14 DAY TRIAL // The long-awaited Steam Machines, created by Valve and a variety of partners, and the associated Steam Controllers, have apparently been selling faster than anyone expected, with the company claiming that until now 35 percent of them have been paid and accounted for.
The new hardware will be offered starting on October 16 of this year, which is a few weeks before the general launch, and gamers will have to place an early order if they actually want to get one.
A statement from Valve explains that "The 'get it early' preorder offer is available to everyone who preorders, but only while supplies last. As of this writing, we have sold over 35 percent of the limited quantity available for early delivery in October."
The company has not said how many Steam Machines they will be offering to the public initially, and it's also unclear whether the solid pre-order numbers have been generated soon after the announcement or over a couple of days.
The coming hardware will be powered by Steam OS and is designed to run the video games that are offered on the digital distribution service. Moreover, it will also support home streaming.
Valve has said that each hardware partner will be able to offer additional features to customers and that it wants to cover a variety of price points with its coming hardware.
Steam Machines might compete with home consoles in a few years
The delays associated with the new hardware from Valve suggested a slower adoption rate, but the 35 percent pre-order figure shows that there's interest in the coming devices.
Initially, the Steam Machines will probably have some issues, linked to the variety of included hardware and the fact that they will have to work with the new Steam Controller, which has not yet been publicly available.
But in a few years, after some of the devices show their superiority and Valve improves Steam OS, the new platforms might be in line to compete with the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PlayStation 4 from Sony.
Valve has not yet talked about the way the Steam Machines will integrate with the coming Vive virtual reality device, which is being created in collaboration with HTC.