something something quacks like a duck, swins like a duck, it's a duck. The steam machine does swim like a duck behave like what is commonly referres to as a game console. The steamroller is debatable tho.

The steam machine:

• Custom hardware
• Custom software and os
• Specifically designed to play games
• Has a dedicated controller
• Designed to work well with a living room TV (HDMI-CEC)

The only difference between the steam machine and other consoles is that it's not locked down