3. Steam Machines Are On the Way
If you haven't been following the somewhat confusing slew of news coming out of Valve Corporation lately, here's a brief summary: Steam Machines are self-contained gaming PC's specifically made for the living room. They will not be produced by Valve, but rather by third party manufacturers, and will come in a variety of models bearing different hardware specs and price points. They will be running a Linux-based operating system known as Steam OS, which will eventually be free to download and use not only on Steam Machines, but on regular gaming PC's as well. And finally, Steam Machines will utilize a new type of controller built to serve the same functions as a mouse/ keyboard as well as a regular gamepad. The Steam Machine is a very bold initiative by Valve. It is also one that has the potential to be wildly successful, as well as a very attractive option for console gamers if it is done correctly. Two early benefits of going the Steam Machine route stand out: the ability to bring the power, openness, and flexibility of PC gaming into the living room with the simplicity of a console, and giving non-PC gamers access to the many benefits of the Steam ecosystem. The Steam Machine's plug-and-play model should appeal to gamers who are either intimidated or turned off by the amount of tinkering and maintenance that can sometimes arise with PC gaming. And with third party manufacturers producing a wide variety of Steam Machines, there is hope that there should be a make and model to fit any budget. For core gamers, however, the two features that the Steam Machine looks to usher in that should have us the most excited are the Steam Controller and the Steam OS. The controller (pictured above) is truly unlike anything that's come before, and has the potential to be the most groundbreaking controller the industry has seen since the Nintendo 64. Sporting sixteen buttons, a high-resolution touchscreen, and its most predominant feature, the two clickable trackpads featuring haptic feedback, the Steam Controller looks to replace both traditional PC gamepads, and most importantly, the long-used keyboard & mouse functionality, across all genres of PC games. Early reports from the few who have gotten some hands-on time with the controller have been positive, but it remains to be seen how the controller will fare under the harshest tests. Will a gamer be able to go from an intense session of Super Meat Boy straight into a match of Starcraft 2 without skipping a beat? Time will tell, but the potential is there. With Steam OS, Valve looks to offer Steam Machine users, as well as PC gamers, a bare-bones, free-to-download & use computer operating system built from the ground up for gaming. Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve and director of game development, has been vocally opposed to the choke hold Microsoft Windows has held on PC gaming for a long time now, and Steam OS aims to be the solution to that problem. If Steam OS can successfully operate as competent, daily use PC operating system while not being as resource-hogging as Windows is, Steam OS could very well be the way of the future for PC gaming. All Steam Machines will be running Steam OS, and will be leading the charge of what may be the biggest challenge to Microsoft Windows that the PC industry has ever seen. The possibilities are huge. The goal of the the Steam Machine is to be a convenient, flexible, and easy-to-use device designed to bring all the benefits of PC gaming and Steam into the living room. If all goes as planned for Valve, it could be a game-changer in the gaming landscape. We should start to get more information on Steam Machines over the coming year, including price points, features, and feedback from beta testers. It is something that is well worth keeping an eye on, especially in these early days of next gen gaming. Microsoft and Sony could have some serious competition on their hands in 2014.