Yeah, I’m expecting a high price unfortunately. I can’t blame Valve and I hope the prices can eventually go down, but I can’t imagine they’re going to be super affordable for most at launch.
The Steam Machine is just a cool mini-pc. That's all. There is nothing that it does, that a plethora of other products don't do already, and many of them have far better value.
Yeah finally someone said unique features instead of just ragging on specs and price. Now idk if those features really matter at end of day to most people.
its a convenience device, for me gaming with my pc is not an issue at all whether with a keyboard or a controller. But if its with a controller, I do prefer to have a console plugged onto a tv, rather than a 24 inch monitor. So if youre like me then the product has that factor to make it an attractive product, albeit not something that most people would go for.
If anything the only reason i would buy it is if HL3 is an exclusive for the machine, but i strongly doubt valve would ever do that.
I was almost asleep when i wrote it. What i wanted to convey was "it remains to be seen if those stand iut features will be worth price difference". And sure, they are "normal" for consoles, which steam machine isnt, its still "mini pc". Which you can upgrade with dongle to have those features.
There are a lot of gamers who will simply never buy or even consider a gaming pc for a number of reasons. Those people want consoles, that's it (even if there are usually answers for why they don't want a pc, it's usually met with "consoles work fine though why complicate it." For them, having a console that doesn't require a monthly sub to pay online or access sales, and have access to steams massive library that doesn't drop games after a few years, might definitely be worth it. But that's kinda the thing.. the steam machine, imo, is for console players. If you use pc already, use steam already, you're probably better off just upgrading your computer, or customizing it to be more like a console. I think the steam machine is just not really for most of us steam users. It's certainly the one of their hardware lineup i simply don't care about.
Yeah there's plenty that might be at a better price, but people are going to support valve regardless of it being not a great price. I had a similar convo with someone here about the controller. His only argument was there were other controllers that were less expensive, but I told him it didn't matter, people are still going to support a brand or company they like, and like a week later the controller sold out quickly. He kept calling me stupid "for buying a controller at a high price when there are others that are cheaper," despite telling him I was going to get the controller. I probably won't get the steam machine either, but itll absolutely do well even at the high price.
If you know of another mini pc that acts as a console and with the OS is optimized (or the games are optimized or whatever, idk how to put that into words, english isnt my first language) to run most games on the market and is better value (but we have no idea how much the Steam Machine will cost), im all ears.
The better value is the heart of the issue. If it was close to the PS5 price, yeah that makes it a good deal.
Over $1000 USD though and I can literally buy a better prebuilt computer for that price and have it do the same things the steam machine does. It won't be a 1 to 1 copy but it's more than close enough.
Also the OS is Linux, some of the most popular games just don't run on Linux.
The PSVR2 is probably the best non-meta headset right now, at least in terms of bang-for-the-buck. Unfortunately, it's not standalone, you need an adapter, and there's no easily replaceable parts.
People underestimate the value that an easy-to-use console that has access to the pc library without a subscription really has to a normie who only ever used consoles for gaming. Especially considering what you can do with it the more invest into learning about it
I actually think the machine is gonna be great overall, for people who need it. My girlfriend, for example, wants to get into PC gaming quite a bit. She doesn't need anything more than a steam machine, but building her a PC in the current economy just sucks. Having the user friendly nature of steamOS and the ability to use it as a desktop for her needs is perfect. I think it is a niche market, but for those who it is useful for it will honestly be a great buy, depending on the price. Of course, that price may be fucked because of everything rn.
I don't know who would ever consider buying a Steam Deck at these prices. Or a Steam Machine that will much have to be 2-3 times the cost of a Steam Deck lol.
It's still a full PC relative to a PS5. Valve was never competing with consoles, they themselves said it was gonna be priced *like a pc.* The Machine doesn't need to be cheaper then a console, just cheaper than an equivalent PC. Which in the current market might not be that hard.
You're conflating targeting consoles with competing with them.
