Aside from a number of hardcore fans, literally nobody cares about Steam hardware. Their impact in the wider market is nonexistentSteam Machines were a dud (though nothing is saying they can't be looked at again in the future), but Valve's Linux initiative (including SteamOS) is still being worked on and saw a major step with the introduction of Proton. You can hardly say it's stalled out.
It will come back eventually.
Even if its not Half Life, Gabe said they're working on 3 VR games in secret and they're "all in" on the technology. I seriously doubt they're all short silly games like most anti-VR people want them to be.
SteamMachines were a terrible idea, and they came way too late.
They only ever make sense in a world in which you can produce a box for less which is better, and you can only do that towards the end of the console generation. Now the console generations are three years, instead of six, so there's no window in which to divert console gamers.I think the exact opposite of your post is much closer to the truth. Steam Machines were a great idea and they came way too early. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of a console-like PC designed for the masses. That's what both Sony and Microsoft consoles are.
You haven't addressed my point about SteamOS (which you said stalled out - it clearly hasn't), but okay.Aside from a number of hardcore fans, literally nobody cares about Steam hardware. Their impact in the wider market is nonexistent
Okay, so they Kickstarter development again after years of non-public activity. Their last boogeyman was Microsoft and Windows - that didn't pan out so they shut up about their OS for games games games. The last release was in January this year and saying "we're working on it" after months of radio silence shows that it's a niche product inside a company that only really cares about its storefront. These hardware initiatives are distractions.You haven't addressed my point about SteamOS (which you said stalled out - it clearly hasn't), but okay.
They only ever make sense in a world in which you can produce a box for less which is better, and you can only do that towards the end of the console generation. Now the console generations are three years, instead of six, so there's no window in which to divert console gamers.
The proof is in the pudding, no one wants them.
You haven't addressed my point about SteamOS (which you said stalled out - it clearly hasn't), but okay.
I still disagree about all hardware, however. The Steam Machines were a dud (they offered nothing to no one and were overpriced - but I would never rule out looking at them again in the future as the wider hardware market changes), but the Steam Controller has done well; it has enough users (500k as of 2016 - probably more now) for many developers to justify making official profiles for it. I'd consider that a success, and it having an impact on the market, even if it's not displacing the dual stick setup any time soon.
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This is a strange post because Episode 4 and Spector's game were never announced. You weren't deprived of something you were promised.None of this had to happen. If Valve had never promised a continuation of HL2, this would have fallen into the same basket as Rare not wanting to make Banjo games anymore. But Valve did promise a continuation. And they failed to deliver, and have shown zero contrition for misleading people both past and present. I am extremely curious to see whether they make up for this with the Half-Life VR project.
I think Valve have gotten a rude wakeup call, Major publishers are ditching Steam. It's snowballing to some extent. Valve making new and exciting games that are exclusive to Steam is how Steam got traction in the first place.
I think the SteamOS stuff was Valve coming to the realisation that they released it too early. The number of users using it is a testament to that (and Steam Machines). That doesn't mean it's "stalled out". Valve have the luxury, with SteamOS at least, of building it up over time. I think part of its early release was a legitimate fear that Microsoft was going to close down the open nature of Windows; they had made statements that were openly hostile to Win32 apps in favour of the "Metro" apps on their closed storefront. Gabe himself even said that Linux was "mitigating" against Microsoft ever closing down Windows in a way that negatively impacted Steam. Thankfully, that hasn't come to pass yet, so the need to migrate to Linux hasn't surfaced. However, I still think it's wise for them to continue to mitigate, but they now have the luxury to roll out the OS at a more sustainable pace, and Proton is the next big (visible) step in that process. If they ever reach a point where the software experience is top notch, I wouldn't be surprised if Steam Machines were tried again, with Valve learning the lessons of the old ones.Okay, so they Kickstarter development again after years of non-public activity. Their last boogeyman was Microsoft and Windows - that didn't pan out so they shut up about their OS for games games games. The last release was in January this year and saying "we're working on it" after months of radio silence shows that it's a niche product inside a company that only really cares about its storefront. These hardware initiatives are distractions.
Edit: also, where does their current Os live on the hardware survey? https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam
Basically this. I don't think overpriced third party PCs with a half-baked software platform flopping was indicative of anything other than the fact that those devices were wholly unattractive. Where Valve hardware has been attractive, it's found its market and had an impact.I don't see any proof. None whatsoever. We'll know if people want them if Valve ever launches an appliance-like PC for the living room.
