For many years now, there have been rumors that Valve was going to get into the console business. This week, Valve has made 3 announcements making these rumors a reality. They have announced a home console called the Steam Machine, a custom Linux-based operating system called Steam OS, and a brand new controller unlike anything else on the market.
The first announcement was for the Steam OS. This is a Linux based operating system that can be used on a Steam Machine that will allow you to stream games from your Steam library onto your TV. This operating system is going to be open and can be altered. There will be streaming movie, tv and music services built in - probably Netflix and Hulu, but no official word yet. Family sharing, which I've explained in this post, will also be built into the OS. You'll be able to save games to the Steam cloud, and you'll also be able to customize how you view your Steam library. Each gamer in your household will be able to have their own library view, much like how you change the viewer on Netflix.
The Steam Machine itself is actually a line of consoles that will have different specifications and will be made by different manufacturers. The Steam Machine is currently in development with existing prototypes. They will be released in 2014 and 300 Steam Machines will be sent out to Steam members for beta testing soon.
The final announcement was a bit of a surprise to some. Steam made a separate announcement about the controller that will come with the Steam Machine. It's really unlike anything I've personally seen. This controller has two trackpads instead of analog sticks and a touch screen in the middle. The controller will be fully reprogrammable based on the game you're playing. The best part is you can use this controller with any game in the Steam library, even the ones that don't currently support a controller. This fully replaces a mouse and keyboard. Also the programming for the controller is Open Source, to make it easier for developers to program their own controls into their games. Steam has been pushing for its members to play more games in the living room, so this controller makes things much easier so you don't have to keep a keyboard and mouse on your coffee table all the time (like I do!).
If you are a member on Steam, you can earn the Steam Hardware Enthusiast badge as a way to sign up for the hardware beta. The requirements are as follows:
The final announcement was a bit of a surprise to some. Steam made a separate announcement about the controller that will come with the Steam Machine. It's really unlike anything I've personally seen. This controller has two trackpads instead of analog sticks and a touch screen in the middle. The controller will be fully reprogrammable based on the game you're playing. The best part is you can use this controller with any game in the Steam library, even the ones that don't currently support a controller. This fully replaces a mouse and keyboard. Also the programming for the controller is Open Source, to make it easier for developers to program their own controls into their games. Steam has been pushing for its members to play more games in the living room, so this controller makes things much easier so you don't have to keep a keyboard and mouse on your coffee table all the time (like I do!).
If you are a member on Steam, you can earn the Steam Hardware Enthusiast badge as a way to sign up for the hardware beta. The requirements are as follows:
- Join the Steam Universe community group
- Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions
- Make 10 Steam Friends (This explains why so many people have been asking for my Steam ID this week!)
- Create a public Steam Community profile
- Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode
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