I think I probably like the characters of GTA V more than Travis. I thought Franklin was more of the "good guy," Trevor was the crazy "bad guy," and Michael was in between the two. Still, I liked all three main characters, I thought they were cool. I wasn't fond of some of the other characters (like Trevor's ICP-looking friend and Maude). Poor Lazlow, though. Still, the game did have plenty of "nasty" (to put in in a more PG way) people and so some of the characters were that much more fun to "take out." As Franklin (spoiler alert!) I didn't kill Trevor or Michael, I chose to take out Steve instead, since he suggested I kill one of my cohorts, plus he was one of the "nasty" characters (meaning he violated the Wil Wheaton philosophy). I did enjoy the game and thought it was beautiful and fun, but too short. I've barely spent any time in GTA Online, but that may change soon. I was, however, pleased with the character I created. Ok, that said, I'm going to get back to watching the video.

Got the badge, too. Seven minutes after the announcement. Hoping that I, too, am one of the 300 selected.

A lot of Steam games are designed for mouse and keyboard, so it's going to be interesting to see how Friday's announcement addresses that group of players.

Why is it ugh?

OMGOMGOMG! We finally have a release date (Sorta!) and details (Mostly)! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY, VALVE!

Dang, I need to go pick up a gamepad so I can get the badge. I meet all the other requirements.

Oh and @Hardeyez, you (or anyone from CG who is reading this) can friend me on Steam. I go by whiteboyslim on there as well. Plus you can find me in the CheerfulGhost Steam group. :)

I'm interested in both. If I can get a decent rig provided by Steam, awesome. OTOH, if I can just build my own mini-computer and since, it'll be dual-bootable, boot to the media center when I won't be gaming. This is all subject to change since we're still talking next year before they're available for purchase.

@whiteboyslim - +1 for the Logitech F-series if you don't have an XBOX 360 controller to use. Good solid controllers and Steam recognizes and configures them automatically.

Troll or not, there are some pretty accurate facts about why Linux is a good choice for Valve. Full customization of the OS to their liking...right down to the kernel level.

Every year since 1989 has been the year of the Linux desktop. >_<

AMD really has no choice but to start working on their drivers. I follow the Linux Steam client bugtracker on github and there are a number of issues regarding ATI drivers from AMD. If it took the announcement of Steam Machines to get AMD to sit up and take notice, then so be it.

Valve developers announced early on via their blog (http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/) that they were able to work directly with the hardware manufacturers. Even then, the improvements that came about through that joint venture were already being shared with Linux users. So, I think Valve has already shown that they really do want to make Linux just as viable a gaming platform as Windows. At times, I think even more so.

This gives me something to watch to kill the next 10 minutes. Waiting for today's Steam announcement.

Another great episode. I'm not sure I agree that we need that degree of feminism. That being said, I vehemently disagree with the reactions of the vocal minority to what Ms. Sarkeesian is attempting. I think there's a moderate balance to be struck somewhere.

The impact from this is going to be immense. It's awesome to see Valve's grand plan coming together in stages. Things are really starting to coalesce now.

The Family Sharing option makes sense given the context of a living room setup. As stated before, the functionality was always present but the presentation was different. Viewed in this light, this is no different than the setup on the PlayStation 3.

The ability to run the OS on your own hardware OR purchase from OEMs is also huge. That means that Valve doesn't even really have to make their own Steambox. They can simply approve certain specs and offer a licensing mechanism for getting the Valve logo.

Streaming from Steam to SteamOS devices on the network is a great feature. Being able to use one machine as a KVM switch for another and viewing a remote desktop are both existing technologies that once again Valve has packaged in a way that Grandma Gamer can do it without having to become a programmer.

The streaming feature is clever and a clever workaround for the lack of AAA titles that are playable via Linux at this time. Mentioning that AAA titles are in the works for 2014 is a way of indirectly acknowledging the severe lack of such titles right now. So, in the meantime, you can play them using your SteamOS device as a proxy via the streaming option. That's thinking with Portals!

Since Valve has shown they are looking forward, here's what I'm hoping we'll see when the magical day of transformation of my living room commences, a trio of "...3" titles and a new SDK:

- Left4Dead3
- Half-Life 3
- Team Fortress 3
- Source 3

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.

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 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 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.