We were waiting until Steam fully released their plans on their hardware and now they have. Now it’s time for us all to think about what this means for Valve and the industry.
The Steam Machines Themselves
As we had all already heard about they’re doing a console. Now their console is moving into beta. You can sign up here to possibly be included in the early testing of these.
Steam Machines are Stepping on the Toes of Giants
The first thing this is going to mean is Valve is directly competing with Smart TV manufacturers. Panasonic, Sony and much more are now going to take a vested interest in making sure this project does not succeed. Even those in the Operating System market will be taking a keen interest if Valve starts grabbing market share.
Steam Machines and Profitability
This means that Valve is going to have to become immensely more competitive and profitable than they have been. If they do not then they are doomed to be bought out. This is a bold step and we will have to see if it pays off. There are of course various comments about cooperation and working with others, but that rarely happens when the stakes are worth this much money.
The Steam Machines Controller
They are also putting out a special controller that is supposed to work with all your devices. This puts them in direct competition with pretty much anyone who makes controllers as well.
But are Steam Machines Good?
In theory they sound quite nice. The controller is easy to remap or even take apart according to the designers. The system should be fairly efficient as well. Of course this is just in beta so we will have to see how the final product turns out. They have however added a bunch of technological nonsense on their controller which equates to: our controller shakes better and more realistically than others.
What Steam Machines Mean for the Industry
For the consumer it can only mean good things. Valve wants to grab much more of the market than they have. They’re going toe to toe with giants from all over the hardware industry.
Our only concern is whether they can make this massive project a success. They are poised to each jump to the top of the gaming market or fail spectacularly. Either way it should be very interesting for all of us to watch. We’re seeing the industry change in our own lifetime.
My Persona Opinion
While it’s very exciting it seems like Valve is biting off more than it can chew here. Rivals in the hardware industry will begin taking games off Steam, creating competing platforms and more.
Advertising will be another place they start getting attacked. There are dozens of ways in which this will draw them unwanted attention. While it will be good for the industry in the long run it may well spell the doom of Valve. I would rather it not but once again the industry is changing.
