Video game giant seeks to grow audience with new Linux-based OS aimed at getting PC games onto living room TVs.
The battle to control your living room entertainment experience is hotting up – and it looks like the forthcoming next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft will have a new competitor to deal with. Valve is coming.
The PC gaming giant, which owns and runs the Steam digital distribution platform, has announced SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system designed for living room PCs. Designed entirely around the company's hugely successful gaming service, the OS will provide seamless access to the over 2,000 titles, and will also allow users to stream games from their main PC or Mac to the living room TV.
The idea is to make it easier for families to enjoy PC gaming on their main display – and to make digital gaming itself more accessible. "As we've been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we've come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself," reads the official site. "SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines." Family members will also be able to share games from each others' accounts, taking it in turns to play, save games and earn achievements. Furthermore, Valve says it is working with content services to bring streaming music and video to the SteamOS.
Valve founder Gabe Newell has previously attacked the Windows 8 operating system, calling it "a catastrophe". Microsoft's latest OS provides its own digital gaming service, designed along similar lines to the Apple app store – but Newell suggested this potential monopoly would hit margins for developers and PC manufacturers and drive many from the market. In contrast, the SteamOS is more similar to Google's Android proposition: a blueprint that can be adapted by hardware manufacturers and end users. From the announcement:
"With SteamOS, 'openness' means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they've been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love."
Valve has said that the SteamOS has been streamlined for game performance and that developers will be able to release optimised versions of their latest titles for the platform. Its big challenge, then, will be to get committed support from third-party publishers. Steam currently has over 50 million users and the service currently dominates the PC digital gaming landscape – as a brand, it adds considerable currency to the idea of an entertainment-focused living room PC.
And this is unlikely to be Valve's final disclousure in this area. The company has promised two further revelations this week, one of which may well be an update on the fabled Steam Box, a dedicated console-like PC that fans have been expecting for many months. As for the third announcement … We'll just point you to this article and cross our fingers.
Source: Valve invades the living room with Steam OS | Technology | theguardian.com
The battle to control your living room entertainment experience is hotting up – and it looks like the forthcoming next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft will have a new competitor to deal with. Valve is coming.
The PC gaming giant, which owns and runs the Steam digital distribution platform, has announced SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system designed for living room PCs. Designed entirely around the company's hugely successful gaming service, the OS will provide seamless access to the over 2,000 titles, and will also allow users to stream games from their main PC or Mac to the living room TV.
The idea is to make it easier for families to enjoy PC gaming on their main display – and to make digital gaming itself more accessible. "As we've been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we've come to the conclusion that the environment best suited to delivering value to customers is an operating system built around Steam itself," reads the official site. "SteamOS combines the rock-solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience built for the big screen. It will be available soon as a free stand-alone operating system for living room machines." Family members will also be able to share games from each others' accounts, taking it in turns to play, save games and earn achievements. Furthermore, Valve says it is working with content services to bring streaming music and video to the SteamOS.
Valve founder Gabe Newell has previously attacked the Windows 8 operating system, calling it "a catastrophe". Microsoft's latest OS provides its own digital gaming service, designed along similar lines to the Apple app store – but Newell suggested this potential monopoly would hit margins for developers and PC manufacturers and drive many from the market. In contrast, the SteamOS is more similar to Google's Android proposition: a blueprint that can be adapted by hardware manufacturers and end users. From the announcement:
"With SteamOS, 'openness' means that the hardware industry can iterate in the living room at a much faster pace than they've been able to. Content creators can connect directly to their customers. Users can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want. Gamers are empowered to join in the creation of the games they love."
Valve has said that the SteamOS has been streamlined for game performance and that developers will be able to release optimised versions of their latest titles for the platform. Its big challenge, then, will be to get committed support from third-party publishers. Steam currently has over 50 million users and the service currently dominates the PC digital gaming landscape – as a brand, it adds considerable currency to the idea of an entertainment-focused living room PC.
And this is unlikely to be Valve's final disclousure in this area. The company has promised two further revelations this week, one of which may well be an update on the fabled Steam Box, a dedicated console-like PC that fans have been expecting for many months. As for the third announcement … We'll just point you to this article and cross our fingers.
Source: Valve invades the living room with Steam OS | Technology | theguardian.com
