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For the past few months, fans have started wondering if Valve was going to jump into the console marketplace. Gabe Newell, the head honcho over at Valve, said that he was willing to join the console race if he needed to. Now, it seems like that is more likely than we all once thought. TheVerge.com reported on a number of rumors that point toward Valve beginning development on a new game console. The goal is to create a console that can successfully play PC games and utilize the Steam network as its primary method of distribution. Valve would design the hardware and software for the console, but third-party companies would produce it following a model similar to the Android phone market. Supposedly, Alienware has already begun designing early prototypes of the new console. The system will be open to several different controller inputs, apparently being designed to run off of a generic USB interface. Valve filed a patent last year for a sort of “build your own controller,” which lets you swap control sticks and controller parts. Many fans are speculating that this is the controller included with the new console. Hopefully the new console will also be able to support a keyboard and mouse interface, as many of the games on the Steam network are designed for a PC. 
None of these details have been confirmed by Valve yet, so take this all with a grain of salt. Still, this would certainly make a splash at E3 if it were true. We will bring you more information about this rumored project as it becomes available. By Angelo M. D’Argenio |