Valve announces three new products: here's what you need to know
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Good things come in threes?

Following on from the success of the Steam Deck, Valve is creating its very own ecosystem of products. The Steam Frame, Steam Machine, and Steam Controller are all set to launch in the new year. We’ve tried each of them and here’s what you need to know about each one.

“From the Frame to the Controller to the Machine, we’re a fairly small industrial design team here, and we really made sure it felt like a family of devices, even to the slightest detail,” Clement Gallois, a designer at Valve, tells me during a recent visit to Valve HQ. “How it feels, the buttons, how they react… everything belongs and works together kind of seamlessly.”

For more detail, make sure to check out our in-depth stories linked below:

Steam Frame: Valve’s new wireless VR headset

Steam Machine: Compact living room gaming box

Steam Controller: A controller to replace your mouse

Valve’s official video announcement.

So uh, ahem.

Yes.

Valve can indeed count to three.

  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
    1·
    5 hours ago

    You realize that your own description is… kind of contradictory?

    It should handle every mainstream console without issue, but also, its not going to run 4K.

    Eh?

    So, when mainstream consoles say they are running 4K60, what that actually means is they are:

    • Turning the graphics down to what PC players would call high/medium, but, with some raytracing.

    • Rendering at between 1K and 2K, using FSR/DLSS to upscale to 2K, if necessary.

    • Then, checkerboard expanding 2K, up to 4K.

    Something roughly like that.

    Like… yeah, no console can run 4K60 the way a $3000 to $5000 desktop PC can, with balls to the wall raytracing and also graphics turned up to ultra or whatever is beyond that.

    But, all these console makers just say “4K60!” anyway.

    Valve at least specified “with FSR”.

    While I am skeptical its going to be comparable to a 4k60 PC, Digital Foundary went more in depth into the actual hardware specs, Moore’s Law notes that going from RDNA 2 in the 7600M to RDNA 3 does make a difference in terms of what those CUs can actually do…

    Moore’s Law is saying its roughly going to be comparable to a PS5, slightly better in some scenarios, slightly worse in others… generally, maybe slightly worse than a PS5 in games that are constantly streaming in or out tons of assets, roughly comparable in other games.

    Largely, because FSR 4 is probably going to be working on RDNA 3 next year.

    … Moore’s Law also has a cost to produce estimate of $425 for the 512GB variant, and he guesses that Valve could price them anywhere between $600 to $450, depending on how much margin they want vs how much they want to basically cripple MSFT.

    For reference, from my location, right now, Best Buy is giving me:

    PS5 Slim Digital: $500

    PS5 Slim: $550

    PS5 Pro: $750

    Xbox Series S (512GB): $400

    Xbox Series X (1TB): $600

    So… uh, if a price range between $425 and $600 is the ballpark, well that’s basically game over for MSFT Gaming, and its also competetive with PlayStation.

    Moore says the Steam Machine is about twice as powerful as a Xbox S… and it could cost basically the same amount, I think the S is still MSRPing at $450 from MSFT, but Best Buy has dropped the price because they can’t sell them.