yeah and this'll still target same tvs, be worse at it, comes 6 years after, will be "pc priced" ( read more expensive )
Linus tech tips is disappointed that the steam machine won't be priced like a console.
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vaibhavpisal
Member
It needed to be RDNA 4 and 16 gb VRAM.
It would have been better than consoles then.
I would have happily paid $800 for such system. As of now, its a 1080p machine, I wouldn't attempt 1440p on it.
Topher
Identifies as young
Oh....switching to pricing now. Ok. Yeah....if it comes in over $500, I've already said it will be too expensive for what it is. Doesn't matter if it is "6 years after" or not. PC hardware isn't tied to console hardware cycle. That's been a known fact for ages, as is the fact that PCs are generally more expensive simply because they are not subsidized.
chromatic9
Member
Don't see it being popular but I think it highlights a flaw in the PC market.
There is potential for smaller and much more capable gaming PCs that still have the flexibility to upgrade and repair. A slicker approach and gaming OS would be great.
There is potential for smaller and much more capable gaming PCs that still have the flexibility to upgrade and repair. A slicker approach and gaming OS would be great.
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Kacho
Gold Member
Would have been a very compelling product
Laptop1991
Member
I've just seen this and Digital Foundry's take on the price also Yong Yea's video and from what they are saying, the Steambox is not going to sell loads, it's going to be more expensive than the PS5 or the same as the more powerful pro console so won't attract the console crowd from their libraries and it won't support GOG/ Epic and Gamepass on PC as well as Steam games on Steam OS which is what PC gamers want, and not just being able to play Steam games, when the same priced fully fledged PC can, who is this aimed at besides a niched gamer crowd, if it supported all PC launchers as well, it might do well at a higher price, but not just Steam games only i feel.
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vaibhavpisal
Member
Only way current setup makes sense is if they were able to get it very cheap, and were able to get it down to $499.
Topher
Identifies as young
Even at $500 it is not going to sell a bunch. This is a niche product for a subset of PC gamers who want to be able to game in the living room or want a mini PC.
Laptop1991
Member
Yeah agreed, i can't see anyone else being interested and i think it will be 7 to 8 hundred personally for the base and more for the 2tb version.
Topher
Identifies as young
At $500, it will be an attractive product, but there are better options out there for $700+. Not with this form factor though so maybe that's what Valve is banking on. I just don't think there is much of a market at that price.
I'm pretty much in in the $500 (without controller) or bust category at this point.
RafterXL
Member
Then why is it being hyped like it's the second coming of Christ?
Yeah, it's a product made for people who already use the parent product, just like the Steam deck. And it's going to be 100% a niche product. But since it was announced all we've heard is Valve is "entering the console race" or "this is a game changer" and other equally ridiculous things. I guess it's because it's Valve, or because the Linux crew are artificially inflating it's importance, but the hype doesn't match up with what this things is at all.
pudel
Gold Member
Dont know where you got these informations from, but I am pretty sure they are wrong. Except for gamepass, everything else (gog/epic) should be available on steamOS as well.
Kacho
Gold Member
Surely they can limit the Steam Machine to 1 per active account that has spent X amount over the past year, or something like that.
Edit: to keep the price down
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You can install anything you want in SteamOS it's not locked down. GOG games you can just download and install, Epic you can use the launcher. But both are supported in Heroic Launcher which automates everything for you.
The only thing SteamOS doesn't support is Gamepass which is tightly integrated into the Windows Store isn't possible to outside of Windows 10/11.
The Steam Deck has been out for four years, it's not some unknown on what SteamOS can or cannot do. There are two types of games that can't run on SteamOS. Gamepass/Windows store, and mentioned above no way to access this outside of Windows. Games with anticheat that which isn't supported on Linux. This is down to the game dev, some people have gotten some of the games to run, but then it later gets detected and their accounts get flagged and banned. SteamOS needs to become more popular so this stops being an issue.
A final set of games that appear unplayable are some older games that use specific licensed codecs so videos and sometimes audio don't play making the game skip things or just outright not run. This can be fixed by installing a 3rd party proton package, Proton GE is the recommended one. Valve just can't legally include those licensed files themselves that allow the playback to happen, blame the media companies. But once that's installed all of the problems magically vanish.
Because it's not, it just solves a bunch of usability issues with PCs on TVs and is the solution many people having been trying to figure out. You're just reading way too much into it. The Steam Deck was an equally awesome product that's been successful, yet is under ten million units sold. But you can't use console sales to compare. It's a PC, it has an infinite library. Devs aren't not making games for it as they just need to create games for PCs and they run. While a failed console stop stops being supported.
Laptop1991
Member
Yeah but when Linus Tech Tips said 500, he mentioned the energy wasn't in the room at Valve so i don't think 500 is realistic and it is the right selling point for the Steambox to compete and do well, would it sell without the controller as well is another question, the controller is important to a lot of gamers.
KeepThemEyesOpen
Member
WTF did I just read?
vaibhavpisal
Member
Not seeing overhype. Its a new hardware so some excitement is warranted.
If its $499 I can get it as a fun secondary system. They might bundle it with new controller, another reason to get it.
Hopefully its not subsidised at $499.
So corporates can buy as many as they want.
