Thoughts on the Steam Machine
TLDR: The Steam Machine is nothing but good news!
Related to EmuDeck
As Russ ( Hi! ) from RCG said in his last video, this is a great Emulation Machine.
And that's exciting, Valve will sell millions of this little mini PC and that means bringing 4K emulation to more people, EmuDeck will support it on day one ( or better said... the day I manage to get one in my hands! )
Related to Playnix
Also good news for Playnix! Look, I'm no Sony, no Nintendo nor Microsoft and I'll never be and that was never the intention. The Playnix Console is a passion project and it never had the chance to become anything else, the Steam Machine was always coming. The big players and the MiniPC manufactures are the ones that should be worried.
The SM, or should I call it GabeCube, uses a cut down Radeon 7600 non XT. That's about Ryzen 395 AI Max+ MiniPC performance levels, so good enough for 4K low settings + FSR performance mode, how do I know? the 7600 was the original plan for the Playnix console and I tested it last year before the 9060XT was announced, the 9060XT is about 1.5x more powerful than a 7600 so it's better suited for 4K with higher settings.
So after seeing the SM specs I plan to keep going as I had planned, nothing changes, if anything I'm even more motivated now. This week some units are on their way to some big Youtubers like Retro Game Corps or The Phawx so expect some reviews in a few weeks from now.
Also, thanks to every buyer for keep trusting in the Playnix project and keeping their order. As planned, I'm starting sending your orders next Monday!
In these past two weeks I've:
Created a Discord channel for support + optimisations settings for games, you'll receive a link alongside your order.
Updated the website with more technical specs ( adding gameplay videos soon! )
Wrote an onboarding and usage manual.
Implemented and enabled OTA updates.
Enabled instant wake / sleep on the OS just like the Deck does ( Using the power button, I need 8bitDo to make some changes to their firmware controller, so trying to make that possible too! )
Enabled the second NVME slot in the motherboard so you can easily expand your storage. And it's plug and play! you just connect the NVME SSD and it gets formatted for Steam Gaming Mode automatically.
Started working on SD Card support so you can plug in your Deck SD Card and play the same games without installing them again, not ready yet for I hope the first OTA will have this feature :)
Also, the 2nd EmuDeck Android beta is soon to be launched to our testers with more emulators ( PS2 and PS3 ) and bug fixes.
Comments (19)
Will you add support for steam controller when it comes out?
it should work out of the box!
Looks great. I just sold my ps5 pro and this looks like a great replacement to play online games with my son
well...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg99bsQT3_E
Let's GOOO! Keep up the great work! I plan on buying a Playnix as soon as you launch one!
they are already live, first orders are shipping this week!
I wish these recent announcements were actually launched sooner. If the steam machine launched a year ago the console market would be vastly different. More competition in the market is only good consumer. That said I'm already making my own steam machine with Nobara Linux. Hopefully valve can out price my $800 budget PC, (ram and SSD pricing not included. The market is fucked). If not...... The steam machine could be a total flop. The steam frame is genuinely exciting. I haven't invested into VR since March of 21 with my Quest 2. Again I'm hoping pricing will be great for the consumer. The steam controller is 6 one way, half-dozen the other. Probably the safest purchase and more or less "future proof". The charging "puck" is really cool, but it will come down to price. Valve has been killing it with the steam Deck so I feel comfortable recommending the "next Gen" of steam hardware, but gaming as a whole is only going up in price. Valve could be a the pioneer again and bring exceptional valve to the consumer like they did with steam deck. But in my opinion, unless you can purchase , (at retail no on sale gimmick), the entire steam ecosystem meaning: The steamdeck The steam machine The steam frame The steam controller For $1500 or less it's won't be enough. The individual sales may be great, but I believe valve is now a genuine console hardware developer. They are competing directly with Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. If anything they have their work cut out for them. Sony is moving pricing to a premium level without any real value. Microsoft keeps reloading the gun and pointing at its stumps. And Nintendo has lost more consumer first creditably in the past 6 months, than the previous 20yrs. But valve is selling PC hardware to the little Johns and Susie's of the world. They need to not only get they're name and product out to the masses, but GranGran needs to be able to afford it. The Voltron Timmies like myself will buy anything steam hardware related. I still have my steam link somewhere still in the box. But I'm excited. Valve is now in the console wars with one hell of a bat between it's legs. They just need a home run.
It looks ok, but if its good or not will depend on the price. Personally though, I would rather see them work with NVidia to get drivers that aren't a downgrade from windows and give more people a reason to use the OS.
Will the playnix support HDR and VRR in 4K over HDMI?
Yes, it’s HDMI 2.1 btw
Everything being said I'm beyond happy to see the next iteration of the Steam controller. I own several and still use them today. Unpopular opinion, it's the best device for gaming because of its customizability. Yes there's a learning curve but once you get past that you're set.
Me too. I do own the OG Steam Controller but never got used to it, so it might have less than 1h of total use!
SOOOOO.... we gonna get a VR launcer for our roms or nah?
Wait till I get my new Frame
It really is exciting! I plan to get one day one for my living room. Be a great emulation machine with the kids and company haha
Yep, even the Playnix Console is fine this probably killed the EmuDeck Machine I was planning to do next :(
The new steam machine looks great but I am looking more so to see what they're going to charge for it. I'd rather have a more homegrown solution since I'll be primarily playing steam and mostly retro titles anyway.
500 is my bet
It will depend on the price, but I really want to buy one with 2 steam controllers