Re: Hey, my SteamLink still works

On Sat, 23 Nov 2024 22:56:51 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

I couldn't get its iOS app to work in my iPhone. :(
>

The SteamLink app was released some years after the hardware device,
allowing people to stream games from their PC to a mobile device of
their choice (so long as it ran IOS or Android ;-).

I remember that -when I tried it- I eventually got it to work, but
found it extremely pointless. Again, I'd _still_ need to keep a PC
running somewhere else (and configure it so it wouldn't hibernate so
it could be active whenever). While SteamLink works GREAT on local
ethernet, over wifi it's a very inferior experience (I didn't try it
over cellular). The control issue is pretty much a deal killer too
(who wants to play PC games on a handheld?). I suppose you could use a
mobile device hooked up to a TV and a gamepad... but then you're
dedicating an entire device to the task, so why not get something that
actually works better? And frankly, almost any dedicated streaming
device -SteamLink or otherwise- would work better than using a phone
for the purpose (and be cheaper too).

   [In fact, I'm still not entirely sure that SteamLink can even
    be run outside of a local network. I don't think it could when
    I tried but its been years and years so it is possible I am
    misremembering or it has changed]

Still, the SteamLink App pretty much cannibalized what little demand
there was for the SteamLink hardware device; just Valve shooting
itself in the foot again.

The App though was still in support of their PC monopoly. It didn't
really give Valve any foothold in the immense mobile gaming arena.