Valve’s Big Picture Mode launches as Beta in September

Initially announced as “in development” last year, Valve has announced that arrival of it’s digital distribution service Steam to Televisions and large screens. Technically an optimized version of Steam for HDTV, this new version of Steam will offer enhanced readability and navigation.

Although this project kicked off rumors about Valve developing a console called the Steam Box, they’ve mentioned that “The Big Picture” has nothing to do with the Valve console that was thought to be in the making. Valve has also mentioned that it would like to have computer manufacturers create their own gaming-centric machines meant to be connected to a Large screen/ HDTV.

Anyway, The Big Picture mode provides better graphics, larger fonts and a style suitable for the HDTV. It also offers support for a PC compatible gamepad for anyone who’s wishing to kick back and enjoy their games on the TV that is connected to their Personal Computers. Of course, you can still opt to use your standard keyboard and mouse.

The Big Picture will be out as a Beta for Steam users to try in September.

What is really in store for Steam users in the future? You’ll never know, but what we do know is that Linux users can expect a native Steam client on their computers. With Left 4 Dead 2 already showing better performance on Linux than Windows,  a different reality may not be too far.