Steam Machine

Valve took quite a risk with its Steam Machines which, for the most part, are meant to run the Linux-based SteamOS. While highly praised by Linux gamers, the dearth of notable titles on the platform was almost like a death sentence to the PC-turned-console product. Valve, however, refused to throw in the towel and assured believers that it is still working on improving the situation. It turns out that its solution might involve finding a way to run Windows games on Linux Steam Machines.

Continue Reading

Steam Machines have failed, at least commercially. There’s hardly any argument there. Even Valve itself admits as much. Valve, however, would not concede defeat and promises to remain committed to pushing Linux gaming forward. Some might see it as simple lip service to calm SteamOS fans. Others might see it as a pointless endeavor and business suicide. And yet, if Valve’s dreams are to become reality, it really doesn’t have much choice to stick to its Linux guns for the long term and these are the reasons why.

Continue Reading

Earlier this week, we ushered in the month of April by discovering that Valve had removed mention of Steam Machines - pre-built PCs that run SteamOS - from its hardware listings on Steam's main page. Many people, including me, took this to mean that Valve was moving away from Steam Machines, which haven't been heavily promoted for a couple of years now. Today, Valve spoke out about why it removed the PCs from Steam's main store page, and what that means for other products like SteamOS.

Continue Reading

Two days ago, Valve removed any trace of Steam Machines from its store. If it weren’t for the media coverage, people might not have even remembered they still existed. Except for the hardest core of PC gamers, most have probably presumed Valve’s overnight sensation to have been long gone. And now, it really is. What was first seen as the revolution of PC gaming has now become almost an embarrassing footnote in gaming history. What happened and why did Valve fail so miserably? It all boils down to trying to hit too many birds with just one stone.

Continue Reading

There was a time not too long ago when Steam Machines were an exciting component of Valve's emerging hardware business. Acting as a vehicle for SteamOS, the idea was that Steam Machines would make the process of buying PC hardware a lot more straightforward some folks, while at the same time giving PC gamers more options besides just Windows. While SteamOS has been seeing consistent - if not always visible - improvement over the last few years, the market for Steam Machines seems to have stagnated.

Continue Reading

As of today, there are 1,699 games on Steam compatible with Linux. That's just one game short of a 1,700 of a significant milestone. But why the obsession with numbers on a platform traditionally associated more with servers and render farms and very rarely modern games? Because Valve has placed all its Steam OS eggs in one Linux basket and the adoption of the operating system in this market will ultimately seal the fate of what is perhaps the company's biggest, not to mention riskiest, business venture.

Continue Reading

Valve has made some interesting moves over the last few years, first announcing their own Linux-based OS specifically tailored for gaming, and then stepping into the hardware business. So far, they have only released a controller, and a streaming box, but they have started partnering with a few different companies to make “Steam Machines.” These are small, yet powerful boxes that run their special SteamOS, and give you more of a console-like experience. Today, ZOTAC has shown off their first Steam Machine, dubbed the ZOTAC NEN.

Continue Reading

Don't bother going out and buying a several thousand-dollar Steam Machine, Valve says you already have one at home. Requirements for installing SteamOS on the computer you already have are relatively low - just so long as you've been upgrading over the past couple of years. Installing and customizing SteamOS will require that your computer be wiped out - but once you do that, you'll be ready to roll. In other words: the Steam Machine you have at home isn't going to be your main desktop - it'll need to be a machine you don't use that often.

Continue Reading

Back in September of 2013, Valve revealed SteamOS - now it's time for action. Here in June of 2015, just a bit under two years later, Valve's revealed the final iteration of the Steam Controller, the key to the system - the one component you can't buy anywhere else. Every other piece of this gaming environment can be had elsewhere, or run on a PC you've got at home. After months and months of preparation, Valve's presented a system they hope will take over your living room. Is it too late? Has the company lost all momentum? Is SteamOS dead in the water before it launches in ernest?

Continue Reading

Valve's SteamOS operating system is coming, complete with the Steam Controller and Steam Machines and the Steam Link. Today pre-orders have opened up for the lot of these devices, starting with the Steam Link, the Steam Controller, and two Steam Machines right out the gate. Valve suggests that pre-orders will receive their hardware starting October 16th while the rest of the SteamOS collection will be released to the public this November. That's November for the general release of SteamOS for the public, for everyone.

Continue Reading

Steam Machines are back in the spotlight after Valve revealed its big plans for gamers later this year. But while we approach with caution due to last year's disappointing turnout, some of the rising supporters rallying around Steam's ecosystem are quite interesting. You have small mini PCs dressed up as Steam Machines, ready to conquer the living room. And then you have bigger, hulking boxes that would still look nice somewhere near your TV. Maingear's upcoming Drift is one of the latter. It may not be a Steam Machine, but it might very well be.

Continue Reading

If the stars align, Valve will really be announcing about a dozen Steam Machines come November this year. Of course, that was the promise last year and we all now what happened. Still, it seems like partners are getting back on track, and one of those is ZOTAC. The company that has recently been putting out mini and pico PCs has just announced that they are completely on board the Steam Machine thrust with a new SN970 gaming PC coming to its catalog soon.

Continue Reading