Based gaming overlord Gabe Newell presents:
SteamOS
They said they were going to compete with Microsoft directly, they said they were going to beat Apple into the living room, and I doubted them.
I've never been happier to be wrong.
what is a "living room machine", though?
and what kind of controller are we talking about?
Definitely excited, but those are two big questions.
They have been developing a platform that will be PC based, now using their 'SteamOS' with many features that will essentially make it an entertainment system for lack of a better name.
Essentially it will turn your PC into a gaming console, nothing specific has been mentioned yet but they are aiming to essentially take over all forms of entertainment. Talking like streaming television, other media streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, DVR, gaming, etc. They have systems in place already like Steam's "Big Picture" which essentially allows you to navigate steam using your television with a gamepad. Another feature currently in Steam are game cards, which are similar to achievements but they are collectible and can be traded or SOLD to other people on steam for money that can be used to buy games.
A feature they've recently announced is game sharing, anyone that has a steam account will be able to share their games with ANYONE on their steam friends list they choose to with the only stipulation being that they can't be playing it while you are online, if a person is playing a shared game when you login, it will prompt the person to save their game and then boot them out.
Another big feature is the steam marketplace which right now is used exclusively for selling and trading in game items, but will soon be allowing people to buy and sell used games to one another - of course all the money stays in your Steam account but you can use it to purchase anything on Steam with it.
As far as gamepads go, I haven't heard anything specific, in the early SteamBox development, they were talking about using slightly modified Xbox gamepads, but there likely won't be a standardized gamepad. The SteamBox will likely just be a SteamOS ready console for people not comfortable using a PC, or that don't have a high powered gaming PC.
One of the best parts about this is that they were developing it specifically to make the PC platform more appealing for developers.
All in all this is huge news and the future of gaming got a little brighter, I was worried that Microsoft or Apple might beat them into the living room, and they will likely still try.