Who is actually the target audience for the Steam Machine?

Who will buy it?

  • Console players who want something more PC-like

    Votes: 67 44.7%

  • PC players who want something more console-like

    Votes: 63 42.0%

  • Steam Deck players who want a living room box

    Votes: 82 54.7%

  • Gaben enjoyers who likes the idea of a Steam ecosystem

    Votes: 55 36.7%

  • People who want an(other) Xbox

    Votes: 13 8.7%

  • Gaming enthusiasts who can't wait for next-gen

    Votes: 10 6.7%
  • Total voters
    150
I think its a foot in the door for console players. If its cheap enough, some who are interested in PC but want the ease of a console will pick it up.

Maybe they start building their steam library. Maybe, buy a headset and a steamdeck. then they are fully in on the steam eco system. Realise how much better than consoles it is. Excellent refund policies, free online, free cloud saves. Then if they want more power they can happily upgrade to a gaming PC or maybe steam bring out more powerful boxes. If this is successful.

This will not be the failure the original steam box was, imo. It is going to have an impact on the industry.
 
People who want a modest spec mini PC. If they had console/pc before/already makes no difference to what it is, which is a modest spec mini PC and can do modest spec mini PC things so that's the reason to want it, to want a modest spec mini PC. Basically if Steam Deck sounded good to you as a portable mini PC but you don't care for the portable aspect (whether because you already have one or just don't want that). Idk why folks suddenly think mini PCs are Nintendont Switches or PolyStations and should sell as much when they're one out thousands of options for the same PC things 🤷‍♂️
 
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No idea
It lacks mobility of laptop
It lacks customizability of desktop
It lacks performance
It lacks a lot of popular games (or lose convinience of console-style immediately)
 
None of the above. It's an entry point for the SteamOS ecosystem.
Hopefully, it will be cheap. So it can be bought for people entering PC gaming and/or Linux, but without the hassle of building a machine and setting up the OS and all the apps and stuff.
It will also encourage more devs to make games that are native to Linux and Vulkan.
 
Probably a subset of a lot of different groups. Cost-conscious people would probably be the primary. How well they attract mid-core audiences will depend on marketing… not sure I see people naturally just gravitating to it. I don't see it being a hit with tech savvy types or hardcore gamers, though - it's an interesting novelty, but it's mostly just a worse way of doing what they already have access to.
 
rob riggle raise hand GIF by Team Coco
 
One thing that Valve made a misstep was not including an RDNA4 GPU.
This machine could be a cool entry point for gaming but also, for programing and even AI.
AMD has very good support on Linux with RoCm. And although RDNA3 can do some AI stuff, it's not as good as RDNA4.
And of course, missing out on FSR4 FP8 is also a missed opportunity.
 
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People on a budget that want to get into PC gaming. And aren't smart enough to know that you never buy a gaming PC with a 8GB VRAM GPU.
 
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Neither for me. For me it's console players who want to play a handful of a smaller pc indie games that aren't on console and not supported by the steam deck.
 
Shtof said:
Well, what do you think?
Click to expand...

Personally, I'm interested because it might be a cheap way for me to get into PC gaming.

The games I'm most interested in are RTS and grand strategy titles. Some of them are on console, but the vast majority are PC only. If this gives me a cheaper way of accessing those games then I'll buy it as soon as possible.
 
Aside from a sliiiiim chance this is super affordable, I can't see why anyone would want one vs. a Windows pc.
Literally not one reason if you're using it solely as a game machine.
 
IDKFA said:
Personally, I'm interested because it might be a cheap way for me to get into PC gaming.

The games I'm most interested in are RTS and grand strategy titles. Some of them are on console, but the vast majority are PC only. If this gives me a cheaper way of accessing those games then I'll buy it as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
Unless you are trying to go for max settings @4K, a potato can run RTS and strategy titles no problem.
You would almost certainly be overpaying by getting a Steam Machine. I also wouldn't consider those genres "living room" material to begin with, bc you would need to be using a keyboard and mouse.
 
