Publisher's range of simulation titles continue to perform strongly in PC sales charts.
When you think of a Top Ten PC game, the likes of StarCraft II, World of Warcraft, The Sims and Football Manager probably spring to mind. You certainly don’t think of Farming Simulator 2011.
But this quirky little niche game not only raced into sixth place in the PC Top Ten, it did it during what was a very busy November for new releases.
Even its publisher Excalibur was surprised by its success.
Hardcore Gamer: Naturally it wouldn’t be EGX without my discovering an oddity tucked amidst the bright and the bold, the colorful and the jubilant that often is, for good and justifiable reasons, the Indie section. So in response, Jalopy utters forth a tiny, introverted, glum little oddity the likes I’ve never seen before — and in doing so, ends up attracting far more favorable intrigue than I dared to imagine. You’re literally commuting…and it’s mind-bogglingly great.
Steam Machines are 'a threat' to games consoles, says the boss of PC game publisher and distributor Contact Sales.
@bumnut below:
thats true, but that doesnt necessarily make it a threat. i think its all going to boil down to exclusive games, VR, PSNow/vita, and how the next few years works out for consoles and handhelds. the PS4 is Hot right now, too hot... Halo5 will only be on consoles. people buy consoles because their friends have one. Steam has some great deals but its all digital, and PS+ offers a crazy incentive with a lot of "free" games. idk... and there isnt much buzz for them atm.
Are you kidding me dude? All the Nature shows ive seen with Elephants seem to prove otherwise. Flies are usually the most annoying thing bothering wildlife! Flies and ticks!
PCs have been told to be a threat for generations and the console gaming industry only grew each time.
As gamers, we do't care what platforms we play, we just want good games and that's why Steam Machines or PCs won't kill off the console industry nor vice-versa.
Maybe you are right for now, But think how much PC tech will advance in 3 - 4 years.
A $500 Steam machine now is not too appealing, but a $500 one in 4 years time would easily surpass what PS4/Xbox are capable of.
Not saying it is going to be a huge success, but it does have an advantage over fixed spec consoles.
yea and just like your lovely PC full of this new tech today, im amazed at how many choices you have of games that take advantage of it. Wow you must be swimming in games bro, you need a floaty?
That's the same as any old PC. The problem is that the Steam boxes don't have any sort of target audience. Their prices are too steep for casuals or core console gamers, and the devices themselves are redundant for PC gamers. Sure, they'll have improved in three or four years, but they'll still be inbetween consoles and PCs, and in that time, the consoles will have dropped in price.
I don't want them to fail or anything. Actually, I'm more ambivalent than anything else, when it comes to Steam boxes. I just don't see what market they're trying to tap into, or one that's large enough to sustain them or push them to be a "threat."
@grizzli: you're kidding right? No shortage of games to play on PC. Currently playing Arma III and Day Z. TESO beta on weekends. I'm set k thanks. How's that low end amd mobile gpu working out for you grizz?
Lets think rationally now.
1) No subscription fee, say goodbye paying 60$ per year just to get your hands on online play
2) Steam Sales, Humble bundles and amazon discounts.
3) Ability to replace/add hardware and you are free to install whatever OS you may want. And unlike the console's OS'es, these don't take 3GB(Xbox One) or 3.5GB(PS4) of RAM to run their OS.
4) Valve and Oculus Rift. If you been checking the news lately, Valve plans to add VR support with the help of Oculus Rift. I am sure many people are disappointed by the "next gen", for it being basically a current gen with better hardware and won't mind for some refreshment. And also the new controller, finally taking the rotten part of the controller(analog sticks) and changing it to something that can actually give you control over what you're doing.
5) Mods, yeah, they can be quite a pain in the ass sometimes, but Steam Workshop solves the problem, making a mod installation just a 1 button click work.
6) Probably i should also mention pc exclusives, which get really overshadowed by overhyped console ones, despite their groundbreaking uniqueness. Other then the Horror, RTS, MMO, and Tactical FPS genres we also have Magicka, Mount & Blade, Red Orchestra, Killing Floor, Natural Selection, Chivalry, ARMA.
