The article I read was Steam Big Picture: The quietest next-gen launch in history written by Kris Graft over at Gamasutra. Go read it (if you want). Its a great article...in my opinion...
It speaks to my new found love for all things Valve and about how they are bringing the fight to "the Big Three" (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) by providing a stream-lined service for the living room. No, they aren't jumping into the console war (as far as I can tell), but they are making it easier to use your PC from the comfort and safety of your couch.
I'm pretty sure all couch gamers know how to hook a system into a TV, and Valve has made it more intuitive to use a Steam service in front of our big screens for the desk gamers.
With the ability to use your existing hardware and have full (I'm assuming) access to your personal Steam game library, it is a no brainer. Combine that with support for both game pads and keyboard and mouse, and that the PC development market is far more open than the ones provided by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, it'll give more people the chance to try new games all over.
"Playing games on a comfy couch? Big Screen? Up to date system?! Yes please."
Big, hardware focused console creators won't really be competing with Valve though. They are going to be competing with their own customers. Say if a customer can make their own up-to-date system that they can comfortably play at home with the latest games for a cheaper price, then why will they wait for a console maker to come out with something that is locked up tight, and has mid-to-low end specs?
I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I think Valve is giving the customer what they want and opening conversation to PC and console gamers; a common place to enjoy video games together. Other companies are just trying to see how much they can take from the customer with the least amount of effort.
It'll be interesting to see how this progresses over the next few months.
Thanks!
-Dave
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