Valve Software (they may change that last word at some point) might be ready for an external hardware beta sometime in 2013.
Jeri Ellsworth, of Valve’s nubile hardware division was recently interviewed by Engadget this past week. During the talk, Ellsworth let out that the hardware team’s main goals are to “make Steam games more fun to play in your living room.” Considering the impressive UI that is Steam’s Big Picture mode, that’s a moderately safe goal.
Ellsworth’s team is looking for a hardware solution. That is, they are prototyping some products now in preparation for Steam’s real living room debut. One problem is getting a PC player to migrate from their PC controls to ones more suitable for a living room, namely a gamepad. That might not be the correct solution though; we can only wait and see what Valve Software’s hardware department has in store for us hopefully next year.
When asked about wearable computing, Ellsworth said that’s still a ways away, dropping a projection for two to five years.
It looks like Valve wants some direct competition with the traditional living room entertainment giants. With the resources it already has, Valve is primed to do a better job at it than OUYA will.
