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  1. #1
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    Steam Machine | Steam Link | Lighthouse | Source Engine 2

    Source can be found here.

    Spoiler: show

    Recently there's been chatter that Valve — the company behind the massively popular gaming service Steam — has been considering getting into the hardware business. Specifically, there have been rumors that the company has been toying with the idea of creating a proper set-top console which could potentially pose a threat to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell even recently told Penny Arcade: "Well, if we have to sell hardware we will."

    At a glance that would simply be interesting fodder for a gaming forum debate, but we've uncovered information that suggests that not only has Valve been secretly working on gaming hardware for the living room, but that the company is actively pursuing a strategy which would place Steam at the center of an open gaming universe that mirrors what Google has done with Android. Backing up that concept, in the same interview we quote above, Newell says that Valve doesn't really want to do hardware on its own, stating, "We'd rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do [hardware]. We think it's important enough that if that's what we end up having to do, then that's what we end up having to do."

    That jibes pretty well with this rumored arrangement.

    According to sources, the company has been working on a hardware spec and associated software which would make up the backbone of a "Steam Box." The actual devices may be made by a variety of partners, and the software would be readily available to any company that wants to get in the game.

    Adding fuel to that fire is a rumor that the Alienware X51 may have been designed with an early spec of the system in mind, and will be retroactively upgradable to the software.

    Apparently meetings were held during CES to demo a hand-built version of the device to potential partners. We're told that the basic specs of the Steam Box include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GPU. The devices will be able to run any standard PC titles, and will also allow for rival gaming services (like EA's Origin) to be loaded up.

    Part of the goal of establishing a baseline for hardware, we're told, is that it will give developers a clear lifecycle for their products, with changes possibly coming every three to four years. Additionally, there won't be a required devkit, and there will be no licensing fees to create software for the platform.

    We're hearing that a wide variety of USB peripherals will be compatible with the boxes, though it will likely ship with a proprietary controller. It's possible that the controller will even allow for swappable components, meaning that it can be reconfigured depending on the type of game you're playing. Think that sounds odd? Well Valve filed a patent for such a device last year.

    Additionally, we're told that the kind of biometrics Valve uses in game testing will somehow be incorporated into these devices. Sources of ours say that the realtime biometric feedback in games will be a sea-change for users. To put it more succinctly, the sentiment we've heard is: "You won't ever look back." These biometric devices could come in the form of a bracelet, or be part of the standard controller.

    The consoles will also take advantage of Steam's "Big Picture" mode, a feature Valve touted last year at GDC, but has yet to release to the public. According to the company's press release in 2011 "With big picture mode, gaming opportunities for Steam partners and customers become possible via PCs and Macs on any TV or computer display in the house."

    The most interesting piece of this puzzle may be related to that statement. According to sources, the Steam Box isn't intended to just clash with current gaming consoles. Rather, Valve wants to take Apple and its forthcoming new Apple TV products head-on. Newell has clear questions about Apple's strategy, telling the The Seattle Times "On the platform side, it's sort of ominous that the world seems to be moving away from open platforms," adding that "They build a shiny sparkling thing that attracts users and then they control people's access to those things."

    The Steam Box could be unveiled at GDC, though we're also hearing that the company may wait until E3 this year to show off what it's been working on.

    One thing is for sure, however: if these rumors turn out to be correct, there could be a whole new kind of battle for control of your living room happening in the near future. Of course, much of this is pieced together from a variety of sources, and there could be moving parts which we can't see. Some of this information could change.

    We've reached out to Valve for comment, and will update the post with any new information we receive.


    I guess Half-life 3 would make a perfect launch title. Steam Box exclusive of course!

  2. #2
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    Lol PC gamers! Where is your god now?

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    Yeah except the console is actually a PC. DUH. Gaben would never abandon the master race.

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    I can't see this thing not running Windows.

    I'm just expecting it to be a line of mass-produced gaming rigs that fall under some specifications Valve underlines to make them more friendly to use in the living room (which is why Steam is getting that new 10' interface ....sometime), and hopefully produced to the point where it'd be cheaper to just pick one of those up than it would be to build one yourself of similar specs.

    Idea seems nice though. Set a base level for what developers should be considering the 'average rig' for the following 3-4 years. Removes part of the frustration developers have with the hundreds of configurations gaming PCs these days have that they can't possibly all test.

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    From what I gather, they're talking about a standardized gaming PC/media hub device, not really a 'console' per say. Valve would have nothing to gain from making their games exclusive for it, they would lose far, far more from potential software sales than they could ever hope to make back selling this hardware.

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    I imagine something like the X51 that alienware made.

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    I highly doubt this will turn into anything more than a PC in everything-but-name thing, hopefully tapping into the console gamer market

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    Seems like a good idea to get more console players to use steam. Make it look act talk like and walk like a console, but really its just a small pc with a 6xxx series card in it that wirelessly streams cloud data back and fourth from your steam account. Same thing as running a cable from your computer to a TV, just market it as a console to attract more users.

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    I guess this could work really well as long as it isn't FIVE HUNDRED NINETY NINE YOU ESS DOLLARS on launch or something and they market the games and steam integration. Alienware did something like this earlier but I have no idea how well its doing since its never mentioned.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boyiee View Post
    Seems like a good idea to get more console players to use steam. Make it look act talk like and walk like a console, but really its just a small pc with a 6xxx series card in it that wirelessly streams cloud data back and fourth from your steam account. Same thing as running a cable from your computer to a TV, just market it as a console to attract more users.
    It's not just that, if it's a standardized system, everything will be well optimized for it, and you can avoid a lot of potential bullshit. It will likely be much cheaper than building a pc that would give you a similar gaming performance as well. I would consider buying one over a new desktop if the performance/price was right.

