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Have some leaks? ;]

None at all. Call it a gut feeling. Both Microsoft and Playststion really screwed up their line-ups for current gen consoles and their production pipelines are in shambles. If someone can launch a successful console AD 2025 it's only @steampowered.com within their viable ecosystem.

Plus Steamdeck handheld really paved their way towards that option. Its commercial success and player reception has made it an important step for developers to ensure Steamdeck compliance for their titles. It's the first succesful attempt for Valve to become an actual hardware manufacturer.

This has got me thinking about the Steam Controller 2 rumors and the possibility that they're going to make it like a 15,000-in-one console. A controller that IS a Steam Deck, that you can install your games to and then use like a USB-C-to-HDMI cable to play them on your TV.

I never heard that one. Sick! I would love it :)

Honestly, same. Sure that'd be one HOT controller but the convenience alone would be crazy.

I would consider. But that would be just a small PC then... I'd rather buy a PC

But you're a PC player. You're comfortable handling a PC. Meanwhile quite a lot of console userbase that wants more from their consoles than Call of Duty, FIFA, and Ubi-games is facing a real dilemma when the PS5 / Xbox X|S generation ends.

Oh I get that. For me, plugging my laptop in is easy. But even then, I'd still love to have a Steam Deck under my TV. But the current Steam Deck hardware would melt trying to drive a modern large display is the issue. I have a Series X that is basically my Game Pass TV box. But, no Steam.

Fair point. My point of view is probably just too skewed to make a good call. What just scares me is how Steam is slowly but surely taking over the whole gaming market. Monopoly is never good for the customers, so I'd rather see some challengers succeed than giving too much power to Steam.

I have to admit, the thought is appealing for having a device under the TV specifically. Right now, I plug my gaming laptop in via HDMI, which is OK but finicky. Problem is, 4K TVs are standard now and the price to put an SoC in it powerful enough to drive that display would make it crazy pricey.

If Microsoft and PlayStation were able do deliver hardware that supports it under $400 than Valve can probably match it. They could also benefit from using a lot of DLSS tricks that were not available at the start of the generation. Plus console players don't have the highest standards in general.

I'd like one! Not sure it'd happen though as, since it would be an open system, they'll just get undercut and out-specced by competitors. They can compete in the handheld space because of the hardware limitations of that kind of device. As a settop box they'd only have a brand name to rely on.

Looking how well their brand is doing I'd say that's a huge advantage. Not to mention ALL of the hardware manufacturers can release such device even today, and the reason they're not doing it is because you need both hardware and a proprietary storefront to make money in the console market.

Having an official Valve SteamBox would be cool, but I wonder how many people would see a clone for 2/3 price and just get that instead. They can't lock people in like Sony / Microsoft can.

Here's the kicker - Valve would benefit from the 2/3 price clones as long as they would use Steam as their content delivery service (which they would, out of lack of a viable alternative in the PC market).

I wouldnt cos im a 4090 chad, but tbh I wouldn’t wish PC building on anybody, and I think it’d do really well. Steam is the far superior store to all the others in price and consumer treatment.

That's exactly the point. Valve already has 100% of the 4090 chads market. Now it would be about converting those clueless about PC building to Steam users by putting out a device any console player can pick up and set up.