Valve’s Three Announcements: Steam OS, Steam Machines and Game Controller for 2014


valve2Valve announced on Monday that three big pieces of news would be revealed regarding their Steam and Linux-based gaming system. What an exciting week for Valve, traditionally a software company, who is now doing something that is going to up-their-ante, especially against Microsoft and Sony. Living room gaming is really heating up with the release of Steam OS, the first revelation leaked! This will be a Linux-based operating system especially designed for the living room PC. Valve completely focused its design on their uniquely popular and affordable gaming service, Steam. Big Picture is the official name of the OS, and wherever Steam can run, Big Picture can as well. Valve's thought process involves uniting those who enjoy living room entertainment by making digital gaming more accessible. The service of Steam and “rock-solid architecture of Linux” will allegedly allow for great gaming. In addition, Valve founder Gabe Newell says it will be open and hackable, meaning “Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love”.

steam3Secondly, something that fans have been expecting for months has come, dedicated console-like PCs! Dubbed Steam Machines rather than the recent Steam Box rumor, Valve is partnering with various companies to design the PCs which play games on your TV. Beta testing is starting this year, there will be multiple machines to choose from and will all be made by different manufactures! Also hackable, the Machines will allow multiple operating systems to run on them. Some may wonder why Valve is building their own box while the OS is being delivered to various manufacturers. The rational behind this is to run tests for thing such as size, price, and quietness. Valve's particular prototype is being designed for “users who want the most control possible over their hardware”. This will also mean that yes, any gamer can build their own box to run Steam OS. While other details remain to be vague, it is known that with the nearly 3 thousand games on Steam, hundreds of them will be native to the operating system immediately. Good news in fact.

valve1Finally, with the war over the last revelation being either Half-Life 3 or a game controller, the latter of the two came out today. The developer is showing off its Steam Controller as the final puzzle piece in coaxing PC gamers into their platform fit for the living room. Such a highly anticipated controller, it has two “haptic” feedback track pads, where the gamer can fully immerse themselves by experiencing physical sensations. Although still able to play with a keyboard and mouse, offering the controller only adds comfort to the experience while delivering something extra. With the haptic capability, in-game information such as speed, textures, boundaries and thresholds, is given to the gamer to accentuate the experience. Like the Steam Machine, Valve will be sending out 300 early editions of the controller to people who would like to take part in early beta testing. With the Steam Machines, the OS and controller now out in the open, it will be so interesting to see how well this bundle all matches up to other consoles. As the PC gaming market is feared to be on the decline, there is no better moment than now for this innovation from our friends at Valve.

Topics: Technology News Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations Microsoft

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