    If this does catch on, it could mean less 'console' exclusives, which is always a good thing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kaisha View Post
    Idea seems nice though. Set a base level for what developers should be considering the 'average rig' for the following 3-4 years. Removes part of the frustration developers have with the hundreds of configurations gaming PCs these days have that they can't possibly all test.
    ^

    And if they make it so it's a normal PC on the inside, it's still upgradeable. When the next 'generation' rolls around, you'll only have to switch out the CPU and GPU, and maybe the motherboard every once and a while. Cheaper than a whole new console.
    Hell, they could even sell the first whole package with moderate hardware at pricepoint X, then when the upgrade rolls around, shoot for a price lower than X, but with a higher tier of hardware.

    And, for the people who love to be on the bleeding edge you could still stick in better hardware whenever you want, all this does is set a minimum, the maximum is still in your and studio hands. And if it can kill the development and production of shitty GeForce 510-545 cards, all the better.

    If they can leverage bulk prices to put out a serious machine at a good discount, and get it in at retail...
    Imagine, a dell that doesn't suck!

    I'd get one if I had the cash at the time.

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    The issue here is that it couldn't be running windows. The licensing on the box alone would cost too much to adequately make a profit and MS would not realistically license its OS to run on a "competing console".

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    It needs to have Windows. The thing will be dead in water if games have to be built specifically for it.

    Windows 8 with a modified metro start screen would seem ideal for this box. Have all your main needs on an easy-to-access screen, as well as Steam sitting there.

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    It'll run Mac OSX or whatever and it'll be apples way to dip itself into console gaming.

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    I guess Half-life 3 would make a perfect launch title. Steam Box exclusive of course!
    Did you not even bother to read the article before posting it?

    Or was that a joke, without the funny part?

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    Valve planning galactic domination?


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    http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/109...Steam-Box-quot

    Thank you outerspace dumb fuck, kindly find your nearest plastic bag and put it over your head.

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    It's not that hard to scroll down.

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    Over on Kotaku this weekend, an interview with Gabe Newell offered up clues about what kinds of hardware might be forthcoming from fan-favorite game company, Valve. According to Newell, the reaction to “Big Picture Mode,” the TV-friendly UI in the company’s Steam PC game platform, has been “stronger than expected.” As such, Newell explained that Valve is working on living-room-centric PC hardware that will offer up competition in the same market as video game consoles:

    I think in general that most customers and most developers are gonna find that [the PC is] a better environment for them. ‘Cause they won’t have to split the world into thinking about ‘why are my friends in the living room, why are my video sources in the living room different from everyone else?’ So in a sense we hopefully are gonna unify those environments.

    “Well certainly our hardware will be a very controlled environment. If you want more flexibility, you can always buy a more general purpose PC. For people who want a more turnkey solution, that’s what some people are really gonna want for their living room.
    It’s an interesting idea, TV-optimized PCs. When video game consoles first started coming home in the 1980s, they were often billed as computers—like the Japanese version of the NES, the “Family Computer,” or Famicon. The Famicon even had a dial-up modem built-in. It didn’t take long, though, for computers and game consoles to diverge greatly, culminating in the split we have today.

    But consoles are “everything boxes” now. Microsoft’s been crowing about how the Xbox 360 can browse the web and deliver all kinds of online content, not to mention its various video and music-playing options. And considering the fact that most people’s computers are glorified typewriters that they also use to shop and watch television, the line between consoles and PCs is blurrier than ever before. So it’s an interesting question: is a less expensive, TV optimized PC rig the way to go? Will people like moving their computing to the television?
    http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...with-consoles/
    http://kotaku.com/5966860/gabe-newel...t+gen-consoles

    From the comments on the article, this seems to be the best summary.

    Apple took a chance in trying to sell sand on a desert. When they made the iPhone, there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands different types of mobile phones on the market, but what Apple did was make everything work seamlessly on one single device, which then became the master pattern for every single smartphone on the market to this day.

    And now Valve is trying to do a similar idea, were we already have thousands of different computer specs and models and brands for an infinity of different users, but they are going to take a chance at one model aimed at everyone, obviously with a friendly user interface, so grandmas to grandkids can enjoy and if it works, also became that which other companies will strive to achieve.

    Dislike Apple for being “mainstream” or because you don’t like their products all you want, what they did with the iphone was genius level marketing and development, the company went from being an obscure alternative to personal computers to a worldwide phenomenon in less than 4 years.

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    Valve and a company named Xi3 Corporation are teaming up to release a “Computer Game System,” (not the final name, obviously) which they announced today.

    What’s the Xi3 Computer Game System? The easiest way to describe it is to call it the “Steambox” that everyone has been expecting for some time now. It’s a gaming platform optimized to support Steam and its Big Picture mode interface for “residential and LAN party computer gaming on larger high-def screens.”

    As part of the collaboration, the two companies have also announced an investment in Xi3 Corporation from Valve, although the particulars of this investment have not been shared.

    “Today marks the beginning of a new era for Xi3,” said Jason A. Sullivan, founder, President and CEO of Xi3. “This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience. As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand.”

    No further details about the Xi3 and Valve’s Computer Game System have been announced yet, other than that it will be housed in Xi3’s grapefruit-size Xi3 Modular Computer chassis. The device is currently in the development stages.
    http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/07...3-corporation/

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