Cogs be Turning

So yesterday at CES we got a decent look at what is likely to be the specs for one of the 3rd Party versions of the long hyped Steambox. Codenamed “Piston” it’s based on Xi3’s X7A mini computer. And no, I hadn’t heard of them either. I’ll just briefly go over what we know so far, but since details are all over the internet by now I won’t dwell on them too much, and just focus on what to make of it all.

So at the heart of the Piston will be an unspecified quad core processor, the X7A clocks it’s quad core at 3.2GHz, so it’s likely the console will be based around the same basic power, with minor tweaks. The X7A also has 8GB of DDR3 Ram, and a 1TB solid state hard drive. Of these features the Piston has been confirmed to include “up to 1TB of storage,” so a possible hint that there will be multiple price points for the console. The X7A uses onboard graphics that can support up to 3 monitors, and is ram packed with ports and plugs on it’s back. The X7A boasts of being modular and upgradeable (like every computer, ever) and has a tiny form factor, looking a lot like the Ouya’s badass older brother. Essentially it’s a gaming PC with a thyroid problem, however there’s no word as to whether it’ll run Windows, Linux, or a custom steam-based OS.

So my main feelings are firstly are based around software, will it run windows, will it run a Steam OS, will this affect which of your Steam games you can/can’t play on the Piston. If it doesn’t run Windows, will it be an open system? I mean looking at the specs it looks like it’d make a really impressive streaming/Youtube box, but will Valve allow the necessary software to be installed alongside it’s own stuff. In my mind, despite their attitude towards Linux, it seems really unlikely that Valve will open their system even half as much as say the Ouya. So, will it be as closed as the 360 despite what Valve have said about Windows 8? And if the new Xbox is going to be a bit freer and more open like media speculation suggests, could this leave Valve with egg on it’s face?

Secondly it packs one hell of a punch. If the Piston launches with specs similar to the X7A, and it’s likely there will be nothing more than a little tweaking, then you can expect to be able to play pretty much every game on steam, on your TV, and pump up the graphics while you’re at it. This thing is next gen, and not WiiU next gen, but proper next gen. If it beats the Xbox and PS4 to release, it could clean up, especially since you will more than likely be able to use all the games you’ve already purchased on your Steam account, offering backwards compatibility the others could only dream about.

Looking at the amount of ports on the back of the X7A, three things spring to mind, firstly you should be able to connect some pretty interesting peripherals to this thing, and with 4 eSATA ports and 3 USB 3.0 ports you should be able to do some beefy memory upgrades. Secondly, since it’s got HDMI, two mini Display ports, and an SPDIF port, this thing could be one impressive home cinema system, that makes me wonder if Valve will try and step into the Netflix territory a bit, or at least form some sort of distribution partnership. It seems like a sensible move. And thirdly, since it’s got USB on the back, do you think you could use the Xbox receiver to play the Piston with 360 controllers? Either way it’s almost certain that the controllers for the Piston will be xinput compatible, simply because of it’s near universality in PC games with controller support.

Finally, and a major point of concern, the price point of the X7A is $999. That makes the PS3’s launch price look like a raffle ticket at a church fair. I understand that this is just a 3rd party variant, and that Valve's own Steambox is still to come, but likelyhood is that they will have to be optimised in a similar way, and that all steam consoles will fit into a ballpark spec. If valve is serious about the Steambox it needs to make the price point more accessible, they can’t just rely on it’s hardcore fans, especially seeing as they already have all the benefits of steam on their beefy gaming rigs (which cost a lot less than $999 I'll have you know). It’s still early days, but why buy a Console to play my PC games when I already have a PC? They need to bring something more to the table.

For more pictures of the Piston, go somewhere else. What do I look like to you‽
Jamie out xoxoxo