"We'll be giving out some prototypes to customers to gauge their reactions, I guess, in the next three to four months."
- Valve co-founder Gabe Newell says that his company's "Steam Box" living room PC will be in some consumer hands sometime this summer.
Valve is currently working on its own games console, known to the outside world as the Steam Box, with a plan to launch the hardware sometime in 2013. Newell opened up about the company's plans recently.
Now Newell has told the BBC that we may well see the device in operation within the next few months.
"We're working with partners trying to nail down how fast we can make it," he explained, giving an estimate of around three to four months for the prototype release.
"There are noise issues and heat issues and being able to [deal with] that while still offering a powerful enough gaming experience is the challenge in building it," he continued.
Newell noted that the console's controller is one of the main talking points within the company, as Valve considers including a heart-rate monitor in the gamepad.
"If you think of a game like Left For Dead - which was trying to put you into a sort of horror movie - if you don't change the experience of what the player is actually feeling then it stops being a horror game," he added.
"So you need to actually be able to directly measure how aroused the player is - what their heart rate is, things like that - in order to offer them a new experience each time they play."
""There are noise issues and heat issues and being able to [deal with] that while still offering a powerful enough gaming experience is the challenge in building it," he continued."
If there are still noise and heat issues, I find it very unlikely, that there will be a product out in summer.
I though the thing was going to small like that thing they showed a CES. I would have thought that the company they went with had all of that worked out, but I realize that there is suppose to be a Steambox built by Valve itself. Kinda confusing if you don't follow the gaming news.
The Piston by Xi3 was build with the help of Valve, but it wasn't the Steambox itself, but the Piston wouldn't be interesting for gaming either, cause the size is dictating it's very low end specs, that make it weaker, then the current console generation at a price of $1000 dollar.
Whoah that heart monitor thing came out of nowhere.
If it's built into the controller and doesn't bother you in any way, it might add. Especially in horror games. Please scare me when my pulse is already spiking out of horror.
Valve has actually been working on the heart monitor idea for quite some time now, I think initially they were testing it with Dota 2 several years ago.
Heart monitor?!? I'll be surprised if this is true, your heart rate can vary for all kinds of reasons not related to the game you are playing, what if your cat suddenly spills your coffee? what if you are excited about a sports show about to come on? I don't necessarily see the link between the game and your heart or at least there doesn't have to be a link between one and the other. Anyway if they include it I presume you can turn it off, but it's an odd idea if true.
That said I'm still intrigued by the IDEA of a Steam Box. Though I already have two they're my computers. :)
If there are still noise and heat issues, I find it very unlikely, that there will be a product out in summer.
If it's built into the controller and doesn't bother you in any way, it might add. Especially in horror games. Please scare me when my pulse is already spiking out of horror.