New Xbox & AI CEO announced via Twitter ( not calling it x) the new “hybrid” console that will play Xbox and PC games.
In other words you know just a PC. Thus far it seems the system will use the exact same Xbox desktop experience as the “rog ally”.
While we all saw it coming and there isn’t much surprise. This to me says Xbox is dead as a platform.
It’s going to be expensive, it’s going to have Windows. It’s going to have co-pilot it’s going to have the same pop ups.
At least we get an Ally ROG desktop at most a Surface Gaming Desktop. Either honestly is a terrible idea. There will be most affordable options not tied to windows there will be mode powerful options at the same price. Even if you like the idea of going all in PC gaming this won’t be your best option.
If you want to stay a console gamer you’re going to have to switch teams …
RIP Xbox.
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Steam Machine, Steam Deck, Steam Frame. Pick your level of console.
Steam EVA Unit is my pick.
Only if it’s Gabe shaped
If you pilot from the stomach area you would have extra padding
Worth the weight
… Thanks, I’ve discovered an entirely new form of hatred, thanks to that comment.
I need the gaben Eva to vore me
List of things I buy the instant they will take my money. Also, grapheneos phone.
If your going Pc pre built route to me Valve built is the answer.
But to me this more lies with concerns with a true blue console experience.
Most people believe Microsoft will have little no success with this strategy either. Outside of hopes to “disrupt” steam machines market share I can’t see this going anywhere.
No matter how you slice it , I think it’s over.
I had to read it several times to understand what you meant, but I suspect that you’re right.
Buying a full pc that will end up being potentially limited to gaming doesn’t really make sense. Valve has a solution that’s more integrated and probably better suited for most consumers.
You’re*
Little to no*
Steam desktop + moonlight is sick as fk and doesn’t need new hardware.
Ah yes.
Swapping one walled off ecosystem for another
You can add non-steam games to Steam Deck, not sure how that’s walled off.
Is anything in the tech world interesting or good any more? I remember being excited 20 years ago for new inventions. Now its slop, slop, slop, authoritarian surveillance fascism, slop slop slop
Foss projects and indie games are about the only interesting thing now.
I’ll go back to 2005 soon as someone invents a Foss time machine !
Is anything in the tech world interesting or good any more?
Steam Machine?
Once we created standards to create everything we see today it became to expensive to invest in alternative home grown solutions. Sadly with the focus of maximizing profit over innovation most ideas just revolve around the existing infrastructure in place to do what they want. I hate it as well and everything feels very stagnant.
That and large shitty patent laws
Handheld emulation devices
I still tune into TechQuickie every once in awhile and I noted how start the difference is between shows like that today and five years ago. All news is bad news anymore.
Is that the show with the liars and thieves?
It’s a show about tech news?
No, you’re not allowed to like anything created by someone who’s ever done something wrong on the internet!
I think you mean TechLinked
I meant TechQuickie.
But Techlinked also
I like to see what’s going on in the handheld emulator world!
AYN Thor is a awesome DS handheld, but they too also warned that their supplier is bumping RAM prices heavily, so they expect the price to go up too
Oh true emulation in general is very awesome
Ironically, there are a couple of things in the tech world right now that I’m extremely interested in. But you would likely downvote me if I mentioned them.
You got downvoted for mentioning you’d get downvoted! OK, I’ll bite. Based on OP’s comments, As long as it isn’t in AI, surveillance or Microslop WIndows, maybe you have found something for us all?
As long as it isn’t in AI
Afraid I can’t help you, then.
It’s really quite ironic, this is the sort of tech that science fiction has been dreaming of for decades. And now it can’t even be mentioned in tech-oriented forums, can’t even be hinted at, without mobs of negative-nellies dumping on it.
Ah well. I continue to have fun with it, downvotes can’t stop that.
this is the sort of tech that science fiction has been dreaming of for decades.
No it isn’t. LLM’s are a fucking technological dead end and will never reach AGI’s.
Quit sucking off Sam Altman and go look into actual AI research, douchebag
Dreaming of, or warning about?
This is going to be one of those “Torment Nexus” things, I take it?
I’m anxious about being on the layoff list because I submitted my self-appraisal without reading the step that says: use ai to summarize your assessment and copy-paste to the summary field. Dammit, I wrote it myself
You just can’t quit bringing up your ai girlfriend, can you ?
