Hm. I didn't know Sony used that... as for the amd variant cpus I didn't know that either.. it will make a LOT of games easier. The biggest problem of course though is the framework for calls etc. Remember, SteamOS is going to be an operating system, it can't let you get deep down at the hardware like some systems can as it were.. meaning you're looking more at some way to get in. 'Open $thing' is a good bet, if the ps4 uses that or something very close it'll be a really easy prospect to swap your code over.
That.. actually changes the playing field a bit. Instead of having a number of consoles to port PLUS PC, now you';re making it 'if you have a ps4 port, it's easy to make a steamOS one'. For a given value of 'easy'.
Of course now they'll still be going against the Microsoft juggernaut, and Microsoft while apparently abandoning PCs is NOT going to go down without a fight. It's already known they're quite happy to play illegal and dirty if it means keeping a market share, as the courts only do slaps on the wrist compared to their revenues. They can even mark it in the operating budget as 'future court/settlement costs'. I won't mind though.. while competition on computers can be bad with requiring a lot of standards, if we can move to a non-propiretory open standard for interfaces, then ANY computer can run it, regardless of what the OS is. They're not making an OS, they're making a model to change game design to open standards, so it'll run on any computer that runs Steam, and the Steambox too.
Ok, if they pull this off, I will admit I was wrong at first about the hassles.. I kind of hope they pull it off now, because it's about time things shook up in the computer world.
