Earlier this week Valve announced Steam Machines, custom gaming PCs running on SteamOS which is based on Linux. The Steam Machines will also support a new Family Sharing feature, something that was a part of the original Xbox One plan. Later on, Microsoft ditched the feature after the entire (well, almost) gaming community revolted against the Xbox One’s draconian DRM policies.

So does Valve pose a threat to Microsoft’s future plans? Phil Harrison, corporate VP of the Xbox division believes it is too early to comment on.

“To be honest, it’s too early to tell, I don’t have enough facts to properly evaluate it yet. I don’t know their approach, I don’t know enough about their business model, or their financials and so on,” he said in an interview with CVG.

However he applauds Valve for making smart moves in the industry and how, in a way, it validates Microsoft’s approach with the Xbox One.

“But, Valve is clearly a smart company. I admire what they do, I admire how they do it. I would add though, that their approach helps validate ours. The biggest screen in the house is the living room, the console which you have connected to that is also usually connected to the most sophisticated sound system. That’s the centre of gravity for games in the home,” he added.

Do you agree with Harrison’s notion? Furthermore do you think Microsoft will ever bring those initial features back on Xbox One? Sound off in the comments section below.

Read more at http://gamingbolt.com/microsoft-valves-steam-box-approach-validates-ours-with-xbox-one#tUpBWftKKo2c6QkG.99

By validation does he mean DRM? If its yes then I guess microsoft may introduce DRM again in XBox One in future. I am scared of digital only or cloud only future.

Yes, it does! Now bring it all back!

Uhhh yeah go for it xbo, bring it back!

There is a huge difference in $5 game in $60 you might be able to play 5-10 years later. Im not going to have this debate again, its so tiresome and old.

Why would he bring this up again when he knows people hated them for their original plans.  He makes it sound like they could bring them back...really dumb decision IMO.

Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of Steam (except for their prices) and considering how annoying their Windows client can be, I'm not super confident about a Steam OS. However, in all honesty, I would have abandoned Windows years ago if it weren't for video-games. Windows is no longer necessary for casual PC use. Because of that, I'll be watching this with interest. I assume that games purchased elsewhere (that use Steam) will work with the Steam OS.

Yes, in a sense, the success of Steam does prove that there is a market for this, though that doesn't mean that there isn't a significant segment that doesn't still want a traditional console. I know I want both--which is to say, I don't really want my PC setup to be the same as my console setup.

Microsoft is going to play both sides of this going forward.  "We listen to our customers!--but, we were right!"  You're going to hear many, many variations of that.  They want to eventually turn this whole thing into a positive where they get what they want and still get credit for both decisions.  They'll just do what they should have done in the first place and gradually move toward a digital-centric future at the pace of the consumer.

MS PR, the worst in the gaming business. Used to be Sony in 2006, now it is firmly Microsoft.

His comments also make no sense, you could also say the same for Sony who were the first to see as it being more then just games but also a multi-purpose device for the living-room.

All i wonder about is why people would be fine with some stuff on a steam machine which they didn't want to accept on Xbox One. Maybe I'm wrong but i don't think that I can resell my Bioshock Infinte disc since i used the code of it on Steam and it will be probably the same with all other games you register on steam and which you buy at retail.

With Xbox One you had at least the chance to sell it at registered retailers but with my retail games I registered on Steam?

because steams business model isn't changing.  xbox's business model was drastically changed. 

there is an audience for both but neither audience wants to be forced to change.