So, what is the end-game here? I don't really get it.
Step 1: New OS that by itself will only play a very small fraction of games. You can install it (presumably) on most current PCs, but then you can only play that small fraction of the games you own. Valve goes for a hardware solution too, so:
Step 2: Valve releases a "box" that can run this OS. PC Gamers will go crazy with excitement despite having spent the last 15-20 years insisting that building a PC from the ground up is the only way to go, and that "we can always do this cheaper than the retailers". Still, to play the 95% or more of your non-linux Steam games, you need a regular PC running Windows.
Step 3: You put this box in the living room, where you can play Linux games, or with the help of a $600-$1200 accessory (your gaming PC) you can stream all your Windows Steam games from your study/office/bedroom.
So it's a two-computer solution to getting PC games onto a big screen? Wha huh?
Now, if the Valve "box" is like, a $50-100 dongle that just lets me stream from any Steam platform on my network, that would be cool. But with this whole Steam OS thing, it doesn't seem like they're headed that way, and I'm not sure it's a solution most people will be willing to pay for.
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