Linus tech tips is disappointed that the steam machine won't be priced like a console.

Sebastian1295

Sebastian1295

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Here's some quotes from him in the article spaced out so you don't got to read it. Also according to the article he starts talking about this stuff at 37 minutes into the video that i'm going to link down below.


"When I said I'm disappointed it isn't going to follow a console pricing model, where its subsided by the fact that manufacturer is going to be taking 30% of every game sold on it over the lifespan of this thing, because I feel that would be a more meaningful product, they asked what I meant by console price and I said $500. Nobody said anything, but the energy in the room wasn't great."

"Even if the Steam Machine is like at $600 or $700, it isn't going to have any justification for it," he added, arguing that the PS5 Pro is a much more powerful piece of kit. He also noted that the steam machine won't have a disc drive, which is another selling point for some of the consoles on the market today.


https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/lin...achine-wont-be-priced-like-a-console-3284996/


 
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Sebastian1295 said:
He also noted that the steam machine won't have a disc drive, which is another selling point for some of the consoles on the market today.
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Why would valve - trying to push more people towards steam store - put a disc drive on this thing?

Who's buying disc pc games today?

This should be priced sub $700 though.
 
Disc drive is meaningless for PC we don't want it on console for fun, we have to have it to play physical games.

What physical games do I need to play on PC that I could fit and would take the time to burn to a disc?

In the physical games for PC thread earlier today they accomplished this with memory cards. Even easier with a simple external drive. Also usb disc drives exist for next to nothing.

No disc needed. That said....I was kinda hoping for $499.99.
 
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$600 to $700 does have a justification...folks that are willing to spend $600 plus on a console like experience for the games that said console provides.

Valve sees this like a business, they are offering a low effort entry point into an ENMOROUS library of exclusive titles ( I am referring to games only available on PC) but "you gotta pay for that privilege".
 
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Loomy said:
Why would valve - trying to push more people towards steam store - put a disc drive on this thing?

Who's buying disc pc games today?

This should be priced sub $700 though.
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According to him it sounds like it's not going to be 500 most definitely and if I had to guess it'll be 700 dollars or more which is not good considering the specs and competition on the marketplace.
 
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and he's very right to be.

the Steam Deck was priced like a console, and even that sytem, which has the novelty of also being a good Handheld, barely sold more units since launch than any other actual console sells in 1 or 2 months.

so, I said it before, but at anything above 500€, I just don't see who would be the target audience for this, outside of those who buy it out of curiosity
 
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Miyazaki's Slave said:
$600 to $700 does have a justification...folks that are willing to spend $600 plus on a console like experience for the games that said console provides.

Valve sees this like a business, they are offering a low effort entry point into an ENMOROUS library of exclusive titles ( I am referring to games only available on PC) but "you gotta pay for that privilege".
Click to expand...

The problem is that at that price point you're getting into ps5 pro territory and the specs don't justify the cost of the steam machine at that price. Essentially you got yourself an overpriced pre built pc with mid to low end specs.
 
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Having watched the video in question, Linus (edit: and Luke) seem more positive about the Steam Machine and its possible price than the tone of the article suggests.
 
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It's impossible $500, anyone who understands mini-ITX knows that the compact form factor increases the price. Want a tip ? Buy a gaming laptop; you can connect it to the TV, play games without a TV using its screen, and it even comes with Windows where you can play Valorant and COD.

man ps5 is $400, forget this cheat
 
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Geometric-Crusher said:
It's impossible $500, anyone who understands mini-ITX knows that the compact form factor increases the price. Want a tip ? Buy a gaming laptop; you can connect it to the TV, play games without a TV using its screen, and it even comes with Windows where you can play Valorant and COD.

man ps5 is $400, forget this cheat
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Why does mini make it more expensive it should be less because there's less materiel compared to a normal size pc
 
The people buying it already have a PC, laptop, and Deck. Realistically, the Steam Machine won't be pushing much if any software sales that weren't already happening on the previously existing hardware. The idea of loss leading for software sales is pointless. And if they have limited production capacity then it can't push enough numbers to justify using it as the tip of the spear for SteamOS like Deck was. It's just a TV player for Deck enthusiasts.
 
A disk drive? Why would you even mention this? Especially when comparing it to the driveless PS5 Pro?
Steam isn't going to be taking 30% of everything sold on it - because it isn't a console and you can buy your games from anywhere you want and still play them and can also get keys from key sites.
They should be able to be competitive on price versus other pre-built PC's but we will see.
 
Geometric-Crusher said:
It's impossible $500, anyone who understands mini-ITX knows that the compact form factor increases the price. Want a tip ? Buy a gaming laptop; you can connect it to the TV, play games without a TV using its screen, and it even comes with Windows where you can play Valorant and COD.

man ps5 is $400, forget this cheat
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This, also in comparison with traditional console makers like Sony or Nintendo, probably Valve is not going to buy parts in gigantic volumes…
 
Mister Wolf said:
If it had been $500 and released at the same time as the Steam Deck then it would have been better received.
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I think 500$ would be good for that size and if the controller is included, you couldn't build a pc for that price with those specs in that form factor and with a controller

The 2TB one could be 600-700
 
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Sebastian1295 said:
The problem is that at that price point you're getting into ps5 pro territory and the specs don't justify the cost of the steam machine at that price. Essentially you got yourself an overpriced pre built pc with mid to low end specs.
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Is that a problem though?

