A while back, we heard talk of a new portable Steam Machine coming out called the "Steam Boy". Not much info on what it was, how it'd look, when it'd release...until now. Resurfacing as "Smach Zero", the company behind it, Smach Zero (what a great name), has officially announced a price and a general ship date, along with a few basic specs.

Here's what we know now:

• The Smach Zero is expected to ship in Q4 2016, with preorders supposedly opening November 10 for $299/€299.
• The Smach Zero has 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 720p touch screen and HDMI output. EDIT: Other sources now confirm there is an SD Card slot for expandable storage, along with USB OTG.
• The Smach Zero carries an embedded G-Series SoC "Steppe Eagle" from AMD, with a Jaguar-based CPU and GCN-based Radeon Graphics.
• And, of course, the Smach Zero is going to launch with SteamOS and "1000's of Steam Games ready to play". EDIT: Sources claim the portable will be able to handle games like Cities Skyline, Civ 5, BioShock Infinite, Half Life 2, and Dota 2 no problem.

The video below is what the company released while at Gamescom on Saturday.



Source
EDIT: Additional Source

I'm quite interested in this project myself, I've always been fascinated by the idea of a portable game system that is essentially a PC, and this project so far looks to be exactly what I've been looking for! If this portable truly boasts a full x86 version of SteamOS, and specs enough to play a good amount of the Steam library, then I'd definitely be interested in giving one a purchase.

 

[RevPokemon]

wut?
who's on this you say?.. ..I don't know much more than what Tom posted about.. the infos about this handheld are scarce. But the promise that it brings is definitely interesting. And I'll wait for more info, to see if they deliver.

Hey Walker you killed my way to early probably will never happen tease to get shameless attention to our game.

 

[Walker D]

Hey Walker you killed my way to early probably will never happen tease to get shameless attention to our game.

Then my job here is done

 

[RevPokemon]

Then my job here is done

I love you man

 

[Xzi]

Hmm, a PC is damned overpriced for a gaming machine. Might as well just get a Wii U and hack it to play NES and SNES games.

If all you want is to play games from two generations ago and zero good third-party titles, sure. Save Smash, though, the WiiU is a waste of money altogether. The Wii was overall a better console, and I can emulate that on my PC.

 

[grossaffe]

If all you want is to play games from two generations ago and zero good third-party titles, sure. Save Smash, though, the WiiU is a waste of money altogether. The Wii was overall a better console, and I can emulate that on my PC.

Whoosh!

 

[yoyoyo69]

I fear this will, like the Ouya, be obsolete before release. Although it's poor resolution (smaller screen, so as long as it's a good screen, no problem) this should help more demanding games.

It will clearly run old games like Dota, Counter Strike, etc. But these games are designed to run on old tech.

Interestingly, games are being slowly ported to Source 2, which should improve things further.

Only time will tell whether this is simply a relic player, or reasonable for future releases at low settings.

 

[RevPokemon]

I fear this will, like the Ouya, be obsolete before release. Although it's poor resolution (smaller screen, so as long as it's a good screen, no problem) this should help more demanding games.

It will clearly run old games like Dota, Counter Strike, etc. But these games are designed to run on old tech.

Interestingly, games are being slowly ported to Source 2, which should improve things further.

Only time will tell whether this is simply a relic player, or reasonable for future releases at low settings.

I fear this will, like the Ouya, be obsolete before release. Although it's poor resolution (smaller screen, so as long as it's a good screen, no problem) this should help more demanding games.

It will clearly run old games like Dota, Counter Strike, etc. But these games are designed to run on old tech.

Interestingly, games are being slowly ported to Source 2, which should improve things further.

Only time will tell whether this is simply a relic player, or reasonable for future releases at low settings.

i doubt it will considering it feels an area where there are no competition currently. Even still it will beat the 3ds successor in specs and will benefit from people who already have games on the system which as a consumer cuts cost per sey.

