Steam Big Picture Mode beta coming today, trailer released

Remember that time Valve almost-kind-of-sort-of quietly entered the console market with a new service called Steam Big Picture Mode which would directly compete with consoles in the living room? Yeah, that was crazy. We haven't heard much about it since then, but now Valve has released a new video explaining the service as they get ready to launch a beta.

All around the world, PC gamers who work on computers all day are quietly jumping with glee that they'll finally get to come home from work and play PC games from the couch. It remains to be seen how many players will be willing to run cables from their desktop to their television (or buy a dedicated PC for their TV,) but we're definitely looking forward to giving this a spin when the public beta launches later today.

Source : gamesradar[dot]com

Nintendo Hosting Wii U Press Event in September

In less than a month, Nintendo will finally reveal more information about its forthcoming console, Wii U - hopefully including that long-awaited release date and price. Today the company sent out invitations to select media outlets, confirming that a Wii U preview event will take place in New York on Thursday, September 13 from 10:00am to 4:00pm EDT.

The presentation will be led by Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, and will apparently shed light on "how the Wii U will change the future of gaming and entertainment." Since it's getting pretty late in the year for the console that was promised a global launch by the end of 2012, we can only assume official launch information will also be divulged at that time.

When can you get your hands on the GamePad? We'll know soon enough.

Although we can't say for sure, it's a good bet that Wii U will hit store shelves this November, considering Nintendo's past two console releases (the GameCube and Wii) arrived in North America on November 18 and November 19 respectively. Rumors and purported leaks seem to support this theory, though recent speculation of manufacturing problems has suggested the launch might actually miss Black Sunday and arrive in December instead.

Hopefully we'll know for sure following this September event - until then, keep it here on IGN for all the latest Wii U happenings.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor at IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can follow her wild adventures on her IGN blog and Twitter. Game on!

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com