Hasta La Gadget!

Valve just announced the first part of its living room strategy with SteamOS, a free Linux-based operating system that takes the ‘Big Picture’ feature one step further. In addition to playing your game collection, SteamOS allows you to watch movies and listen to music.

The company has yet to announce a hardware partner for SteamOS, but this could certainly be the operating system behind the rumored Steam Box computer. OEMs will be able to use SteamOS to build gaming computers, as Valve states multiple times that it’s an open platform.

When it comes to gaming, SteamOS will work particularly well for audio performances and reducing input latency. Yet, only Linux games will work on SteamOS. While many games are now available on Linux, it still has a long way to go compared to Mac OS and especially Windows. That’s why you will be able to run Steam on your Windows or Mac computers in another room and then stream your games to your living room using SteamOS. Latency shouldn’t be an issue, as everything happens on your local network.

The family sharing feature now makes even more sense as the living room is the perfect place to let your kids play video games. Everyone will be able to have a separate profile and play the same games, just like you would on your Xbox.

SteamOS could certainly replace your gaming console, but it could replace your Roku or Apple TV as well for movies, TV and music. Valve didn’t announce a content partner but did say they are “working with many of the media services you know and love.” Services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus and HBO Go should make their way to the platform.

While many of these services are only available in a few countries, SteamOS will be available for everyone in the world. We just don’t know when or what devices will run SteamOS. The second announcement is set for Wednesday.

The company has yet to announce a release date for SteamOS. And while it isn’t the long-anticipated Steam Box, Valve plans to make other announcements in the coming days. On Steam’s website, users can find a teaser page with three icons that represent three different announcements for the living room — SteamOS is only the first one.

After a forever-long countdown to a three-tiered announcement, Valve has rolled out phase one of its plan to take over your living room: SteamOS.

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Valve has talked a lot in the past about shifting PC gaming to living rooms, it has now launched a new teaser website which promises three separate announcements related to such a shift. Right now, the website contains a countdown clock for the first announcement, its counting down until 10 a.m. PT on September 23rd. Clocks for the remaining announcements haven’t been added as yet.

Is it possible that Valve might finally be making a Steam Box related announcement? This was first reported a few days ago, when Valve co-founder Gabe Newell referred to Linux as the “future of gaming” at LinuxCon 2013. He also said that the company will reveal more information about the opportunities it sees for bringing Linux to the living room, next week. A representative for Valve reiterated that they’ll be talking about the steps they’re taking to make Steam more accessible on TVs and in the living room. Valve says on its teaser website that this year it has been working on more ways to “connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living room,” it also says that soon “we’ll be adding you to our design process.” We’re certainly curious how Valve intends to include users in the design process, hopefully it’ll explain in detail come Monday.

Valve Launches Teaser Website, Rekindles Steam Box Speculation original content from Ubergizmo.

There’s only so much we can read into Valve’s vague plans to “connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living room,” but the safe bet is on the Steambox. The company’s just-launched teaser site shows a countdown clock leading up to Monday’s announcement, as well as an image of a controller leading into darkness (oh, and there’s the profile of a cat, too). Valve’s planned entry into the hardware space has already been well-documented, so a dedicated console for PC-gaming in the living room should come as no surprise. What’s more intriguing, however, is Valve’s desire to connect users to its “design process.” Could that mean the launch of a beta testing program? We’ll know for sure come early next week.

Filed under: Gaming, HD

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Source: Valve

Birthdays are normally a time for celebration, but you know what? People heap adulation on Steam every day of the year. So let’s flip it, and spend today remembering when Steam was new, and was just about the worst thing ever.

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