The same audience that brought pre-built packaged in one box Multimedia PCs in the past that they could take off the shelf, put in the shopping cart and pay for it. No fuss entry to PC gaming.
 
It's incredibly niche. Too weak for anyone already into PC gaming, too weak compared to PS5/XSX. Maaaybe it'll attract people curious about pc gaming, but don't know enough about specs and don't want to faff around with drivers etc.
 
coffinbirth said:
Unless you are trying to go for max settings @4K, a potato can run RTS and strategy titles no problem.
You would almost certainly be overpaying by getting a Steam Machine. I also wouldn't consider those genres "living room" material to begin with, bc you would need to be using a keyboard and mouse.
Click to expand...

Some games you need more than a potato. This box is perfect for Rome Total War Remastered and Planet Zoo etc.

I would be using it with a monitor that I use for work. I already have a KB&M as well, so no issues there.

If the cost of this is cheaper than me building my own with similar specs then I'm on board.
 
coffinbirth said:
Unless you are trying to go for max settings @4K, a potato can run RTS and strategy titles no problem.
You would almost certainly be overpaying by getting a Steam Machine. I also wouldn't consider those genres "living room" material to begin with, bc you would need to be using a keyboard and mouse.
Click to expand...
You high or just hating on the hardware in every thread here?

With a PC you need a monitor ($), keyboard+mouse ($), WIndows for absolutely no fucking reason ($). You need a dedicated space - believe it or not some of us likes our homes clear and not cluttered

I'm sure someone will try to build a $500 mini PC with these specs and SteamOS and post that on YouTube, but they will still spend way too much time on that than simply buying the whole package outright + how is this different from people making the same videos with $500 miniPC matching PS5 specs.

And no - check the most recent system requirements for strategy games from 2023 onwards, then come back.
 
It's a good question. I can imagine several target audiences here. Personally I'm a console player seeing Xbox going away and looking to complement PlayStation.
 

  • Console players who want something more PC-like

  • Get an PC

  • PC players who want something more console-like

    Get a PC hooked on a TV

  • Steam Deck players who want a living room box

    Maybe

  • Gaben enjoyers who likes the idea of a Steam ecosystem

    I can see this

  • People who want an(other) Xbox

  • Ahmmm yup.... no
 
Cyberpunkd said:
You high or just hating on the hardware in every thread here?

With a PC you need a monitor ($), keyboard+mouse ($), WIndows for absolutely no fucking reason ($). You need a dedicated space - believe it or not some of us likes our homes clear and not cluttered

I'm sure someone will try to build a $500 mini PC with these specs and SteamOS and post that on YouTube, but they will still spend way too much time on that than simply buying the whole package outright + how is this different from people making the same videos with $500 miniPC matching PS5 specs.

And no - check the most recent system requirements for strategy games from 2023 onwards, then come back.
Click to expand...
You need a TV or monitor for this too, why is this any different to a pc/ps5. You can use any controller on PC. You can install steam os on your pc anyways, who said you needed windows on a pc? A dedicated space? what does that even mean lmao. I have my PC connected to my living room right next to my PS5 and I use a controller on both, no separate desk space. Why would the steamcube be any different here lmao. This is an incredibly niche device and only makes sense when priced at series s level.
 
People who want an easier way into PC gaming with less of the hassle that usually comes with that I guess. But why wouldn't those people just buy a PS5? Especially if this thing ends up more expensive while being less powerful.
 
RoadHazard said:
People who want an easier way into PC gaming with less of the hassle that usually comes with that I guess. But why wouldn't those people just buy a PS5? Especially if this thing ends up more expensive while being less powerful.
Click to expand...

Some games I want to play are not on PS5. They're PC only.
 
14-20 year old guys who are techy and into gaming but cant afford a full fledged gaming PC.

