edstein

Fixed

Drexl

Now I'm imagining Portal Mario, where the portals are warp pipes.

Jcheckel

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SaoHMjS04vU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Matthew Chmiel

I love the choice of hats.

RocShemp

I would so play that.

Jay G.

You can:
http://stabyourself.net/mari0/

msdmoney

I think you are thinking too much along the lines of a traditional console, if Valve were to do anything I don't think it would follow a the typical console setup. I don't think the exclusive game is as big of a deal today as it was. I would expect that Valve would be less likely to set themselves up as platform owner like Microsoft or Sony, and would have a much more open system closer to a pc. I would imagine that they are more likely to bring something that changes the console market in terms of distribution/pricing, than just bringing in another console.

Drexl

So, it would be like the Ouya, but more powerful. It seems great for developers, but what about consumers? Without the ability to sell the hardware at a loss or at least break even, how much will it cost? Remember it will need a hard drive, as they won't be selling games on discs.

Although, with Steam sales and indie bundle pricing, even if it's $600 or more you'd certainly save money in the long run.

Ranger

I wonder what they will do for video outputs. HDMI from a PC can be tricky because of the handshake issue, like getting a blank screen at windows startup or a wrong resolution. I think VGA has been far more reliable for HTPC use.

Of course, there are devices like this thing that store the correct EDID info to help with the issue.
http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-EXT-HDMI...hdmi+detective

Michael Corvin

I have an audio issue on my HTPC. I get no audio until I unplug the HDMI cord and replug it in.

RocShemp

Newer receivers are better at handling different PC resolutions via HDMI. I had some games that were unplayable with the PC connected to my Onkyo TX-SR705 because I'd get no audio whatsoever since the avaialble resolutions for the game weren't 480i/p, 720p, or 1080i/p. But my new Onkyo TX-NR5010 has given me no issues whatsoever with the same exact games.

That said, some games (like the first Mass Effect game or the cinematic sequences of Darksiders) don't properly output 5.1 sound via HDMI. But that's more a software issue than a hardware issue.

Deftones

Looks like this might finally be announced soon: http://kotaku.com/5973986/here-we-go...wn-off-tonight

RocShemp

I guess they weren't allowed to take shots at different angles. Would love to see what sort of connections they plan to support.

And are there commercially available motherboards for something so small (since they say it's modular)?

chuckd21

Jay G.

I don't think they meant "modular" in the sense that the motherboard could be swapped out, but that the RAM, CPU, and expansion cards aren't soldered onto the motherboard.

starman9000

With that size, is it actually going to be some sort of streaming box?

Jay G.

Based on the pic of the back above, I'm guessing they expect you to attach one or more external drives for storing/playing games.

Drexl

Wow, if there's no room for an internal HDD I may just write it off. This would be the 3rd console in a row to do this, after the Wii U and Ouya.

I really hope MS and Sony don't go down this road. I don't care if it can support an external drive; it's sloppy and it negates the point (from a consumer POV, anyway) of making it smaller.

Jay G.

This article details that this Piston box is modeled after the PC maker Xi3's X7A line of pint-sized computers, but will have space for an internal drive:
http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/7/3849...-steam-box-xi3

Xi3's site appears to be getting hammered, but they ran an (unsuccessful) kickstarter for this model PC, which has details on it:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...a/posts/321923

One important note is that it appears that the PC relies on the GPU that's built-in to the CPU, and doesn't have a separate video adapter.

It's possible they're using the X7A model as a "prototype" since they have it handy, but are planning to make revisions for the final "Valve box" version.

RocShemp

Thanks.

flashburn

That article is misleading (shocking, I know). That isn't the Steam Box, although it is being designed to run Steam games.

fumanstan

I don't see how it's misleading. I know you hinted at inside information before (and knowing a bit about you, i understand ), but otherwise the article doesn't really allude to anything other then acknowledging more speculation about the Steam Box.

Looks like there's a lot of different hardware being made too.

http://kotaku.com/5974204/valve-says...are-prototypes

flashburn

It's misleading because they make it sound like it's "THE" Steam Box. It's not. That new article you linked helps to elaborate a bit. Granted, a lot of this stuff is up in the air at this point.

chuckd21

It's going to be called the Piston for pete's sake. Of course it's a Steam Box.

fumanstan

But they say exactly what it is; hardware backed by Valve that runs Steam. I don't see how that's misleading at all, especially since at the time the news came out obviously no one but insiders know what the actual Steam Box is/was going to be.