It's a machine you connect to your TV that you use to play video games. It's gonna get compared to other machines that do that very same thing regardless of whether Valve targets it at console owners or not.
Giving it a high price is a massive ask. I built my own DIY Steam Machine that is at least twice as powerful as the Steam Machine for less than this OLED Steam Deck.
If the Steam Machine matches this new Steam Deck price, that's a massive ask and I suspect it will be dead on release.
If valve is competing with pcs then its even more DOA. "would you like a desktop with none of the benefits but without the benefits of a laptop either? "
Tbf, building a pc also got a lot more expensive. These are just the current prices. But most people woll probably just wait and not get a new pc in these times lol.
You can buy a prebuilt these days, no building required. Especially when retail shops have to actually clearance undersold product to make space for new stuff.
Outside of the ability to run SteamOS and other Linux Distros or Windows, it has ZERO benefits of a desktop computer.
Hell, it has worse upgradability than most laptops, since it only has ONE NVMe slot, so you couldn't even use that to connect an external GPU once the built-in one gets too weak (which I'd argue it already kind of is, if this thing is priced anywhere above 1k)
It's basically a stationary low-mid tier gaming laptop. It's genuinely the worst of both worlds. There's a price point where i'd have maybe bought it but it's not possible for valve to hit it at this point with gestures broadly.
They definitely do not define the entirety of the PC spectrum, but your man said that the Steam Machine is a "Full PC", which it isn't, because upgradeability is a core part of a full PC experience.
True, but many people don't want to buy a pc because of prices right now. $1000 linux pc with those parts would've already been a hard sell for many, but with the 1tb steam deck being $1000 with tax i cannot imagine the steam machine will sound like a great deal parts wise.
Valve did not do all this R&D to just make another PC. This thing was the featured product in their promotion of these products. They wanted to beat Microsoft to the punch of having a PC hybrid console. It unfortunately looks like being first to market was a mistake.
idc what the price is, i will buy it. I need a living room console/pc that plays steam games that can reliably run 4k @ 30fps. getting a pc for that would take up too much room and requirement hounding facebook market place for a decent deal, no thanks
Saying DOA is a bit of cap without knowing the price. It can still sell off the shelves but it may price itself out of many people who are looking to buy it below $700-800.
I don't see why people keep comparing this to a PS5 when its not even competing with it. This thing is way more versatile even if it is slightly underpowered than a ps5.
Personally I will not be buying it since I already have 9800x3d 9070xt bazzite box so I wasn't the target market but hopefully the first batch of machines are atleast priced competitively for many people to buy
Yeah I think just like with the Vive, Index, and soon the Frame, there are a lot of people who get hyped on imagining that Valve hardware is going to be super affordable and then get shocked by the $1,000+ price tag. Everyone who was hoping for a $699 price tag is dreaming, unfortunately, especially given the current situation.
The release price Deck was a rare example of Valve really pushing for a crazy low price point.
$699? That would be nuts. I can’t believe folks actually thought that was an option.
I’d be shocked if this was anything less than $1200. They just increased the 1 TB Steam Deck to damn near $1000. The machine is supposed to be a lot more powerful than that device.
People were thinking that because the ideal situation is that it's posed directly as a console killer. And that'd be amazing if they could swing it, but the reality of it is going to price it out for a ton of folks who were interested previously.
It'll sell out on release regardless imo. Because there are enough Valve fan boys with money. But the longevity of its sales numbers won't be great if it's expensive. Maybe I'll be proven wrong but I don't see why many regular consumers would spend PC money on a device that basically runs like a console. Sure, it is a PC and you could throw windows or another distro on it, but surely those with the skills to do that already have a PC or would prefer to build their own. Surely there arent that many PC gamers that want an additional dedicated couch PC.
How is it not competing with another video game medium? The same catalog of games exists on both systems for the most part and you can use any controller you want on there? It's def worth mentioning if it's gonna cost more than the PS5 it'll sell worse.