Half life definitely could be the breakout VR game we have been waiting for!
Niche, you might say?In 2018? Eeehhhhhh....
I love HL so much, but it's not exactly relevant anymore.
I think you're missing the point of what I'm saying a bit. Valve imploding -- and they did implode, losing all focus and direction, unable to create the kind of games they once did -- internally took out their partner developers, too. It'd be like Elder Scrolls VI disappearing and Bethesda refuse to talk about it. And then a few years later we discover that Obsidian were working on their own Elder Scrolls game, and when Bethesda killed Elder Scrolls VI, they also killed the other game because reasons. And then there was a third game that seemingly died from neglect. The other things are just insult to injury. When you discover just how terribly run the company in question is that not only were they incapable of delivering a product, but they weren't even capable of paying other people to do their jobs for them. It's a symptom of a much deeper problem with Valve's internal culture which, like I said, comes back to them lying through their teeth about everything. It's ironic that Gearbox developed the (excellent) Half-Life expansions, because Valve are really not that dissimilar to Gearbox in terms of being completely untrustworthy when asked direct questions.This is a strange post because Episode 4 and Spector's game were never announced. You weren't deprived of something you were promised.
Episode Three is fair enough, they said there would be one, and there hasn't been, and probably never will. But that's it. One announced game. You can't count the other two at all.
But again, your outlook appears to be that they are obligated to have these games made. They are not. If they're not happy with them, for whatever reason, that's their decision.I think you're missing the point of what I'm saying a bit. Valve imploding -- and they did implode, losing all focus and direction, unable to create the kind of games they once did -- internally took out their partner developers, too. It'd be like Elder Scrolls VI disappearing and Bethesda refuse to talk about it. And then a few years later we discover that Obsidian were working on their own Elder Scrolls game, and when Bethesda killed Elder Scrolls VI, they also killed the other game because reasons. And then there was a third game that seemingly died from neglect. The other things are just insult to injury. When you discover just how terribly run the company in question is that not only were they incapable of delivering a product, but they weren't even capable of paying other people to do their jobs for them. It's a symptom of a much deeper problem with Valve's internal culture which, like I said, comes back to them lying through their teeth about everything. It's ironic that Gearbox developed the (excellent) Half-Life expansions, because Valve are really not that dissimilar to Gearbox in terms of being completely untrustworthy when asked direct questions.
There are parallels to STALKER 2. Game was announced. Game was in development. Company owner had some kind of midlife crisis and decided he wanted to go race motorcycles instead. The development team wanted to keep making the game, but he essentially killed the company to stop that happening because... pettiness or something. Now he wants to make the game, almost a decade after he killed it. And some fans are not particularly forgiving.
If you announce a game, "I got bored/I wanted to go race motorcycles" is not a very good reason to cancel it, particularly if your co-developers wanted to keep making it. Crytek would dearly love to make Crysis 4. I would dearly love to play Crysis 4. But they don't have the money. I accept that justification. (Bearing in mind that Cevat Yerli cancelled an unannounced open world third person shooter called Redemption because A: The GFC severely hurt their finances, driving them to place all their eggs in the Crysis 2 basket, and B: playertesters kept complaining that the game was about protecting a little girl and not focused on shooting dudes, and this caused him to become severely disillusioned with videogames as an art form.)
HL3VR is still probably like 5 years out.Half life 3 finally comes out & maybe less than 50k people play it due to it being locked behind a VR headset.
That would be hysterical.
Half life 3 finally comes out & maybe less than 50k people play it due to it being locked behind a VR headset.
That would be hysterical.
No it's not. Stop this right now. It's going to be some "hang out in Gordon's garage in VR" bullshit.
Half life 3 finally comes out & maybe less than 50k people play it due to it being locked behind a VR headset.
That would be hysterical.
I'm guessing you haven't tried VR yet? Maybe you have, but it's disingenuous to call it a box on your head. It'd be like calling a TV a box that people stare at.guess i'm way too uninterested in putting a box on my head that even a half life game doesn't really excite me if it's VR-only.
Even Valve's short experiences were on par with some smaller VR games. Valve has 3 full games in development, and I have little doubt they will be good sized games.i doubt this is what people want anyway, will likely end up being a short VR "experience".
Why wouldn't they be? They positioned themselves to be market leaders in technology multiple times beforei wonder why valve is so determined to go all in on VR, if they just wanted people to have steam installed and used a "regular" half life 3 as a steam exclusive would be enough