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0 pointsglenstein2mo ago0 comments

A conversation for another day and I can't wait to have it, but something about this seems seriously doomed, because Steam already owns this lane, owns it well, and these days I think Linux is objectively the better desktop for most personal, PC-style use cases.

Windows stopped feeling like it meant PC a long time ago, and there's a major risk of the whole Xbox identity disappearing into the PC computing. Probably a conversation for another day but when everything is an Xbox, nothing is an Xbox, and when an Xbox is a PC it might as well be fading away Marty McFly style from our plane of existence.

I suppose what would really impress me is a Roku-style omnivore approach that gives a first class console-style experience and interface to Epic, Steam, Itch.io, GOG and of course Xbox.

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jfim2mo ago

You can run steam in big picture mode, and there are ways to add links to games from other game stores to steam such as https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR

It's not automatic or perfect but it does work.

glensteinOP2mo ago

I'm aware, but that is indeed a great thing Steam offers. I think it's janky enough that if there's one way to out-steam Steam it might be making the broader PC gaming universe as plug-and-play into a console experience as possible.

phatskat2mo ago

I think this is still a place that steam does well - sure there is some jank, and definitely things left to be desired, but my two cents:

I fired up my…decade old? Steam Link the other day, got steam link clients on my phone, set up a couple steam accounts for my partner and kid, and turned on Wake on LAN on my desktop.

The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it’s my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house.

I do wish Steam would clean up some of the pain points - in particular, not being able to switch users from a Steam Link feels like a huge oversight.

I haven’t touched much for gaming in MS’s world outside of just having windows by default, so no Xbox’s around since the 360, and I also really don’t know anyone who uses one. My friends are either PC or Steam, with a handful of us also on Switch. In my world and surrounding orbits, the Xbox is all but a meme at this point

Forgeties792mo ago

Man I’ve only ever had a terrible experience with the Steam link. Idk how other people get such better results out of it

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mywittyname2mo ago

Agreed. I have a steam deck and my wife uses big picture mode on a PC. And both are full of jankiness that you don't get with something like the Switch. I actually bought a steam deck expecting a Switch-like experience, and man was I disappointed. Even the streaming is lacking compared to what Sony offers on the PS5.

I do wish Valve would spend some of their infinite money on sanding off the rough edges of Steam.

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