Fans and developers alike have been clamoring for a next generation of gaming consoles for quite a while now. Gamers want to experience something completely new after nearly a decade with current-gen systems while developers are eager to flex their design muscles by working with more advanced systems. While both Sony and Microsoft have been relatively mum about progress on the Playstation 4 and the Xbox 720, recent activity from both company has a lot of people believing that we may finally get an unveiling of these long-awaited consoles this year, most likely at E3 2013.
However, with all the attention focused on the Xbox 720 and the Playstation 4, we may be missing out on some other groundbreaking console projects that are in the works. Case in point, Valve’s long rumored Steam console which may also end up getting its debut this year.
Valve’s Gabe Newell confirmed the company’s plan to build a Steam console last December, one that will compete with current-gen consoles and the upcoming xbox 720 and Playstation 4. The difference between Valve’s console and the others is that they see theirs as a “PC for the living room,” or as Gamerant puts it, “a system that culled PC-centric functionalities into a more streamlined, controlled, approachable-for-the-living-room-masses interface.”
The gaming website adds that according to Ben Krasnow, a Valve electronics engineer, the big reveal for the console will be happening this year:
“The details reportedly come from Ben Krasnow, a Valve electronics engineer who spoke last month at the EHSM 2012 conference in Berlin. According German technology website Golem.de, Krasnow confirmed that Valve’s console will be revealed fully in 2013 — either at GDC 2013 (March 25-March 29) or E3 2013(June 11-13) — and that it will eschew Windows OS support in favor of the open-source Linux.”
After a long time of speculating, it looks like a Steam console is finally heading our way. But what’s even more surprising here is their decision to use Linux instead of the more widespread Windows OS.
How do you feel about a Linux-powered Steam console? Are you looking forward to seeing the Steam console revealed alongside the Playstation 4 and the Xbox 720? Share your thoughts in the comments below!