Valve is teasing something

http://cdn2.store.steampowered.com/public/images/promo/livingroom/00_planet_image.jpg

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/

They're discussing Big Picture Mode and talking about living rooms, so I can only assume this has something to do with the Steam Box. Looks like, as of this writing, we're 71 hours away from the first announcement.

UPDATE: Geoff Keighley tweeted that Valve sent him an email saying that there will be three separate announcements next week.

I'm going to just come out and predict this now: Half-Life 3 will be announced. If it isn't, I'm one more incorrect guess in a sea of thousands, but if it is... I CALLED IT!

OK, in all honesty I would love that, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 09/20/2013 at 05:59pm

I'm a cranky, old bastard and tend to be the first to criticize something. It's my way of remaining skeptical and reserving judgment for later. However, I have so little to criticize about Valve's approach to bringing their console to market.

Valve is throwing pieces out there, little scraps for the wanting to feed on, and waiting for reactions from community and media. Since they don't have an existing console to support nor a legacy to uphold, Valve is doing what they can to ensure the released product has strong support at launch.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/20/2013 at 08:45pm

Yeah, they should announce a new game and set of games to launch with this console too. For instance, I have heard about a DoTA 2 console port. If I were them i'd seriously consider doing some kind of exclusivity on HL3 and DoTA 2 console to the Steambox for a bit.

Kind of wondering if Valve would ever do that, but it might give people more reason to check it out. Or some kind of Linux/Console HL3 exclusivity would interesting. Linux exclusive, so odd to even say that :D

But yeah, so excited about this, it's going to be a long weekend :D

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/20/2013 at 08:46pm

Linux exclusive HL3 is kinda what I'm hoping for whenever HL3 launches. At least for like a week.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/20/2013 at 08:48pm

Exclusive for some time yeah, might be good to get some people thinking in that direction. I wonder if they did that what kind of impact it would have on gaming?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/20/2013 at 09:03pm

As long as it's not long. I hate the 6-month timed exclusivity you see frequently. Give a platform a nod if you like, but don't make people suffer :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/20/2013 at 09:04pm

Right. Not too much suffering :D

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 09/21/2013 at 12:39am

Just had a similar conversation about Linux-first exclusives on the SteamLUG community discussions. Sadly, the requirements from Greenlight, which is the method for game submission to Steam, still have a minimum requirement of Windows operability. Also, do not forget the 1% revenue factor. To ignore the large base of Windows users would be to do your own game a disservice.

Open should be about inclusivity not exclusivity. Ideally, games could be released for a multitude of platforms with cross-play being a side effect of having used standard libraries or having developed with cross-compatibility as a firsthand goal.

The issue with a lot of traditional marketing is how blind it is to the idea that there is a lot of room in the ocean of available customers. It's not necessary to corner or own a market any more and I get the impression that Valve knows this. The Steambox just has to sell enough units to justify its continued production, not overwhelm and overtake the PS4 and XBOX One.

shockwave wrote on 09/21/2013 at 06:37pm

I'm just hoping for a steambox, if I can get all my steam library hooked up to my tv with a controller, id be a happy man.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 09/22/2013 at 09:06pm

@shockwave There is a slim-to-none chance that your entire Steam library (unless you run Linux exclusively) is going to be available at launch...or ever. It is clear that Windows' only interest to Valve is revenue. That market is just too large to ignore. However, Gabe has said several times publicly that Linux holds the future of gaming.

That being said, maybe Travis is onto something: HL3 - Cross-platform at launch, but console exclusive to the Steambox.

shockwave wrote on 10/23/2013 at 07:10am

@beansmyname, I could have sworn I read that that gaming streaming would be available to allow all games to run, circumventing Windows Licensing issues with Steambox. I've seen various demos of the technology, the only hurdle looks to be whether or not you can use the host computer at the same time.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/23/2013 at 08:24pm

Streaming yes, but that depends on you also having a beefy gaming rig somewhere in your house.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 11/02/2013 at 04:39pm

@shockwave My understanding of the streaming is that your gaming PC will stream to the Steam Machine then to the TV. I misread your statement as an expectation of your entire library running natively. That is unlikely to happen.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/02/2013 at 05:23pm

Having all the games run Steambox native would be pretty epic though. /dreams

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