Pc Gaming will never be the same.
http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/8/3852852/gabe-newell-interview-steam-box
In the upcoming year the living room console will be drastically changed forever. In recent news, valve, the company known for the digital store steam will be making their way to the living room with the "Steam Box". This box will be running linux but owners will be able to install windows or other operating systems. The idea behind this box is to bring pc gaming into the living room and into a broader market as many people would rather relax on the couch then sit in a desk chair. Another factor for the box is the fact that valve wants it to have high performance but also be at an affordable price range.
I think a really cool function of the device would be the biometric controls; the company wants to make it as realistic to player movement as possible, think of it as an upgraded and workable Wii.
Now the real question is if it a realistic and worthwhile endeavor. In my opinion I believe it will be as it will move pc gaming to the forefront of people's minds and make it more accessible to the average gamer. A big con of pc gaming is the fact that a good computer will run the user into the thousands of dollars, and even then it cannot always run the top games. The major selling point of the living room console is that they need no upgrades and can play any of the released games at maximum settings, while with the pc every few years it needs upgrades.
Consoles like the playstation are relatively cheap at only a couple hundred and this allows them to sell many units to basically any class of gamers, unlike good computers which are narrowed down to people who can pony up a fair amount of cash. Another factor of computer gaming is the fact that you have to use a mouse and keyboard, which to me feels much less relaxed then a controller. With the steam box, if valve can keep the price fairly low while creating an extremely powerful piece of hardware that brings in the casual console gamers and adds new features, they will take the gaming world by storm.
Coll Regan

                                                                               Pc Gaming will never be the same.
http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/8/3852852/gabe-newell-interview-steam-box
    
     In the upcoming year the living room console will be drastically changed forever. In recent news, valve, the company known for the digital store steam will be making their way to the living room with the "Steam Box". This box will be running linux but owners will be able to install windows or other operating systems. The idea behind this box is to bring pc gaming into the living room and into a broader market as many people would rather relax on the couch then sit in a desk chair. Another factor for the box is the fact that valve wants it to have high performance but also be at an affordable price range.
    
     I think a really cool function of the device would be the biometric controls; the company wants to make it as realistic to player movement as possible, think of it as an upgraded and workable Wii.
Now the real question is if it a realistic and worthwhile endeavor. In my opinion I believe it will be as it will move pc gaming to the forefront of people's minds and make it more accessible to the average gamer. A big con of pc gaming is the fact that a good computer will run the user into the thousands of dollars, and even then it cannot always run the top games.  The major selling point of the living room console is that they need no upgrades and can play any of the released games at maximum settings, while with the pc every few years it needs upgrades.
    
     Consoles like the playstation are relatively cheap at only a couple hundred and this allows them to sell many units to basically any class of gamers, unlike good computers which are narrowed down to people who can pony up a fair amount of cash.  Another factor of computer gaming is the fact that you have to use a mouse and keyboard, which to me feels much less relaxed then a controller. With the steam box, if valve can keep the price fairly low while creating an extremely powerful piece of hardware that brings in the casual console gamers and adds new features, they will take the gaming world by storm.
Coll Regan