With those specs you can play a giant selection of the games on steam (there are exceptions of course...vr, certain anti cheat mechanisms, etc) and you can do that with 2 to 3 cables and the TV you already have. Why make a PC enthusiast machine when that is not their target audience? They want to get folks migrated over who are accustomed to only console "plug n play" gaming.

To me, Valve is not targeting someone who has purchased/made a pc specifically for gaming...they are targeting folks who are not in that eco system due to the cost/complexity of managing all the pieces people see as "required" to enjoy pc gaming.
 
BlueManifest said:
I think 500$ would be good for that size and if the controller is included, you couldn't build a pc for that price with those specs in that form factor and with a controller

The 2TB one could be 600-700
Click to expand...

I don't understand why they couldn't have just put this thing out years ago. It's not like any of the parts in it are new.
 
Miyazaki's Slave said:
$600 to $700 does have a justification...folks that are willing to spend $600 plus on a console like experience for the games that said console provides.

Valve sees this like a business, they are offering a low effort entry point into an ENMOROUS library of exclusive titles ( I am referring to games only available on PC) but "you gotta pay for that privilege".
Click to expand...
I have been playing on 1660Ti for so long and seeing these absurd prices keep going up and up, I have let go of my dream to make a PC once GTA6 comes out.

I am just gonna buy a Steam Machine imported from outside my country and be done for another 5-6 years. Med/High setting, 60fps and 1080p is enough for me now.
 
$500 seems about right for the specs, but if they are trying to make a decent profit then yeah, not happening. Those $1k predictions are not looking so crazy now, unfortunately
 
I really want one but I think $500-600 is my limit based on its specs. Anything more expensive than that and I'd just build something. But, to be honest, I love my Steam Deck OLED and I can easily just skip the Steam Machine and simply wait a few years for the Steam Deck 2.
 
Shubh_C63 said:
I have been playing on 1660Ti for so long and seeing these absurd prices keep going up and up, I have let go of my dream to make a PC once GTA6 comes out.

I am just gonna buy a Steam Machine imported from outside my country and be done for another 5-6 years. Med/High setting, 60fps and 1080p is enough for me now.
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Or you can buy a PS5 for cheap and have a solid performance and play the game a year early…
 
Geometric-Crusher said:
Buying a linux Steam Cube just to install Windows is foolish; it's better to just buy a proper gaming laptop with windows or an ITX pc using used parts.
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Depends on the price, but I bought a Legion Go S with Windows installed and put Steam OS on it. Same difference. Who cares what it comes preinstalled with? That's what makes it a PC: you can put whatever you want on it. Nothing wrong with buying a gaming laptop or building an ITX, but if Steam Machine is cheaper then I don't see why someone wouldn't buy it to install Windows if that is what they want.
 
BlueManifest said:
it will make sense if they sell it for 500 base price, 4 years ago it would have cost lot more than 500 so that's why
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They should have subsidized it then. Had they done so in 2023 they could have taken a decent chunk of the market as an alternative to buying a PS5 or Series X.
 
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Topher said:
Depends on the price, but I bought a Legion Go S with Windows installed and put Steam OS on it. Same difference. Who cares what it comes preinstalled with? That's what makes it a PC: you can put whatever you want on it. Nothing wrong with buying a gaming laptop or building an ITX, but if Steam Machine is cheaper then I don't see why someone wouldn't buy it to install Windows if that is what they want.
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Removing Windows from Legion GO (handheld) is easy, I want to see you do it, my friend Topher, on your desktop PC.
 
Geometric-Crusher said:
Removing Windows from Legion GO (handheld) is easy, I want to see you do it, my friend Topher, on your desktop PC.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? You think removing Windows and installing Linux (or any os) on a desktop PC can't be done? Come on now. I must be misunderstanding you here
 
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Loomy said:
Why would valve - trying to push more people towards steam store - put a disc drive on this thing?

Who's buying disc pc games today?

This should be priced sub $700 though.
Click to expand...
It's not a matter of pushing, but value

- one hardware has this and this and that, and costs X
- another hardware has just this, and costs X
- why I would pick the second hardware if has less features?

Can work? For sure. Is the modus operandi of Apple since ever... but Valve worked since ever with the complete opposite
 
LordOcidax said:
Is not a retarded take… anything above $599 for a Low-Mid spec PC is going to be DOA.
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It's retarded to expect an open platform to be subsidized as well as mentioning a disc drive.

Everything else is the same arguments we've been going in circles in the other 30 threads on this thing (pricing). They bring nothing new to the table.
 
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