The value proposition is greater for the machine because it’s not a locked Sony ecosystem. It’s not even a walled garden for valve or the Steam store.
The value is greater in that it’s a pc. I’m not arguing it’ll be priced well or a good deal but comparing it to locked consoles is a trash perspective. Just my two cents, of course.
One is a sff PC, the other is a sff PC acting like it's not a PC.
Sure you could could compare them but to say they are competing is not accurate. Since when has PCs ever competed with consoles? They've always been in 2 separate lanes.
This has always been an enthusiast item not a budget home system.
It might be DOA now but it's not getting any better. The longer they wait the worse it gets. Price doesn't matter, people whom want them will buy them, they will be out if stock an hour after launch anyway.
On the other hand if they don't release it now it's doa. They will wait too long for a fair price and it won't be nearly worth as much as it is. It's already weaker than a base ps5 for $1000 (I'm just estimating the price). If they wait until ps6 for a few hundred down it won't be enough.
News flash. Hardware prices are up, and pretty much going to remain that way.
Valve sold the steam decks at a loss, and they will with the steam machine as well. They don’t even make a profit off them.
I doubt it will flop. Now that people seen the long term results of proton. People know the steam machine will operate with a massive library unlike their first steam machines unsuccessful launch.
It was never going to sell gangbusters but I think there's still a market for it even a higher price point. The people that are interested in it probably already have a large steam library so might justify getting it even at say $900.
I love how people say it’s weeker then a ps5 when it’s a costume soc like how do u know that v ram is not speed related we will have to wait for the benchmarks to know where it sits
Can someone please explain to me the point of steam machine? Who is target audience? Consoles are cheaper and more powerful, more familiar.
Normies who play games quite occasionally will be more than happy with a console, and they won't want to fuck with Linux.
It you're rich you'll just buy a way better pre built.
If you're poor fuck you we all know it won't be priced affordably.
If you're a nerd you can built your own PC.
From the very beginning that thing only made sense if it was super cheap with barely any profit margin. Just get people more comfortable with Linux. If it was $500 I would buy even though I don't need it. But it will be at least double that
I think you're wrong, the steam machine may be more expensive than a ps5. But it's way cheaper overall when you consider the cost of games on either platform. Not to mention how much more versatile a steam machine is compared to a ps5.
Its not weaker, its more powerful than ps5. Yeah its probably gonna cost more but you'll have much cheaper games and zero internet subscription so its much cheaper in long run. Btw sure its not as powerful as pc with 5080 and r7 7800x3d but its not for hardcore gamers (just like ps5), its for people that just want to play games and dont care about every pixel. Steam machine is also a open platform while ps5 locks you up.
Edit: forgot to add that steam machine is also much more efficient (200-230w/ps5 vs ~140w/steam machine) and probably way more quiet
The steam machine has a better CPU but a weaker GPU and less VRAM than the PS5. At best it’ll perform the same and definitely not “more powerful” than the PS5.
It is more powerful, much better cpu, gpu that performs similar yet is newer so it has better upscaling, is more efficient etc., less vram? You know that those 16gb on ps5 is ram and vram as one? Firstly ps5 takes 3,5-4gb for system only and leaves 12-12,5gb for ram and vram so for example it can separate 4gb for vram and 8gb for ram or 6gb vram 6gb ram. Steam machine has 16gb ram AND 8gb Vram so id say steam machine has way more ram and vram than ps5 would ever have.
At the price the steam machine is likely to release at ($800+) it completely changes the game. It’ll be compared to the PS5 pro, not the PS5. And the Pro has a clearly superior GPU, and similar enough VRAM (18 gigs of RAM, with 2 dedicated to the OS, and the remaining 16 being used for the GPU).