You’ll note that I was asked.
Maybe they’re talking about machine learning for medical advances and the like?
That has very little to do with llms. And we’ve been doing that for decades, its not new.
So what, who cares about downvotes on Lemmy? Even one more person finding out about some awesome tech is worth it!
Quite true.
Well, I guess the most games-oriented thing is that at the moment I’m generating some cover art for some music I generated earlier to use as part of a tabletop roleplaying campaign I’m in. Custom art, custom music, stuff that a few years ago would have cost me thousands of dollars to commission (and therefore that I would never have dreamed of commissioning - it’s just for me and a couple of friends). That’s pretty awesome, IMO.
Unfortunately they’re just a fucking AI-bro. Not worth your time
It just sounds like a Steam Box that also steals your data.
And then feeds it into the actual orphan crushing machine
And shoves ai both down your throat and up your ass
I’m confused by the pessimistic reactions, though.
Companies converging towards the semi-open platform is a good thing. The locked down hardware and exclusives are not something we as customers asked for. It was something the cartel just shoved down our throats.
What bothers me is the backwards compatibility that microsoft has always just hand-waved in regards to the sunsetting of the xbox HW. A clear yes or no would be nice.
In emulation and retro gaming forums I frequent the reactions seem mostly positive. Lots of questions surrounding backwards compatibility of course.
Microsoft was already releasing games on PC. All this does is removes any dedicated hardware. Officially forcing windows down Xbox gamers throats. One less option in the space not really one more.
Windows is not the future for gaming. Windows shouldn’t be anyone’s future
You realize PC is not just Windows, right? It’s Windows, Linux, Mac.
Windows might be the most used PC platform but game developer are well aware attaching their success to Windows is not the right move. And that’s exactly the kind of freedom PC gives that consoles do not.
I’m not sure if you understand the point of my post. Yes PC is not just Windows. But the whole point of this product will be the “Xbox experience” which is installed on WINDOWS. Sure you can buy this box and then just install Bazzite or whatever. But why wait for this “box” to do it ? Just build a custom PC which is guaranteed to be better value and something you can do right now ?
I’m not attacking PC gaming. I love PC gaming. But this is in the context of an dedicated gaming console. Which for Xbox is going away.
My point is I see little value in the move. My point is I believe it’s the wrong approach. Valves approach with their baked in software is much better.
I mean, your post says “Forcing windows down Xbox gamers throats”. So people that are already in the locked down Xbox ecosystem, not people that already know that and avoid Xbox. Xbox is just Windows but locked down. It’s both Microsoft.
I completely agree people should just go for a PC, but if someone was buying Xbox already, they aren’t in the mindset. So if they’re going to buy Xbox anyways, having a device that’s not locked down to some console OS means they can switch at any time and rid themselves of Xbox, since it’s your device. To me that’s definitely an improvement over the status quo, even if other better options were already available.
But think of the AI agents that need to work on it!!!
Oh God I know this will go over many people’s heads but I was listening to a podcast where they where talking about the renewal of CUSMA (or USMCA for you Americans) and a senator said “I’m half inclined to think Donald Trump is ready to make a decision” to which Rob Russo, a journalist, rightly pointed out that was not clarity it is infact the absence of clarity. He then said, and this is why I laugh and the yes/no comment is so true.
“If I told my wife ‘Im half inclined to take the garbage out today’ she would not say that is a clear answer as to if I was going to do it”
Political and Business language needs to fuck off.
I, for a long time, wanted Microsoft to delete the difference between PC and Console. They are the same hardware, they can run the same software. Valve achieved this with the Steam Deck. I just wonder how Microsoft is going to fuck it up.
I’m confused by the pessimistic reactions, though.
Microsoft has done an amazing job of destroying good-will. And it’s why I and an increasing share of people stopped using Windows (I still have to suffer with it at work though). For any gaming PC that runs Windows:
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Why is there a pre-installed Xbox app in Windows? It doesn’t help play Steam, or Epic, or GOG, or even Amazon games. I don’t think it even helps with Windows Store games…
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Why are there ads in the start menu?
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Why are there two control panels? Why do I always have to hunt to find the old one because the new one doesn’t do what is needed?
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Why are there popup ads in the notification area?
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Why do I need an online account, or a hidden fucking terminal, just to get the OS going?
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Why is Copilot fucking everywhere?
