People who don’t game often underestimate how pivotal video game tech really is.
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People who don’t game often underestimate how pivotal video game tech really is. So let me put the Steam Hardware Announcement in perspective:
- Google, Amazon, and Nvidia all tried to make game streaming happen. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
- Google, Dell, and Lenovo all tried to make desktop Linux mainstream. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
- Meta, Microsoft, and Apple all tried to make VR happen. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
Why? Because Valve has already built the ecosystem to make all of this work together—and I know this because I use it every day. Valve doesn’t just innovate. They integrate.
Take Proton. Before Valve got involved, running Windows games on Linux was a nightmare. Now it’s practically plug-and-play. And once Windows games run well on Linux, Windows apps follow suit.
Or take streaming. I’ve been streaming Windows games to my Mac through Steam Link for years. It’s not flawless, but it’s given me an unmatched game library that Apple alone could never deliver.
And here’s the bigger picture: Nvidia may be the most valuable company on Earth, but what built their empire wasn’t AI—it was games. GPUs first became essential because people wanted to play Quake and Half-Life.
Now we’re entering a new phase. All those overhyped, half-forgotten tech ideas—streaming, VR, desktop Linux—finally have a shot at mass adoption. Because the best way to truly validate new technology is to make it work for gamers.
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People who don’t game often underestimate how pivotal video game tech really is. So let me put the Steam Hardware Announcement in perspective:
- Google, Amazon, and Nvidia all tried to make game streaming happen. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
- Google, Dell, and Lenovo all tried to make desktop Linux mainstream. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
- Meta, Microsoft, and Apple all tried to make VR happen. None succeeded. Valve probably will.
Why? Because Valve has already built the ecosystem to make all of this work together—and I know this because I use it every day. Valve doesn’t just innovate. They integrate.
Take Proton. Before Valve got involved, running Windows games on Linux was a nightmare. Now it’s practically plug-and-play. And once Windows games run well on Linux, Windows apps follow suit.
Or take streaming. I’ve been streaming Windows games to my Mac through Steam Link for years. It’s not flawless, but it’s given me an unmatched game library that Apple alone could never deliver.
And here’s the bigger picture: Nvidia may be the most valuable company on Earth, but what built their empire wasn’t AI—it was games. GPUs first became essential because people wanted to play Quake and Half-Life.
Now we’re entering a new phase. All those overhyped, half-forgotten tech ideas—streaming, VR, desktop Linux—finally have a shot at mass adoption. Because the best way to truly validate new technology is to make it work for gamers.
@atomicpoet …Google Stadia was technically speaking a great success?
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@atomicpoet …Google Stadia was technically speaking a great success?
Erik Jonker Stadia was not a success. It was a giant boondoggle. And since I was a Google Stadia subscriber, it was the single biggest thing that turned me against Google.
I spent lots of money on Stadia, and all the games I owned disappeared forever.
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Erik Jonker Stadia was not a success. It was a giant boondoggle. And since I was a Google Stadia subscriber, it was the single biggest thing that turned me against Google.
I spent lots of money on Stadia, and all the games I owned disappeared forever.
@atomicpoet it worked great for me, I played wired on my TV in the living room, I received a full refund on everything when it ended, even the controller, some games I bought I now use on Amazon Luna (Ubisoft) , so for me it was a positive experience. Besides the extremely limited catalogue, Amazon Luna is too for me (a very casual gamer).
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@atomicpoet it worked great for me, I played wired on my TV in the living room, I received a full refund on everything when it ended, even the controller, some games I bought I now use on Amazon Luna (Ubisoft) , so for me it was a positive experience. Besides the extremely limited catalogue, Amazon Luna is too for me (a very casual gamer).
Erik Jonker Maybe it worked great for you, but it’s not working great for you anymore. And you may have got a refund, but you no longer have your games.
Amazon Luna is a little bit better, but I’m still cautious now. In fact, the only time I ever use Amazon Luna is with my GOG library because that’s DRM-free. That is to say, if Luna dies, I still have my games.
And this is why I have way more confidence in streaming with Steam. In the entire decade plus I’ve used it, not a single game has been removed from my library. Not even the de-listed ones. And I own nearly 8,000 Steam games. With Steam, I don’t even need to trust “the cloud”—I’m streaming from my own hardware.
