Xi3 Corporation is the company behind the cool and interesting little Xi3 Piston console. The Piston is actually a small gaming computer more that it is a game console like the Xbox or PlayStation. Xi3 Corporation has announced that it will be launching its first retail presence in a Utah mall just in time for […]
It’s not a Steam Box, but they want us to believe it is: Xi3’s Piston might be the most confusing product in gaming this year, thanks to some muddled messaging and a deal with Valve that never went anywhere.
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You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The long-running distinction between dedicated game consoles and gaming PCs is disappearing with Valve’s announcement of its own operating system, SteamOS. The hardware is changing too, with next-gen consoles from Microsoft and Sony offering much more than the ability to play disc-based games, not to mention both being built on PC architecture (x86). And PC gaming has never been more friendly in the living room, between Steam’s Big Picture Mode and solid gamepad support for many games.
With one of Valve’s other announcements last week, Steam Machines finally put a name to the living room PC gaming initiative we’ve long heard about (what the press dubbed “Steambox“). Though we heard about Xi3’s Piston back at CES, and we knew about the company’s financial ties to Valve, it was unclear how tied its little modular gaming PC was to the initiative. Now, however, it’s more clear than ever: Xi3’s release date press release repeatedly describes the Piston as “the Piston Console,” meant to push up against the big three game console manufacturers. Sure, it costs $1,000 (and up), but it promises to handle modern PC games with aplomb. And it’s a tiny little box!
We caught up with Xi3 this week for a second look at the Piston game “console” — a custom version, for the game Loadout — and its first-party wireless controller. We also got a chance to actually play some games on the little box: the first time anyone outside of the company did as much, we’re told. Head past the break for our impressions.%Gallery-slideshow99844%
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD
When the Xi3 Piston modular PC / game console ships this November, it’ll ship like most PCs do: without a gamepad. Sadly, the in-house controller from Piston will be sold separately for a separate, undisclosed price. “There will be a future announcement about our plans for controllers,” was the most that chief marketing officer David Politis would share during a brief interview this morning. We managed to snap the pic you see above before the controller was whisked away; Politis and co. refused any closer snaps, not to mention a opportunity to go hands-on.
The PC-cum-game-console will launch with “some version” of Windows (the console we saw here was running Windows 7), rather than SteamOS. The only look we’ve had at Xi3’s GUI was brief, during SXSW’s gaming expo. And Politis called that brief glimpse “presentation-ware.” He said we’ll see it running “before we officially ship” in video form at the very least, and it’ll run as a Windows-based program on the shipping box. He did speak to how it will work, though. “It’ll be customizable … when [the Piston] is ready to run, you’ll be in our GUI. You won’t be in an OS per se,” Politis told Engadget. “It’s connected to the net, so you should be able to access any type of content you already have ownership of or licensing rights to from inside of the GUI. And you’re gonna be able to do that. You can start thinking through, ‘What do I already own or have license rights to that I can access through the internet?’ These are ticking off the different types of things that you and your readers own or have access to.” When we specifically noted Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, as well as gaming services like Steam and UPlay, Politis confirmed our (obvious) guesses.
Update: Xi3 told us that the custom GUI will ship with the console in November. Please excuse the confusion!
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD
Xi3′s PISTON Console, something many have referred to as the first Steam Box, went up for pre-order in March. While details on the console have been given in bits and pieces over the months, Xi3 has published a large round of FAQ on its upcoming console, covering questions ranging from hardware to support and back […]
As if shelling out $900 this holiday to snag the two next-gen game consoles wasn’t enough, Xi3’s Piston modular gaming PC is arriving on November 29th for $1,000. Should money be no object to you, the adorable little box is available for pre-order right this minute, and that’ll lock in an earlier arrival by two weeks. Included in today’s news of the Piston’s launch date is word that internal storage capacity was upped by another SSD connector; Xi3 says up to 1TB of SSD storage is now supported.