The "14 Manufactures" thing was kind of an unwise move, with prices going up from 200$ to 6000$.CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower(and maybe alienware)are probably the only ones, that can compete with these next gen consoles, they really balanced out the price and the hardware for these(not sure about alineware, hope they will understand the situation and have their price ~500$)
Also have to note, that it was never meant for pc gamers, obviously they focused on console gamers, infact, for the past 4 month, they added features like Family Sharing that lets people share games like on consoles, and In Home Streaming, that lets people stream between 2 machines over LAN like Nvidia Shield
"Also have to note, that it was never meant for pc gamers, obviously they focused on console gamers"
Except the casual gamer or average mom/dad buying a system/games for their kids is not gonna know about how to mod the system, change OS', or humble bundles. And having over 10 different specs to choose from ranging from $500 (never saw any of the ones listed starting at $200) to several thousand dollars isn't going to be too appealing either and a bit confusing as well. Hell, many still think the Wii U is an add on for the Wii system...
I know many people say you can build a better PC for cheaper, but I don't have time for that. IF I were to need to upgrade my PC, I'd just buy a SteamBox, since Steam is the only service I use to play video games. Then I can just buy a laptop or something just for surfing the internet. Then when need be, I can upgrade my SteamBox.
Ok lets, I don't know if you noticed but a few months ago there was this little thing called the Xbone reveal and console gamers specifically said they don't want to deal with
1. DRM
2. Always on
3. No resale value or ability to resale digital only
4. No ownership
5. No rental or loan ability
6. Constant checking of specs and hardware
7. MMO's that are pay to win
People who console game don't care about super high resolutions and frame rates beyond what the console can do. They just want to stick the game in and play.
Also if you missed it ATT, Verzion and Comcast are all working on Cell phone style internet access plans that will make connectivity far more expensive now that net neutrality is gone.
If you think you a pc game is better than a PS3/4 exclusive then you need your head checked. What do you got? MMO's, RTS? Weak. Because the story isn't there. This is why even COD can't have a MP only title.....actually, that's probably a good idea. Not for me though.
Yeah, pretty much fail. These things are a threat to other gaming PCs, because they *are* PCs. As such they are no more a threat to consoles than PCs are now. Now, had they stuck with a truly uniform hardware spec (the characteristic that is the basis for most of the strong points of consoles)...but they didn't, and in failing to do so defeated whatever selling point these had.
In summary, what problem do these actually solve? What demand are they satisfying?
STEAM machine isn't even a threat to other PC's.
The last time something in the industry game through and wiped out it's competition was WoW.
That was Domination.....and even then FF11 and a few others still were going strong.
Point being, things are already TOO established for these machines to just take over.
I like that they are available and an additional option. Competition is good, but this isn't eliminating anything.
Meant to fit better into a living room without it looking out of place while bringing a better interface to large screens at a distance. Steam works great on a PC but on a TV its hard to read and access menu's. These keep it simple for people with maybe less technical skills.
With them all being different, still not bridging the gap between PC and Consoles, and the fact the controller is ugly as hell....I highly doubt that
Don't judge the book by it's cover
Plus, unlike most companies, Valve doesn't like to cheat on it's costumers, and had given out 300 Beta Steam Machines
There wasn't really much hate coming from the beta testers from what i have seen
and unlike others, Valve actually listens to the feedback of their costumers
Like recently, they decided to remove the touchpad and give the buttons a more natural layout
http://www.game-debate.com/...
The fact that there's 14 models is atrocious. This is pc's answer to consoles? Really? What a joke. The cheapest still being more than a PS4. Oh, and does it play PS3/4 games? Thught not. So the steam machine is ONLY for pc gamers who want a simpler setup in the living room.
Which one? XBox 360, XBox One, Steam Controller, PS2, PS3, PS4, N64, keyboard+mouse, ... or some new one you could write a driver yourself or ask community to make one. Yep, choices :)
You know what I meant....the official Steam controller.
How can you bridge the gap between two audiences when the controller is horrible. Funny how it's only been shown off for like two genres, FPS and RTS games.
@-Foxtrot: "Funny how it's only been shown off for like two genres, FPS and RTS games."
Civ5 belong neither of those genres. Just for interest, have you tried Steam Controller?
The controller is not ready yet and as it has open design we will most likely to see different version of it.
To me it looks like a good addition to keyboard+mouse and current gamepads. Intel NUC+Steam Contoller+gamepad in living room and keyboard+mouse in a PC room.
Ah thank you, Foxtrot, frostypants, DragonKnight, Shakengandulf, EXvirtual, One-Eyed-Wizard, XiSasukeUchiha, Hicken, Army-of-Darkness, Lukas-Japonicus and the rest of the Sony fanboys. I don't know what we would do without you guys.
We can always count on you guys to show us that everything other than Sony's consoles sucks.
