Steam Machine is Valve’s second attempt at entering the console space, with the original Steam Machine launching around a decade ago and failing in a big way. Valve did not walk away from the idea, and this time it feels like it might be cooking something more promising.
Excitement has grown because of the success of SteamOS on Steam Deck and the rise of Linux gaming on Steam.
Since its reveal, the biggest question has been the price. Valve has not confirmed it yet, but speculation is growing, and Valve has dropped hints about what people should expect. Based on what has been said so far, expectations are starting to look uncertain.
What Valve have actually said
According to Valve, the price of the Steam Machine will sit in line with what it would cost to build a PC with similar performance. Estimates put that anywhere from around 700 dollars up to nearly 1,000 dollars, which feels unlikely to make an impact in the console market, especially in the current climate in the US.
Another major factor is that Valve has confirmed it will not subsidise the price of the Steam Machine as it did with the Steam Deck. Traditional consoles can launch at a loss, as platform holders make money back through software sales, which is why consoles have usually been more accessible, and why the Steam Deck arrived at a much friendlier price point.
With the Steam Machine, Valve has no intention of doing that, which means the hardware cost could be higher than many people are willing to pay for something new. That becomes even more of a concern when the system will not be able to play the biggest multiplayer games, such as Call of Duty, Fortnite, or Minecraft.
The news comes from YouTuber SkillUp, who asked Valve Software Engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais directly about pricing and whether Valve would subsidize the device, and Griffais replied with:
No, it’s more in line with what you might expect from the current PC market. Obviously, our goal is for it to be a good deal at that level of performance. And then you have features that are actually really hard to build if you are making your own gaming PC from parts. Things like the small form factor, the noise level that we achieved, or lack thereof, is really impressive and we are excited that people are going to find out how quiet this thing is. But also, some integration features like HDMI CEC. The Bluetooth and wireless work that we’ve done, the four antennas, the very deliberate design so that you can have a great experience with four Bluetooth controllers
Valve Software Engineer: Pierre-Loup Griffais
It is good that Valve is being upfront about pricing, but it is still disappointing. In my view, if it cannot land at a competitive price, Steam Machine risks repeating the outcome of the original attempt, where it failed to find a clear audience and never gained momentum.
That would be a shame, because the market needs more competition to keep pushing forward, and a strong living room device built around Steam could have been exactly that.
What do you think? With no subsidies, does the Steam Machine stand a chance, and is this a good opportunity for Microsoft and Xbox to try to compete? Let us know in the comments!
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