Valve Plans Living-Room Gaming PCs for 2013

[Andy Chalk]

Valve Plans Living-Room Gaming PCs for 2013

Valve boss Gabe Newell confirmed plans for a "turnkey solution" that will bring Steam to the living room with no fuss and no muss.

It sounds like the last week [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116240-Valve-Denies-Steam-Box-Console-Rumors] and at the Spike Video Game Awards on Friday, Newell said a few words about Valve's expectations for more consumer-friendly, plug-and-play gaming PCs.

Valve expects that hardware builders will begin offering such purpose-built systems next year as a way to go head-to-head with traditional gaming consoles, and Newell said that Valve will be getting into that business as well. But as lock-down systems, these living-room boxes won't offer the flexibility of conventional PCs.

"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," he tolk Kotaku. "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."

Newell also said that Valve is now focused on getting the Linux version of Steam out of beta and bringing Big Picture to that OS. The studio is also hard at work on its next-generation game engine, which it will likely use to not make Half-Life 3.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5966860/gabe-newell-living-room-pcs-will-compete-with-next+gen-consoles]


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[NotSoNimble]

Make it less than or around $300, give it all the exclusives consoles get, and let it play new AAA games 8 years from now, and I might be interested.

lol

We know that won't happen.

 

[Irridium]

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market. It'll also be interesting to see a console from someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. Sony's bungling along, Microsoft seems to be getting less and less interested in games and more interested in ads, and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Also a bit odd to see Valve releasing a closed system, since they've always been on about how closed systems sucks. Specifically about Microsoft's Windows 8 and Xbox Live, and Apple. But I guess it makes sense Valve would be fine with it when Valve's in control.

 

[DustyDrB]

A Valve console? All right. I welcome the competition to the market, if nothing else. That'll force Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to get their shit together with their online services (though PS Plus is pretty awesome these days, I must admit).

Hell, if the cost is right, I'd probably get one. I'd like to have a PC hooked up to my TV that isn't so big and loud.

 

[4RM3D]

The studio is also hard at work on its next-generation game engine, which it will likely use to not make Half-Life 3

Hehe

As for the rest... When Steam announced Big Picture, the first thing that popped in my mind was "Steambox".

 

[Fappy]

It's hard not to think this may be the future of consoles in all honesty. The closer they get to PCs the less necessary they become.

 

[gardian06]

Oh look a story about Valve...

Better throw in a mention that we have not heard a word about Half-Life 3 in years.

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market. It'll also be interesting to see a console from someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. Sony's bungling along, Microsoft seems to be getting less and less interested in games and more interested in ads, and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Also a bit odd to see Valve releasing a closed system, since they've always been on about how closed systems sucks. Specifically about Microsoft's Windows 8 and Xbox Live, and Apple. But I guess it makes sense Valve would be fine with it when Valve's in control.

SOOOOOO full of controdictions it hurts my braaaaan.

OT: wouldn't this lead to even further saturation of an already saturated market? I mean it was considered highly saturated when Microsoft Jumped in, and said "you can play games on a TV"

 

[Saregon]

Well, I'd be interested in this for sure, I mean, all 3 established companies do some bad things now and then, some more than others, and I've found Valve to be the closest to my ideal, so I'd seriously consider it. Don't know if I would get it, since I already play games both on my monitor, and hooked up to my TV, so we'll see. Also, if they got around to not not make Half-Life 3, I'd jump on that as well.

 

[Formica Archonis]

I remember the elder days, when the teller of tales and legends Tolk Kotaku journeyed to see Gaben, Master of Small Numbers.


(In other words: Typo: "tolk Kotaku".)

 

[fix-the-spade]

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market... and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Nintendo always know exactly what they're doing (even when they get it wrong, they know what they're doing). The trouble is, to the rest of us it can come off as inscrutable meandering.

I think Valve will be fine as far as breaking into the console market goes, all they have to do is list the number of games available on Steam (and that they're cheaper than other systems to buy, usually). The sheer crushing weight of having entire series back catalogs available right now, with free online play and very little in the way of publisher enforced 'support' ought to give them a big run in the advertising stakes.

As long as they take a pragmatic approach to the hardware and don't price it over four hundred dollars it's hard to see where they can go too wrong. Although filling the system with advertori-junk Xbox Live style would be a good start...

 

[Irridium]

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market. It'll also be interesting to see a console from someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. Sony's bungling along, Microsoft seems to be getting less and less interested in games and more interested in ads, and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Also a bit odd to see Valve releasing a closed system, since they've always been on about how closed systems sucks. Specifically about Microsoft's Windows 8 and Xbox Live, and Apple. But I guess it makes sense Valve would be fine with it when Valve's in control.

SOOOOOO full of controdictions it hurts my braaaaan.

How is it full of contradictions?

 

[gardian06]

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market. It'll also be interesting to see a console from someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. Sony's bungling along, Microsoft seems to be getting less and less interested in games and more interested in ads, and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Also a bit odd to see Valve releasing a closed system, since they've always been on about how closed systems sucks. Specifically about Microsoft's Windows 8 and Xbox Live, and Apple. But I guess it makes sense Valve would be fine with it when Valve's in control.

SOOOOOO full of controdictions it hurts my braaaaan.