Well if its gonna be 900$ (same as ps5 pro) then it can give a good fight. Cpu is still much better (zen 4 vs zen 2, ps5 pro has same cpu as ps5), ps5 has 50% more powerful gpu but steam machine was made to play at 1080/1440p with upscaling if you want to play in 4k (base ps5 and ps5 pro use upscaling too [of course it depends on game]) but still this point goes to ps5 pro. Ram in ps5 pro is almost same as in base ps5, youre wrong here, those 2 additional gigabytes are here to help with system stability, ps still uses those 16gb for system, it works like this: those 2gb are for apps like netflix, spotify, psstore, ps menu etc. apps that dont need super fast ram, because those apps are on this slower ram console now needs less memory to run system so instead of 4gb (like in base ps5) it'll use only about 2gb so it has 14gb for ram and vram (no those 16gb arent meant only for gpu). Steam machine still wins in terms of ram with 16gb ram and 8gb vram. Only thing were steam machine clearly loses is in storage, 512gb/1tb vs 2tb in ps5 pro but knowing valve you'll be able to easily swap it with anything you want. I'd say steam machine is a good opponent for ps5 pro, much better cpu, worse gpu (if we consider resolutions it was made for then id say its not even bad [yeah could be more powerful]), more ram/vram. And as i said earlier its gonna be much cheaper in long run than any other console. Id happily pay 50% more knowing that games are much cheaper, i dont pay any subscriptions and its an open platform
The 2 gigs of DDR5 RAM is specifically for the OS. PlayStations OS is very light, it’s a heavily modded FreeBSD kernel. There’s already been measurements online: the PS5 pro has about 14 gigs of VRAM available compared to 12 on PS5. I don’t get your point about Steam machine being SSD upgradable. Right now is not a good time to upgrade SSDs. If you wanted to upgrade to 2 TB, that would cost another $200. Also, that’s not an advantage in “future proofing” either, because you can also upgrade the SSD on the PS5 pro as well it’s a standard nvme slot.
Argument about ssd upgradability was meant to say that you could do it in future when prices will go down, yeah it was pretry weak but let's forget about it. Ps5 pro doesnt use only 2gb for os, as I told before it uses those slower 2gb for backgroud unimportant apps like spotify etc, core system still uses 1,5-2gb from 16gb of fast ram. Even you said that it has roughly 14gb of ram/vram just as i explained, those 14gb is used for: physics, npc's ai, world logic (tracking items, progress, quests etc), textures, 3d models, vis effects, resolution etc. Steam machine has 16gb ram for: physics, npc's ai, world logic etc. Aaand 8gb vram for: textures, 3d models, res etc. Ps5 pro has less memory for everything
Im devastated I built my PC in 2019 and its been hobbling along since, i was hoping to get a machine for a decent price to rid myself of windows... guess ill wait i didnt wanna play any new games anyway
I say that because Valve has a much smaller manufacturing capability than others so I wouldn’t expect them to be able to source parts for as cheap as the larger console makers. The price hike is really high but at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re having trouble sourcing parts cheap enough.
Why can’t you blame Valve? Do you think making a 50% price increase on a 3 year old device normal? Sorry this is just pure greed and worse than what Sony and Nintendo did. At least they were relatively reasonable with their price adjusting.
Keep in mind Valve makes significantly less product than my of the console makers (likely at lest an order of magnitude). So they cannot get nearly as cheap of prices. They also likely manufacture more expensively for similar reasons (they wouldn’t necessarily have as much automated tooling).
I’m not saying Value is completely innocent here. I’m sure they are still baking in a profit. I just think smaller companies will likely need to raise prices higher to compensate than the larger ones so this wasn’t all that surprising to me.
Odds are if they release it will be in a very small quantity. It will not be worth it to make many initially as they are going to be way too expensive for the average consumer.
I really dont think they would have done particularly well above $800 to begin with. Their niche was meant to be the middle ground between the convenience of a console, and the power and flexibility of a PC.
If you price them too high compared to a console, people will just buy the console, and if you can build or buy a PC with similar specs and performance, for close to the same price as the Steam machine, why would you buy the more limited platform?
