Valve Hiring For Help With Hardware

[Andy Chalk]

Valve Hiring For Help With Hardware

Valve may have some kind of secret hardware plan up its sleeve after all.

Back in March, job posting [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116240-Valve-Denies-Steam-Box-Console-Rumors] for an electrical engineer suggests that there might be something going on behind the scenes after all.

"For years, Valve has been all about writing software that provides great gameplay experiences. Now we're developing hardware to enhance those experiences, and you can be a key part of making that happen," it says. "Join our highly motivated team that's doing hardware design, prototyping, testing, and production across a wide range of platforms. We're not talking about me-too mice and gamepads here - help us invent whole new gaming experiences."

Boom! Valve console, right? Well, no. You're not necessarily building a car just because you need to hire a mechanic and in fact, Doug Lombardi's original denial of a Valve console still holds water. "We're prepping the Steam Big Picture Mode UI and getting ready to ship that, so we're building boxes to test that on," he said at the time. "We're also doing a bunch of different experiments with biometric feedback and stuff like that, which we've talked about a fair amount."

Which doesn't mean that Valve doesn't have something very cool in the works, but a full-blown, brand-new console? My dubiosity remains.

via: Engadget [http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/valve-job-posting-reveals-plans-for-homegrown-hardware-promises/]


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[Worgen]

I don't think they would make a console, they might be working on a specialty pc kind of thing though.

 

[Fappy]

I don't think they would make a console, they might be working on a specialty pc kind of thing though.

Yeah I think its more in line with this... which would still be pretty sweet.

 

[Something Amyss]

I don't think they would make a console, they might be working on a specialty pc kind of thing though.

Doesn't matter. In three hours, this will be blown into "Gabe Newell personally promises new Steam console by end of year."

How's about a full-blown, brand-new PC?

It'll be just like the competition, but fans will scream and cry foul at anything else!

Wait, I think we already have that in the computer market. It's called a Mac.

 

[Wharep]

I could see them make a PC, which could then be the "standard" game PC. A PC that is mass produced and live up to the requirements of a modern day gaming PC, that every game on Steam can run on.
They could then work on new generations (say every 2 or 3 years) and games could get a "tag" saying what version they'll run on while also guaranteeing full compatibility with older versions.

Given it's Valve it'll probably just have windows (maybe slightly costumized), so that their costumers can use it like they use any other PC.
It should also feature good support for TV connections and console controllers.

 

[Albino Boo]

I could see them make a PC, which could then be the "standard" game PC. A PC that is mass produced and live up to the requirements of a modern day gaming PC, that every game on Steam can run on.
They could then work on new generations (say every 2 or 3 years) and games could get a "tag" saying what version they'll run on while also guaranteeing full compatibility with older versions.

Given it's Valve it'll probably just have windows (maybe slightly costumized), so that their costumers can use it like they use any other PC.
It should also feature good support for TV connections and console controllers.

Ever heard of Alienware? Valve cant go toe to toe with Dell, its isn't big enough. Dell is at least 10 times the size of Valve and already has in place world wide distribution system where as valve uses EA to to put boxes on shelves.

 

[Waaghpowa]

They're trolling, move along, nothing to see here.

 

[GonzoGamer]

It sounds more like they're going to try and re-invent the controls.
It makes sense, since many of us hook our pcs up to the tv now and not just for games.

 

[Vault Citizen]

It would be cool if it were a new console, mainly because I think that it would be interesting to see another company enter the console wars.

 

[Worgen]

Gah, I almost forgot, nintendo said they would let publishers or devs or whatever, do things with the online component of the WiiU, maybe valve is gearing up to make steam for it.

 

[XMark]

Consoles are getting more PC-like, and the graphic/sound infrastructure for PCs is getting more standardized like consoles.

It's a good time for something that's halfway between a console and a PC to come out, I think.

 

[Zero Serenity]

What about that Razer Hydra device? Could this be Valve comming out with specialized controllers instead? Or how about this quote: "across a wide range of platforms. We're not talking about me-too mice and gamepads here - help us invent whole new gaming experiences."

Valve console? No. Valve Controllers ala something more virtual reality thing? Sure.

 

[grigjd3]

This sounds to me like Valve is wanting to explore the methods of interaction with the game - whether by controls or visuals. I wouldn't read too much into it.

 

[ResonanceGames]

What about that Razer Hydra device? Could this be Valve comming out with specialized controllers instead? Or how about this quote: "across a wide range of platforms. We're not talking about me-too mice and gamepads here - help us invent whole new gaming experiences."

Valve console? No. Valve Controllers ala something more virtual reality thing? Sure.

Agreed. I'm sure this is about their biometrics peripherals they've been talking about. They even said that they would release them themselves if they had to...looks like they had to.

I'm excited to see some of that stuff in action, they're pretty confident that they're on to something with it.

 

[songnar]

I'm stealing that word.

Dubiosity.

It is mine now.

 

[Limecake]

I don't think that valve designing a 'steam box' is so far-fetched. Rumors keep popping up that the next-gen consoles will work on a system similar to digital distribution.

So who better than the company who has had the digital distribution world on lockdown for the past decade?

it could also be why they refuse to talk about HL3, they might announce it as a launch title for their new console.

at least that's my guess anyway.

 

[Beryl77]

Like many said, I doubt that it's a new console. A new gamepad with biofeedback on the other hand seems much more likely.

 

[RipRoaringWaterfowl]

The age of the SteamBox is upon us! I'm so giddy!

...

You know, we should have a rumours thread for this thing!

 

[Hazy992]

If they do this, and they make it cheap enough I'll definitely just buy this instead of a Gen 8 console. Unless this doesn't allow mods (the main reason I want a gaming rig) in which case I'll just save up and get a PC.