 

[KingVamp]

I really don't care between x86 and Arm in mobile, but don't want to needlessly compromise battery life. That said, this is clearly directed at Steam users. I don't thing $50-100 more than a regular handheld is too unreasonable for what they are putting into this. Will an enough people care? Idk.

Why didn't they at least give this a regular D-pad?

Btw, I like Steamboy better too.

 

[RevPokemon]

I really don't care between x86 and Arm in mobile, but don't want to needlessly compromise battery life. That said, this is clearly directed at Steam users. I don't thing $50-100 more than a regular handheld is too unreasonable for what they are putting into this. Will an enough people care? Idk.

Why didn't they at least give this a regular D-pad?

Btw, I like Steamboy better too.

I agree too but this is a lot like the steam controller which i think really will depend on how you like the steam controller. Personally I have to say i am excited about it but if i will actually buy one depends

 

[DinohScene]

Bioshock Infinite...
BIOSHOCK INFINITE!!!!!!!

FUCK YOU VALVE! HAVE ME MONEY AND GIEF ME !!!

 

[MrJason005]

the video was all fluff really

 

[HtheB]

I really don't care between x86 and Arm in mobile, but don't want to needlessly compromise battery life. That said, this is clearly directed at Steam users. I don't thing $50-100 more than a regular handheld is too unreasonable for what they are putting into this. Will an enough people care? Idk.

Why didn't they at least give this a regular D-pad?

Btw, I like Steamboy better too.

Just what I was thinking, why not just a regular D-Pad? :/

 

[CathyRina]

I wonder. What if I wanted to play Dark Souls and have to input my name. Will a screen Keyboard pop up or do I have to plug in a keyboard?

 

[grossaffe]

I wonder. What if I wanted to play Dark Souls and have to input my name. Will a screen Keyboard pop up or do I have to plug in a keyboard?

If you found yourself wanting to play Dark Souls, you'd then remember "Oh yeah, Bandai Namco made this Windows-only so it won't run on the Linux-based Steam OS!"

 

[CathyRina]

If you found yourself wanting to play Dark Souls, you'd then remember "Oh yeah, Bandai Namco made this Windows-only so it won't run on the Linux-based Steam OS!"

Great, you completely missed the point of my question.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I wonder. What if I wanted to play Dark Souls and have to input my name. Will a screen Keyboard pop up or do I have to plug in a keyboard?

I would imagine, like other tablet-esque PCs (like the Surface) you would have to connect a keyboard, I had that problem when trying out Dark Souls on my Surface Pro 2, it wouldn't let you use an OSK in-game. Of course, the device doesn't boast compatibility with every single game ever and I would imagine connecting a keyboard for a whole 5 seconds to setup the game isn't all that difficult

If you found yourself wanting to play Dark Souls, you'd then remember "Oh yeah, Bandai Namco made this Windows-only so it won't run on the Linux-based Steam OS!"

Who said the Steam OS install was locked? It's entirely possible you could just go and install Windows on it.

 

[grossaffe]

Great, you completely missed the point of my question.

No, I merely chose to answer the question as it was worded.

Who said the Steam OS install was locked? It's entirely possible you could just go and install Windows on it.

In which case we're no longer dealing with the software Valve included with the device and instead a vanilla Windows install, thus the answer to the question would be the same answer as when you play Dark Souls on your Desktop.

 

[CathyRina]

No, I merely chose to answer the question as it was worded.

No, it was worded to point out that there are games requiring to type a name and that I wondered how this could be handled by the system. Dark souls was only an example since you can't play the game without doing it.
Rather than answering the question you preferred to point out how stupid my example is.

 

[RevPokemon]

I have to say I'm wondering how good Ubuntu will be on this since it is touch screen enable

 

[grossaffe]

No, it was worded to point out that there are games requiring to type a name and that I wondered how this could be handled by the system. Dark souls was only an example since you can't play the game without doing it.
Rather than answering the question you preferred to point out how stupid my example is.

You say that I did not answer the question as it was worded, then proceed to explain how I did answer the question as worded rather the question as you intended it.