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Why does the OS hoover fuckloads of data and send it to Microsoft?
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Why is there pre-installed bloatware?
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No, but seriously, why are there ads?
These are all questions that are relevant when you ask about why people are pessimistic about Windows as a gaming system. But with the merge of Windows and Xbox, all of the above questions apply, but you also get to add:
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How locked down will this merged thing be?
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Will multiplayer require monthly payments?
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Will it have backwards compatibility?
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Will they find another place to shove copilot?
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How many extra ads will there be?
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You know, I’m okay with this. If it makes PC gaming more accessible, and if it offers meaningful competition for the Steam Machine, it’s good to have options. Sure it’s Windows, but if it’s just a PC running an Xbox UX, I’m sure you could change the OS to whatever else if you want.
If anything, it does make the PS6 a less appealing choice, because why pick a dedicated console when you can get an (assuming) comparably strong, comparably priced gaming PC?
To me there is some value in having a true console experience. Put a disc in you know it works. Download a game and it plays as good as you can.
Even with Steam Deck you can download games that won’t work or won’t work well.
A lot of people don’t have the patience for that. And so long as consoles can stay under the PC equivalent price I think there will be value.
The issue is most games nowadays don’t work on day one, and you’ll probably have to download patches for it. The main selling point of plug and play for consoles is almost irrelevant with current publisher (and possible development) practices in the industry.
Thats why i just bought a dreamcast again after I had one 20 years ago. Awesome community and so many games, many of which never got popular but are so good. Consoles have few issues and are super easy to repair.
Consoles died when they ushered in “avatars” and constant internet connectivity bullshit. Xbox 360 was the start of the trash.
Dreamcast even has a nice little online gaming community now!
That doesn’t exist anymore. Can’t even play Nintendo without it asking for updates to the system and MarioKart.
There is a huge difference between waiting for an update and installing a game that may not work. It’s a huge difference then fiddling with settings and configs to get it to run smoothly or not crash
Here’s hoping it still has that functionality, I don’t see a reason why it couldn’t.
I think Xbox is shutting its console side to compete directly with the PC market. Head-to-head with valve. Good luck. And by that I mean eat shit Microslop
You need log into your microsoft account and give us your goverment ID to start using your Windows Computer, powered by Copilot. Would you like to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass with Copilot? Would you like CoPilot to play games for you? Copilot is very helpful, it can take screenshots of your whole screen every few seconds to help remind you of what you were doing 3 months ago. Copilot is very helpful, it can work your browser, manage your files, write your letters, use your computer for you! All you need to do is say, Hey Copilot, because Copilot is always ready to listen to you! You want to install a software? Downloading software from sites can lead to malicious spyware! Use the Windows store instead! You need to log in to your microslop account and give us your goverment ID to browse the Windows Store. Windows is so useful, it can give you weather updates, remind you of that thing you were looking to buy, things you were looking for, straight from your Start menu and task bar! You want to install Steam? I’m sorry that’s not available in the Windows Store, consider Subscribing to Xbox Game pass instead! You want to run something outside of our guardrails? Don’t worry, if something goes wrong, you can use Recall to see whatever it is you were doing before you did something you regret!
Ok, I can’t keep this up. I cannot fathom why the fuck anyone would tolerate Windows… No game, no software, no nothing, is worth keeping literal bloated spyware that wants to drain your wallet, safety, and privacy. – I will continue to say this;
Just Switch to Linux. If you really need a guidance, just use Linux Mint or Zorin. Explore and try other things, don’t be afraid of making the wrong choice, just pick a flavor, learn it, and own your stuff back.
If I’m going to buy a PC type console, it’ll be the steam machine. No idea why anyone would go for something that has windows on it at this point. I guess some will buy it because it has the Xbox name but the value of that is waning.
Maybe the online features of Xbox like multiplayer and such are going to be a factor in people wanting to stay. Network effect …
you, maybe. but valve is hesitant to make anything available outside of a handful of countries meanwhile microsoft sells their shit to the most remote tribal villages. most people in the world who’d want something like that will have to buy this one by default.
With Steam Machine being announced and price about to be released, new xbox is dead even before arrival. I will be totally bemused if gamers will chose new xbox/pc over Steam Machines.
Oh we do have a lot of Microsuckers in this world who will choose this over the Steam Machine because “It is well integrated into the system” bullshit.
Better integrated than Steam? I’d be curious to hear how.
