Valve's Steam Machine: DOA
Image from Steam Machine's official page1
Since the announcement of the Steam Machine, speculations have circulated throughout the internet about where the price was going to land. Many have speculated a range from $650 and up. Many agreed that $650 would be a good entrypoint to attract consumers to the product; something that I too agree with. The unfortunate reality is that the price is starting at $1,049 driven by resources being pulled to AI at the expense of consumers demanding PC hardware for gaming. The outcome of the inflated price will detract newcomers from considering the purchase when compared to the other gaming systems like Nintendo Switch, Microsoft XBox, and Sony Playstation that have also increased their prices as well.
While this probably won't affect Valve's revenue all that much because it already controls a large market share in the game launcher market, with the ability to play games on different devices, it does to some degree prevent potential newcomers from jumping into the well-developed ecosystem that Valve's known for with Steam. Existing players already invested in a platform for gaming will more than likely skip the Steam Machine all together even if that platform is Steam.
Besides the well-received release of the Steam Deck, well known in the gaming community, Valve's made early attempts of releasing systems (based on Ubuntu) that ultimately flopped on their releases. The Steam Deck resolved many of the issues that Valve's early hardware suffered from with issues that range from compatibility to usability and so on and so forth. Despite those issues that Valve has overcome, my gut tells me, the unfortunate outcome of the inflated price, the Steam Machine will be DOA.
Fear not fellow gamers. You are not left out in the lurch. While the situation seems to invite doom and gloom, we have more than a lifeline that will lay these worries to rest.
One of the benefits that we should take into consideration is that people's interests and situations change over time. It doesn't matter what it is because that is just how life is. With that being said, that means that gaming hardware is always available. If you catch my drift, buying second hand gaming consoles or even a PC, through Ebay, Facebook, or garage sales are a great places to find hidden gems.
This also DEFINITELY applies to hardware that companies get rid of because they're updating their equipment. More often than not, these are capable machines in great condition that can be repurposed for other things like gaming without the new hardware sticker shock associated with new products.
People not purchasing the Steam Machine doesn't only affect Valve, it also affects companies that it competes with that includes but is not limited to Epic Games, GOG, and Itch.io, etc because you can install these other launchers on the Steam Machine. Not only that, you can also install regular applications since the Steam Machine is ultimately a desktop, technically competing with Microsoft Windows (but that is another topic in itself). Even though Valve competes with other launchers, it doesn't discourage the use of them.
The Steam Machine is the right product at the wrong time. Many Valve fans, including myself, want to see the Steam Machine succeed but my crystal ball suggests otherwise. It is the times that we are living in that makes some options far too distant to consider let alone even approach.
Even though mentally we have to sunset our expectations of whether or not the Steam Machine will succeed, there are still paths we can take that can lead us to a place that gets us close enough (or maybe beyond) to the experience that the Steam Machine could have provided. Regardless, Valve wins even if the Steam Machine fails, with that regard, gamers win too.
Are you planning to get the Steam Machine? Let us know!
DISCLAIMER
All thoughts are my own. This post is not sponsored.
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