Valve Steam Machine and Controller Delayed Into 2015

Valve has announced on their Steam Community forums that their Steam Machine and controller have been delayed until at least 2015. Valve has been arguably one of the most influential companies in the PC gaming world with their flagship game Half-Life and later with their PC gaming storefront, Steam, which launched in 2003 for the Windows PC platform as a digital storefront.

The Steam Machine is Valve’s first push into the hardware space to make a bid for a unification of PC hardware, as well as a controller that would bridge the gap between the mouse and keyboard and the traditional twin stick console controller which Valve debuted at CES 2014.

Responding to an ongoing push from fans to have the latest update on the Steam Machine and controller, Valve posted in their community forums today that they are working hard and taking all feedback into consideration.

Valve stated in the community post:

“Of course, it’s also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we’re now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014. Of course, it’s also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we’re now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014.”

Some of those improvements are the constantly evolving controller that goes hand in hand with the steam machine. Lacking the traditional twin sticks most gamers are familiar with from the video game console, the circular touch pads are reported to provide a much more satisfying controlling experience than two analog sticks do.

With many PC games built around a mouse and keyboard, especially the RTS and MOBA games, a controller that will allow gamers to successfully play command heavy games will be a big help in getting new gamers into genres that are synonymous with the PC instead of the console.

PC Gaming has a reputation that Valve wants to help overcome in order to reach the more casual market with the help of their Steam Machines. The idea is that a small, unified box, easily hooked up to your TV, will put an end to the days of hunching over your desk with a mouse and keyboard; replaced by a system that is easily accessible to those who prefer to sit on the couch with a controller.

Instead of having to wring your hands and wallet over the right graphics card and gaming monitor, while worrying about drivers and a plethora of other compatibility issues, the Steam Machine will create an industry standard that works with any of the thousands of games currently available on the Steam platform.

When the Steam Machines were first unveiled at CES, the reaction was mixed, with an attitude of hopeful skepticism being the more prevalent feeling of the licensed hardware configurations, as reported by The Verge.

With a muddled view on how the Steam Machine is supposed to help unify the PC gaming market and bring new users alongside the 65 million current Steam users, the outlook is still somewhat unclear. Valve is notorious for keeping information under wraps so we will see if the company will be able to readjust the controller as well as the Steam Machines themselves.

Image Source | Valve