Rumors have surfaced of a secret project at work over at Valve Software: A "Steam Box", designed as a small console box complete with proprietary controllers, a powerhouse of gaming components, completely open-source hardware (with built-in Steam capacity), interswitchable peripherals, and of course designed with all the wisdom and insight of Valve's experienced philosophy on gaming. What will this new "Steam Box" feature? And what implications will a Steam-based console have for the future of gaming?
Woah! Who saw this coming? Valve is known for being pretty tight-lidded when it comes to internal projects, so where did this deluge of information come from? Rumors have it that the sources are internal leaks, and may even be deliberate. So, it appears Gabe Newell wants to build a console, and he wants everyone to experience it. I think he can do it.
Breakdown
-Ability to play games in your Steam library, chat with friends, access to the cloud, communities, etc.
-Interchangeable proprietary controller features for left-handed, customization, change-per-game
-Biometrics embedded in the controller for personal stat measurement / macro-level scientific data collection
-Connections to power/controller/AV/etc will be universal, highly accessible. Rumored USB/HDMI, more.
-Open source software! Talk of app-based future for games. Can run Origin, apps, Netflix (spec.), more.
-Philosophy: Open, welcoming, universal, with games and features even for non-gamers
-Poised to threaten console market and encourage console exclusives if it proves popular
-Ability to serve as family media unit spreading data across the household.
-Bringing gaming to a larger audience, accessible to non-gamers
The Repercussions
If the Steam Box becomes a staple of rec rooms and teenage bedrooms everywhere, and is also fiscally and popularly successful, it could easily scare console companies into issuing future releases, especially blockbuster brands, as console exclusives to promote their console as a must-have.
Nintendo will be more resilient to the open-source Steam Box, partly because the Japanese gaming giant has a history of relying heavily on big brand, first-party exclusives such as Mario, Zelda, etc. Interestingly, the Wii U is claimed to feature better third-party support, hoping to expand Nintendo console's reach to the game libraries dominated by other platforms. This means less reliance on Wii U exclusives, and if the Steam Box takes off, Valve could be one of the first companies to take a jab at Nintendo now that their shield of first-party games has been lowered.
This also presents a challenge to game developers and the entities funding them. How will games interact with a controller in mind? Will Valve market a wireless keyboard and mouse set for non-compatible games, or possibly provide incentives for game developers to patch in controller support to their games? Likely a mix of the both, or knowing Valve, a proprietary method of recording and binding keymaps. While reigning in my speculation, I do have confidence that Valve will find a way to overcome this challenge.
The Good News
The Steam Box could easily bringing games to a wider audience by leaps and bounds. To preach the words of industry veteran James Portnow (with Daniel Floyd in their show Extra Credits: "Consoles are the new Coin-Op"), he predicted that consoles may only have 2 or 3 more generations left in them as the product we recognize. Instead, personal game libraries would sync to mobile devices, televisions, computers, etc. The Steam Box is rumored to do all these things to some extent, and to have the capability to expand and upgrade when the technology develops itself more.
To quote The Verge's Joshua Topolsky, Valve is "...actively pursuing a strategy which would place Steam at the center of an open gaming universe that mirrors what Google has done with Android." This is going to be profound. If marketed cheaply (and they likely will be), they could easily encourage broad new markets with app-like encapsulated games and open-source universality. Suddenly, the Steam Box is the dedicated Netflix machine, or the family all has Steam accounts for their different game libraries.
[Tin Foil Hat Zone]
If consoles are going to die out soon (and they will), the only remaining device we would know as a console would likely be an all-in-one media center. If Valve continues in this school of thought, and eventually dares touch the realms of videos, music, and other entertainment, companies like Apple may find that some of their traditionally-dominated markets may begin to cede.
Biometrics and the Betterment of Humanity
The vast amount of scientific data the controller-housed biometrics can collect on the behalf of the gaming community could be substantially vast if executed correctly, and would be both a PR win for gaming and a vital source of data for researchers. Gamers hold controllers for prolonged amounts of time, allowing for long stretches of data collection. Extended data on temperature, heart rate, activity time, etc. could reap vast new insights into different fields of scientific study. Knowing Gabe Newell's philosophy, the data will likely be open source and freely available in a collected form, much like Steam activity/time is now.
As for the biometrics-wristband rumor... I predict Valve's vast R&D resources, coupled with their own personal experience in the gaming industry, would never view a biometrics bracelet as a viable alternative. There's a reason why Wiimotes took out so many televisions.
From Here Onward
Overall, this change is going to be scary, threatening, and encroaching. I do believe the general reception will be quite positive, but the adoption rate will be the real test. I wouldn't be surprised to see many of the "console-loathing" PC gamers out there look into the Steam Box; In fact, I predict a great many of them will, out of the sheer accessibility of the platform and Steam's already-vast library. In general, interacting with the Steam Box for non-gaming functions such as Netflix or app usage will only increase the amount of contact non-gamers have with a medium.
