Xi3 Piston PC Gaming System Announced

With the next generation of consoles around the corner, other companies are trying to break into your living room and push out the big 3. Xi3, a corporation long rumored to be working with Valve, has just announced its new Piston PC gaming system and if money is no issue, this bad boy retails for $999.

“SteamBox” is a term loosly coined by the media and the new Piston console is the perfect example of what we can expect from future manufacturers. While Xi3 didn’t outright call the new Piston console a SteamBox, they did answer a couple of interesting questions regading Piston, here. For Example:

Q: So what about Valve Corporation? Does Xi3 have a relationship with Valve or not?

A: When we unveiled the PISTON Console (PC) at CES 2013, we announced at the time that Xi3 had received an investment from Valve. We have not revealed the amount or nature of that investment, nor will we do so now. We did, however, provide additional commentary about Valve and the “Steam Box” in a separate announcement in March of this year.

Q: Is PISTON the Steam Box or not?

A: Xi3 has never described its PISTON Console (PC) as the Steam box or a Steam Box, especially since it appears that Steam Box is a term created by journalists and not by Valve. To be clear, however, PISTON Console owners will be able to access and play games on/through Steam since it is a Web-based platform open to anyone with an Internet connection and a Steam account, either on a Windows- or a Linux-based system. So in this regard, PISTON could be considered the first commercially available Steam Box.

Those who pre-order the Piston right now will get the machine two weeks early, or before November 15^th.

Even though this console is quite small for its 4-inch size, this PC system packs a lot into its tiny frame. Let’s go over specs and see what exactly is in it.

Specs:

•  AMD x86-based 3.2 Ghz quad-core chip
•  8GB DDR3 RAM
•  Supports up to 1TB of SSD storage (standard 128GB SSD)
•  12 USB ports and can support up to three monitors through mini-DP, HDMI and DisplayPort at up to 4K resolution
•  Radeon 7000-series GPU

One neat thing about the Piston is that it’s “modular” and can always be modified later on. You can always update the I/O Boards as technology advances. Another interesting note Xi3 made is, “By adding a second SSD to their Pistons, users will be able to load a second operating system onto their machines, including the newly announced SteamOS”

Here’s a video from XI3’s YouTube channel on the Piston PC Gaming System

When asked about the $999 dollar price tag Xi3 had this to say:

Q: Isn’t $999 a lot to pay for a gaming console?

A: First of all, the PISTON is a lot more than just a gaming console. In fact, PISTON offers users a level of freedom and choice unheard of in the gaming console world. But one of the reasons PISTON Consoles cost more than gaming consoles from the Big 3 manufacturers is that PISTON uses solid state drives (SSDs) while they only use spinning discs. SSDs are faster and more reliable than discs and provide a significantly better overall gaming experience.

But back to the question of price, we’d ask people to consider how much they have already paid for their gaming systems in the past. In fact, a better question might be, “What can a PISTON Console replace?”

Q: What can a PISTON Console replace?

A: Simply put, the PISTON Console can replace a lot, starting with every closed gaming console on the planet. One of the main problems with gaming systems from the Big 3 manufacturers is that they are each closed systems, which means people can only play a game developed for a Wii on a Wii (or Xbox games for Xbox play or PlayStation games for PlayStation play). Such a closed approach also forces game developers to spend significant amounts of time and money developing for multiple platforms so they can reach the most number of prospective gamers. And that’s on top of developing game versions that can run over the Internet or on a Windows-based computer.

But even then, most gamers and families that game have one or more computers capable of gaming, along with one or more closed gaming systems. And by the time you add up the total expense of buying each of those systems, the $999 price tag for the PISTON Console looks quite reasonable.

So what are your thoughts on the new PC system?

Is it worth forking out $999 bucks for it?

Or do think spending about the same price for both the Xbox One and the PS4 is a better deal?