Friday 8 March 2013
A prototype for Valve's 'Steam Box' console was showcased at CES 2013. The prototype, dubbed Piston, is made by Xi3, and is designed specifically to support Steam and its Big Picture Mode on TVs. The piston is modelled on Xis's X7a computers. While the company wouldn't talk about the machines's price, we think it'll cost around the $900 mark, as the X7a computer is priced at $999. This could be a major turn-off for gamers, as a new Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3 is much less expensive than the Piston.
It is possible that Valve would be heavily subsidising the cost of the consoles, and would depend on introducing more gamers to its digital distribution platform Steam to make a profit instead. Valve has promised to reveal more information in the coming months.
ALSO SEE: KNOW YOUR COMPUTER'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION
