Logically, the absolute "selling point" for SteamOS will be the exclusive games that are bound to be released in due time. The new, prototypical engine could ditch DirectX altogether, if Valve's system catches on enough by the time first games are released. Money might not be an issue for Valve, but if they want people to use their upcoming system they're going to have to develop games that aren't available anywhere else. The most obvious (and boring) example would be Half Life 3 - and trust me that people would install and use SteamOS for that game. However, that isn't going to happen anytime soon, and I'm hoping for a new, perspective IP to be thrown our way. Valve could, of course, put pressure on the developers to craft a Steam-only game not available on other operating systems, but they've already said that it's going to be the devs choice whether to do so. The very first exclusives are sure to be made by the overlords of Steam themselves. In the end, Valve has virtually nothing to lose should SteamOS end up as a failure. Since the system is going to be free and other companies are building Steam Machines, the only thing Gabe Newell has to worry about are the interesting game controllers his people are seemingly crazy about. Time will tell what becomes of this innovation, but since this is Valve we're talking about, I'll remain optimistic. What additional features do you think SteamOS will need to compete with Microsoft's colossus? Leave comments below!
