Ask Lemmy

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.

Machine? No.
Frame? Yes.

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

Tbh I'm in the same-ish boat, but, given the unknown economic situation in 6 months, I'm saving my disposable income. If everything chugs along, that $1500 unit might be up to $1800; if we hit the operational floor on oil, that $1500 would be better spent elsewhere. I'd rather spend another $300 come Christmas than starve; the steam machine will still be there if bigger problems don't arise.

Wasn't planning on it even before the price announcement, since it still would have been more economical to just upgrade my existing rig even if the SM was $750.

But now I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a Steam Frame if they are also expensive as fuck.

Eventually, when the gen 2 comes out, I intend to pick up a used gen 1 to replace my Raspberry Pi 5. It's one of the very few general-purpose computers that has HDMI CEC support natively, and with KDE Plasma Bigscreen it should be a monster of a set top box.

No one on Lemmy is going to be looking for an entry-level device, we're all boomers with custom rigs already.

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.

Nah, I have a Steam Deck for travel and I don't really feel like I need anything else. Also, I couldn't really afford one anyhow.

It's not just the price, it's the hardware. They could have gone for a slightly more powerful gpu, even in their thermal emvelope, and it'd xonfpunding they didn't. This way it gets beaten by a PS5, on both price and performance.

Doesn't mean I'd buy a PS5, but does mean there's many better options, even if you want small and quiet.

Nope. Getting an Anbernic and Steam Deck opened the way to easy playing of older games, and I’ve been having a great time.

Recently I bought a mini PC with AMD 760M iGPU, just to get something modern, cheap and good enough in case prices get even worse.

Been playing Return To Castle Wolfenstein, The Settlers II remake, ballisticng, Fallout 4… quite a few other cheap and/or old games.

If triple A games are going to cost that much to play moving forwards I’m just not going to play them 👍

After it was announced I was considering it, to replace an old (non-gaming) PC that I still need to use occasionally. But honestly, even if the price was half what it is, I don't think it would really serve much point in my hands.

The Steam Frame is what I'm really interested in, if I have the cash to splurge on it when it finally releases I'll probably nab it.

Nah, my PC is still good. Will be buying Half-Life 3 though if they release that.

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.

Probably not.
Even if it does rugs and upholstery both, they just don't get that dirty, normally. Almost all light stains I can get out with a careful application of soap & water and judicious toweling. Plus there's always rentals if needed.

I don't really have a use case, but I would have considered picking one up anyways sometime down the line if it was a good deal. It's unfortunate that it's not. I was really hoping that Valve would try to subsidize it a little to at least make the cost not as painful, but I understand that it was never an expectation for them to do so.

I think it'll sell anyways, since there are people who don't want to worry about the technical challenges of building their own computer, and also don't want to spend time looking into and vetting pre-built brands. They just want a pre-built from a brand that they already know and trust. And I think the Steam Machine would fill that niche. It's a niche of a niche of a niche, but I suspect there would be enough people like that to still sell a decent number of Steam Machines.

As for the prices of other consoles? Steam Machine is such a low volume product that other consoles would not feel a thing no matter how successful it sells

Maybe in a year or so. My Deck still works fine, not in a rush to replace it. The Frame on the other hand, probably a day one purchase.

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.

I'm glad it exists because it's a much better alternative to consoles, but no, there's no point in buying that instead of a PC unless you have money to throw around on cool hardware

I really like the idea of being able to sit in front of my TV and play Steam games on it as if they were Playstation games. I think I'd play them a lot more than I currently do, since I wouldn't need to go to my home office and sit where I spend most of my day already.

I have a pretty powerful PC for work purposes (image and video editing mainly) so it can handle most games fine (maybe not the absolute top end ones, I'm not sure) but I'm not going to move that into the living room.

So the Steam Machine feels like a great idea...

But I can't help but feel that there'll be issues with it - underpowered maybe, or lacking in features. Plus the rising cost is a pain.

Will wait to see how it turns out for early adopters. But I hope it's a success, I really do.

Why? I already have a PC, and if I didn't and were in the market for one I have a small one bedroom apartment, which is enough space to not have to budget every square inch. That means paying hundreds of monies more for a PC that's less powerful just because it's also a bit more compact would be a poor decision.

If I didn’t already have a gaming PC and a Steam Deck, maybe.

