But the TV PC may finally be ready for its moment. In SteamOS, Valve has created a very nice, fairly widely compatible Windows alternative that eliminates a lot of the complexity of the PC (without removing it entirely, for those who sometimes want that). Like the Nintendo Switch, Valve has designed a user interface that feels good to use on handheld screens and TVs from up to 10 feet away.
And it’s happening at the same time as a weird tension in the console wars, where Sony is embracing PC ports and making exclusive releases easier at the same time as Microsoft is, for all intents and purposes, shutting down Xbox hardware operations in favor of Windows. Valve is well ahead of Microsoft on its console-style PC interface, while the PC is becoming a kind of universally compatible uber-console.
I’m kind of the ideal audience for the Steam Machine; Almost all of my PC games are on Steam, I play practically nothing that requires anti-cheat software, and I mostly play graphically undemanding indie games rather than GPU-sapping AAA titles. So, you know, temper my enthusiasm for this concept just a little bit.
But as someone who’s already been functionally living with a Steam Machine for several months, I think Valve’s new hardware could do for the living room PC what the Steam Deck did for the handheld: define and expand a product category that others have tried to break into and failed. This year, as I’ve played, my Steam Machine has served me well silksong, ufo 50, dave diverBoth HD-2D dragon quest Remake, a bad guy’s part baldur’s gate iiisome multiplayer escape from vampires experiment, many jackbox party pack Sessions, and much more besides. I have never lost my desire to buy a PlayStation 5.