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Valve's 'Steam Box' Console Is Real, Says Gabe Newell

Posted by Soulskill on from the come-out-right-after-half-life-3 dept.

symbolset writes "The Verge is reporting that the Steam Console we discussed in November is a real thing. Gabe Newell said it will be a locked down platform for the living room. The source is a Kotaku interview with Newell at the Video Game Awards. Newell said, '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. The nice thing about a PC is a lot of different people can try out different solutions, and customers can find the ones that work best for them.'"

3 of 298 comments (clear)

  1. What I'd like to see... by crafty.munchkin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    is Steam Big Picture as a desktop environment for ubuntu, or something along those lines - a linux OS which boots up into Steam. So you can build your own steam console with the hardware you want (and is fully upgradeable when new tech comes out) and ready to rock as soon as the OS is installed.

    --
    ... wait, what?
  2. Microsoft's Biggest Mistake by GeneralTurgidson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Arguably, Valve probably wouldn't be pushing full "steam" ahead on this if Microsoft hadn't dreamt up a Windows Store. This is in my opinion a real game changer for the PC ecosystem and the future of Windows.

  3. You do know those numbers arn't comparable. by tuppe666 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    70 million xbox sold, 5.6 million simulatenous users on steam tonight(presumably more total)

    Yup, microsoft wouldn't even notice.

    A more comparable figures would be Steam is 54 million active user accounts [concurrent peak users did peak at 6 million]. The numbers seem surprisingly close to seriously threaten Microsofts console gaming platform with Steam Cross-Multi-Platform

    As for Microsoft not even noticing, they would be incredibly foolish not to, Microsoft has very little benefit over other platforms right now, even installations will be overtaken by android as soon as next year. Its gaming...and its control of the Graphics API lock-in are essential to if remaining relevant to the consumer market, which is being increasingly challenged.

    Microsoft ALWAYS notice the competition they will be out with their chequebooks and lawyers banking on steams door.