'Steam Box' gaming console

[Kinky]

Pretty much what I was thinking. Gabe knows what he is doing, If they were making valuable steps forward he wouldn't have dropped the entire team, end of.

[Thrik]

I agree with those sentiments, but considering that they were apparently the whole hardware division at Valve (She was the head!), what now? Is Valve just doing nothing hardware-wise now while continuing to vaguely hint at some big thing they'll eventually do (but in reality have probably barely started)?

The whole situation just makes any kind of Steam Box look depressingly distant rather than the imminent thing it was starting to look like.

[FMPONE]

They aren't doing in-house hardware, I guess. Frankly I'm not sure its an area they need to get involved in.

 

PERHAPS they will work with liscensing and third party hardware. Either way, I'm really into steam stuff and I'm not even sure I woudl buy a steam box. Why bother when I have a great PC? Living room machine I guess. Not for me.

[Kinky]

If they made a Media Center Machine that cost £300 that ran games like a £600 PC I'd probably buy one...

[DrywallDreams]

Maybe there are two sides to hardware at valve. Sounds like the steambox would be a standard PC, which would probably would be more of a business thing to put together (Essentially getting computer parts that already exist to put together), while the hardware division was researching new technology.

[blackdog]

The part about bonuses reminds me of the reports from the guys that were laid off from Zynga.

Maybe the "flat organisation" works best until the company reaches a certain size? Or if it is more compartmentalized.

I wonder if Michael Abrash has gone too, he's one of the guys there from the beginning, but he was working on VR stuff (see last QuakeCon).

PS: she obtained her stuff and continues working on VR stuff, but other than VR and the supposed "Steam Box", Valve talked first and foremost about controllers and biometrics. I'm looking at the pictures of her stuff on The Verge and looks nothing like i imagined after Abrash's insights at QuakeCon. Maybe they had more departments working on the same field, and they kept the more promising?

Edit: clearly Abrash is still working at Valve and on VR stuff.

Edit: Ok, it's clear the distinction from The Verge's article:

 

Still, before long, part of the story comes out. Valve's hardware initiative was researching both augmented reality and virtual reality... and the virtual reality supporters won out. "You can imagine that Valve is known for a certain class of game," says Johnson. Augmented reality simply isn't as suitable for the first-person shooters that Valve has built its reputation on.

Edited July 8, 2013 by blackdog

[Thrik]

Wow. I'm gonna be honest, the stuff they were working on sounds pretty awesome. It also sounds like they were pretty much geniuses. But it makes sense that Valve decided to pursue true virtual reality rather than augmented, it's just a shame that some extremely talented people kind of got taken for a ride. But every cloud has a silver lining: the technology they were able to put together with Valve's cash is probably enough to get funding from elsewhere.

 

I think the more interesting thing about the whole situation is how Valve's corporate structure can lead to quite a lot of stress for people. I've often thought of how Valve works as innovative and interesting, but having read that article and compared it to my own experiences with real-world developers I can easily imagine how people would abuse Valve's freedoms and cause certain people to be left out, certain projects to be under-resourced, etc. Sometimes the ability to say to someone 'yeah we really fucking need you to do this' is a good thing if you want to get your project out this side of the millennium, lol.

[Taylor]

Sounds like a tough break. I imagine studio politics in a flat structure are going to run riot.

[blackdog]

I stumbled on this, which is quite recent and Gabe talks openly about the Steam Box so... if there were any doubts, they are still on it and gonna bring it to the masses.

 

Wow. I'm gonna be honest, the stuff they were working on sounds pretty awesome. It also sounds like they were pretty much geniuses. But it makes sense that Valve decided to pursue true virtual reality rather than augmented, it's just a shame that some extremely talented people kind of got taken for a ride

Agree, and maybe it does even more when you listen to the lady on the videocast. I did listened to it the other evening and most of the things are reported 1:1 in the articles, but still there are some bits here and there, and hearing from the people making it makes it more appealing.

I mean, I've never been interested in the augmented reality stuff as we've seen it, but the general idea for the final product these guys have sounds very interesting I must confess. There's the potential to simply replace all the classic table board games with an enhanced digital version.

And if you think they're making the Steam Box, a compact(!) product thought for the living room, having an application like this would make it even more appealing. I mean, they are now hooking up glasses to the computer, but if Valve is also looking to implement technologies like Miracast, as in the above video, it makes even more sense.

It's true that this is outside what Valve currently does... as was Steam at the beginning

They could have treated it as an internal spin-off (which maybe is how it's logical any hardware they make should be?). Also, this can offer a great deal of tie-in opportunities for them... it can go from things like having a classic games like Cluedo with TF2 and other characters from Valve's brands to totally new products, be it a spin-off or an original title.

Not counting that this could be as much as a "platform" as any console, if it reaches a mass.

[AtsEst]

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

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/valve-teases-steam-box-other-news/1100-4744/

 

Dare I dream

[Thrik]

three buttons on the game pad at the bottom

 

need i say any more

[General Vivi]

Get Hype!

[Taylor]

A controller and three buttons? Steam Box with Half-Life 3 as a launch title?

No, it'll be a weapon for Axe.

[blackdog]

Why in the last circle the container "[ ]" disappeared. Damn the viral stuff

I'm just happy it's in seven hours, I can watch them dropping the bomb.

[Thrik]