My Thoughts on upcoming Gaming Tech

[DrRodneyMckay]

So CES 2013 has finished up, and there has been quite a few nifty Gaming Gadgets and Tech revealed.

First id like to talk about the Nvidia: Shield, A Handheld "Console"

Lets Talk: Tech & Stuff Episode 1 | Nvidia Shield

Please Share your feedback in the comments section on YouTube, also a Like and A Subscribe would make me a Happy Panda.

Enjoy.



Up Next: Razer Edge: Gaming Tablet.

(I Realise i've posted this in the wrong thread, i have asked for it to be moved)

[Minigun]

The Piston

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/11/xi3-piston-is-this-valves-steambox/

How about this bad boy, i could care less about an xbox controller with a screen, but this thing right here is something that could actually compete with mainstream consoles for the better of gaming.

Yeah, the price is high for the performance you get but i love the open ended idea its a pocket PC that could replace consoles.

It can only mean good things in upcoming PC titles, because its not bottle necked by Sony and Microsoft's closed and dated hardware.

Edit: Its got to be a better deal than the upcoming 720 and PS4 in performance, capability, and size. I've got to assume that Microsoft and Sony are having oh s*** moments.

[Ailos]

The Piston

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/11/xi3-piston-is-this-valves-steambox/

How about this bad boy, i could care less about an xbox controller with a screen, but this thing right here is something that could actually compete with mainstream consoles for the better of gaming.

Yeah, the price is high for the performance you get but i love the open ended idea its a pocket PC that could replace consoles.

It can only mean good things in upcoming PC titles, because its not bottle necked by Sony and Microsoft's closed and dated hardware.

Edit: Its got to be a better deal than the upcoming 720 and PS4 in performance, capability, and size. I've got to assume that Microsoft and Sony are having oh s*** moments.

I'm really looking forward to that thing hitting the shelves, too. Not be cause I want one - I'll always be a slightly more dedicated PC gamer - but because it puts the PC gaming capability within reach of quite a few would-be console gamers. And, as many games evolve online and interactive components, that means that our ecosystem will only grow and become more enjoyable.

If I was MS or Sony, I'd definitely be having an "oh shit" moment. If not because that thing is actually competitive in terms of capability, but also in terms of price. And more importantly, that thing is modular and can be upgraded, so it'll be much more incremental in keeping up with evolving hardware capabilities than the build-and-forget consoles we've seen up to this point.

[Rbstr]

Frankly, if the Steam Box is just running a Trinity it's shit. That's not much graphics horse power if you're trying to push 1080p in modern games, let alone next-gen. As a console that might work but not if you want it to be a PC. And at $1000 there's no hope for it competing with consoles.
And it's running Linux so most of the AAA titles aren't available. Not much on Steam is actually payable on Linux.
It's a niche device for a niche group: People that want to play Valve games on a TV for lots of money (a home built trinity PC matching that little thing would easily cost hundreds less).

Also, keep dreaming about upgradability. "Proprietary for factor" + "upgradability" = $$$$

Now the Shield, on the other hand, has bits of brilliance in it. Yeah, the form factor is wonky. Who cares about the little screen? However, using a full fledged computer to render and streaming to a little box on the TV enables you to play.
If that can come in at console-like prices, perhaps just for a box and controllers instead of the handheld.

[DrRodneyMckay]

The Piston

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/11/xi3-piston-is-this-valves-steambox/

How about this bad boy, i could care less about an xbox controller with a screen, but this thing right here is something that could actually compete with mainstream consoles for the better of gaming.

Yeah, the price is high for the performance you get but i love the open ended idea its a pocket PC that could replace consoles.

It can only mean good things in upcoming PC titles, because its not bottle necked by Sony and Microsoft's closed and dated hardware.

Edit: Its got to be a better deal than the upcoming 720 and PS4 in performance, capability, and size. I've got to assume that Microsoft and Sony are having oh s*** moments.


The thing is with the piston and other "Steam Box's" bearing in mind Steam Box is just a name given to multiple PC's that run a Linux OS that come pre loaded with Steam, Looking at the specs of both the Shield and the Piston (& yes i know one is a ""PC"" and one a console, but the Shield is a better piece of hardware specs wize.
Also with the Piston, the rate that graphical fidelity is improving, that little thing isn't going to be able to keep up, its not like you can just pop in a new graphics card, u would need to replace the whole motherboard because its on board graphics.
whereas the Shield uses the Power of your existing PC, which is much easier to upgrade. Plus the fact it runs Android which means hopefully the promise of far far better mobile games in the future rather than just the crap we have now.

