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[Faust06]

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/03/03/1341203/valve-reportedly-working-on-steam-box-gaming-console

"This article at the Verge claims that Valve is currently working on a way to bring Steam to the living room with its own gaming console. Quoting: '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.'"

Imagine having all your Steam-purchased games available for this thing as well.

[dEnamed]

Imagine having all your Steam-purchased games available for this thing as well.

Been there, done that. One of my PCs is wired to the TV in the living room. Its pretty much a console already, with only the gamepad sticking out and a remote controlled power supply. In a way, this idea could work. The many configurations of the PC have always been an issue. But as it is right now, I really see no reason to switch. Not at all. And when my PC gets too old, chances are I'll just upgrade that one instead of buying one of those steamboxes.
Maybe it'll draw in some console gamers to the PC market, that could be nice.

[Faust06]

Been there, done that. One of my PCs is wired to the TV in the living room. Its pretty much a console already, with only the gamepad sticking out and a remote controlled power supply.

It's pretty common to have towers hooked to the big-screens now. But I don't agree with the age-old sentiment of pc elitists against consoles.

[s0]

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.

this is interesting because theyre marketing what is essentially yet another pre-built gaming pc as a "console." if it catches on and manages to become the "industry standard" in terms of required hardware specs for pc games, it could be a game changer (literally).

[dEnamed]

Been there, done that. One of my PCs is wired to the TV in the living room. Its pretty much a console already, with only the gamepad sticking out and a remote controlled power supply.

But I don't agree with the age-old sentiment of pc elitists against consoles.

And where exactly do you draw that assumption from my post?

[iffi]

Maybe it'll draw in some console gamers to the PC market, that could be nice.

I imagine that would be the main purpose of a Steam box. I bet most PC gamers who use Steam regularly already have a setup they're content with, whether or not that includes a PC connected to the TV. A Steam box has the potential of offering PC titles without the hassle of configuring a PC for gaming, which would be great for console gamers.

Such a system would need to support both gamepads and keyboard+mouse well, since gamepads are generally more convenient to use on a living room couch, but some Steam games just don't work well with gamepads.

[SirNiko]

This could pose a dilemma for traditional console gamers who will have to deal with the gradual rise of technical specs for games. I didn't use steam much (at all) prior to getting a fancy new graphix card that allowed me to play a bunch of games I previously couldn't handle.

If they can overcome that, though, it might pose an interesting threat to multiplat console titles. Why buy the game for the XBox when the steam version is 5-10 bucks less?

Games designed expressly for a mouse and keyboard setup may not fare as well, though. What's the point of a Steam Box if it just turns into a computer without access to graphic design software and such?

I'm used to using a desktop because it has non-game stuff on it too, so I wouldn't get this even though I would continue to buy a lot of steam titles.

I wonder how big the potential market for this could be.

[BlueSweatshirt]

I wouldn't be surprised. On multiple occasions Valve has expressed their frustrations at console makers inhibiting and limiting their efforts.

I'd like the Steam Box if it was just a fixed-spec PC geared appropriately to match the accessibility of consoles.(for both audiences and developers, of course) Wireless controllers, Wi-Fi, exchangeable memory, etc.

The Steam API could offer specific hooks to help games know if the game is running on a Steam Box.

Also I really don't see this as being for the guy who wants to play competitively, if it were to happen. The competitive guy wants the highest fps rate he can get and the lowest latency input/output devices. Maybe such a Steam Box could accommodate such things, but I have a feeling there will be a small divide between average steam box players and competitive game players in this respect.

If Valve made this I would buy it.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

sounds okay, but, consoles are basically pc's in a box already, so i don't see what the difference is except that it can run windows games

but getting one configuration which can run all (or even 90% of steam games) will be a problem, since pc's are so finicky. some games run on xp but not on vista, some run on vista but not on xp, some don't run on windows 7 but run on vista and xp, and that's just operating systems

[dEnamed]

True, it could be a problem for pre-existing games. But they could introduce some sort of "Valve Sign of Approval", which basically means they tested the game on that certain platform and it worked okay. In a way they already have this, if I try to buy a Windows XP only game, Steam tells me there's a pretty big chance it won't run properly on my PC.

Actually the more I think about it...
Either they're succesful, which could prove quite handy for developers. Or they fail horribly and lose some of their immense market power. Both options ain't that bad.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

another possible problem with it is that people don't have surfaces for keyboards and mice in their living room (and most steam games require keyboard and mouse)

in any case it'll be interesting to see if it works, but i don't think it'd change anything much either way. if it fails, nothing changes, if it succeeds, nothing changes (because consoles basically have ports of all the big pc games now anyway)

[Tuba]

Looks like they're creating a new, open standard for gaming PCs, so even if it fails, Valve shouldn't loose much money on this since they're not producing the hardware.

If this succeeds, it could be the first step towards the "one console future", ironically with a PC. Valve already made PC gaming easier through software with Steam, now it seems like they're trying to make the same with hardware.

The biggest problem here is the price, I don't see how a PC with an i7 CPU and a good GPU could be cheap.

[Tumetsu]

I wonder in what kind of environment the games would run in this box. I mean, many games require Windows spesific functions, frameworks etc. and dumping windows to the box kinda just makes it a full-fledged pc, adds costs and MS probably wouldn't like to support the possible competitor of Xbox.

[deathtotheweird]

Yeah it would have to use Windows, but I would assume it would be heavily modified. I would imagine a Steam-like front end with no access to the desktop or typical OS functions. Possibly to the point where you wouldn't know it runs on Windows software.

I don't think the Steam Box could be a direct competitor to the Xbox. And wouldn't Microsoft get a lot of money for letting them use Windows on the system?

[BlueSweatshirt]

Microsoft could be sued for anti-competitive tactics if they did not allow Valve to use Windows for a Steam Box.

Also, Tuba, bulk deals can reduce price. This is part of why consoles are cheaper.(in material cost at least)

Also II, Paul, many(as in most) games on Steam have gamepad options. Ironically, support is mainly for Xbox controllers though.

Also III, allen, I think it would be a shame if they restricted exposing the Windows side of things.  It would make the Steam Box a lot less appealing because it would remove all of the functionality you get with the OS being apparent. I think it would be potential-crippling because that would mean you'd only be able to play Steam games and do things via functionality Valve explicitly offers you.

[s0]

Yeah it would have to use Windows, but I would assume it would be heavily modified. I would imagine a Steam-like front end with no access to the desktop or typical OS functions. Possibly to the point where you wouldn't know it runs on Windows software.

Windows Embedded

[Tuba]

Also, Tuba, bulk deals can reduce price. This is part of why consoles are cheaper.(in material cost at least)

Consoles also usually have some cheaper custom CPUs and GPUs, not the same used on desktop computer. I wonder if Intel and nVidia are working on something special for this thing.

[D-TurboKiller]

Speaking of Steam Box, they seem to have found the patented controller, which was apparently filed in 2009.

Here is the actual patent. I haven't bothered to read it yet, but can already imagine it to be pretty interesting. If anything, I might finally be able to play with a gamepad that fits my play-style. Or so I hope.

[AshfordPride]

I could see myself buying this thing.  It certainly would mean I would never have to buy another console.  Right now I'm debating what platform to buy Rayman: Origins on.  If I had the Steam Box, I don't think I'd have this problem.  I think what they're trying to do with this is boost how committed gamers are to their PC, specifically through Steam.

[iffi]

The main reason I consider consoles at all is because of their exclusives (mostly Dark/Demon's Souls), so I personally wouldn't be interested in a Steam box. As I've said before, though, I can see plenty of others being interested, especially if they don't commit a major screwup.