Valve Developing Home Theater PC For Your Living Room and Steam Big Picture
Just as we always suspected, Valve's push from the PC to the living room isn't going to end with Big Picture mode. The next logical step, and one that Valve hinted at before, is to jump over on the hardware side of the equation and launch a PC-based console of its own, a "Steam Box," if you will.
Confirmation of Valve's plans comes from Kotaku, which claims to have heard from Gabe Newell himself that the end goal is for the company to develop its own hardware. If Big Picture mode was a test, it's safe to say PC gamers passed, as Newell said the reaction to the 10-foot UI has been "stronger than expected."
"Our hardware will be a very controlled environment," Newell added. "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."
Valve has been working on porting Steam over to Linux, though Valve's hardware might not be as open-source as a typical PC. The Steam Box might only be one of many solutions, however, as Newell says he's expecting other people will release solutions tailored to Steam's Big Picture mode as well.
Confirmation of Valve's plans comes from Kotaku, which claims to have heard from Gabe Newell himself that the end goal is for the company to develop its own hardware. If Big Picture mode was a test, it's safe to say PC gamers passed, as Newell said the reaction to the 10-foot UI has been "stronger than expected."
"Our hardware will be a very controlled environment," Newell added. "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."
Valve has been working on porting Steam over to Linux, though Valve's hardware might not be as open-source as a typical PC. The Steam Box might only be one of many solutions, however, as Newell says he's expecting other people will release solutions tailored to Steam's Big Picture mode as well.
