When comparing Valve Steam Machine vs Wii U, the Slant community recommends Valve Steam Machine for most people. In the question“What are the best latest generation gaming consoles?” Valve Steam Machine is ranked 2nd while Wii U is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Valve Steam Machine is:
Steam has a massive game library with over 2,000 games that trumps even the biggest console library. On top of that, Steam is also famous for having great sales for older, and indie games.
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Pros
Pro Biggest game library, and best sales
Steam has a massive game library with over 2,000 games that trumps even the biggest console library.
On top of that, Steam is also famous for having great sales for older, and indie games.
Pro Forever backwards compatible and upgradable
You still get all the benefits of a PC, and all the games you acquire will come with you from generation to generation, with the advantage of having a cheap, easy to set up machine, with none of the fuss of building your own computer.
Pro Revolutionary Controller
Steam Machines will come with a new revolutionary controller made by Valve, that is equipped with two touchpads instead of analog sticks.
The touchpads are incredibly precise, and allow for better control for small movement and large.
While it may not be able to dethrone the mouse and keyboard for precision, it is more comfortable to use in a living room setting, and if you find yourself wanting a mouse and keyboard, all games are still compatible with it.
Pro Open source
The operating system is open source, and the hardware is free to run anything. You can use the hardware you bought as you see fit.
Pro You can still run Windows
Steam OS doesn't have compatibility with all games, but the hardware is still a PC, and there's nothing to stop you from dual booting whatever operating systems you want to play any game you want, and if you already have a windows box you like, you can use the Steam Machine to stream from that computer to the living room.
Pro Cheaper than a PC
Because Steam Machines will run Steam OS, there will be less overhead required by the operating system allowing cheaper hardware to run games more efficiently, as well as the cost savings of the operating system being free.
Also, because the boxes will be streamlined and mass produced, those savings will be passed on.
Pro Can emulate most PS2 era and earlier consoles.
Pro Most powerful
Pro Multiplayer games
Nintendo has some of the best hot-seat multiplayer games outside of the world of first-person shooters. With New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D Land, Nintendo Land, and the upcoming Super Smash Bros. U, Mario Kart 8, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Nintendo already has some of the best hot-seat multiplayer options of the next gen consoles.
Pro Nintendo's world class exclusives
The best feature of the Wii U and all Nintendo devices is Nintendo games. Nintendo is one of the best developers in the world, and have an unbeatable track record for incredibly fun, clever, and polished games, and as always, they're only available on Nintendo platforms.
Pro Fills the gap for PC gamers
If you have a PC, you already have most of the things that Playstation 4 and XBox One offer. Many games for those platforms will receive PC ports, often with better graphics, better controls, and more options.
The PC, however, tends to be weak when it comes to local multiplayer, and in genres like platformers and fighting games that benefit from a standardized, gamepad-like controller. These are the exactly things the Wii U excels at - the Wii U's controls allow for interesting and flexible multiplayer games, with symmetric or asymmetric gameplay, using classic gamepad, motion controls, or some combination of the two, and Nintendo's highly regarded exclusive franchises provide a solid collection of content in these genres.
Pro Extra screen on the gamepad
The gamepad's extra screen allows for some cool unique features. It allows you to play games off screen, allowing you to keep playing if someone else wants to use the TV.
Pro Great for streaming media
The Wii U has applications for Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube. While pretty much every device supports those services, what makes the Wii U unique is that the gamepad is a much better interface for choosing media than fumbling with the controller.
A great feature for YouTube is that it allows you to search for the next video to play on the gamepad without interrupting the video on screen, making it the best platform for YouTube parties.
Pro Cheaper than competitors
Cost less than most consoles, which makes a good choice for those on a budget or not looking to break the bank.
Pro Free online multiplayer
The online multiplayer is free, which is great for those not looking to have any type of monthly or yearly fee attached to their gaming console in order to get online gaming.
Cons
Con Most variation in hardware
It's somewhat confusing as to which Steam Machine you should look into buying because there are multiple hardware manufacturers who make the same machine with different components. Some have major drawbacks like not being able to upgrade the graphics card or being too pricy.
Con SteamOS
Although easy to navigate and use, SteamOS doesn't have every single Steam game. For instance, if you like GTA 5, you won't be able to play natively on a Steam Machine because the game only runs on Windows. That is unless you stream the game from another computer that runs Windows.
Con proprietary
It might based on the open source debian project but its UI is still proprietary.