beano wrote:

Jaysuz.

Fuck off. Give me a good reason for consumers to buy a Linux console. Go on, just the one.

If you're just gonna sit there and mock back it with something substantial or can the trolling.

In fact to me all linux suffers for is lack of education and support - obviously a chicken and egg scenario, but its wasted breath, because its completely irrelevant. People dont buy 'a linux based console' they buy Steambox, and developers themselves can measure its value. I can only see them see it as attractive, at this point.

its very easy to use these days. It's also free (dur) and will live on the same harddisk as another OS with a dual boot

Just to play devils advocate.

All this is true, but people already have windows/OS X, it comes with their computer, what benefit is there to those people in having another OS like linux if it is only to play games on?

OS X user may be interested if it could provide more games than currently available but for the most part if they were that interested in gaming they wouldn't have bought a Mac. Or could spalsh out £50 on Windows and dual boot, Mac users generally are hardly strapped for cash, instead they want a premium, easy to use, product in which case OS X> Windows> Linux.

Edit: like you wasted breath as we are talking about a linux console over linux desktop.
In this scenario I agree with Mod, the one advantage a PC console has (Back catalogue) is neutered by that catalogue not being available on Linux and Linux not being currently used by the big players.

Someone drop a Return(1); in the modloop ffs.

The kernel / OS / isn't such a big deal to you. It's a point you can waaste your time on. Whilst that's a good use of your time in your eyes my eyes and many other pairs get to read the same waffle and it's dull, at times it's down right infuriating because it lasts for pages. Or goes on for hours. My eyes begin to bleed and I want to turn you off mod. You're not being sceptical your prose doesn't show it it shows emotion. You've exhausted critical thought from yourself and everyone there's no need to have a say - we don't have enough information to continue that thread that means nothing. Am I not allowed to laugh at the blatant sarcasm and humour in gunn's comment about nextbox will have win8 and already has a userbase? Wanker.

 It's steam in a console housing. Just so happens it's PC gubbins. So has every console gubbins. It's hardware. The question is about adoption. Steambox adoption. People are split. Majoritively we want it to work out. It just so happens we maybe able to dual boot it, like a PS3 which I think you wanked whimsical over as well iirc. You don't like this ideal others attach to projects like Ouya and Steambox because you've spent so much of your life surviving by buying into an ideal you're a star consumer and if you've been fisting capitalism so long everyone else should. The idea of choice this good fucks you right off. Pointing out they'll have a store gets you so hard you mention it over and over and say 'it's closed- wagga wagga'.

All the pro's and cons have been said concerned with what is know or a reasonable assumption, so why bang on. The 'nail on the head' comment that you cited makes no speculation or reference to userbase or anything as such that you're continuing to call on not even development. 

tl;dr: I'm not trolling I'm saying can-it   because unicorns. So no, you fuck off. (I don't mean it *hugs* I just mean calm down, get a hobby hey *hugs* see anything you like? )

Liveinadive wrote:

its very easy to use these days. It's also free (dur) and will live on the same harddisk as another OS with a dual boot

Just to play devils advocate. All this is true, but people already have windows/OS X, it comes with their computer, what benefit is there to those people in having another OS like linux if it is only to play games on? OS X user may be interested if it could provide more games than currently available but for the most part if they were that interested in gaming they wouldn't have bought a Mac. Or could spalsh out £50 on Windows and dual boot, Mac users generally are hardly strapped for cash, instead they want a premium, easy to use, product in which case OS X> Windows> Linux. Edit: like you wasted breath as we are talking about a linux console over linux desktop. In this scenario I agree with Mod, the one advantage a PC console has (Back catalogue) is neutered by that catalogue not being available on Linux and Linux not being currently used by the big players.

It's an education thing, it could be added that the cost of your windows license adds a fair lump onto the cost of your machine when you buy it, when if your machine was provided with linux with all the functionality you would ever use it for you would save money and arguably be in a 'safer' environment should windows go the way of apple. If windows did do that, you can certainly expect a surge of people to move to linux and linux is ready for that right now, usability is no longer a problem. Thats all moot anyways, you're talking about major publishers or devs supporting linux, which is frankly something none here can give an opinion on because you dont know, and all i can comment on is a few well known engines moving in that direction. The 'supporting linux' think just seems like a painfully trivial thing to bring up, because its irrelevant, the developers to you customers, support Steambox, the linux talk is fecking irrelevant and i swear ive said that more times than i should sanely have to

LazyGunn wrote:

Liveinadive wrote:

its very easy to use these days. It's also free (dur) and will live on the same harddisk as another OS with a dual boot

Just to play devils advocate. All this is true, but people already have windows/OS X, it comes with their computer, what benefit is there to those people in having another OS like linux if it is only to play games on? OS X user may be interested if it could provide more games than currently available but for the most part if they were that interested in gaming they wouldn't have bought a Mac. Or could spalsh out £50 on Windows and dual boot, Mac users generally are hardly strapped for cash, instead they want a premium, easy to use, product in which case OS X> Windows> Linux. Edit: like you wasted breath as we are talking about a linux console over linux desktop. In this scenario I agree with Mod, the one advantage a PC console has (Back catalogue) is neutered by that catalogue not being available on Linux and Linux not being currently used by the big players.

