But can it play Splatoon?......

I don't see it making much of an impact, to be honest. They're just PCs that have been masked as consoles and most people are going to be aware of that. Console users who stick with consoles because of their simplicity aren't likely to switch. PC users might buy one to compliment what they already have but that's not going to impact the console space much.

Steamboxes just don't seem to occupy a "must own" space. People with disposable income who already have the other stuff they want will buy them, just for the sake of convenience, but I can't see them being the first choice for many others.

The steam boxes will bomb horribly much like the Ouya ... They literally appeal to no one and if the $500 rumored price is true they won't even have a price advantage, which they need to even try to be successful in this market.

This!

Any PC can technically become a Steambox.

Also, and all of the Steamboxes I've seen in the past where way overpriced since the producers of these "consoles" still have to make their profit on selling them, making them around 30% (the usual profit margin) more expensive than comparable consoles.

I think "-- should be mildly curious" would be a more accurate description :p

"What do you guys think? does Sony MS or Nintendo have anything to worry about??"

No.

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.

I want them to flop!

I already pre-ordered the controller last night lol. Don't need a Steambox though, might build one in the future for funzies if I have spare parts hehe.

Also, I think more people will buy the Streambox for 50 bucks than the actual SteamBox which is pretty much a gaming PC. I'm personally just gonna use my laptop for streaming games from my PC if I want to as usual /shrug