Valve making a console would put them between a rock and a hard place - either force Steam users to use the console and alienate their loyal PC base, or compete head-to-head with the PC market and have a hard uphill battle.
Not really. If they came out with a PC that boots to Steam (obviously with Windows behind it) and has solid hardware with a stable configuration, I imagine they could leverage some publishers to build games that would run on that hardware. These same games would run on regular PC hardware without modification to the code just like a normal PC game. The "Steam Box" or whatever they call it would just serve as a "here's what to aim for" for developers and as a stable platform for less hardcore PC gamers.
There'd be no way they would make a traditional console, considering they have no games ready to launch a console yet have a huge library of PC-ready games. This mythical Steam Box I've described would sit between Alienware and Xbox 360.
I don't think they need to compete head-to-head. They'd compliment each other.
This isn't too different from what Steam already does with Windows and a Mac version. Two platforms, one Steam. Users will use whichever they like more, and Steam wins either way.
It's also no different from Microsoft promoting Windows as a gaming platform while also owning x-box. Both are profitable, and both get exclusive content.
Are you suggesting the console market is always competing head-to-head with the PC market?
I would argue a steam console that played console-oriented games using the steam platform is a great idea to compliment the pc-based service, and not competing head-to-head.
I'm guessing that they will continue this route, even if they made a "PC-in-a-box". If I'm a Valve customer interested in 1st party titles (HL3, L4D3, Portal 3, etc.), why would I buy a console (even if it is a Valve one), when I can already play their games on my PC?
> I would argue a steam console that played console-oriented games using the steam platform is a great idea to compliment the pc-based service, and not competing head-to-head.
I think Sony is in a great position to do this (see their partnership with Portal 2), although the PSN team might have something to say about that. Maybe Nintendo can partner with them to flesh out their online story.
All-in-all, it's a tough sell (at least from what I can see). If they do launch it I don't see it being anything more than a niche device.
They can overcome this by pulling off other tricks, like including a subscription to all Valve titles, or making it extremely cheap, or some sort of exclusivity (at the potential cost of their PC fanbase). Otherwise the value proposition is basically a prebuilt PC with the Valve logo on the outside.
They certainly are. But Valve has proven nimble in the past, so I wouldn't pulling off a transition to the console space past them. After all, Microsoft was able to do it successfully.
I think the key difference we'll see between traditional console gaming and the Steam Box (if it materializes) will be a complete elimination of physical media and a corresponding sea change in the pricing models (pretty much the same as what we see on Steam right now). Obviously, existing console makers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are loathe to cannibalize existing sales by moving online. But Valve has nothing to lose - even if it cannibalizes some PC game sales, they'll still be making the same (or similar) amount of money.
> why would I buy a console (even if it is a Valve one), when I can already play their games on my PC?
Remember, Valve is no longer just a game developer - it's also a content distributor for the PC gaming industry at large. Originally, it had to jumpstart Steam with its own titles, which are definitely PC-centric. But now that Steam is an established player in the PC gaming industry, it will be much easier to convince prominent 3rd party console game developers to develop games in advance of the Steam Box's release. Valve no doubt has clear financial data showing the advantages (for game developers, not for the console makers) of shifting to a digital distribution model.
There'd be no way they would make a traditional console, considering they have no games ready to launch a console yet have a huge library of PC-ready games. This mythical Steam Box I've described would sit between Alienware and Xbox 360.