Valve Software announced on Monday that it is bringing Steam, its popular PC gaming client, to the TV using a new TV-optimized feature called “Big Picture.” According to reports, Big Picture looks very much like the Xbox 360′s dashboard, and keeps all of a player’s games, friends, customized levels, mods and game sales all in one UI. Most of Steam’s games designed for keyboard and mouse have built-in controller support, so gaming feels more like gaming on a console.
Unlike cloud gaming where games are streamed directly to a TV or micro-console, Steam’s Big Picture still requires a PC to download, install and run Steam games. And while a Steam HTPC or console makes sense,Valve’s Greg Coomer, head of development for Big Picture, says the company is investigating hardware options but isn’t interested in waging war with existing console makers.
Check out the video…