Up until recently I think I would have considered it. Reading court transcripts and seeing Gabe and his underlings lie through their teeth has changed my tune. I want nothing more to do with this monopoly corporation artificially keeping PC games priced high. Fuck Steam.

Not really, I don't have money for a separate gaming console, and if I had, I'd probably still invest in my work machine. I want mass adoption for it become a reference in optimization for Linux systems but I myself can't chip in - I think that contradiction is shared by many.

No, but i really want one. Maybe in a few years if this insane computer pricing chills out a little or if I get a lot of money somehow.

I wish I could, but that price is way too high for me to justify it. If the price ever comes down I would be happy to see about getting one. I think at that price point it's only really accessible to enthusiasts with a lot of disposable income. There were a lot of more casual gamers that were interested in the machine before the price. They were able to get a deck at a $300-400 mark and they were interested to see what the Steam Machine would be offered at. But I am certain at this price that none of those people are going to get one. I'm sure the price is due to AI fucking everyone and not because Valve just wants to squeeze out money. But I think the result of this is that it's not going to be the widespread go-to option for a lot of gamers. It definitely hurt it's chances with a ton of potential customers.

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.

I can't find full-time work for over a year. I can't afford Chinese takeout. I want one, but it's far outside my price range.

No. I already own a PC.

I was going to save up for a 600 bucks version but I ended up buying a 200 bucks second hand gaming PC six months ago which will have to do.

Are you gonna be buying a Steam machine?

Highly unlikely, so I'll say no.

The big appeal (for me) would be simplified gaming for the 1 television in my home, but I almost never get that tv to myself. The other big appeal to me would be to buy the mega max pro pro plus pro maxxx xxxl super mega 2TB with controller version and then sell at a higher price (i.e. scalp), but that's a little risky and not really a thing I'd ever really do.

I was only interested in the new controller to begin with, which that release has been botched to hell, so I'm not really likely to get one now. I simply do not want to pay that much AND wait that long to replace the crappy, god-awful, unreliable piece of shit PS4 pro controller of mine. There are a myriad of easier to find and/or cheaper options.

Going back to the Steam Machine itself: I assume it's highly unlikely that Valve is selling this kind of hardware at a loss. Given the current pricing, I'm even more confident in that assumption.

Thousands of people have "done the numbers", and while I'm not an expert on the parts and prices, the general consensus is that you can build something from off the shelf parts much cheaper. On the one hand, the Steam Machine is using some amount of custom parts and obviously using more expensive stuff for the smaller footprint, but on the other hand, they'd also likely be getting some amount of discount on a good portion of the parts/materials that wouldn't necessarily be available to hobbyists putting together a home PC. So, I'm going to say that's a wash.

You'd have to be very clear and very specific about what you mean "sells well" to comment there. I suspect that Valve knows that regardless of whether the price is competitive on a singular "by the specs" or "per performance" metric, there will be a solid number of people who will buy it. As long as they were relatively conservative with their estimates on the size of that crowd and produced fewer units than that, it will sell out. Selling out is certainly one way to define "sells well". This hardware was never going to sell at a magnitude similar to established console brands, so anybody using that as a metric for selling well is, I'll be nice, not being realistic.

I don’t have any solid gaming console or PC at the moment.

I have an Xbox Series S, a Nintendo Switch, and a Steam Deck.

I have been wanting to build or buy a decent PC for years, but money has always been tight.

All this to say… maybe? It seems to be on par with the prices of prebuilts. My job uses a third party system to give us bonuses and we can use them to get digital giftcards.

I am trying to convince them to add Steam giftcards to it. If I can get that it means I’ll definitely eventually be able to get a Steam Machine. But also I’m hoping that the price decreases over time, as unlikely as that may be.

This is an “eventual” purchase and not an immediate one, in my eyes at least.

For now, I have plenty of games I can run well on my Steam Deck, since I hardly played my Xbox. 8 basically skipped out on gaming from 2016-2025 really.

The Steam Machine would really just be something I’d remote play from the Deck from to either conserve battery life or run more demanding games, like BG3 or E33. Basically anything with unreal haha.

Nope. Way too expensive.

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, just build a PC recently right before price going shit.

But also if i wanted to, i can't, or i'll be paying scalper + dropshipper price.

Not for $1500 CAD I’m not.

Not at current spec and price. I don't think it's worth what I would get. It's also already sold out except the 512 w/ steam controller version for my region so I couldn't even if I wanted to for the larger spec versions.

I'll just slowly continue to upgrade my PC as money allows.