Android emulator

[Riccardo]

All right, I know this is science fiction, but I think it could be really cool to buy AND play android games through Steam, on a Desktop PC and/or a Windows 10 tablet (and Android tablets/smartphones too, of course).

Buy once and play anywhere would be the real deal. An Android App Player embedded into the Steam client would be awesome.

I'm tired to wait for UWP apps and games that never comes out and I think Steam could fill the gap between the Google Play Store and the Windows Store.


All right, I said it. Now everyone will tell this is the dumbest idea ever, but what the heck, I like it.

[The End]

Originally posted by Riccardo:

Android emulator.
All right, I know this is science fiction, but I think it could be really cool to buy AND play android games through Steam, on a Desktop PC and/or a Windows 10 tablet (and Android tablets/smartphones too, of course).

No, there is no need to cramp an Android emulator into the steam-client, get one, install it on your computer, with that, only those who is interested in it will have it installed.

I for one, would hate to have something like that preloaded every time I start Steam, I do not use or care for Android apps.

[HLCinSC]

The Android on PC part is possible but unlikely.

The part about steam selling mobile apps/games adds some increased resistance. It's possible, but it is a challenge. Apple, Microsoft, and Google would not like it either. Currently Apple, Google, and Microsoft get 30% of games sold on their app store just like Steam gets 30% of games sales on Steam. Apple, Google, and Microsoft obviously want games sold through their store and not Steam's so they would likely block a Steam app where you could buy mobile games. For Google's Android, Steam could make a store app that has to be manually installed like the Amazon App store when google banned it for selling apps/games. For iOS and Windows mobile, you would have to jailbreak the device.

Even just distributing mobile versions of games you already own like say The Walking Dead has issues. Developing mobile versions takes time, money, and resources. Game developers would be afraid that people would expect mobile versions for free like how Steam Play allows you to get the Windows, OSX, and Linux version of any game you buy.

[Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism]

Why would you need to have it in Steam?
There's already plenty of Android virtual machines you can run.

I guess I could be interested in an Android/x86 OS with Steam rather than Ubuntu but whatever.

[Riccardo]

I know I can use a stand alone android emulator, but I was thinking more of a sort of SteamOS, you know, a ready-to-use enviroment that would have a logic if Valve would sell android apps, too.

As I said, I was enthusiast at the idea of having the same app/game purchased once on Desktop and playable everywhere with Windows 10 and the UWP, but time passed, no one wants to develop UWP apps and it's clear developers don't want this marriage between Desktop and mobile to be done. Microsoft itself let its mobile division die slowly and will focus on emulating x86 apps on mobile device instead of encourage the developers to write UWP apps anymore.

Many users already have an android emulator installed on their pc (as you also said), so - fighting all the resistences pointed out by CharlestONE - maybe ther's a market Valve could try to conquer, achieving what Microsoft failed to do with Windows 10.

Besides, Valve and Microsoft already hates each other, so...

[Riccardo]

WINE is rumored to be landing on android http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Wine-2.0-And-More-WWN

I think users wants the freedom of use their purchased apps and games whenever and wherever they are, no matter which device or O.S. they're at the moment. Cloud gaming it's not an option worldwide and certainly not when you must rely on mobile connections and fees.

Convergence is the word: PC must embrace Mobile and viceversa.

[Riccardo]

Just to let you know, Windows 10 is going to run on ARM device anytime soon

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-announces-windows-10-arm


This means mobile apps and games are going to invade WIndows 10, on Desktop and cheap chinese tablet and smartphones as well, with or without Steam. Valve should really take this chance to be a trait d'union between the two worlds and reconisder its strategies about mobile market.