Steam Machine revolutionizes gaming with enhanced game consoles
by PATRICK LE
Valve, a renowned game company, is releasing products known as Steam Machines for their entertainment platform, Steam.
Anticipated for over a year, Steam Machines will be released throughout November and will range from $449.99 to $4,999 with an optional controller costing $49.99.
All of the Steam Machines use Steam, an entertainment platform for the PC which offers thousands of games and DLCs (downloadable content) which can be bought online and stored in a user’s game library.
“It’s cool how they made game consoles for Steam. Now I don’t need to buy game discs, since I can buy all my games online now,” said Steven Chaing, sophomore.
The Steam Machines include gaming PCs, game consoles and a Steam Controller, which controls are implemented in every Steam game. The Steam Controller can be connected to both the PCs and game consoles.
“I think they [the Steam Machines] are the same as any gaming PC since they have the same specs,” says Ishmael Valenzuela, junior. “However, the Steam Controller is unique because of its layout and d-pad; I would like to try it.”
Many gaming companies such as Alienware have collaborated with Steam and each created their own Steam Machine. A total of 13 Steam Machines are being released.
Steam Machines come in varying sizes, depending on the game company which made it. Each model has different components that affect the machines’ gaming performance.
“The Steam Machine is like any other game console and PC,” said Ivan Vuong, sophomore. “The Steam controller looks very interesting, since it looks a lot different from other game controllers because of its size and shape.”