http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/2/2840932/exclusive-valve-steam-box-gaming-console

Quote :

"Recently there's been chatter that Valve — the company behind the massively popular gaming service Steam — has been considering getting into the hardware business. Specifically, there have been rumors that the company has been toying with the idea of creating a proper set-top console which could potentially pose a threat to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell even recently told Penny Arcade: "Well, if we have to sell hardware we will.""

3/3/2012 12:06:14 AM

Console that plays PC games? Would be interesting, although I wouldn't get one because I have a PC that I use to play PC games.

3/3/2012 12:29:19 AM

If it makes hats I'm down

3/3/2012 1:35:48 AM

^^ well if a company can cobble together a chipset specifically made for gaming, videocard specifically made for gaming, memory specifically tuned for gaming, etc... than that would make a console better than a gaming pc would it not? i mean they can both do the same thing but one is a finely tuned machine for that one purpose and that one purpose alone and the other is a general computing device which you can drop parts in to play games really well. perhaps they'll be smart to make it an upgradeable console...

we'll see how it goes anyway, i'm not putting much stock in the rumor without more credible information

3/3/2012 6:58:42 AM

Wonder if it would even have an optical or cartridge slot on it. If its using Steam then you could simply download all of the games, which would be a big coup in consoles, as it would completely bypass Gamestop and all other brick and mortar sales. The ones that would be really left out in this scenario would be people who do not have access or availability of high speed internet, but fuck them, they can get a standard console.

For me personally, I have a gaming PC. But if I can share games between my desktop and a Steam Box, I might be interested in one for my kids. They love some of the indie games and if I did not have to buy them twice and could keep them off my desktop machine, I might be interested.

3/3/2012 7:24:07 AM

I read that interview and I didn't get the feeling that they were doing anything other than speculating about the distant future. The previous question, by the way, was about wearable computers:

Quote :

"Now do you see a future where Valve is actually selling hardware or do you just want to have things that could take advantage of that technology should it be popular? Well, if we have to sell hardware we will. We have no reason to believe we’re any good at it, it’s more we think that we need to continue to have innovation and if the only way to get these kind of projects started is by us going and developing and selling the hardware directly then that’s what we’ll do. It’s definitely not the first thought that crosses our mind; we’d rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do that. We think it’s important enough that if that’s what we end up having to do then that’s what we end up having to do."

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/valves-gabe-newell-talks-wearable-computers-rewarding-players-and-whether-w/all

3/3/2012 8:33:38 AM

the name "Steam Box" just makes me chuckle

3/3/2012 9:32:52 AM

http://i.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/valve-job-listing-points-to-hardware-plans-for-whole-new-gaming/

4/13/2012 10:14:15 AM

They should call it the Valve Sauna

4/13/2012 10:15:43 AM

It would be pretty cool if it could link up with your current Steam account and you could play games on both PC (assuming your machine met hardware requirements) and console. That would mean you could probably play multiplayer with people doing both and there would already be tons of games available on launch.

Couple something like Half-Life 3 with it's launch and they'll be sure to make some $texas. Too bad it will release like 2 years after they originally plan for.

4/13/2012 10:44:59 AM

^i would buy that

also, in before the pc/console shitstorm

4/13/2012 11:53:00 AM

i wonder what it'll use for an OS. windows-based would make it easy to run existing games, but more expensive cause of licensing. a linux would be "free" but require a compatibility/emulation layer.

4/13/2012 2:15:33 PM

Valve Vapor Ware? j/k j/k

Not sure if Microsoft would be all that pleased to license their operating system to a box that may threaten the money they've been making on their own Xbox platforms and games.

4/13/2012 3:49:05 PM

plz, I heard this was going to operate on BSD

4/13/2012 4:07:55 PM

BSD + cedega/wine would be my guess

4/13/2012 5:46:15 PM

http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/3/3289689/valve-confirms-hardware-plans

9/3/2012 11:44:15 PM

not a lot of confirmation there but I would love to see what they come up with. Valve is all about creating things that actually create value for consumers(and as a result themselves) so I don't see them creating a new platform just to compete against MS and Sony. I've seen articles recently about them creating a service/device to allow you to play your pc games on your tv which seems more likely. I can see them creating a "middle-man"(maybe ala Google TV) device that allows pc games to be played on a tv with different options for input(keyboard/mouse, console controller) but that doesn't seem like a huge leap forward considering many games already support multiple input options.

tl;dr:seems like its a long ways out but is very interesting

[Edited on September 3, 2012 at 11:58 PM. Reason : 2nd and 3rd sentences say the same thing....im drunk so fuck it]

9/3/2012 11:57:20 PM

lots of chatter is about an input device, possibly using multi-touch or some "innovative" form of input. I kinda wonder if they'll try to do something multi-touch + visual capture interface control. Valve had inquiries before about making devices for disabled people so who knows what their plans are for such a project.

And yes, I highly doubt valve would make a game console box. Hard to compete in such an open ended hardware market when the game makers design their software to run on a huge pool of systems. This idea would just mean they would have to work even more to get games to run on a new device. Pretty sure people wouldn't give a flying fuck about it.

