Well, a controller is exactly what I expected, but I wasn't expecting it to be so radically different from more "traditional" controllers. It seems interesting, but I'd like to get my hands on one, just to see how well it works.

@BulletFMJ Everything uses OpenGL. Even Windows and the Xbox can use it, though a lot of games choose (or are forced to choose) DirectX instead on those platforms.

@surrealme Valve did say they had some kind of big AAA game dev/publisher announcement related to SteamOS coming, could be good news on that compatibility front, we'll see.

We are talking about gaming, the word "need" should never enter into the conversation. People need food, nobody needs games or gaming machines.However plenty of people might want a gaming machine that allows them to play their PC game collection in their living room without sacrificing their existing desktop PC or investing in a second expensive gaming PC. A Steam box meets that want. I don't think this device will be good for anyone that doesn't already have a Steam account, or is at least familiar with PC gaming, as long as the compatibility limitations exist, but if and when then do conquer that, the picture changes completely. The Steam Machine does become a truly viable competitor for the console giants.

@Gazdakka The OS is actually Linux, Ubuntu 12.04 specifically, with the normal desktop UI stripped out and replaced with Steam in big picture mode. It's completely free and open source (except Steam itself and probably the graphics drivers) and is being made available at no charge to both the public and system manufacturers. While I'm sure Valve has spent considerable time and money preparing this OS, most of the heavy lifting was already done for them by the Linux community long before they started work on it.

There will definitely be discrepancies in performance and expiration times for the machines, just like PCs. Unlike PCs, Valve can set a base minimum standard for the hardware that will guarantee acceptable performance of all games for a reasonable amount of time. Also just like PCs but unlike standard consoles, if you don't like the performance or if your machine is getting a little long in the tooth, you can upgrade just the parts that need it, instead of replacing the whole thing.

@McGregor Valve already said they are working with major hardware manufacturers to get multiple Steam machines to market. For better or worse, Dell and HP are two of the most major hardware manufacturers still in the PC game. Fortunately, they both sell Linux hardware already and they don't come with the same crapton of bloatware their Windows counterparts have, so maybe we can expect the same if they make a Steam Machine.

@Gazdakka Considering you are removing the OS cost and the hardware overhead inherent to Windows, you can easily expect base hardware that is extremely cheap. Like WalMart cheap. I'm sure higher end, and therefore more expensive, models will be available as well, but I wouldn't expect the base system to be more expensive than a console. If they are, this will be a huge failure, no matter how much I might wish it to be otherwise.

@deathstream A "fractured install base, due to multiple products and upgradeability" has done nothing to hurt the PC, why should it be any different for this console? Games will still have minimum requirements listed on them and, like Google does with Android, Valve will be instituting minimum requirements for an official Steam Machine. That means that the lowest level machine possible will still be able to run all games at least at their lowest settings (probably at least medium settings) for at least a few years. After that, you'll need to upgrade one or more parts to keep playing newer games or replace it entirely if you aren't comfortable with that. But if you want to spend a little more on the base machine, you can get something a little more "future proof" and use it a lot longer. Or you can go with your third option and build your own machine to your liking. Either way you go, you are going to end up with a console capable of performing better than current consoles for at least as long as a console cycle (assuming they don't make the cycles even longer next time) with a much larger game library, generally better games and a much cheaper upgrade path.

A monopoly, huh? That's funny, because I saw nothing in my use of Steam's big picture mode that stopped me from running non-Steam games or from going to other sites like GOG to buy more games (using Steam's own browser). MS didn't just start offering apps through their own store, they tried to force a closed Apple-like ecosystem that would give MS a cut of every sale. It's not right when Apple does it, it's still not right when MS does it.

@deathstream They aren't trying to "solve a problem" they are trying to compete with consoles, plain and simple. Competition is a good thing.

Linux is used way more than Windows. Almost the entire internet runs on Linux servers. Smart TVs, ATMs, connected appliances... all Linux. Oh, and lets not forget Android, which is, you guessed it, Linux. The desktop market in the western world has been slow to grasp Linux, but the rest of the world loves it (China even has its own official Linux distro). Linux is great. There is a reason its been around forever and is used everywhere.

@PixelAddict And the Steam Machine. Let's be honest here (again), this is not a desktop replacement, it's a game console with better hardware and games.

@MateykoSlam Technically it's already going to be a SM exclusive, it's a PC game first and foremost (they could port it to consoles eventually). All PC exclusive games are SM exclusives, as it is essentially a PC.