Valve "Jumping In" to Hardware Market?

Not too long ago, rumors of a “Steambox” started to appear at various outlets online. While a Steam based console would revolutionize console gaming as we know it, though, eliminating the need for physical copies of software, as Steam has done with PC gaming, would represent an enormous gamble and undertaking for any business. These rumors dissipated with time, but may have had a bit of truth to them after all. Valve recently posted a job opening for an industrial designer; the same title employees at Microsoft filled when designing the Xbox 360.

Valve’s Job Listing

“Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There’s a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.”

So while it seems Valve isn’t interested in making a game console per se, a dedicated gaming PC sans mouse and keyboard input devices doesn’t seem too far off.

By: Ryan Seiler
Posted: September 5, 2012