The hype surrounding the Steam Machine concept since its announcement two years ago is, in the hardcore gaming community, reaching boiling point (sorry). It took so long for anything solid to materialise that for a time it was looking as if it might be vapourware (so sorry). But in the past six months things have really started to gather pace – several leading brands have announced their versions of the console, and more and more titles are being ported to Linux in order to be compatible with the devices.
Of all the recent announcements surrounding Steam Machines though, this is quite possibly the most exciting. Put simply – there is a handheld Steam Machine in the works. Not only that, but it’s called the Steamboy, which is excellent.
The project is very much in its early stages right now, but seeing as it was announced at E3 we’re inclined to believe it’s genuine. There’s even a promo trailer, an early concept image and some basic specs!
For those intrigued, it’ll have 3G and Wi-Fi capability, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (plus a microSD card slot), and run on a quad-core processor (suspected to be either Intel Atom or AMD A4). Naturally, those figures aren’t as impressive as other, home console-sized, Steam Machines, but they’re still a fair way ahead of any other portable device on the market.
As you can see from the renderings, it essentially looks like a Steam Machine controller – except for the 5-inch screen in the middle (which is kind of crucial).
It’s creators have said that whilst its power may be proportional to that of a home Steam Machine in the same way a PS Vita or Nintendo 3DS is proportional to a PlayStation 4 or Wii U, it should still be able to play the majority of compatible games on Steam.
That’s all we know for now, but needless to say we’re pretty excited. Take a look at the aforementioned teaser trailer below – would you buy it ahead of a new PS Vita Slim or Nintendo 3DS?