You know what they say about Sony fanboys: "they don't love their system, they just hate yours."
Mate don't call other users and post off topic comments.
Your just p***** off because you don't like Sony at all and are sick of people praising it these days.
The sad part is this isn't even a Sony article and Sony wasn't even mention in my comment above
Keep trying though
How about you guys stop trolling and bashing everything that doesn't come from Sony and I'll stop calling you out about it? Fair enough?
I don't hate Sony by any stretch of the imagination. I own a PS3, PS4, PC and Xbox 360. I own more platforms from Sony than any other company. I love some of Sony's first party games. What I don't like is the bitter, hateful fanbase that ruins the gaming community and basically makes everything into a big hateful mudslinging contest.
Just because you think the controller is ugly as hell doesn't mean that other people feel the same way or that it would fail for such a trivial reason anyway. I like the look of the controller and it has received positive feedback from most who have used it.
And if you don't understand the value of a Steam Machine or who it appeals to, then you need to open your eyes.
There are lots of console gamers who are interested in PC gaming, but have been turned off by the perceived complexity of it. Steam Machines streamline and simplify most of it and I have seen lots of console gamers around the internet who have expressed interest. Hell, there's lizard81288 who expressed why he is interested in these very comments.
No, it is just another console. Maybe it creates some more competition, but that is a good thing.
i dont want to be in a platform that needs to be upgraded every so often.
i have a gaming pc which im currently stripping or downgrading in better words.
loving my ps4 and would rather have the level playing field and enjoy games like others instead of bragging about having an over clocked card and 32gb of pointless ram etc.
ps4 looks graphically good enough for me.
plus the steam consoles are so ugly
PCs don't need to be upgraded every so often unless you want to constantly push the envelope. I'm sick and tired of people using this excuse. Developers are constantly pushing the envelope, but just because they are, doesn't mean that you need to upgrade with them. That's why you can adjust the settings to your liking. Or let the game determine its most optimal settings as they generally do upon start up.
Anyway, if you are content with games looking like PS4 or Wii U(Which are still pretty darn good) the whole generation then you only need to buy your hardware once. Then when the next generation of consoles come around, upgrade then.
And guess what?
Your PC will still play the games from this gen, and you can even play games from last gen. In fact, you could even pop in your old PS1 and PS2 games and play those in your PC too.
Take what most of what people say with a grain of salt a lot of console gamers on this brag about gfx stating how much their consoles is better than the next because of these things the down play when they Dont have advantage. There was even a lot of gamers halfway into last stating how they want the next consoles to launch. Wouldn't that show that they do care about upgrading. Most people are just slaves to a brand because if console makers made an upgradeable system a lot of gamers would play it off like its revolutionary. Its pros and cons to everything but console only gamers always try to over look the flaws.
Because for someone that thinks ps4 games look "good enough", when you play games on pc you suddenly becomes someone that needs to spend thousands to max out games?
well the issue with pc gaming is u want toplay the game how it was intended,to do that on a poc it requires the latest stuff most of time.
on consoles that cannot reach ultra setting they use tricks to make it look good.
been a pc gamer for years but im fed up with the attitude that they are the best people in the world and all the shit about ps4 is last gen already.
I built my PC on 2009 and I have not upgraded my PC since 2011 the year the Nvidia 480 got released which is the only thing I upgraded since 2011. 4 years with AMD Athlon Phenom 2 quad core processor which I overclocked (which is free by the way). 4gbs of ram, 500gb sata 2 hard drive. Funnily enough I can play games in 1080p natively at 40-60 frames per second. 4 years without upgrading my PC. Proving once and for all that you only need to upgrade every time a new console comes out.
Except the sexy looking Alienware Steam Machine. I have not upgraded my PC since 20011. 4 years playing games at natively 1080p, 40-60 frames per second and in some cases with Physyx, Vsync, high shadows enabled. I love Physyx shame most games don't have it. The specs of my PC will make you laugh :
AMD Athlon Phenom 2 quad core processor overclocked obviously
500gb Sata 2 hard drive
4gbs of DDR 2 ram
Nvidia gtx 480
See what I mean, well my point is that you don't need a super duper PC to play games nor do you need to constantly upgrade your PC. 4 years without upgrading my PC play games like Outlast and Path of Exile. 2015 or this year I will heavily upgrade my PC luckily I can pay in payments now.
Excalibur claims its first turn-based strategy game, The Battles of King Arthur, has a game map "larger than any other".
