Steam Machine (hardware platform)
| Developer | Valve Corporation |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Type | |
| Release date | November 10, 2015 |
| Introductory price |
US$400–$6000 (Steam Controller $49.99; Steam Link $49.99) |
| Units sold | Under 500,000 |
| Operating system | SteamOS |
| Controller input |
|
| Online services | Steam |
| Website | store |
US$400–$6000
The Steam Machine, also known as the Steam Box during development, is a pre-built gaming computer designed to operate Valve Corporation's SteamOS through the Steam client. Several computer vendors have engaged with Valve to develop their own versions of Steam Machines for retail, offering additional options atop Valve's requirements such as dual-booting options with Microsoft Windows, and the ability to upgrade the computer in the future.
To support the Steam Machine and SteamOS, Valve developed and released its Steam Controller; a highly customizable game controller with touchpad-based haptic feedback that is compatible with Steam and SteamOS, can be used for the OS and most games, including those that normally require keyboard-and-mouse controls, and Steam Link; a device that allows consumers with existing Steam software on their computer to stream content directly from the computer to a monitor and play directly there.
Steam Machines and the related hardware were released for customers on November 10, 2015, following a two-year testing period. A portable version was to be released in late 2016 and a new plan was for April 2017.
Steam, a large digital store-front supporting many third-party developers and publishers, was developed by Valve Corporation primarily for Microsoft Windows and accounts for an estimated 75% of digitally purchased games on that platform. Valve has indicated displeasure with the approaches that both Microsoft and Apple are taking with their respective operating systems, limiting what applications could be run, and upon the release of Windows 8 in 2012, Valve's CEO Gabe Newell called it "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space", and discussed the possibility of promoting the open-source operating system Linux that would maintain "the openness of the platform". Newell recognized that games would need to be a significant part of the push for Linux. An official Linux client for Steam was released in July 2012, along with developer tools to help port games to the platform. Valve has since worked to assure that users' game libraries would be portable, including offering Steam Play whereby purchase of a title for one platform automatically allows that user to play the title on other supported platforms, and cross-platform multiplayer features.
...
Wikipedia