For a long time, the console gaming industry has been split into factions. Initially, there were rivalries between Atari and Intellivision and Atari and Commodore, followed by a battle between Atari and Nintendo, and then a clash between Nintendo and Sega.
Most recently, Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation have been duking it out in the so-called Console Wars since the early 2000s (although it’s not looking great for Xbox, as the PS5 has outsold every Microsoft console ever).
While consoles have been rather loudly battling, PC gaming has largely stayed in its own lane, quietly dominating the high road. Now, it seems that’s all about to change.
The largest PC gaming platform in the world, Steam (owned by lauded developer Valve), just announced its first plug-and-play gaming console, the Steam Machine.
Game cube
The Steam Machine isn’t actually Steam’s first-ever console. That distinction is owed to the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC that was released a few years ago. That said, the Steam Machine is the next logical step, even if it’s a big one.
It’s not quite a gaming console, and it’s not a pure PC — it sits somewhere right in between. Ultimately, that’s a very good thing. This device is going to offer far more PC gaming accessibility to folks who don’t want to fuss with building a PC or sit at their desk to game.