Steam Machine is "a console that refuses to admit it's a console," analyst says, but "Valve isn't trying to beat Sony or Microsoft at their own game so much as rewrite the rules"

Hand placing custom face plate on Steam Machine mini PC.

Valve's new Steam Machine is set to bring PC gaming to living rooms everywhere when it launches next year, but is it a fierce new console rival that'll compete directly against the likes of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, or is it more of a PC alternative, or something in between? Analysts have been sharing their thoughts with us.

Joost van Dreunen, an NYU Stern School of Business professor and former CEO of games market research firm SuperData Research, argues that the Steam Machine is "a console that refuses to admit it's a console." However, that doesn't mean that we could see a traditional console rivalry from Valve's new hardware.