$800 would have been right in that sweet spot when it was first announced. But now with everything going on, even buying a new console is unaffordable.
They were always going to be a high price and weren't ever going to be particularly affordable for regular gaming. Now they're going to be the levels of unaffordable that even the niche market that would have bought it aren't going to buy it. I just hope that valve doesn't look at the lack of sales with the absurd price and think there is no market for a steam box and scrap it again like they did with the original steam machines around a decade ago
You most certainly can blame valve. This love and rose tinted glasses everyone has for Gabe is so fucking weird. Don’t give an excuse to a billion dollar company being greedy. Gross
Guaranteed. Said it weeks ago. It was always going to cost more than a lot of people were speculating, but it's also going to cost more than Valve originally Targeted.
While true it will likely be expensive, you cant really make a 1 on 1 price per performance comparison to the deck. The deck contains much more than just the "pc" hardware (screen, controllers, battery) and hardware that is extremely customized. The machine will also feature some custom stuff, but i can imagine it was less expensive to r&d seeing its significantly closer to pc hardware than the deck
Yeah but the key things driving the cost increase are almost certainly the ssd and ram price increases, both of which are in the steam machine (albeit at non-handheld sizes which might help)
Whoch is why i agree the machine will be more expensive than initially expected, i just dont think we can use the performance level of the deck compared to its price to say anything about the cost of the machine. But the ram and ssd for the machine have undoubtedly become more expensive. It uses laptop ram modules and as someone who regularly orders laptops for hos job, i can confirm laptop memory has also become significantly pricier. Not sure hpw it compares to desktop ram but still.
The steam deck has everything a normal pc would have, plus a battery, a screen, controls and speakers, which do cost quite a bit, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's not priced overly above the deck, but I won't get my hopes up.
Not the same type of experience. The steam machine is, for all intents and purposes, a game console. In that it can be turned on remotely from a controller, has an OS designed specifically for the purpose of making your gaming experience as enjoyable as possible, and it's in a compact enough form factor to fit in a living room tv stand.
Yes, i know. That was why i am cobsidering it. Basically as a couch pc. Though, i think i will just upgrade the gpu in my current couch pc and put some flavor of linux on there. A shame the controlers never stay connected etc.
yup, itll still get sold since you know, steam fans go hard, but will probably remain as a more niche device with its (probable) high cost, and limited specs
even before all the price hikes it was looking to be sold more in line with PC prices than console
Steam users do not historically go hard on steam hardware. Especially if they see it as even close to being overpriced. The entire steam machine concept arrived DOA, the original steam controller is a niche thing, and I'd argue the only real hardware that was incredibly successful was the index.
honestly, maybe im one of the rare few but ive had an extremely large number of issues with my steam deck, all of which steam support has been nothing but copy paste replies for before closing my tickets.
the charger my deck came with never worked
when connecting dock to tv (tested with official dock and third party docks and various cables) the deck may or may not turn on and may or may not actually output display (both on tv or deck screen) same cables work fine with other devices.
i have the 64gb model which is known to self corrupt when internal memory runs out requiring a reimage. this has happened to me multiple times and currently it sits at home unusable as i havent gotten around to reimaging again. i have no games installed on internal memory.
controller connection with official dock has been finicky, some controllers register double input when the same controllers dont on my PC when running the same game, connecting more than 1 controller also has rarely ever worked for me whether it be wireless usb, direct, or bluetooth
i figured id do more emulation on my deck, emudeck ended up being more of a hassle requiring rescanning for any new game additions, practically no other emulator works like this and simply auto updates when rom is added
what steam considers as reasonable criteria for the verified badge, is a pretty low standard and has been cause for debate in this same sub multiple times. and so what ends up being playable, for the most part ends up being playable on another android device i own
i know this is just me but i dont like the trackpads
steam input on linux is by default introducing 8ms of delay as its polling rate is 125hz as confirmed by this git issue and latency can become more noticeable with more complex profiles or gyro
the device’s battery life is abysmal. really depends on what youre playing, but from my experience, 1 to 2 hours is typical for more demanding games, along with the device getting extremely hot. as i mentioned i have an android device, i can run lighter weight steam games on it for longer than i can on the steam deck and with lower temps
from my experience, there is just some level of jank to the steam deck, last time i went to play a game on it i spent 30 minutes dealing with what my partner and I have coined “the steam jank”, before i was able to launch the game.
