Apple rather than Microsoft or Sony is the biggest competitor for the Steam Box or any similar PC-to-TV solution, according to Valve co-founder Gabe Newell.

Polygon is reporting that while speaking to a class at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs, Newell expressed his belief that casual games could beat hardcore PC offerings onto the television if manufacturers weren’t careful.

"The biggest challenge, I don't think is from the consoles,” said Newell. “I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together."

"The threat right now is that Apple has gained a huge amount of market share, and has a relatively obvious pathway towards entering the living room with their platform."

"I think that there's a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily.

"The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room?"

The numerous companies releasing PC-centric solutions this year needed to distinguish themselves from the casual market by emphasising their dominance when it came to things such as hard drive space, said Newell.

That they would utilise hardware the consumer already owned was another bonus, he added – one that would edge out consoles.

"There are going to be a huge set of products that say, 'If you want something that's incredibly cheap, at a price point well below anything that consoles will be able to reach, you're going to take advantage of the PC that's running somewhere in your house.'

"It's like one of those things where afterwards it will seem like it was very simple, when beforehand, everyone sort of denied that it was possible," said Newell.

“They'll say, 'Well, I could buy a console, which assumes I'll re-buy all my content, have a completely different video system, and, oh, I have a completely different group of friends, apparently. Or I can just extend everything I love about the PC and the internet into the living room.'"