For a product that’s received so much attention from the technology press, it’s astounding how little we actually know about Valve’s Steam Box, the half-PC, half-console hardware concept that could potentially redefine the video gaming landscape.

Sure, Valve boss Gabe Newell has offered some vague descriptions of his company’s plans, along with grand statements about the games industry and Valve’s place within it. Valve has also laid the groundwork for the Steam Box with the launch of Steam for Linux and Big Picture mode.

The former would serve as the new hardware’s lean-and-mean OS. The latter would make it easy-peasy to control Valve’s Steam service on big-screen, living room TVs. But what Valve hasn’t done is talk specifics about hardware features, tech specs, and pricing. There’s no release date for the Steam Box either, though Newell has said that prototypes could ship within four months.

The picture got even murkier last week, when Valve and modular PC maker Xi3 Corporation had a public spat. Despite having invested in Xi3 last year, Valve said on Tuesday that it has “no involvement” in any Xi3 product, including the Piston, a $1,000 gaming PC that many had believed to be some sort of Steam Box reference design. In response, Xi3 suggested in a press release Wednesday that the Piston’s use of Windows, rather than Linux, was a source of disagreement between the two companies.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here