“XBOX game pass is heaps better than Steam” - said no one ever
With the inability to obtain hardware for new PCs and other computing devices (for reference see how hard it is to get a hold of a steam deck these days). I’m not sure if the steam machine is ever going to come to fruition while the AI boom continues to fuck up the market.
Yep, and I wager the steam machine is probably going to be, at minimum, 50% more expensive than valve planned it to be, which more than likely will kill it on arrival as far as price/performance goes.
Will there be die hards who buy it no matter the price? yeah… but i wager it’ll see a fraction of sales that the deck did, due to ram and storage price bullshit thanks to AI fucking everything up.
I will concede that it will be more expensive, but so will all computing devices. There will be some people who just can’t afford it, but I don’t think people will specifically avoid it due to price. Since a new computer will also have that same increase in price.
I can agree on AI being bullshit though.
The contracts for the Steam Machine were already locked in before RAM and GPU shortage even started, which means they will (like other consoles) be able to provide a reserved amount of devices at a fixed and lower price. But likewise, this also means that for any console that did not have contracts locked in before shit went down, will suffer massively from this. Thus looking at current prices for hardware isn’t indicative of how much prices will rise. Steam Machine could be the most affordable gaming device of the next decade.
But Valve also isn’t stupid. PC has the unique position where it has one of the longest backlogs of backwards compatible games and applications. Which means you don’t need top of the line hardware. People are still gaming on 10 year old PCs, so the hardware for those will be much more affordable and still be able to play most games. Especially indie games with their insane price to performance to quality ratios. If top line gaming on PC becomes economically unviable, it will simply move down a notch.
If it’s allowed to run Linux, it’ll be better than the Steam Machine.
Microslop, for their faults, actually does get custom hardware from AMD - Valve uses repurposed parts which is much cheaper for their smaller runs.
I think it’ll be fully locked down though, but if it’s not - i’d wager it’ll make a better Steam Machine than Steam Machine.
Probably not so much as “better” as it would be “almost as good for cheaper”.
The bespoke AMD part is an exercise in cost management. iGPU is more affordable but usually pretty low end. The bespoke AMD solution is an iGPU bumped up to a nearly on par with a mid tier discrete GPU.
If released with same generation of tech, I would expect the steam machine to have higher performance but at a disproportional higher price.
You think the average person will buy a more expensive box that doesn’t play COD, FIFA, etc?
No prices for both new xbox and Steam Machines has been announced. How do you know which would be more expensive?
Because MS will throw any amount of losses at this to keep themselves in the game.
Plus making games deliberately incompatible with the GabeCube will be trivial if it comes to that.
Valve can throw a lot of resources behind what they’re doing, but it’s a drop in the ocean compared to what MS can spend. At the end of the day Valve can only really match current consumer pricing, and even with 16GB RAM and 8GB GPU, that isn’t cheap.
Have they said they are ready to commit to a price somewhere? The timing of the steam machine and the ballooning price of disk space and RAM is comically tragic.
Not that I know of. They supposed to announce prices in the first quarter of 2026 but due to memory shortage they have postponed it. As for shipping, they have claimed that they are still planning to launch shipping by the end of first half of 2026. Price is estimated at $800-$1000. Shortage might increase it.
Good, I’m sick of playing lowest common denominator console ports. Develop for PC and let the consoles have the degraded experience, not the other way around!
Consoles were just weird very restricted PCs for decades now, it’s nothing new really. If anything, making it more open will be better, there is no other need to keep it restricted other than making it unupgradable so you have to pay for a new one every generation.
In other ways, good, now do the same with PS.Let’s agree to disagree then.
It’s not a like for like experience no matter how you slice it.
I know this is going out to an audience who regularly self hosts and runs Linux.
But not everyone has the same technical skill level and the experiences are not ideal for everyone.
Consoles are literally just computers. Install game -> play game. There’s no magic “technical skill” required to do the same thing on a less locked down computer instead.
I think the steamdeck is the closest to a console-like experience, but yeah consoles have been PCs for a long time they just make it very simple to install/load games because it is a closed platform where they control every aspect of distribution
I understand the frustration with Xbox slowly dying, but this is all microslop’s fault.
