Steam Machines ‘a threat to consoles’

Valve’s Steam Machine PC gaming boxes are ‘a threat’ to games consoles like Xbox One and PS4, says the boss of PC game publisher and distributor Contact Sales.

Robert Stallibrass, games industry veteran and MD of the UK firm – which publishes games like Euro Truck Simulator 2 under its own Excalibur label – is excited by the machines.

"They’re absolutely a threat to consoles," he told PCR. "Bring them on, I say. Ship them out.

"In fact, we would love to be involved in selling some Steam Machines, but only as a distributor. The other point is we’re getting our games on Steam and we can slip one of our products in there [with the Steam Machines].

"I think the Steam Machines are great for PC gaming. Another great thing is that there are so many more PC games available than there are console games. Instead of having – and no disrespect to Sony or Microsoft – a limited number of products available, PC is a massive opportunity with thousands more games available."

Valve confirmed 14 Steam Machine manufacturing partners at CES 2014 last month.

Valve and Steam boss Gabe Newell described the first-generation of Steam Machines as offering "something for every gamer, which is a critical part of extending Steam into the living room".

The Steam Machine gaming PCs are set to launch later this year, with the only UK-built machine coming from Scan in the second half of 2014.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Contact Sales’ business in the March issue of PCR