14 DAY TRIAL // The Steam Machines launch seems like a bit of a failure for Valve, but that’s not really the case. In fact, it is just the way Valve operates.
A lot of people have been waiting with great interest for the launch of the Steam Machines, and everyone was speculating about what’s going to happen. Some people went as far as saying that Valve might even launch Half-Life 3 as a surprise.
The truth is that it does seem like the thing to do when you launch a new product, powered by your OS. Sure, the Steam Machines are built by third-party companies, but they are generically called Steam Machines. So, what gives?
Well, there are two wrong assumptions made about Steam Machines. First of all, they are classified as consoles, and that’s not really correct. They are not all the same; some are more powerful than others and some are cheaper. Also, the operating system is open source, and you can take one of these “consoles” and use it as a desktop computer, not to mention that most of the hardware is upgradable.
Secondly, people assume that the launch for these new “consoles” from Valve should be similar to the ones from Sony and Microsoft. Valve has no interest in that because they are not launching a console, they are launching the next thing that will dominate after the consoles are done for.
What makes a console a console
We can easily find the definition of a console. It’s a closed entertainment system for your living room. In this case, the living room is just a placeholder. The Steam Machines are much more than just an entertainment system. You can turn it into a server for your personal website if you really want that.
Valve is playing the long game. They are actually building the next-gen consoles, but neither Sony nor Microsoft is willing to see this reality. In a few years, both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One will become obsolete. They are already considered current gen, and from what’s been discussed until now, neither company is willing to build another one of these consoles.
It’s possible that the next-gen entertainment systems from Microsoft or Sony will be hybrids, just like the Steam Machine, but most likely closed source. By then, the Steam Machines will already have a few years of advantage.
The Steam Machines are the competition for the next-gen consoles if they ever exist at all. This is why Valve is not making a big deal out of the launch and why they don’t seem troubled that they don’t get a lot of traction.
Remember Half-Life 2
When Valve launched Half-Life 2, they also pushed Steam as a requirement to play that game. Everybody hated it, and it took many years until it became good and widely accepted. Valve was willing to wait, knowing that their product arrived too soon for an unprepared market. Does this sound familiar?