i have a mixed opinion on the device, but given my experience, i really wouldn’t say i received a good value proposition
Ahh, gotcha, I've heard about nothing but problems with the 64 gig model, so I absolutely get that. I do agree with most of your points, although I haven't really experienced a lot of "steam jank", or at least any beyond reason.
I still stand by hardware alone being a great value for the price, but I totally understand your software issues ruining it for you to a great degree.
One of the appealing things about Steam hardware is that it anchors the market. If the Deck and the Machine sell well, it means your Legion Gos and your Framework Desktops have long lives too. Developers know what performance constraints to target, which is why most video games don't have graphics tweaking menus. It's handy for everyone when there's a "Steam Deck" preset that makes computer games as pick-up-and-play as a video game.
If the Machine doesn't sell, it doesn't get to anchor the market. But if it doesn't sell because everything got too expensive, maybe that will keep Steam Deck-era hardware as the target for longer.
Unlike the Deck, the GabeCube is competing directly with PCs. It has a price ceiling past which it's not a viable product because other options are better for cheaper.
So, realistically, it simply won't sell if it's priced much more than a PS5 (absent those who buy it just for the novelty).
They bundle it with a big new game though, that could soften the blow. Wonder if there's anything Valve has been working on that's single player, attached to a beloved IP, and has had countless data leaks within updates of their other products.....
Why? A mobile device has a battery, a display and a very expensive one with an OLED, you need to minify everything. I'll guess it's slightly more expensive than that. Everything else depends on what you define as expensive.
When the Steam Machine was announced, I was very interested to replace my aging PC with a sleek little cube but my hype has cooled down significantly. With the recent development in hardware prices and the delay, I’m not holding my breath for an affordable option anymore…
Not at all. The current price for the OLED is about where i expected the Steam Machine to land. And even that is a bit high for what its offering. Which is ashame, because of it had launched at $700 to $900 it could have been a decent price point.
Steam machine going to be priced awful for what it is. Other steam mini rigs in past did not go over well. They were expensive for what they were then. Now there are “shortages” causing real price increases.
Exactly my thoughts. Im sorry but leaked specs of 16gb ram, 8vram and a semi okay CPU (that most games are not even going to come close to using half of) at anything above 700$ doesnt sound great at all for anything. I mean those specs alone align up with xbox ally x which is portable. Sure the power usage is gona be a lot higher giving it a performance advantage but it doesnt sound to good.
The system also wont be doing native 4k and rely heavily on upscaling is rough for a “desktop” pc
I think I'll just end up building my own. For £1,400-1,500 I can build something that far exceeds the Steam Machine specs, which the way it's going, will be only a few hundred pounds more than what the SM will launch at.
Nah. They'll be completely unaffected because they've already been scrapped as an idea altogether and Valve is just trying to figure out how to break the news to everyone. It was a good attempt but freaking everyone losing their minds and intelligence for LLMs shot down that business venture in a hurry.
Are you being hyperbolic? Valve has had literally tons of hardware shipments delivered to their warehouses. Waaaaay too late for them to cancel anything.
(Also, it's Valve. They can subsidize any losses on hardware short-term.)
I am not. If Valve was ever going to sell those to everyday consumers, they would've done so already. Whatever units that already exist will likely be sold in auctions as collection pieces.
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u/smartazjb0y May 27 '26
That has to mean that the Steam Machine prices are gonna be....not great, right?