penetration and the 70% share it offered developers, not exactly anything to do with the client itself. Even if its competitors aren't miles ahead, they still hold a lead in core functionality. What little else Steam can be considered to have consists of community features, but considering
>Workshop is plagued with ads and suffers from the aforementioned download control problems
>Discussion, Reviews, Curation, and Guides are poorly moderated and best viewed outside the client like its competitors
>Community Activity's horrendous format and Broadcast's limited options
>the complete and utter devolution of the Community Market
it's not really something they can really put on a pedestal

I gave my wife the normal version of the alien alpha, it's still holding to this day and she actually plays monster hunter world on it despite being well low the min. specs.

It's not a powerhouse but uses few electricity and has a nice form factor

don't judge, I didn't pay a cent for it, won it through e-sports

Very few of the people who made the games we loved even work at Valve anymore. I think they're pretty much a lost cause.

>the complete and utter lack of controller navigation outside of Big Picture Mode
you haven't had to use big picture to open the config stuff in a very long time.

They weren't thinking, overpriced shitbox with no airflow

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of the Controller Configuration options, which is something else entirely. Controller Navigation is about selecting games and changing tabs in the desktop client, something that isn't possible without entering Big Picture Mode or setting up a large number of commands and two action sets in Controller Configuration, which is of course incredibly clunky compared to its competitors and not something that is technically built-in outside of Big Picture Mode.

They wanted a contingency plan for windows 8 fucking up pc gaming

>wanting controller navigation in the desktop client
that's some serious nitpicking

You've obviously not spent enough time with other games clients or Big Picture Mode. Not only does it make navigation when playing controller games a lot smoother, but it's also very much preferable to Valve's current solution with Big Picture Mode. It's something that can be considered a part of core functionality for anyone that plays controller games, and the fact that Valve gets so much praise already for its controller options already only makes the flaw that much more glaring.

Sadly they went only high end.
The APU based steambox for indie games - would be a blast.

Attached: 1549152565767.webm (700x392, 556K)

They were thinking if M$ dies(it slowly is), then how they need to push Linux or deal mostly with Appleshit when Windows is axed. The entire PC gaming industry should be pushing Linux as a backup caution, but they are retarded so haven't been.

Steam itself is also getting increasingly unintuitive in general reemerging Service Problems, especially as competitors splinter the collection of games that is the appeal point.