In a hilarious nod to Valve’s Steam Machines news last week, Xi3 notes, “By adding a second SSD to their Pistons, users will be able to load a second operating system onto their machines, including the newly announced SteamOS.” As previously reported, Xi3 is (at least in part) financially-backed by Valve, and the Piston is a bit of a “Steambox” (the previous name for Valve’s Steam Machines effort) itself. SteamOS is said to be coming “soon,” ahead of Steam Machines’ official launch in 2014, and you’ll see no surprise on our faces should SteamOS arrive ahead of Piston’s November 15th pre-order availability.
On Xi3’s homepage, the Piston is positioned with a wireless, Piston-branded gamepad (seen above). It’s unclear if it ships with the system later this year, so we’ve reached out to Xi3 for more info.
Filed under: Desktops, Misc, Gaming, Peripherals, HD
It’s understandable how some confusion about Xi3 and the company’s small Piston gaming computer came to be. Xi3 at announced that during CES that Valve had invested in the company. According to Jason A Sullivan, founder, president, and CEO of Xi3, the company had written permission from Valve to disclose that the game developer had invested in the company.
However, Sullivan says that during a meeting with Valve during CES Gabe Newell “personally asked me” not disclose additional information about the relationship between Xi3 and Valve. Sullivan says that his company has honored that request and will continue to do so. However, Sullivan says that with all the coverage and rumors circulating about the relationship between the two companies a few things need to be covered.
Sullivan says that many people in the media have assumed that the Piston is the official Steam Box. He says that neither Xi3 or Valve have ever said that. He also points out that just because Valve may not “currently” have any “involvement with any product” from Xi3 doesn’t mean that there will be no involvement in the future. Sullivan also pointed out that the Piston will allow gamers to access Steam no matter the relationship between the two companies.
He also notes that the Piston will ship initially with Windows installed, but the machine can run Linux and other operating systems through the Piston Console. Sullivan also said, “we are seriously concerned we will not be able to meet the demand for Piston Consoles for the 2013 Holiday Season.”
[via Xi3]
Xi3 clears the air on Valve and the Xi3 Piston is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It was early yesterday morning when we brought you word that Valve has washed their hands off any involvement concerning Xi3′s PISTON console, and so it is always nice to hear both sides of the story, as folks from Xi3 has something to say about their PISTON console. Xi3 mentioned via their CEO, Jason A. Sullivan, “We reaffirm the fact that we received an investment from Valve Corporation (as we previously disclosed during the 2013 International CES trade show), and we did so with Valve’s written permission. Second, we were asked to build a product specifically for Valve, and both companies showcased this product—the PISTON Console—in their respective booths at CES 2013. Then, during a meeting with Valve at CES, Gabe Newell personally asked me that we not disclose additional information about our relationship with Valve. We have honored that request and will continue to do so. That said, there are other items we need to cover.”
For the record, the PISTON console is not the official Steam Box, but Xi3 has not closed the door on a more formal involvement between Valve and Xi3 down the road. The PISTON console will also enable gamers to access Steam, in addition to offering support a slew of other Internet-based gaming and entertainment platforms – which would mean it offers far more compared to what Valve has penciled in for their official Steam Box. In a nutshell, the PISTON console would play a complementary role to the official Steam Box, and the market should be large enough to accommodate both of them. [Press Release]
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It was at this year’s CES when we officially got to see Valve’s long-rumored Steam Box, which Valve teamed up with Xi3 in order to make it into an actual retail product. It’s only been two months since the Piston PC debuted at CES, and already its manufacturer Xi3 has started taking pre-orders for the device.
Xi3′s Piston Console, which is what the company is officially calling it, will probably be the most expensive “consoles” we’ve ever heard of as the company is setting its pre-order price at $999.99, although Xi3 is discounting it by $100 if potential customers place their order before 11:59 P.M. CST on March 17, 2013. (more…)
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