Once these rumors are hopefully proven true, keep your eyes to gaming blogs everywhere for any more news on the leaks. As always, check back here at Interactive Frontier for news on the Steam Box, and Part 2 of this article.
Source: The Verge
Breakdown
-Ability to play games in your Steam library, chat with friends, access to the cloud, communities, etc.
-Interchangeable proprietary controller features for left-handed, customization, change-per-game
-Biometrics embedded in the controller for personal stat measurement / macro-level scientific data collection
-Connections to power/controller/AV/etc will be universal, highly accessible. Rumored USB/HDMI, more.
-Open source software! Talk of app-based future for games. Can run Origin, apps, Netflix (spec.), more.
-Philosophy: Open, welcoming, universal, with games and features even for non-gamers
-Poised to threaten console market and encourage console exclusives if it proves popular
-Ability to serve as family media unit spreading data across the household.
-Bringing gaming to a larger audience, accessible to non-gamers
The Repercussions
If the Steam Box becomes a staple of rec rooms and teenage bedrooms everywhere, and is also fiscally and popularly successful, it could easily scare console companies into issuing future releases, especially blockbuster brands, as console exclusives to promote their console as a must-have.
Nintendo will be more resilient to the open-source Steam Box, partly because the Japanese gaming giant has a history of relying heavily on big brand, first-party exclusives such as Mario, Zelda, etc. Interestingly, the Wii U is claimed to feature better third-party support, hoping to expand Nintendo console's reach to the game libraries dominated by other platforms. This means less reliance on Wii U exclusives, and if the Steam Box takes off, Valve could be one of the first companies to take a jab at Nintendo now that their shield of first-party games has been lowered.
This also presents a challenge to game developers and the entities funding them. How will games interact with a controller in mind? Will Valve market a wireless keyboard and mouse set for non-compatible games, or possibly provide incentives for game developers to patch in controller support to their games? Likely a mix of the both, or knowing Valve, a proprietary method of recording and binding keymaps. While reigning in my speculation, I do have confidence that Valve will find a way to overcome this challenge.
The Good News
The Steam Box could easily bringing games to a wider audience by leaps and bounds. To preach the words of industry veteran James Portnow (with Daniel Floyd in their show Extra Credits: "Consoles are the new Coin-Op"), he predicted that consoles may only have 2 or 3 more generations left in them as the product we recognize. Instead, personal game libraries would sync to mobile devices, televisions, computers, etc. The Steam Box is rumored to do all these things to some extent, and to have the capability to expand and upgrade when the technology develops itself more.
To quote The Verge's Joshua Topolsky, Valve is "...actively pursuing a strategy which would place Steam at the center of an open gaming universe that mirrors what Google has done with Android." This is going to be profound. If marketed cheaply (and they likely will be), they could easily encourage broad new markets with app-like encapsulated games and open-source universality. Suddenly, the Steam Box is the dedicated Netflix machine, or the family all has Steam accounts for their different game libraries.
[Tin Foil Hat Zone]
If consoles are going to die out soon (and they will), the only remaining device we would know as a console would likely be an all-in-one media center. If Valve continues in this school of thought, and eventually dares touch the realms of videos, music, and other entertainment, companies like Apple may find that some of their traditionally-dominated markets may begin to cede.
Biometrics and the Betterment of Humanity
The vast amount of scientific data the controller-housed biometrics can collect on the behalf of the gaming community could be substantially vast if executed correctly, and would be both a PR win for gaming and a vital source of data for researchers. Gamers hold controllers for prolonged amounts of time, allowing for long stretches of data collection. Extended data on temperature, heart rate, activity time, etc. could reap vast new insights into different fields of scientific study. Knowing Gabe Newell's philosophy, the data will likely be open source and freely available in a collected form, much like Steam activity/time is now.
As for the biometrics-wristband rumor... I predict Valve's vast R&D resources, coupled with their own personal experience in the gaming industry, would never view a biometrics bracelet as a viable alternative. There's a reason why Wiimotes took out so many televisions.
From Here Onward
Overall, this change is going to be scary, threatening, and encroaching. I do believe the general reception will be quite positive, but the adoption rate will be the real test. I wouldn't be surprised to see many of the "console-loathing" PC gamers out there look into the Steam Box; In fact, I predict a great many of them will, out of the sheer accessibility of the platform and Steam's already-vast library. In general, interacting with the Steam Box for non-gaming functions such as Netflix or app usage will only increase the amount of contact non-gamers have with a medium.
Once these rumors are hopefully proven true, keep your eyes to gaming blogs everywhere for any more news on the leaks. As always, check back here at Interactive Frontier for news on the Steam Box, and Part 2 of this article.
Source: The Verge