And that is why steam has added a new controller friendly interface/improving games for controllers. Old news really.
Realistically a good gaming pc doesnt need more then an i3 processor or the AMD equivalent. A good graphics card is all it needs, probably in a year a 7950 will be perfect. I can't imagine the console would cost more then 500, and about that much to build (take a loss to get it going, all console companies do it when they first release it).
But whats interesting is the sales steam is able to do and how much that will impact everything. Would you get a new xbox/playstation...
The point is their new console WILL be a pc, just a linux based one thats primarily for gaming.