It’s almost funny to think about Valve as a video game developer/publisher anymore. For years now, while releasing titles like DOTA 2 and Portal 2, the company has felt more like it is in the platform business than development. And what a platform it is. As the console years began to drag on, Valve has started to attract more and more users to their easy-to-use PC gaming client. For years, PC games were viewed as cumbersome, with long install times, and confusing hardware; Valve’s Steam offered a way for users to quickly download the game the wanted to play, start the install, and hop right in. Add in their infamous sales, the largest library of independent games, and a mind-set that put the customer first, Steam was (and still is) an amazing service.
In 2011, the rumblings of the Steam Box started, how Steam could dominate the console market if they released their interface on hardware comparable to the price of the major consoles. The speculation continued for a couple year, some more skeptical of its existence than others. Then came the hype of new consoles, a new generation of hardware that sparked the rivalry of PlayStation and Xbox/Sony and Microsoft all over again. Slowly, silently the work of the Steam Box continued at Valve behind closed doors until this week when Steam announced their own operating system, and more importantly, a line of hardware for SteamOS to work on. Contrary to what people thought in 2011, angelic choirs did not descend for the sky and begin the Hallelujah chorus and Gabe Newell did not vanquish the money-hungry console overloads with a sword of justice. Instead, everyone nodded with a sort of cautious optimism. There are things we learned since 2011, things that could paint the market in a very different place, a place rather unforgiving to new hardware.
It is important to state, before starting to speculate, that very little is still known about this Steam Machines and what they will offer to the market. They have been promised to “optimize for size, price, quietness or other factors.” Meaning that maybe Valve is a little tired of their entry level (for a free service) being the $900-sum required to build a decent gaming PC. It is also not clear who is actually building these machines as Valve stated they are “working with multiple partners”.
What is clear is that Valve will be releasing their relatively unproven hardware into the wild against the early years of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. While the market has occasionally supported three consoles entries, like the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS4, it will make a very staunch competition as the WiiU keeps getting cheaper, and smartphones keep taking over the world. Players are already saving their pennies for the impending console rush, adding one more system into the fray could be disadvantageous. Especially in a couple years, where Sony and Microsoft will be improving upon their consoles and Steam is just getting its own out into the wild. In 2011, Sony and Microsoft’s hardware had grown stale, people were anxious for a new product that could offer bells and whistles than the two dated stand-bys. Something like the Steam Machine seemed exciting in those days, but now the idea is less original. Sony and Microsoft have already grabbed some of Steam’s best features, like playing while games install, and doing promotional sales. The advantage of a Steam Machines seems significantly less than it did only a couple years ago.
Not only do Steam Machines beg the question of market penetration, but it also feels like it would be difficult to sell to its current users. Most people who want to hook their TVs up to their PCs have already done so, it is not all that difficult. In a world of HDMI cables, entertainment centers, streaming video, and other technological efficiencies, putting a PC at the center of your living room has never been easier, so it is difficult to see what is truly being gained by a Steam Machine, especially how purchasing a piece of hardware for a few hundred dollars to do something that it possible with a little manual labor.
The dichotomy of Steam’s unclear desired demographic seems embodied in its controller. While the controller itself is interesting, it could be dangerously cumbersome to use. If Valve is attempting to unify PC and console users under one flag, this controller seems like a perfect way to satisfy none of those parties. Valve states that the touchpads will make it easier to play RTS and other keyboard-and-mouse favorites with a controller, but purists might reject the idea outright. The same goes for console-lovers who most likely have no interest in games like Total War, Europa Universalis, and others. While forced to be the first platform to pander to both PC and console users, Valve might turn off both camps completely.
In the past decade, Valve has rarely made a misstep. Even Steam Greenlight, which was initially met with hostility from the independent game community, has simply become one more step between a Kickstarter and the successful Early Access program. Steam’s popularity is still at an all time high, and console owners have been hearing about the holiday-esque Steam Summer Sale for year now. The company might have built up enough goodwill to win some people over. So real question becomes, is it worth the financial risk? Partnering with others to create hardware, Steam’s actual commitment to this initiative seems pretty low as far as dollar and cents are concerned.
There are reasons to applaud Valve’s initiative. Dipping the toes of PC hardware into the console market is a bold move and proof that all of our gaming devices are more closely linked than we may realize. Steam Machines might finally be a way to attract players too scared to build their own PC or who found the PC market too overwhelming. The only way to win people over is with time. Steam itself was released to skepticism and should shrugs, but through hard work and customer satisfaction it has risen to its place of prominence today. Maybe Steam Machine can do the same thing, and in five years they will the cornerstone to any living room.
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