It’s Still Basically A PC
Even if you put a bow on the box, it’s still just a PC. Admittedly one that is tailored to the open ended Steam experience, but it’s just another type of PC. It may also start off as an initially worse type of PC. The modular system of the Xi3 Piston may be used by Valve as well and, whilst this is customisable to an extent, it will likely be more expensive and less versatile than the standard PC components we know and love
Price to Power Ratio
Even if this modular component system isn’t used, the price to power ratio of the Steam Box is unlikely to quite match up to standard PC components. If the Piston is anything to go by, this will almost certainly be true. Don’t get me wrong. Xi3’s effort is reasonably powerful, but no where near as powerful as it ought to be for the $1000 price tag it’s currently sporting. Unless Valve can seriously keep the price down on the official models, they may be in trouble.
There Are Still Problems With Big Picture Mode
The Steam Box will invariably rely on Big Picture Mode, a Steam function that runs the client with an interface better suited to gamepad control. It’s a surprisingly intuitive system with some great functionality, but it isn’t quite foolproof yet. There are still a few glitches and bugs abound, and some store information isn’t quite as clearly presented in Big Picture Mode. This kind of thing will need to be ironed out before the Steam Box can rely on it consistently.