Easy to build a cheap $400 box that runs today's games at 1080p on high settings. Not a lot of games coming out that actually really stress even the last gen's of gpu's.

9/4/2012 12:30:12 AM

they have Steam on the PS3 - have they done anything with that besides Portal 2?

9/4/2012 9:23:14 AM

http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/12/8/3744314/gabe-newell-valve-console-living-room-steam-box

12/8/2012 5:06:23 PM

would be nice to have more games developed for openGL API. I'd shutter to think of playing a large selection of triple A title games on an SLI rig on some linux distro.

12/8/2012 7:03:04 PM

How much of Steam's library would this thing actually run, considering it likely won't have Windows?

12/9/2012 11:32:40 AM

this much: http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_4_4__12&term=#os=linux&advanced=0&sort_order=ASC&page=1

trying to get non-valve developers to port their game to steam-linux would probably be impossible without valve paying them to do it. unless they do wine-style emulation of directx + the windows api, i dont see how steambox would be worthwhile.

12/9/2012 1:46:18 PM

36 games, ouch.

However if this has strong sales it might get developers to build linux support into games. Cross platform games have to develop for openGL for ps3 games anyway right?

12/9/2012 1:51:00 PM

http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/8/3852852/gabe-newell-interview-steam-box

1/8/2013 7:37:21 PM

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

9/23/2013 5:31:13 PM

Certainly qualifies as "something I didn't know I wanted". If they can pull off a non-trivial performance boost over Windows based PCs, then it could really catch on with enthusiasts.

9/23/2013 6:03:48 PM

Quote :

"trying to get non-valve developers to port their game to steam-linux would probably be impossible without valve paying them to do it. unless they do wine-style emulation of directx + the windows api, i dont see how steambox would be worthwhile."

Sounds like the stop gap solution for this will be streaming from your Windows desktop running Steam to your SteamOS box. Also, come on Valve, it's not too late to call it the Gabecube.

9/23/2013 6:41:58 PM

yeah the streaming is cool. im guessing the first iteration of the steambox/gabecube will be relatively cheap($99) and focused primarily on game streaming with the ability to do some games natively as well as run apps for common content providers like Netflix. the idea being to get current steam users to adopt early to get the numbers to attract native developers.

I have a htpc that I run windows on cause wmc is the only cable card software there is. However, the hdhomerun guys added support for dlna copy protection to their beta firmware so if steamos supports that I could get rid of the htpc which would be cool.


[Edited on September 23, 2013 at 10:01 PM. Reason : a]

9/23/2013 9:53:01 PM

Grain of salt obviously, but sounds good! Although the Intel bashing seems misplaced. AMD hasn't released a competitive desktop part since the first Core architecture based Intel CPU.

[Edited on September 24, 2013 at 11:26 AM. Reason : ::]

9/24/2013 11:26:18 AM

AMD is probably giving their stuff away for free. That's why both xbone and ps4 are amd. I don't believe it would be amd/NVidia tho. also I would be surprised if the first steambox is more than an appletv type device. Anything over the $99 price point is probably gonna have adoption problems.

9/24/2013 4:12:05 PM

^^that is post is >90% legit.

9/24/2013 10:24:54 PM

Sorry I can't hear it over the sound of how well my 3 monitors work.

9/24/2013 11:35:12 PM

well that's disappointing. I was hoping I could buy something.

Monday: SteamOS! its an os that runs on Hardware!
Wednesday: Hardware will exist on which you can run Steam OS!

9/25/2013 2:38:12 PM

agreed

9/25/2013 2:45:59 PM

i'm confused. Is the purpose of the beta for this to do for example:

"Please choose the type or specific game you wish to play:
LoL
Battlefield
GTA 5
..."

If I pick GTA 5 over one of the others, it will then spit out either a list of pre-configured or vendor options for machines that test especially well with GTA 5 or a "DIY" newegg style wishlist of parts?

I'm just confused in general, I guess...

9/25/2013 5:18:47 PM

Its to test the functionality like:
how easy is it to join a game of tf2 w/ your friends
do games x, y, z stream from your PC to your steam box at the same quality as when you play them on the pc?
does Netflix work well
does amazon prime instant video work well
does the controller allow you to efficiently pick out hats?
is the browser a slow piece of crashy webkit garbagedon't ask this question cause we're never fixing it.

9/25/2013 5:53:18 PM

ugh. webkit is such shit and somehow valve made it even worse.