Also another thing to point out is that yes Console hardware is outdated, but what you've got to remember is Price for Performance, as you said The Piston is expensive for its performance, so what kinda people are going to buy it, chances are if you have that much money to throw away you have a pretty decent gaming PC as it is.

[EDIT] 1 last thing, Im a PC and Console gamer, don't get me wrong i'd pick PC over Console any day, but the main reason i play Console is because of friends, not everyone has the kind of money to spend on a PC. if for what ever reason money was tight, say when the next gen consoles come out, and if i had to chose between spending £500 or so on a couple of upgrades for my PC or £250 on a console that every game released on it will work fine (Bugs etc Excluded) id go with the Cheaper option.

[Minigun]

All very good points DrRodney, I guess it will all come down to what the new generation consoles are bringing, my buddy who has been an xbox guy all of his life said that he has no doubt in his mind next gens are going to run in the $800 bracket. Alot of rumors put the hardware (GPU atleast), comparable to the 6 series radeons. That seems a bit expensive for the 2-3 year old hardware your getting (expensive to any knowledgeable PC gamer anyways). Tack on the $80 they will also probably charge for the discs and your easily in the same hole after 2-3 games.

I don't know much about Xi3 PC specs, so I am unaware of their performance but they seem to talk a big game with their new technology. I guess i just feel like casual gamers should be pushed in the more open hardware direction even if its not quite there yet. If it takes people buying disguised PC's that they think are consoles to dissolve the two corporate gaming money machines, so be it. Things need to start heading in a different direction.

Edit: Your right about most PC gamers not getting it, I wouldn't either as you said most people with money to afford one probably already have decent builds. I don't think we're the target audience though, and it could be good for the community and industry as a whole.

Anyways just my honest opinion.

[Rbstr]

$800 for a PS4 or Xbox at retail seems silly. I doubt base versions top $500, maybe ones with huge hard drives will. The Xbox360 launched at $300. The Wii started at $200. The WiiU at ~$300
The PS3 suffered heavily at $500 at release. People learned their lessons.

Plus performance per hardware dollar has gone way up and consoles are actually fairly good hardware value because of their production scale.

In addition, everyone fails to realize that a $60 game these days are way cheaper than the $50 N64 game was or the $50 Super Nintendo game even earlier.

X3i says it's got a Trinity CPU and no discrete graphics card, we all know what those are capable of. There's no "new tech" in it besides some careful engineering of the stuff the chip plugs into.

Why do "casual gamers" need to be pushed to open hardware? Make a case for it.
Tightly controlled hardware is better for them: Only one set of components to buy. No worries about compatibility or sufficient hardware power.
It's better for developer: Only one set of components to program for. No worries about compatibility or disparity in hardware power.
It's better for the console manufacturer: Only one set of components to put together and improve.

I'm a PC gamer for everything that's not a JPRG or Nintendo franchise. I don't want to buy a second crappier PC to play on my TV. I want a little box that uses my regular computer to push games to the TV box at minimal cost.

If someone isn't a PC gamer...the question is: "Why should I care about this Valve company no one has ever heard of?" first and foremost. If their box is equivalent in graphical fidelity to competitors and they offer Steam and the deals it can provide and some pretty kick-ass formerly PC-exclusives (do those really even exist? Maybe.). "You say games I own will be playable on my computer too?" Well, it might be worth it at a higher price tag.
In essence: Make a good console. Something like the X3i might be that thing if you do it right. Don't make the mistake of trying to build a machine people that have gaming PCs. Build something for people that buy consoles or need to upgrade their PC but don't want to bother figuring out specs (and don't really care about the benefits of PC gaming either).

[Minigun]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2013/01/15/why-steambox-and-shield-may-cause-the-death-of-consoles-as-we-know-them/

Posted 3 hours ago, here is the case I make. Except from someone with more charisma than I.

The article has the touched the same idea I have.

[Whalenator]

Am I the only one gawking at the nerve these people have to slap a $1100 price tag on a $70 A6 (Maybe a8)?

I mean, in the realm of budget builds Trinity has effectively taken over for both low and mid-tiers. They're really good, don't get me wrong, and a nice A10 with a smidgen of OC can run BF3 Ultra on 1080p with some difficulty.

But that's no reason to charge $1100 for what looks like $250 worth of parts, if not less. Also, 40W? That's surely undervolting the processor.

[burkorobe]

the price is high for the performance you get but i love the open ended idea its a pocket PC that could replace consoles.

[Rbstr]

Sure, the Piston is small. Mini-itx, if you're just plopping a trinity in it, can be as small as a Wii(U).

And like half the price. If the Steam-box is just a Trinity in a case it damn well better be cheaper than all the other consoles save, maybe, the WiiU