To millions of Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus subscribers, the subscription isn't a bad thing, but a way to (hopefully) ensure that they receive high-quality service and frequent improvements. Remember, console gaming is all about convenience - paying a little money every year for a reliable and enjoyable service is a benefit to many of these people, so an argument about not needed a sub on PC is missing the point.
Well it is kind of a bad thing, its an added cost on an already expensive product. Of course people will pay for it if you lock things behind the subscription. The problem there I think is there is no cheaper alternative.
Certainly some games do get dramatic sales more quickly than others. I over-exaggerated for emphasis with my point; thanks for correcting me here. What I should have said was that many of the major games that release (of course that's subjective to taste to some degree too) don't quickly go on sale, or at least aren't on sale until their successors are released. Games like Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and FIFA aren't on sale until at least eight or ten months after their release, which is such a long time in their lifecycle that many consumers (especially console consumers) would elect not to play them at all and instead to wait for the sequel.
Hmmm well still they are in the minority that was what I was getting at. Plus a lot of people would pay that for those games and they won't fall off in popularity even with the price so its understandable.
Certainly some games do get dramatic sales more quickly than others. I over-exaggerated for emphasis with my point; thanks for correcting me here. What I should have said was that many of the major games that release (of course that's subjective to taste to some degree too) don't quickly go on sale, or at least aren't on sale until their successors are released. Games like Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and FIFA aren't on sale until at least eight or ten months after their release, which is such a long time in their lifecycle that many consumers (especially console consumers) would elect not to play them at all and instead to wait for the sequel.
Its a tradeoff for sure. You pay for the machine which is more expensive (although depending on how you do it, not very much more expensive) and then the games ontop of that. But apparently most of the Steam machines will come with free games at least that is what im pretty sure I saw. So if you think about it like that you can knock some of that price off as value added maybe. Like if I get shadow of mordor with my 500 euro machine id say it would make me more likely to see it as good value.
I don't really understand your point here. Are you saying that, given enough time, inexpensive PC hardware will surpass console hardware? If so... That seems so obvious that I'm not even really sure why you're arguing it.
Well what I was getting at is if the machines are priced decently and come out every year, there will be no way the consoles can compete technically. So if there is a 500 euro Alienware machine every year and the one this year is already very decent and beats both consoles you can justify buying it over the console. And on top of that every year it gets more appealing.
I'm sorry that I misunderstood your point then. It's absolutely true that console hardware is static for long periods of time, and that if you disagree with something that your console producers makes, you have no option other than to outright ditch the platform. However, I think this is largely a nonissue to the vast majority of consumers - not only because of self-evidence from the popularity of console gaming, but because Steam Machines have the exact same problem, even if there appears to be an illusion of choice.
You think that but my brother in law has a 4k TV and he hasn't bought a current gen console even though he has a PS3 because it isn't a step up. The console itself can't get the most of his TV and he didn't pay 5k or more for it, it was the same price as a 1080p TV 3 years ago. So the TV technology is already past the current generation of consoles.
Let's be clear on one key point here - a Steam Machine that costs more than (for an arbitrary number) $1000 does not compete with consoles. The price difference is too large. In the same way that a potential homebuyer who's budget allows for a two-story, suburban, single-family home isn't looking at twelve bed, ten bath mansions on the lake, someone considering an Xbox One is not going to put any thought into tripling their budget for the luxury of buying the objectively better device.
Yep I agree it doesn't it has its own very specific market of people who have the money to splash out on a machine like that. If you want to play a game at 8k resolution with all the settings up high you will need a bloody powerful machine but if you can afford it you have the choice which was my point. Im not saying there will be huge choice at least not right away for Steam machines but there is a range of products that weren't available before that don't compete with consoles they are their own thing.
And even if the underlying software that ships with a Steam Machine is more customizable, that means absolutely nothing (and in fact is intimidating) to a consumer who wants a worry-free, streamlined experience.
Well it should offer that too, it does kind of offer something like what you are saying right now but its not as streamlined as it should be and that is an issue with SteamOS right now. They will fix all that eventually but it takes time. Valve are developing a lot of components right now to do this but it takes time to mature.
but about intimidation vs. comfort.
Well my above point addresses that, they should have it a little less intimidating but there is other things that make up for that fact and eventually it will become a lot more friendly. Like I was showing my bother in law my PC that is pretty comparable to one of the Steam machines on the list and showing him how it all worked and he definitely didn't have his mind blown, the interface is pretty standard and acts just like a regular old console interface which is what you would expect.