It's an education thing, it could be added that the cost of your windows license adds a fair lump onto the cost of your machine when you buy it, when if your machine was provided with linux with all the functionality you would ever use it for you would save money and arguably be in a 'safer' environment should windows go the way of apple. If windows did do that, you can certainly expect a surge of people to move to linux and linux is ready for that right now, usability is no longer a problem. Thats all moot anyways, you're talking about major publishers or devs supporting linux, which is frankly something none here can give an opinion on because you dont know, and all i can comment on is a few well known engines moving in that direction. The 'supporting linux' think just seems like a painfully trivial thing to bring up, because its irrelevant, the developers to you customers, support Steambox, the linux talk is fecking irrelevant and i swear ive said that more times than i should sanely have to

You're still talking about desktop Linux vs Windows. Take it to the Tech thread or the PC gaming thread. This is a console thread.

I'll also add:

I use open source systems every day in the CMS sites I develop for clients and have contributed time back via bug reports and -where I've been able to- fixes. The last thing I backed on Kickstarter was VLC. The thing before that was a Raspberry PI cabinet and I'll be ordering my board any day. I very nearly bought the first Android phone in the UK and was running android on my phone long before it was a thing.

People love to try and pigeon hole me but sorry, the facts just don't stack up.

Don't be so condescending.

I've seen enough consoles launch over the years and watched their relative fortunes to spot a winner from a turd.

Ooh, it's getting hot in herrrr....

On another note, this really isn't about Linux vs pc gaming or whatever. Much too early to comment on that.
This is about Valve entering the console buisness via Steam. A new player on the console block. 

Whether Valve uses a windows/mac/linux/android build or a custom os, they are entering the console market.
They will be going head to head with the 720, PS4 and perhaps the Wii 4 All. 
Perk: backwards compatibility with Steam Linux. 

Yes Gabe loves ranting and being controversial and to Mod he's an unlikable fat cunt.
Me? I give him the benefit of the doubt. The Steam service is definitely solid and obviously ready for the jump to console. If he can get 3rd party devs aboard it might even go somewhere. 
I for one welcome another player in the console world. 

Whatever the implications on pc gaming, they can't worsen the situation more than it is now.
Piracy is a real problem for publishers, perhaps what pc gaming needs is consolefication?

It's feasible this time next year that there will be mainstream unix based google and iOS living room boxes being shoved down every consumers throat. That would change the platform element of this argument entirely.

I know they exist now but they aren't receiving the full weight of their respective a companies marketing and backing. All it needs is for apple to produce something which they make a big deal about and suddenly every tech journo around would be paying attention to that part of the market.

monkey wrote:

It's feasible this time next year that there will be mainstream unix based google and iOS living room boxes being shoved down every consumers throat. That would change the platform element of this argument entirely. I know they exist now but they aren't receiving the full weight of their respective a companies marketing and backing. All it needs is for apple to produce something which they make a big deal about and suddenly every tech journo around would be paying attention to that part of the market.

Google TV and Apple TV have been around for some time but they never took off because of dodgy interfaces. How do you transfer a touch experience to the livingroom? With a remote control? Gestures? Or perhaps Nintendo's got the right idea with their WiiU? I still think Android and iOS are a totally different market than the hardcore consoles although the gap is slowly closing.

hunk wrote:

Apple TV have been around for some time but they never took off...

Apple TV is very nice indeed... My mate was showing me around the Netflix and Hulu apps... And I keep saying it...

It's very nice bit of kit if you have the magic beans to spare.

If Apple were to put a better CPU in the box, then Steam's Big picture would work very well on it... Apple certainly don't seem put out by rivals offering digital stores on their systems...

The Hulu one was blinding... Especially if you like American TV (as many people do).

The range of choice was mental...

Aside from the fact there isn't anything after it, I don't follow. Surely the availability of Netflix, LoveFilm (and Sky for that matter) would be an important consideration for any 'media center' ambitions?

i presume netflix/lovefilm etc arent contractually obliged to only use silverlight? if thats the case then it's not really an issue