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potato_hamster on 05 June 2015
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Why? Why would console gamers be terrified? There is literally nothing stopping a PC gamer from hooking their PC up to their TV and using a wireless gamepad to control games. Nothing. This doesn't change anything.

These steam boxes offer almost none of the perks of console gaming - games aren't guaranteed to work based on a label on the box, games cannot be optimized for your specifications meaning your hardware ages quicker, and there's a constant need to worry about how well a game will interact with your controller. That doesn't sound too awesome, but at least your couch is more comfortable than your computer chair, right?

It also offers a heavily restricted side of PC gaming - Want the latest and greatest hardware to run the latest and greatest games at the highest settings? (PC MASTER RACE!) Good luck cramming it in to the micro sized case. That graphics card might not actually physically fit. Upgrading is harder, cooling is a huge challenge, performance gains will be hampered by all of these restrictions. How about that Steam OS. All the kinks worked out? Is there a vast community out there sorting out driver issues? No? Well that could be a problem couldn't it? But you have a vast steam library of games you say? How many of them can you actually play on your Steammachine? Fewer than you probably think. Then again you can always install windows on your machine, cough up the money for the OS, and deal with the loss of performance of running a comparatively bloated OS on your machine just to make sure all of your games work right, but at least your driver issue will probably be sorted out quicker.

So why bother? You can still build your own custom PC and use it with your TV right now, buy a steam controller, install Steam OS, have absolutely none of the restrictions mentioned above, and still have spare money in your pocket for the next steam sale.

Who is going to buy this by the millions?

Not me. My PS4 on my TV and PC at my desk will suit me just fine, thanks. I'll enjoy the best of both worlds and not have to worry about buyers remorse in three years when my Alienware Alpha is below minimum requirements and that sweet new graphics card on sale won't fit in my case. I'll pass.