Following on from the success of the Steam Deck, Valve is creating its very own ecosystem of products. The Steam Frame, Steam Machine, and Steam Controller are all set to launch in the new year. We’ve tried each of them and here’s what you need to know about each one.
“From the Frame to the Controller to the Machine, we’re a fairly small industrial design team here, and we really made sure it felt like a family of devices, even to the slightest detail,” Clement Gallois, a designer at Valve, tells me during a recent visit to Valve HQ. “How it feels, the buttons, how they react… everything belongs and works together kind of seamlessly.”
For more detail, make sure to check out our in-depth stories linked below:
Steam Frame: Valve’s new wireless VR headset
Steam Machine: Compact living room gaming box
Steam Controller: A controller to replace your mouse
Valve’s official video announcement.
So uh, ahem.
Yes.
Valve can indeed count to three.
Just want to add an hour in VR is a LOT longer than 1 hour of flat screen gaming. If you haven’t used VR then they aren’t as comparable as you think.
You’re usually on your feet, holding your arms up high, waving them around ,likely squatting - a lot and you’ve got a screen blaring into your eyes with constant high intensity stimulation.
Most people won’t do 1 hour sessions on the regular, forget a 3-4 hour session without being put down to charge for while you take a break.
I’ve done a 3-hour session playing Beat Saber multiplayer with a friend. It was the most intense workout I’ve ever experienced.
The only break was in the middle to refill my enormous water bottle and to clean up the huge pool of sweat on the floor that was getting gross (I was wearing socks, LOL).
My arms hurt for like three days straight after that. I still played every night though 😁👍