When the games stopped shipping completely on their physical media is when they lost me. So, I guess PS3. To me, a console should be a completely self-contained experience. You want a game? You buy it. It comes on a disc, or cartridge, or HuCard. Doesn’t need to download updates. Doesn’t require the internet. Just pop it in, and boot directly to a game. Immune to digital stores closing, or servers shutting down.
If I have to download 50gb when I bought a game on discord, what are the discs even for? And I would still have to worry about disk space? Man, I’d rather just have a PC.
If you don’t have enough technical skill level and experience to install a game via steam, gog, or (bleh) epic games, you don’t have enough technical expertise to do the same on any console, including ones that require you to just put a cartridge in. Pressing “install” button and waiting for a while to then press “play” button might be less complicated than figuring out which side of the disk is up. And that’s exactly what is required to play a computer game.
It is not like-for-like experience, because a general purpose computer allows you to do a bit more than playing a game, but in terms of actually doing it, let’s not pretend it’s some kind of rocket surgery.There is more than just that when it comes to PC games
System requirements: RAM , CPU clock speed , GPU. And even if your requirements match there is no guarantee the game will work well. MW 2019 has stutters on my machine. No explanation to why ! I can play Indiana Jones at High settings no problem.
That is only there if you geek out about it. For a casual gamer, all of that doesn’t exist. You’re buying as nice “gaming PC” as your budget permits, you’re pressing “auto” in the settings, and you enjoy whatever picture and/or whatever framerate you paid for. For some years, most of the games run smoothly, then most of the new ones don’t look and feel great anymore, so you either buy a new computer, or play older games. It’s basically the same with the generations of consoles, it’s just if the game isn’t for your “generation”, on console you don’t get to downgrate the picture quality and try anyway.
I do not trust that Microsoft will be doing anything other than pushing subscription-based streaming. Call me when they have a robust storefront selling games on par with Steam and hardware that allows you to play these games on or offline. Until then, imma press X to doubt.
EDIT: As @NOT_RICK@lemmy.world has pointed out, that Windows 12 article has been debunked, not just by outside sources, but by PCWorld itself at this point. The article itself has a large disclaimer on it now, and they have a breakdown on how the story got published in the first place:
Original Comment:
This actually tracks completely with the news about an incoming Windows 12 announcement and in particular the claim about Windows 12 being modular. The description has claimed that it will make certain aspects of Windows able to be added or removed at will. Meaning options like a “minimal” desktop installation that has very few options, no PowerShell, no Terminal, no access to a majority of common Windows features, and very little control of the OS other than changing the desktop background.
In other words, this new “Project Helix” or whatever will be a stripped-down version of Windows 12 with everything non-gaming-related removed, including access to half the system settings I’m sure.
Windows central is reporting that the windows 12 rumor is bs. I think they went so far as to call it an AI slop fabricated story.
AI slop
They definitely didn’t use that terminology though, with how hard they’re pushing back against the “Microslop” term. Thanks for the update, however.
Windows Central? They’re not affiliated with MS, unless they also don’t like the nickname.
More importantly, it looks like PCWorld is retracting the article and has issued a post mortem on how it got published.
This is reminding me of how Ars Technica recently metaphorically stepped in it in regards to AI BS in a story less than a month ago. What an information nightmare we’re wading into
Ugh, that reads like it was written by an llm. Please tell me that human beings don’t actually write like this now.
Microsoft has no interest in scaling back windows especially for the sake of user experience. The want Ai in your face they want ads for you to upgrade to office 365.
So while they could do all of this even with a modified version of Windows 11 , they won’t.
I mean, I would argue that having to pay for access to different parts of Windows, like say access to PowerShell or access to more advanced features and settings has been part of the way they make money for a long time. That’s why their used to be “Home,” “Pro,” and “Enterprise” versions all with various levels of capability. So while it looks like the original article has been debunked, I would think that offering stripped-down versions of Windows would just serve as a way to push upgrades to more full featured versions the same way they press you to upgrade to Office 365.
They can gate it , and still have you install it. Doesn’t mean they have to modulate it out. If sub === home disable things
For sure, but that always gives advanced users the option to ungate it through the registry. The benefit to them of having it be “modular” would to be able to completely restrict even power users from being able to free their OS to use how they actually want to.
Once again, the original article was debunked, so we’re talking hypotheticals here anyway, a modular version isn’t coming.
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How much you wanna bet it’ll just be a pc you can’t uninstall windows from?
i think this is a bit over dramatic. seems more the next logical step in the “console” world