9/25/2013 5:54:16 PM

Quote :

"Complete catalog The Steam Controller is designed to work with all the games on Steam: past, present, and future. Even the older titles in the catalog and the ones which were not built with controller support. (We’ve fooled those older games into thinking they’re being played with a keyboard and mouse, but we’ve designed a gamepad that’s nothing like either one of those devices.) We think you’ll agree that we’re onto something with the Steam Controller, and now we want your help with the design process. Superior performance Traditional gamepads force us to accept compromises. We’ve made it a goal to improve upon the resolution and fidelity of input that’s possible with those devices. The Steam controller offers a new and, we believe, vastly superior control scheme, all while enabling you to play from the comfort of your sofa. Built with high-precision input technologies and focused on low-latency performance, the Steam controller is just what the living-room ordered. Dual trackpads The most prominent elements of the Steam controller are its two circular trackpads. Driven by the player’s thumbs, each one has a high-resolution trackpad as its base. It is also clickable, allowing the entire surface to act as a button. The trackpads allow far higher fidelity input than has previously been possible with traditional handheld controllers. Steam gamers, who are used to the input associated with PCs, will appreciate that the Steam Controller’s resolution approaches that of a desktop mouse. Whole genres of games that were previously only playable with a keyboard and mouse are now accessible from the sofa. RTS games. Casual, cursor-driven games. Strategy games. 4x space exploration games. A huge variety of indie games. Simulation titles. And of course, Euro Truck Simulator 2. In addition, games like first-person shooters that are designed around precise aiming within a large visual field now benefit from the trackpads’ high resolution and absolute position control. Haptics Trackpads, by their nature, are less physical than thumbsticks. By themselves, they are “light touch” devices and don’t offer the kind of visceral feedback that players get from pushing joysticks around. As we investigated trackpad-based input devices, it became clear through testing that we had to find ways to add more physicality to the experience. It also became clear that “rumble”, as it has been traditionally implemented (a lopsided weight spun around a single axis), was not going to be enough. Not even close. The Steam Controller is built around a new generation of super-precise haptic feedback, employing dual linear resonant actuators. These small, strong, weighted electro-magnets are attached to each of the dual trackpads. They are capable of delivering a wide range of force and vibration, allowing precise control over frequency, amplitude, and direction of movement. This haptic capability provides a vital channel of information to the player - delivering in-game information about speed, boundaries, thresholds, textures, action confirmations, or any other events about which game designers want players to be aware. It is a higher-bandwidth haptic information channel than exists in any other consumer product that we know of. As a parlour trick they can even play audio waveforms and function as speakers. Touch Screen In the center of the controller is another touch-enabled surface, this one backed by a high-resolution screen. This surface, too, is critical to achieving the controller’s primary goal - supporting all games in the Steam catalog. The screen allows an infinite number of discrete actions to be made available to the player, without requiring an infinite number of physical buttons. The whole screen itself is also clickable, like a large single button. So actions are not invoked by a simple touch, they instead require a click. This allows a player to touch the screen, browse available actions, and only then commit to the one they want. Players can swipe through pages of actions in games where that’s appropriate. When programmed by game developers using our API, the touch screen can work as a scrolling menu, a radial dial, provide secondary info like a map or use other custom input modes we haven’t thought of yet. In order to avoid forcing players to divide their attention between screens, a critical feature of the Steam Controller comes from its deep integration with Steam. When a player touches the controller screen, its display is overlayed on top of the game they’re playing, allowing the player to leave their attention squarely on the action, where it belongs. Buttons Every button and input zone has been placed based on frequency of use, precision required and ergonomic comfort. There are a total of sixteen buttons on the Steam Controller. Half of them are accessible to the player without requiring thumbs to be lifted from the trackpads, including two on the back. All controls and buttons have been placed symmetrically, making left or right handedness switchable via a software config checkbox. Shared configurations In order to support the full catalog of existing Steam games (none of which were built with the Steam Controller in mind), we have built in a legacy mode that allows the controller to present itself as a keyboard and mouse. The Steam Community can use the configuration tool to create and share bindings for their favorite games. Players can choose from a list of the most popular configurations. Openness The Steam Controller was designed from the ground up to be hackable. Just as the Steam Community and Workshop contributors currently deliver tremendous value via additions to software products on Steam, we believe that they will meaningfully contribute to the design of the Steam Controller. We plan to make tools available that will enable users to participate in all aspects of the experience, from industrial design to electrical engineering. We can’t wait to see what you come up with."

9/27/2013 1:08:25 PM

want

9/27/2013 1:13:24 PM

the button placement is weird and dumb. they should all be on the right like a normal controller. touchpads is interesting tho. cant be any worse than thumbsticks

9/27/2013 2:19:07 PM

I like it, and I think it may finally get console gamers over their stockholm syndrome-esque obsession with analog sticks.

The haptic feedback seems to be the real killer app in this. The button placement may (and probably should change), but the touchpads sound like the real deal.



[Edited on September 27, 2013 at 3:25 PM. Reason : :]

9/27/2013 3:08:33 PM

it looks like johnny 5

9/27/2013 3:39:27 PM

Best quote I've seen about it

Quote :

"that controller looks like my face when I saw that controller"

9/27/2013 3:51:52 PM

lol

9/27/2013 4:20:56 PM

I need steam friends to sign up for the beta

9/27/2013 5:36:35 PM

^add me

http://steamcommunity.com/id/bil992

9/27/2013 9:56:19 PM