At this point it sounds more credible that Valve is working on a portable console than on Half-Life 3 . That is what many will be waiting for after seeing the discovery hidden among the files of the Steam application update, since from SteamDB they have shared some details that suggest that the company is after something like a pocket PC to play .
A portable Valve console?
Apparently the latest beta version of Steam has added a number of references that sound too good. As reported in the Steam Database Twitter account, references have been found to terms such as controller mapping, new instructions in the graphical interface such as a shortcut menu, system settings such as Bluetooth, WiFi and airplane mode, as well as a start menu.
Doesn’t that sound too much like a portable console? The references point to something called SteamPal (whose code name would be Neptune), and everything would indicate that we would be before the first tracks of Valve’s portable console. And be careful, because it would make all the sense in the world.
Will it arrive at the end of the year?
In an interview with Gabe Newell, the Valve founder responded to the question of whether they were thinking of porting their games to consoles with a “we have a better plan than that by the end of the year.” Knowing that, and looking at the SteamPal references, it seems that the company could surprise us with the launch of a portable console at the end of the year, so we’ll see what they finally surprise us with.
The posibilities
If there’s one thing Nintendo has shown, it’s that you don’t need the industry’s greatest potential to make a successful portable console. The developers have adapted and, in addition to releasing excellent games with graphic stunts to get the best out of the console, they have also managed to reduce the details to bring great games to Switch without losing the playability.
That could be an idea from Valve, since supported by indies and with their own exclusive releases they could give life to a very interesting console. In any case, we have also seen how with current processors it is possible to give life to graphic monsters that work like a real gaming PC, so we have to see how they finally manage this, since the bulk of their users are faithful to the PC Master Race. and they probably wouldn’t see good downgrading graphic quality in favor of portability.
As an example, the incredible One xPlayer, a small console with a large screen that is capable of running almost anything. Something like that wouldn’t be bad at all, right?
With these clues, we will have no choice but to continue waiting for an official announcement, although being Valve, this could happen at the least expected moment. We’ll see if E3 and the Summer Games Festival bring fresh news in this regard, and it is going to be some very interesting weeks for video game lovers.