$1,000 Steam Box due this Christmas, pre-orders begin

The Xi3 Piston, the Valve-backed PC-like console, will be available by the end of the year. And costs a whopping $1,000.

Xi3 Corporation is now accepting pre-orders for the device, listing the price as $999.99, according to Engadget. Consumers who pre-order by Sunday, March 17th will receive a $100 discount.

The company says consoles will be "shipped in time for the 2013 Holiday Season".

The Piston grabbed headlines when it was unveiled at CES 2013 earlier this year, billed as the long-rumoured Steam Box, a console-like PC designed around Valve’s leading downloads service.

However, Valve revealed shortly after that while it is backing Xi3’s device, it is also working on its own official Steam Box. Prototypes are due to be in developers’ hands in the next few months.