http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/03/valve-confirms-hardware-development

thoughts?

Does that mean we'll be renting the hardware as well?

Will it require Steam?!! :(((

Or even worse, will steam require it?

My first thought was a console. They won't confirm or deny anything until products are closer to shipment.

If they want to make competitive gaming options that are truly OPTIONS for gamers, then I think this could be great. However, given the intrusive nature of their software product, I can't help but think that down the road gamers are going to see lots of things like: "you purchased TES7, which only runs on Valve Video cards, upgrade now to play". Of course I also expect the standard, "must have internet" to use anything they create (hardware or software).

If Valve were to create a console.. :) I imagine the entire thing would be intricately integrated within the steam service. Would probably knowing Valve and Steam at least require occasional online trips to even allow you to play and i wouldn't be surprised if it would require nearly constant internet connection.

I'd also assume that the console would likely be Digital Download only as that's what their all about.

Not something I would want to invest in at all. But my fear is eventually Valve would require you to have their hardware to play any Steam related games,

We have detected that your internet connection is down. Your video card will no longer display the color blue until you manage to reconnect to the internet. If you know you will be offline in the future, remember to check "Use Offline Colors" to prevent this from happening again. Enjoy your game

Hahaha.

Yeah, go ahead and spread yourself even thinner, that's a great strategy.

I really liked Valve the singleplayer game developer. I'm starting to seriously doubt they'll actually ever finish HL3 and that it will have been worth the wait.

I hope not for a console but more of a specialized "gamer" computer setup that is certified to run all steam games but in no way require steam to be installed. This will make it easier for game developers on the PC platform to optimize hardware as I can see that be a pain in the ass considering the number of possibilities available when it comes to hardware and software setup combinations.

You mean like that Razer gaming laptop, but in desktop form? Check the reactions on that, though I guess since it's valve, people will defend it...

Gaming laptops are just popular brands that become overpriced. Considering how Valve treat their fan base (mainstream, ridiculous sales..) I'm actually quite confident that their price will be towards people with a budget. However, if they will actually develop their own hardware that might end up differently, I don't know.

As long as it's open (no forced OS, apps, steam etc..) and reasonably priced I think it could be a huge success.

Heh, googled that. Apparently, Battlefield 3 is 1.7x the baseline on it. That's ... Impressive! I hope it's even got that new Cloud thing everyone talks about.

I almost put this in my post verbatim (except the color was green) :p

Most manufacturers are trying to force gamers to connect. I've taken my PS3 offline due to the Sony EULA and silly Blu-Ray options (in addition to how the apps force a login, which means updates that can break stuff, etc) and I suspect that next gen won't allow this. You want to play, you have to connect.

I see the appeal to software as a service, but I'm not interested in it for myself. I don't want to consult someone else every-time I read a book and I don't plan on doing the same thing for game playing/ movie watching, etc.

For Valve, it would make sense that their Steam console would be an always connected device and would be nice for fans if it brought their collection to the living room tv. However, I really do see a tie in to PC hardware. Starts off with recommended system requirements, then it becomes minimum, then its forced at the driver/system level. This is, of course, speculation, but I don't feel like they offered a reason or the need for hardware advancements. Peripherals haven't changed? My 7.1 wireless headset keeps me from scratching my head on that one. So I'm inclined to think that they want to control more than just the software. Time will tell for sure, but I see Valve selling to PC game makers that they can console-ize the PC and DRM it up at the same time... making it very appealing to develop for (and also removing options from the consumer base)

Other than the price of that Razer laptop (which was way too much), the biggest complain we had was that the hardware was fixed. You are asking for a standard hardware box, which means that the flexibility of a PC is lost. Those are the reactions I meant, not the price of it.
For some people, fixed hardware works, for the reasons you said before (knowing the target platform). That is why consoles have fewer issues with games. We already have that for non-consoles though, it's called a Mac. Fixed hardware, software that is guaranteed (I think, not sure about this) to work on your machine, and the happiness of installing and using your software easily. But if you are unhappy with your graphics card, not sure if you can do something about it.