Look, I know everyone and their mothers are gushing over Valve’s announcement of SteamOS and Steamboxes. There is a lot to be excited over and I, for one, am looking forward to the day when I can permanently ditch windows for my PC gaming needs. I am waiting with much anticipation to be able to game on an OS that gives me the performance boost that Valve is promising.
But I just can’t see how it will take over the living room. Here’s why.
Remember my article on the flaw with the new Steam Family Sharing feature? If you haven’t read it yet, click here and then come back. Good? Ok. So with that knowledge of Steam only allowing one user to play a game from your library at a time, how exactly will a Steambox take over my living room?
When I game on a console, these days it’s almost always with someone else. We laugh, find secrets, and share the game experience together. One of the main reasons I own an Xbox 360 is for the times when my sister and I can sit down and play some one on one soccer or play some co-op Call of Duty (We stopped playing CoD after Black Ops by the way). My point is that the only reason I still have my Wii is because I can play bowling with all of my family.
With a Steambox, if it uses the same family sharing feature that current PCs will have, that kind of multiplayer will may not be allowed.
It’s not even that I mind having a single player machine. I don’t. I’m a PC gamer and I am used to playing games alone. With the restrictions to family sharing however, a Steambox, which is trying to be a living room console, will may not give us the choice to game alone or with a friend. My choice of playing alone is one thing. Making me play alone is a whole other issue. Microsoft found that out first hand.
All that said, I am excited about SteamOS and Steamboxes, I just hope that the Steam Family Sharing program will not be a hindrance.