How is it full of contradictions?

this is a new market for Valve (they don't know what they are doing until they have done something in the given market)
Microsoft is still the accepted hardcore system they are just choosing to increase market share to casuals instead of alienate them.
and Steam is a closed system because Valve still gets final say. just because they now let players vote doesn't mean that every game on GreenLight will be released on Steam because Steam still has the final say.

 

[Marendithias]

Interesting idea. A console that plays PC games. Since it is independent from any specific manufacturer this could be really good for not only the pc gaming but gaming as a whole.

Think about it. This thing is immune to the issues of the "console generation" which means that we don't have to wait a full 5 to 8 years for more advanced hardware and games that can take advantage of that hardware. This would also mean that we will see companies competing to bring faster and more powerful hardware to the market at a much higher rate. In other words, it would be a driving force for improving computing technology (something that has really been stagnating the last 5 years or so - thank you consoles). It also has near perfect backwards compatibility (as good as any pc).

This thing sounds great if multiple manufactures get on board with it (which they will).

 

[Irridium]

It'll be interesting how Valve handles breaking in to already established market. It'll also be interesting to see a console from someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. Sony's bungling along, Microsoft seems to be getting less and less interested in games and more interested in ads, and Nintendo... well we'll see how the Wii U turns out.

Also a bit odd to see Valve releasing a closed system, since they've always been on about how closed systems sucks. Specifically about Microsoft's Windows 8 and Xbox Live, and Apple. But I guess it makes sense Valve would be fine with it when Valve's in control.

SOOOOOO full of controdictions it hurts my braaaaan.

How is it full of contradictions?

this is a new market for Valve (they don't know what they are doing until they have done something in the given market)
Microsoft is still the accepted hardcore system they are just choosing to increase market share to casuals instead of alienate them.
and Steam is a closed system because Valve still gets final say. just because they now let players vote doesn't mean that every game on GreenLight will be released on Steam because Steam still has the final say.

True, it is a new market for Valve. However, they have 7 years of Sony, Microsoft's, and Nintendo's successes and failures to look at. They'll have a pretty good idea of what to do, and what to not do. I never said Microsoft wasn't the accepted hardcore system. I said that they've been less interested in games and more interested in ads lately. And this is true. You pointing out they're choosing to increase market share to casuals is also true, and reinforces the fact that games aren't their primary focus as of late. And I know Steam is a closed system. I was just pointing out how it's interesting that Valve (Newell, specifically) has constantly decried closed systems, yet runs one of their own and will now be releasing another closed system.

 

[SnowBurst]

so basicly theyre making a consoles *face palm* i love valve but cmon guys your better then this

 

[gigastar]

Hm...

Well if theyre really going to go through with it, its best to await the results. The current big 3 have thier own issues, maybe Valve will have different, less irritating problems.

I just don't see the point of this. I've already got a gaming PC. I've already got steam. Anyone who has one probably has the other which means they can already do the TV thing with Big Picture. Who is their intended audience?

Its hard to deny that theres alot of money in the console market, moreso than the PC market certainly.

And since thier partnership with Sony ultimately came to nothing more than the PS3 version of Portal 2 being able to use Steamworks, maybe Valve has decided to cut out the middleman.

 

[rodneyy]

As long as they take a pragmatic approach to the hardware and don't price it over four hundred dollars it's hard to see where they can go too wrong. Although filling the system with advertori-junk Xbox Live style would be a good start...

would they be able to do this? wasn't the thing often said about current gen consoles was their inability to make costs back on unit sales alone and needed to charge extra on games.

now i dont doubt value could make a good go of this but would they be able to make a console that costs the same as others, so makes a loss, then have the games all at pc costs so no overheads to make up the difference?

 

[gardian06]

Interesting idea. A console that plays PC games. Since it is independent from any specific manufacturer this could be really good for not only the pc gaming but gaming as a whole.

Think about it. This thing is immune to the issues of the "console generation" which means that we don't have to wait a full 5 to 8 years for more advanced hardware and games that can take advantage of that hardware. This would also mean that we will see companies competing to bring faster and more powerful hardware to the market at a much higher rate. In other words, it would be a driving force for improving computing technology (something that has really been stagnating the last 5 years or so - thank you consoles). It also has near perfect backwards compatibility (as good as any pc).

This thing sounds great if multiple manufactures get on board with it (which they will).

yeah we won't have to wait 5-8 years to completely replace it (because it can't be modified) we only have to wait 1 year (maybe). I wonder who else has that line of release schedule?


MF APPLE

do we really want the word Valve used in the same sentence/comparative to Apple well with "hardware propelled" release rates that's what we get.

 

[gigastar]

As long as they take a pragmatic approach to the hardware and don't price it over four hundred dollars it's hard to see where they can go too wrong. Although filling the system with advertori-junk Xbox Live style would be a good start...

would they be able to do this? wasn't the thing often said about current gen consoles was their inability to make costs back on unit sales alone and needed to charge extra on games.

now i dont doubt value could make a good go of this but would they be able to make a console that costs the same as others, so makes a loss, then have the games all at pc costs so no overheads to make up the difference?

Assuming the console runs Steam games exclusively, and its likely to, then Valve will earn a comission for every game sold through Steam.

So they can sell the consoles at a lower price, and if the buyers also buy enough games through Steam then Valve will ultimately break even and profit.