Valve's New Business Move

Valve had quite the week. Three announcements out of the company that never says anything. Valve seems to surprise us every time. I think they might just wait for us to forget about our beloved franchises before announcing anything. Nevertheless they put out 3 announcements last week. I would like to say that I wouldn't get my hopes up for anything valve ever announces. I'm not saying that the announcements weren't exciting. Valve is entering the console business with their new Os, Console and controller. Most people would criticize Valve's moving because they would be entering a market that is already owned by both Sony and Microsoft.

Of course Valve couldn't have picked a better time to join the game. For one they are doing something that is different from everyone else. They are allowing third parties to make their own version of the console. Since the "SteamBox" is totally computer hardware based things can be changed in the design. The case is that the third party systems will probably come out after the OG Steambox to avoid competition. The Steambox is practically a computer but the magic lies in its OS.

The OS was specifically designed to play games. It's is not meant to be a home computer, it's supposed to be a computer that goes in your living room. The OS is designed to play games optimally with ease. This is a good business move since it defeats their competitors and tends to a market that has been seen as a minority for years. The problem with current OS now is they are made for people who will use their computers for office work or Facebook. Steam OS is a modified version of Linux that will revolutionize the industry. I know I'm going to make the switch. Gamers will have something made with them in mind.

With our hopes high, we speculated that exclusive software would be announced. Typical to Valves shenanigans they displayed a controller instead during the last announcement. It has stirred quite a lot of interest in the gaming community however. As with the other announcements it can be described as ambitious as well. It challenges tradition PC gaming by replacing the idea of a keyboard. The controller has to be very different to play every kind of game which it is. The controller has no sticks at all and has replaced them for very cool trackpads. The button layout looks very different putting buttons all over the controller instead of a certain area. The controller supposedly will work for different game types because of its hack-ability and custom mapping options. It's shown to have a touch screen and rumble controls which is completely accessible to developers.

For a limited time Valve will be sending several hundred systems to steam users as a test. Those lucky enough to get them will have the opportunity to test the newest innovation in gaming. Needless to say I already signed up. Valve has always been an innovative company filled with so of the greatest minds in their field. I myself am very interested to see how this unfolds. Some could say the Valve is the Wonka Chocolate Factory of the gaming industry.

-Nicholas K
Source:  http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/