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It seems that Valve never make mistakes. Firstly, they are the company responsible for Steam, a digital platform for the selling of PC games which has since its inception in 2004 been a hugely successful innovation.
They are also responsible for arguably some of the most influential games of our generation. Since 1998 they have released 27 games. Amongst these are Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, and their Orange Box compilation, which have collectively sold over twelve million copies. It seems then, that they’ve been onto something of a winning streak practically since the inception of the company in 1996 by ex-Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington.
Not content with making awesome games and being the largest digital online retailer of them, they are now moving into the console markets with the announcement of the Steam Box earlier this week. As the end of 2013 looms we are fast approaching the Q4 releases of the Xbox One and PS4, but Valve seem to be confidently going after the market leaders with a console penned for a 2014 release.
These are the various examples of what the console could look like
What Does It Offer?
Will the Steam Box offer anything special? Will it be able to compete in an already saturated market which seems to have most recently pushed out Nintendo, one of the biggest players of late? Much like other consoles, the Steam Box will plug directly into a TV, much like other consoles it will have a controller and much like other consoles you will play games through said controller on said TV – this is where the similarities end.
Let’s Start With The USP
With the Steam Box, users will be able to access the online store of over 1,200 games; purchase, download and play them all in the comfort of their living rooms. This gets especially interesting when you consider the cross-platform implications. For perhaps the first time ever on a mass scale, people will be able to download and play PC games on a console. Finally the days of upgrading your PC piece-by-piece, year-upon-year, solely to be able to play the latest games, will be over. This will be further aided by the innovative controller (pictured below) which caters for traditional joystick style playing, but which Valve have also stated will effectively function as a keyboard and mouse. If this is true and nobody has any reason whatsoever to doubt Valve, then this will fill a long overdue gap in the market.
Setting Themselves Apart
The digital “sales” and “bargains” offered by Xbox Live and the Playstation Network are, let’s be honest, pretty lackluster. Most recently I noticed that a popular three year old game had had its original price lowered in a sale by twenty percent. Mention a Steam Sale to any gaming enthusiast and their face will immediately light up with excitement at the discounts offered for a few days at a time. With savings of up to 80% (Just Cause 2 for $2.99, anyone?) they really set themselves apart from Sony and Microsoft. For the moment at least, Valve don’t have the money grabbing, micro transaction nature of EA and they consistently provide free game updates to a large number of their published titles; these differences should set them apart from others.
An Easy Sell Then? What Are The Next Steps?
This seems too good to be true and perhaps it is. Although Valve (thus far) seem to have the product, information is still relatively scarce on how the console will perform, be priced and how it will truly stack up in a side by side comparison with its primary competition. Valve will therefore need to
A) Focus on releasing more information about their system, obviously they will do this. They are not fools.
B) Launch a massive marketing and awareness campaign – the Xbox and the Playstation are household names, the Steam Box and Valve are not.
C) Price their console correctly. Closer to the general release of the Steam Box, Valve will need to think very carefully about the pricing of their console. A good move would be to undercut Sony and Microsoft’s offerings, but that all depends on the price of their components.
D) Finally, they need to explain what will make the Steam Box amazing. I’m excited, and who wouldn’t be? But they will need to get across their product in an easily understandable manner, otherwise it will risk not getting casual gamers on-board.
Overall, Valve seems to have a winning product. It still needs to be tested and is in the relatively early stages of development. I for one will be following the development of this extraordinary piece of kit with bated breath, looking for any news. Just like the elusive Half-Life Episode 3, let’s hope this takes less than eight years to come to the market. Whilst Microsoft and Sony clash over their massive releases, the metaphorical underdog that is Valve will be plotting, waiting and gearing up to take on the market leaders. Good luck to them!
