Two months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show, hardware manufacturer Xi3 and Valve announced a “development stage system optimized for computer gameplay on large high-definition television monitors” — essentially, a device that can run Steam-based games on your TV.
Now, the hardware codenamed “Piston” is now available for pre-order for $999. Those who place an order before March 17 can receive a $100 discount.
The Piston a pint-sized device modeled after Xi3′s X7A line and will offer up to 1 TB of internal storage. Designed to work with Steam’s Big Picture in the living room, it’s one of the first models of the “Steam Box” we’ve seen. You can check out pictures here at Polygon.
Back in January, Xi3 also announced that it has received an investment from Valve, but no financial terms or other details were disclosed.
Last week, Valve CEO Gabe Newell told reporters in the U.K. that his company is three-to-four months away from releasing its own Steam Box prototype to testers.
