Prototype Steam Console Unveiled

Over the past week or so, the majority of the world has started to sink its teeth into the latest console releases from Sony and Microsoft. In the past this would be where it stopped. There would be no major console of note to come out within the next five years or so, bar a couple of handheld consoles. Well, this generation is going to see a huge change in that. You see, Valve are gearing up to release their first console. If the prototype is anything to go by it is pretty sexy too.

In case you are unaware, the Steam Console is a unit which is built to run Steam OS. This is a Linux based operating system which will be able to run most of the games currently available through Steam. Think of it as a way to access Steam through your HD television. It is worth noting that not every Steam game will be available on the console. Only those games which have been optimized to run on Linux will be able to (and sadly these are few and far between at the moment). I do expect this to change though. As you may have seen over the past few months, Valve have come out and stated that they want more developers to start paying attention to the Linux Operating System. In fact, they want there to be a day where most games will run through the OS. It is unknown whether there will come a point where they only offer Linux compatible games. It certainly is a real possibility though.

Let’s discuss the prototype a little bit more. The unit that has been unveiled will cost $499 and has been developed by iBuyPower.  It is a rather nifty white box which boasts an AMD processor and AMD Radeon R9 270 Graphics Card. In addition to this you will find a 500GB hard drive and all the wireless connectivity that you need. Initial reports state that the console is more than capable of pumping out 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second without any drop in performance. This means that your games are going to look sublime. Sure, some computers are able to pump out upwards of 120 frames per second. Don’t kid yourself though, it is nigh on impossible to notice a frame rate difference of this due to the way that the human eye works.

No release date has been set for the console (which incidentally is available in two different styles, one named Gordon and the other named Freeman). However, it is expected that we may hear more news soon. In fact, it is expected that those who attend CES this year will be able to have a quick play around on the console. It is in a far from finished state though (The operating system at least), so I really do not expect it to be launched any time soon. In fact, if I had to guess it would be the end of the year. I am dead excited though.