Valve announced today that Steam hardware is now available to pre-order at GameStop, EB Games, Micromania, and GAME UK.
In an exclusive partnership, starting June 4 and for a limited time, customers in the U.S. may pre-order an Alienware Steam Machine, Steam Link, and/or a Steam Controller from GameStop or Steam and have their order available on October 16, weeks before the official launch ofNovember 10. In Europe and Canada, GameStop, EB Games, Micromania, and GAME UK will join Steam in offering the Steam Link and Steam Controller as part of this pre order program. Other manufacturers will be offering their own pre-orders in the coming weeks.
“Valve is known for driving innovation in PC gaming, what we consider the fourth console,” said Bob Puzon, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop, the exclusive retail partner in the U.S. and most of Europe for this Steam Hardware pre-order promotion. “As we continue to see strong growth in this category, we are excited to give gamers more options and look forward to seeing how the market responds to the new offerings from Valve and its Steam Machine partners.”
For those of you who are interested, the Steam Controller (which has now been finalized, and will see no further revisions) will cost $49; the Steam Link, which is a sort of Remote Play Extender to the TV from any computer running Steam in the house, is $49 as well. Steam Machines are available from a whole range of manufacturers (Valve itself not one of them), and come in a full range of prices, with the cheapest one being $449- just $49 more than the PS4.
Whether or not Valve’s foray into the living room is successful remains to be seen. Stay tuned.