Yes, Valve, the company behind Portal, Left 4 Dead, and the popular PC gaming app Steam is reportedly making a game system. The system is said to be called the Steam Box, and will work similar to Steam, meaning you will probably be able to download games upon their release as an alternate to buying the physical copy. There have also been some apparent controller patent leaks, which can be seen in the sources below. What do you think of this? Good idea or bad idea? Truth or bogus? Sources: Does A 'Steam Box' Console From Valve Make Sense? Valve said to be working on 'Steam Box' gaming console with partners, could announce at GDC ^Those are just a couple of sources, if you Google 'valve steam box' you can find a lot more.
Well the idea doesn't really make sense to me. They are just a game development company right? That would be like Bungie making a console..
Well apparently they're gonna build the software and third party companies will build the actual hardware. It's like how Google 'makes' phones, you know what I mean?
I think it's a good idea for VALVe to add on to their very successful PC distribution service with one in the home media centre as well. I haven't heard anything about a "controller" per say, but rather the use of a mouse and keyboard since games played on the console would be simply PC games. I've heard that it's just a computer which will be able to be connected to a TV (I know it's possible already, but most people don't know how to do it).
I've read that it's basically a computer optimized for steam games that is only accessible via TV (instead of the standard monitor).
Heres a VERY valid reaason why I think this is total rubbish. This steam box is supposed to be related to the new alienware X91, a £500 machine that uses an i3 core. Supposedly the steam box will come with an intel i7. Even after mass manufacture discounts, you are looking at a console at around £550-700 To put that into perspective for you US goers thats about 2 1/2 xbox 360s. Meaning that the steam box is priced right out of the console market. Anybody willing to spend that much on a gaming item would spend about £600+ on a computer. In other words, for the price of a PC, you get a non upgradable item that therefore cannot compete with the PC users future and graphics wise, and priced miles out of the console market. As there will be no real target consumer, creating a console would be a HUGE flop for valve.