Jump to content
Awoo.

Rumor: Valve working on "Steam Box" PC/Console


Candescence

Recommended Posts

If it's a PC, well fine I guess, I won't need it because my current one works fine. If it's an add-on, it might crash and burn terribly, or it might end up like the Kinect: Successful but terrible and useless, impossible to tell without more details.

If it's a console, well it's either going to have nothing going for it exclusives wise, or a lot of PC elitist Valve fans are going to be pissed about not being to play HL3 without forking over the cash. I can't really see them doing this, though.

Considering I'm not a huge fan of any of Valve's current IP, whatever they do doesn't really affect me in any way. So basically: Meh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Valve isn't making a console, and if they were then they would have huge competition from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

If they're working on hardware, I'm gonna randomly guess for a graphics card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I thought, it appears to be an extension of PC hardware rather than a console. It's an interesting idea, and would be cool if they could actually pull it off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that's...different. Can't help but wonder if this will go the way of the 3DS. That is, cool and neat at first, but nothing necessarily fantastic shortly after.

But hey, it's Valve. If they're going out of their way to do something like this it's gotta be pretty impressive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would certainly pay for a device that lets me play my first person games with the illusion of a 360 view beamed straight into my eyes rather than being contained within a rectangle in front of me.

Though I do wonder how, if it did totally encapsulate you for an isolated, deep gaming experience, how they would deal with the concept that your attention would be impossible to attract visually.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could have sworn there was a general Steam thread here but the Search function didn't turn up any results and I didn't think it would be past the 2nd page. Anyways, the Big Picture beta is out for PC users, just as a heads-up. Mac Beta is coming soon, apparently.

EDIT: Also, Big Picture mode is good news for SEGA PC enthusiasts judging by this quote.

"Sega's roots are in living-room gaming."... "For the first time since the advent of PC games decades ago, gamers are finally going to have access to the kind of entertainment experience we've always wished they could have with our PC titles - one that's incredibly social, comfortable, and accessible. We're excited about the opportunity, and Big Picture has inspired us to bring even more of our titles to Steam in the future."

-John Clark, Vice President of Digital Distribution at Sega

Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Steam-Hits-50-Million-Users-Unveils-Big-Picture-Mode-46733.html

Edited by Mykonos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since there doesn't seem to be a general Valve thread I'll just post this here.

According to a report published today in the New York Times, Electronic Arts offered more than a billion dollars in an attempted buyout of Valve, but was ultimately turned down by the PC gaming company.

The sources asked to remain nameless, but both confirmed that EA had made a billion dollar pass at the Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead and Steam creator. Valve figurehead Gabe Newell was quoted as saying he'd rather let the company disintegrate over time than sell out to a mega corporation.

“It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, 'Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate'.”

There is no word on when this attempted buyout may have taken place, but Valve is apparently currently valued at $2.5 billion. Which seems to indicate this was an event that took place some time ago before Steam became such a runaway success. It's possible (though entirely speculation) that EA sought to buyout the market leader in PC digital distribution before developing their own solution, Origin.

http://www.gamesradar.com/ea-wanted-pay-over-1-billion-valve-says-report/

ha50109880.gif

Good on ya Valve.

  • Thumbs Up 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Valve all the more now. To turn down EA (who's digital distribution sucks) took balls. They can see that I'm still a loyal consumer of theirs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

SUPER BUMP

Well well well, looks like something good finally came out of the VGA's, even if said thing has nothing to do with them really.

Valve has stayed mostly quiet about its plans to enter the hardware business, but in an interview with Kotaku at last night's Video Game Awards, Gabe Newell confirmed the company's plans to sell its own living room PC that could compete with next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. The biggest revelation is that Valve seems set to release its own complete hardware and software solution. When we first reported that the company was working on a "Steam Box" back in March, it appeared that Valve was working on a prototype that would establish a baseline for hardware manufacturers, but it wasn't clear if the company would sell its own product or simply release the designs to others. Newell's comments to Kotaku provide a much clearer picture of what's happening; Newell said that he expects companies to start selling PCs designed for the living room next year — which Kotaku says could have Steam preloaded — and that Valve will create its own distinct package.

Newell suggests that the company will create its own carefully managed PC ecosystem that's distinct from the one offered by other hardware partners — a possibility that our own Sean Hollister exposed after looking at the company's comments and actions in recent years, including its aversion to Windows 8, its recent embrace of Linux, and its existing push into the living room with Steam's Big Picture Mode. Newell tells Kotaku that "our hardware will be a very controlled environment," and that some people will want a "turnkey" solution for their living room. "The nice thing about a PC is a lot of different people can try out different solutions," he said. "Customers can find the ones that work best for them."

As a digital distribution platform, Steam is wildly successful, with more than five million concurrent users on any given day and over 50 million users in total (by comparison, Xbox Live has more than 40 million users). But Valve doesn't reap any income from the sale of hardware that runs its platform or the software it hosts, and the company doesn't control Windows, which is the most popular platform among computers running Steam.

Newell stopped short of saying that the company was building a Linux-based Steam OS, but he reportedly said that the next step for the company's living room operation is to enable Big Picture on Steam for Linux. From there, the timeline is still pretty murky — we only know that Newell expects some hardware to show up sometime next year — but Valve's intent to compete in the living room in a big way is no longer a secret.

Gabe Newell says Valve will release its own console-like PC for the living room | The Verge

Edited by Stab stab stab!
  • Thumbs Up 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

That is one damn SEXY little piece of kit there.  If this is affordable and has good performance I might get one over a new computer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still think they should have gone with the GabeCube instead. Oh well.

 

Seeing as this is more or the less the next foray into nextgen gaming, the question arises: would you rather have a Wii or get Piston?

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At CES today Valve announced their 'console.' It's called 'Piston' and it's basically a set top box that allows users to play PC games on their TV.

 

Xi3-Piston.jpg

 

It has 4 USB 2.0 ports. 4 USB 3.0 ports and about a million other ports and connections. More pictures and details can be found here.

Piston AAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! I get it! XD

 

Anyways, sounds a bit like their Big Picture idea, but in a "console" form. But it's still only a prototype, right? :s

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd love to get this, especially if I can just have all of my installed games on it rather than on my computer. Worries about space constraints and all, I usually can't more than a few games at a time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So it's basically the Xi3 7A that I've had my eye on for the last day or so. If it is priced similar to the 7A it should do more than simply Steam.

 

The article also says that it is one of many prototypes, so the 7A model might not be the one we see on store shelves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.