I’ve already been using a “Steam Machine” for months, and I think it’s great

But the PC TV might finally be ready for its moment. In SteamOS, Valve has created a pretty good, fairly widely compatible Windows substitute that buries a lot of the PC’s complexity (without removing it entirely, for those who sometimes want that). Like the Nintendo Switch, Valve designed a user interface that looks great on a portable screen and on a TV from 10 feet away.

And this is happening at the same time as a strange easing in the console wars, where Sony appears to be embracing PC ports and easing up on exclusive releases at the same time that Microsoft appears to be, for all intents and purposes, ending the operation of Xbox hardware in favor of Windows. Valve is well ahead of Microsoft on its console-style PC interface at the same time as the PC becomes a sort of universally compatible über-console.

I’m sort of the ideal audience for the Steam Machine; almost all of my PC games are on Steam, I hardly play anything that requires anti-cheat software, and I mostly play graphically undemanding indie games rather than GPU-damaging AAA titles. So, you know, take my enthusiasm for the concept with a grain of salt.

But as someone who’s already been functionally living with a Steam machine for months, I think Valve’s new hardware could do for living room PCs what the Steam Deck did for handhelds: define and expand a product category that others have tried unsuccessfully. This year my steam engine followed me perfectly while I played Song of Silk, UFO 50, Dave the Diverboth HD-2D Dragon Quest remakes, part of a villain crossed Baldur III’s Gatemultiplayer Vampire Survivors experimentation, several Jackbox Party Pack sessions, and much more. I’ve never been so tempted to buy a PlayStation 5.