The use case is it’s going to introduce gamers to Linux. And it’s going to prove that in PCs, just like consoles, you don’t need Microsoft to game.
That seems like a nice start to adopt Linux to the mainstream market. If there are more products, it maybe will be like with Android phones. I’m happy there seems to be more alternatives nowadays. Just installed one of my Steam games on my now semi Linux PC and I find it pretty cool that I can now play on that. Before, with just an emulator, it doesn’t really feel the same.
I want to just buy games and have them work on my machine. So a console.
Microsoft is surrendering the console war.
Sony has already put malware in their products and I will not be their customer again.
Nintendo is super locked down.
Valve has always shown me excellent customer service.
Nintendo has made it better to buy a fucking steam deck and pirate their games. I think the steam deck and the GabeCube will splash the market with better performance than other consoles, better use cases and usability, and therefore make other companies make there consoles better.
As a Nintendo fan, Nintendo is like all of our toxic boyfriends. But if Nintendo either a) licensed their games to other devices or b) allowed there devices to run linux/pc games I would step (a lil bit) back on the Nintendo train.
People want a console but also:
- A wider game library (Missing on Playstation and Xbox)
- No subscription (missing Playstation and Xbox)
- a working 10 foot UI (missing in windows)
- controller os navigation (missing in windows)
- no bimonthly fullscreen nags to use edge, office365, onedrive, etc. (missing in windows)
- Working ACPI sleep states. (Missing on most cheap mini PCs)
- Backwards compatibility for older titles and not needing to rebuy games when upgrading (Missing on PlayStation)
Microsoft could probably build an XBox that fixes the first problem but would probably fill it with nag screens.
People with technical skills can probably run Bazzite on a minipc but might hit issues with sleep depending on luck while purchasing.
People without technical skills just want a package that works
People WITH technical skills just wany a package that works. I don’t want to fix every single fucking piece of technology I own, constantly - even if I am capable.
Exactly, I would add the emulation part. Steam deck and I bet the box, too, are great for emulation of older games.
deleted by creator
I mean yes, jack of all trades master of none. But then again a mass produced hardware which will run all modern AAA games (Meaning cheaper), running on Linux (Linux being used mainstream in a user friendly sense is better than not Linux) and still being user friendly is overall a company doing something I like, and adding competition to the console marketplace.
I bought Helldivers and BG3 on PS4 for in total like $150 and I sold my PS5 and now I can’t even play those games anymore. With it being linked to a steam account, this isn’t a problem anymore they can access there paid games on any device, which I like.
It’s a pretty nice custom designed PC that is guaranteed to work well with Linux. The only downside, really, is that you can’t upgrade it beyond storage and RAM.
As someone who’s tried several PC-in-the-livingroom solutions, just try building a PC with good specs at that size and you’ll appreciate the niche that is being filled.
Price!
We can argue about it all we want, but basically everything hinges on its street price.
If it’s cheap, all those critiques are irrelevant.
Expensive? “It’s cute, I like Steam, I like how it mostly works OOTB,” gets real niche, real quick.
Regardless of the box cost, there’s no arguing with the price of games in a Steam sale!
I don’t think I’ve paid more than £15 for a game in years and years.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the cash to spend up front. Paying more over time is easier.
Or they just get lured in by a cheap sticker price.
And again, price is still relevant. If this is well over $1K, it starts to negate the Steam storefront cost savings.
Fair enough. If they’re cash poor, grabbing one of those cheap games consoles is a good plan. 😟
Well what if i want something like a console but hate the big tech and dont enjoy someone spying on me? this is the only option. What if i want a console that i can modify and use as a pc or a server if i damn want to? this is the only option. What if i want a true console like experience but want to play a title that just isnt on any consoles? this once again is the only option. This thing will have so many usecases, just maybe a little specific ones… :D
Arch with KDE is for people who don’t like Linux?
Got my hands on a steam deck. First thing was installing bazzite.
Other than “not seeing the use case” I think the meme is right on. People hate Windows but don’t want to deal with Linux, people hate being trapped in the walled gardens of Microsoft or Sony consoles, but don’t want to deal with a full-on gaming PC. Kinda like how when iPads came out people where like, this is worse than a phone and worse than a laptop, who are these things even for?
This kinda blew up. For the record, there are probably decent use cases. I’m just befuddled by its popularity. The best I’ve seen is PC games on a TV more easily than moving an entire setup. But the form factor removes a lot of the upgradeability and repairablity that makes PCs so great, it has standard hardware like a console but still traps you in a (admittedly slightly better) ecosystem, it has Linux but masks it so well most people won’t notice or care. If it pushes gaming to a more linux-friendly place, great, but it feels like it’s packaging it to the point that it won’t push the player-base, only devs. It feels like it packages almost all of the limitations of the 3 groups with very few of the best benefits. Truly do hope I’m wrong, I often am.
Hooking a whole desktop to a TV is intrusive with most desktop form factors.
Most people who want a console don’t care about upgradability or repairability, and that’s certainly not the main thing that “makes PCs so great.”
Most people gaming on PC are equally “trapped in an ecosystem.” This has a desktop mode if need be, but hardly anyone does games outside of Steam.
“It has Linux but most users won’t notice or care” is a double positive.
“It won’t push the player base, only the devs” is a double positive.
The point of a console isn’t to make people into more technical proponents of open source projects. It’s to play games.
And if it’s competing in the console market, especially for people who aren’t terribly interested in the “Call of Duty” type AAA titles of today, it seems like a perfect fit.
it has Linux but masks it so well most people won’t notice or care.
That’s the best sales pitch for linux I’d ever heard!
Idk, to me it’s like veggie bacon. Stop spending so much time trying to make plants taste like meat when you can just… make the plants taste good. I’d rather be shown the advantages and explore the reason for a switch than have it try to be what I wanted to avoid in the first place. Maybe this is just a natural in-between step towards more universal adoption, it just kind of feels like the first step towards enshittification. Maybe I’m just jaded and cynical at this point, I’d just rather have something that is proudly itself rather than something trying to shamefully hide what makes it unique
It’s a fully functional Linux distro though?
still traps you in a (admittedly slightly better) ecosystem,
That’s wrong. It comes with SteamOS which is an Arch based Linux Distro. While it launches into Steam’s big screen mode, you can always switch to desktop mode and have all the freedom you want. Install GOG, Epic, Heroic or another launcher? Go for it. Want to install Windows on your Machine or Deck? I don’t know why, but you can do.
It’s for the people who can’t afford to build their own PCs these days. Graphics cards went up in price, hard drives went up and now RAM.
I want them to build a top of the line gaming pc put into a small box and sell it to me at a huge loss. Why can’t they do that?
The use case would be for people like me who want a dedicated box to put under the TV instead of having it at a desk. I don’t know how easy or affordable it would be to build a computer that powerful and that small (and we don’t know the price), so I can’t say how useful or not the use case is.
The GabeCube could hit the market at $1000 and still be a major success. Think about the RAM prices and there‘s not really a way to build yourself a cheaper PC that‘s convenient for couch gaming.