It's way too under-powered for the PC Master Race crowd, but it's a step in that direction for the teenage guys who prefer PC but dont have the budget.
 
mrMUR_96 said:
A dedicated space? what does that even mean lmao.
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That I do not want a huge damn aluminum chassis in my living room together with a bunch of cables and a separate desk for monitor and KB+M? Some of us really like minimalist environment. I do all my work on a notebook that goes to the drawer when not in use. The only thing underneath a TV (mounted on a wall) is a piano, with Apple TV and router (all three in black) on top, cables hidden behind.

mrMUR_96 said:
Series S console performance. 8GB vram and low bandwidth will kneecap performance massively.
Click to expand...
Check the comparisons between Windows and SteamOS running same games on the same hardware, then report back.
 
I just want to play small indie games, most are not on consoles and the ones that are, are cheaper on Steam.
I developed AAA fatigue in the last couple of years.
 
People like me that aren't too interested in a powerhouse PC, want it to be completely focused on games, yet still want an open platform to be able to download what I like and treat it like a traditional PC. I also can't wait to emulate stuff on it.

Oh and obviously amazing form factor. I can pick this up and take it to the front room without it being a fucking eye sore.
 
For me it would be an emulation machine and Plex. Something nice and low powered where I no longer need my PC on.

It would need to be sub £300 though.

I'd pay an extra £20 for a GabeCube sticker edition.
 
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Like Kinda Funny implied. Its for people who got into pc games because of steamdeck and the rest of the portable gaming pc market. Or people wanting to jump into pc gaming but is too intimidated at the prospect.
 
I don't see how this thing is going to be successful when it's not even coming to retailers. The mainstream audience and the casual gaming crowd that they're targeting aren't going to go look up a steam machine and buy it directly from valve because they're not going to know to do so nor know wtf it is. This thing just has bomb written all over it from the tech specs to the mysterious price to the concept of it.
 
Ramiro_Rodriguez said:
Does "Gaming enthusiasts who can't wait for next-gen" makes any sense, when even the PS5 is probably more powerful?
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Digital foundry confirmed that the ps5 is more powerful and that this thing is between a series s and x. Plus it's running RDNA 3 and has 8 gigs of vram which is yuck.
 
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IDKFA said:
Some games you need more than a potato. This box is perfect for Rome Total War Remastered and Planet Zoo etc.

I would be using it with a monitor that I use for work. I already have a KB&M as well, so no issues there.

If the cost of this is cheaper than me building my own with similar specs then I'm on board.
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Potato as in a pc that will be cheaper than this limp dick.
Both of those games would literally run on integrated graphics.
Seriously.
People vastly overestimate what is actually needed for pc gaming.
Again, unless you are trying to go crazy with settings, you can play pretty much every game out there on a 1050ti.
That's lowballing, but that's kinda the point. You can play the AAA stuff on your console.
Literally any of those budget prebuilt gaming pc's in the $400-$500 range will play ANY RTS at pretty high settings.
If you build your own, ESPECIALLY if you don't mind used parts, you'd be able to have a HTPC that looks like a A/V component that could fit into an entertainment center, and a pretty good rig for cheaper than this is likely to be.
Doing this I built a HTPC with a 12th gen i5 and an RTX 3070 for less than $600.
 
In theory it's for me since I hate playing on PC and most of the games I want to play on PC aren't very demanding. However, if they think I'm paying 400$+ for this thing they are out of their minds.
 
Sebastian1295 said:
I don't see how this thing is going to be successful when it's not even coming to retailers.
Click to expand...

I think the presumption has to be that Valve really haven't sunk much money into putting this thing together, and will spend even less on marketing it. It's five year old tech in a black box. Selling direct to consumer they'll make more on each one sold, and they probably will 'manufacture on demand' and not hold much stock.

I suspect they will make money on each box and their sales aspirations are relatively modest.
 
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