I’m lucky enough to have disposable income, I could afford to buy one without it hurting. That said, idk just off principle it feels like an insane ask. Especially considering its not doing anything a PC can’t do (as far as I know). For those not in the know, the cheapest edition will be about 1,000 USD and the most pricy will be around 1,500. To my knowledge, consoles themselves aren’t profitable historically. So, do you think even at this price point Valve is taking a hit? Do you think if this sells well it will drastically increase the cost of other consoles (completely independent of the external factor being hardware shortage due to AI). General steam machine discussion post as well, just dont be a dickhead to anyone.
Its not upgradable. It might be appealing to console gamers but as a PC enthusiast whose been building, repairing, and upgrading my own PCs for 20 years, no.
Contrary to what people will tell you, there are some exclusive benefits to the Machine, like HDMICEC and background updates, both are really nice to have. But it’s not worth it.
Yes, refurbished one at least
Machine? No.
Frame? Yes.Would I like it to be cheaper. Of course. Are gaming consoles cheaper of course.
But I cant name 1 system or PC, which can waken when a Bluetooth Controller connects to it, and can play every game I own from the last 15 years, and every console game from the last 25 years.
Even Nintendo nickels and dimes you for this privilege, and with a one time purchase I can just remove my consoles and just use a Steam Machine, sign me up.
Not even PlayStation 5 can do what the steam machine does out of the box.
My PS4 wakes up when the bluetooth controller connects to it.
Your PS4 can’t play PS3 games, the Steam Machine can, nor can it play N64 and GameCube titles.
Homebrew can eventually fix the later, but the ps4 doesn’t have enough power for the former.
I’m not suggesting it can do those things. You said no known system or console can wake on a Bluetooth connection, I said PS4 can. I don’t have a PS5, but it probably does too.
Most consoles made since 2005 can wake from sleep on by turning on a controller.
But PCs cannot since it wasn’t a feature added to them.
However a PC can play older games, not just going back 20 years, but with emulation can play games as far back as games from the 70s.
A PS4/5 can’t do that since unless the developer needs to add support for it, or made a rerelease with their older games. So your PS4 isn’t play Super Mario Sunshine or even Brothers. Let alone the thousands of games which are classified as abandonware.
Which is what makes the steam deck alluring even at its inflated price point.
I am, yes.
I’ve been building custom PCs for myself and my family/friends for the better part of 2 decades now. I know I can get a better deal on used parts to run a more powerful machine. But you know what means? I play tech support for my friends and family.
I’m buying this for myself but installing it where most people I know come walking through. Setting it up as a show piece to get people to ask about Linux and to ask about the PC. If this thing holds up as well as my Steam Deck with support, updates, and stability? I’ll go halves with all my gamer friends and relatives just to get them on a machine I won’t be called about because windows decided to release another borked update…
Obviously I have the exposable income to support this and am extremely lucky. I fully get why people are upset and think it’s a rip off tho.
Yes. It’s too expensive for sure, but it is exactly what I want. I have no interest in doing any manual work to get a functioning Non-Windows gaming PC into my living room. I just want plug and play and that’s what Valve offers.
No one on Lemmy is going to be looking for an entry-level device, we’re all boomers with custom rigs already.
PC gamers already have PCs, and console gamers don’t want to spend $1000 on a console-PC. That seems to be the general vibe. It’s not looking great.
The Steam Deck came in at a competetive price, and a handheld form factor, those two things made it a success.
You’re missing an entire market segment of gadget nerds. I have no practical need for steam machine but I’m still getting it because it’s fun, it’s beautiful and it supports ideals I’m interested in. 1,000 usd is nothing for a luxury gadget.
Yeah but no way that market is big enough for valve to keep building steam machines.
Let’s wait and see but I think it very well might be big enough.
Yes. I have many PCs and laptops around the house already but I simply want it as a luxury item and to support the idea of open game consoles.
Especially considering its not doing anything a PC can’t do (as far as I know).
It’s a PC. Why wouldn’t it do anything a PC can’t do.
That being said, it does have the connections to wake the machine and your TV by acticating a connected Steam Controller
I assume you could just install a windows partition and it could be your family PC if you wanted. Or you could just use linux.
Honestly, there is no reason the family PC should be windows. Windows has become an entirely inferior product for everything except some specialist software which you can not run through wine. But for that just use a windows VM
No. I still have an AM4 PC that does everything I’ve asked it to do. While I applaud Valves contribution to the industry… it ain’t fucking worth that. The real win is SteamOS pushing through and getting desktop OS support for all users.
I was pretty set on buying one regardless when it was announced and still plan to. I knew the price was going up but with the delay I had time to save more. I like the compactness of it and it would be great next to my Mac Mini M1 on my TV shelf. I also want to reward the adoption of Linux as a gaming platform, and buying Valve hardware is the best way right now to vote with your wallet that Linux is the future of gaming. I bought multiple Steam Decks and I bought both the 2015 and 2026 Steam Controllers. I want the Machine.
Also, it has RGB! I need to get one to add it to OpenRGB.
The question is whether I’ll get it with or without a second controller, and I think that comes down to whichever queue I get selected for in the random drawing.
No
Hell no, I can still play all the games I want with my own computer from 2010, lol.
Probably not, but I do have a Steam Deck and might buy a Steam Frame.
The cost is definitely a factor, but also, I’ve been building computers since the 90s and even my laptop can run everything I play already: I don’t have much need for another computer right now, even if Valve made it. If I did really need a computer, I’d probably just build a better one for cheaper and slap Bazzite or Cachy on it.
If the price goes down, I might reconsider: I do like supporting companies that do right by their customers and Valve is one of the very few that still seem to make that effort.
Yep. I’m downsizing and will be selling my gaming rig in favour of something small and less power hungry. Yes, the cube is more expensive than what I’d like but I’ll be making a huge profit from my pre-2025 era PC anyway so I can afford it. It does what I want it to and there may even be opportunity to upgrade individual components down the line anyway since it is effectively just a mini-pc.
CPU and GPU are soldered to the board. Only effective upgrade are system memory and storage. Think of it as a nuc or laptop board.
