Apparently there was a bit of truth to the much-discussed Valve Steam Box rumor. Yesterday at CES, both they and Xi3 revealed a modular PC they teamed to build capable of connecting to large, high-definition television sets and playing games via Steam in Big Picture Mode.
Apparently there was a bit of truth to the much-discussed Valve Steam Box rumor. Yesterday at CES, both they and Xi3 revealed a modular PC they teamed to build capable of connecting to large, high-definition television sets and playing games via Steam in Big Picture Mode.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for Xi3,” Xi3 President Jason A. Sullivan said in an official statement. “This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience. As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand.”
A press release was issued by Xi3 to tell those unable to attend CES about the device; it was light on details, though. It made no mention of system specs nor did it address how its Steam client would differ from the current PC & Mac versions. Engadget enlightened us a bit in a hands-on piece about the unit posted today; according to them, the box will have a Quad-Core AMD chip, up to 1TB of storage and a heat-resistant aluminum chassis.
UPDATE: A Valve official tells Polygon this is “one of many” Steam-powered prototypes.