Topher
Identifies as young
I was arguing with folks here the other day about this whole "entering the console race" nonsense. That shit is so overblown. They posted a bunch of youtube thumbnails as evidence. Folks gotta stop putting so much stock in these goobers on youtube. They are following the "algorithm". But yeah.....it is new hardware from Valve so that's going to get some attention, but you know how folks overhype shit like this.
Laptop1991
Member
New users to Steam are not going to want install operating Systems straight away, they want to turn it on, download games and play them and gamers that do that, already have PC's!, sorry thats a nonesense excuse.
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Laptop1991
Member
Common sense
Laptop1991
Member
I said the videos i just watched, it's not my information
KeepThemEyesOpen
Member
Your grammar hurt my brain.
kaizenkko
Member
People always overestimate everything Valve does. This product is not meant to compete directly against consoles. Valve doesn't even have the distribution capabilities for that. This is a product for Steam players who want a compact device to plug into their living room. It's a niche product and will be successful if it reaches Steam Deck numbers. My price bet is $550~600 without the controller.
pudel
Gold Member
Than these vids are wrong in that regard!
Laptop1991
Member
Yeah yours is great aswell lol
Laptop1991
Member
Well we will find out in time, but how do you know they are wrong.
pudel
Gold Member
Because I am a linux user and I know how steam/gog/epic works on this OS. I mean you can even add the gog launcher to steam and just start it from there.
RafterXL
Member
I'm not reading anything into it, I know what it is, and we've seen it before. It's a small form factor PC. There are, however, a ton of people who think this is something else. That think this will change PC gaming, will kill consoles, will make developers optimize games for it, etc. It's ridiculous overhype for a budget PC with a Big Picture Mode interface.
I thought it was a stretch at $500 for the average person, but since the Linus stuff multiple other sites are picking up that this won't be near that low, which makes it dead in the water IMO.
Amen. And I get the Valve hype angle, and it will only increase when they announce HL3 and try to co-market the hardware and software, I just think that most of the people who buy this will be someone like me who just want a second box for the bedroom or living room, etc. I don't think this will build a new Steam audience, so much as milk the current one, just like the Deck.
NickFire
Member
I've been following this topic and the Magnus topic because I don't have a pc but definitely find the concept of a "simpler" pc / console / whatever hitting market that would let me try steam games on my tv close to a console experience.
Unfortunately, it's all sounding very disappointing. Maybe this will be priced for people looking to dip their toes in, maybe not, kind of sounds like not. But sub 4k targets in 2026 just sounds so blah.
Magnus is still interesting but not at the prices being theorized for me. I don't want to play Steam games that badly.
Unfortunately, it's all sounding very disappointing. Maybe this will be priced for people looking to dip their toes in, maybe not, kind of sounds like not. But sub 4k targets in 2026 just sounds so blah.
Magnus is still interesting but not at the prices being theorized for me. I don't want to play Steam games that badly.
Tobimacoss
Member
A Dad buys this for his kids for Xmas. They set it up, hoping to play FortNite and find out it's not on Steam. So the dad does some research for couple hours and finds some guides to install Epic, and gets it done. Then they find out it can't even run on the device.
The device gets sent back and put on sale for clearance, then another Dad buys it thinking he just got a good deal. Same process repeats and the cycle continues.
The device gets sent back and put on sale for clearance, then another Dad buys it thinking he just got a good deal. Same process repeats and the cycle continues.
Fbh
Member
Yeah I expect these will sell worse than the Steamdeck, which itself is a pretty niche device.
If you want to target the more casual console audience, the price, lack of other stores and lack of compatibility with anti-cheat (thus many popular multiplayer games) are all going to be big limiting factors.
And the more enthusiast crowd probably has a PC with better specs already.
So I see this mostly as a secondary device for PC gamers that want something to access and play some of their Steam games on the TV. And maybe a niche audience that wants to get into PC gaming with a sub $1000 device and doesn't mind the limitations of Steam OS,
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MiguelItUp
Member
It's really unfortunate, the amount people that allow YouTubers to think and speak for them. They've always been fueled by clicks and engagement, majority of them don't give a damn if they're just straight up spewing lies as long as they're getting attention. Especially nowadays.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Even at $700+, the SM is still an attractive product. The spec can be beat for the same price when building yourself, but that means you have to take the time and effort to build a larger, probably uglier, custom job. Not everyone wants to, or is capable of doing that. Time is money, and style is also valuable.
Laptop1991
Member
GoG's guidelines are not a simple as you make out, there is some Heroic launcher apparently, but you might know what your doing but then again that's a niche crowd again like some of us are sayingBecause I am a linux user and I know how steam/gog/epic works on this OS. I mean you can even add the gog launcher to steam and just start it from there.
Guidelines for Linux Games on GOG - GOG Developer Docs
Documentation for GOG Game Developers
docs.gog.com
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Laptop1991
Member
Topher
Identifies as young
I'm hoping Valve is doing this to try and encourage others like MSI, Lenovo, etc. to follow suit with beefier offerings. They will be more expensive, but still accomplishes the goal of getting wider Steam OS adoption.
You could use that same analogy to describe "Xbox" Rog Ally.
Hawk The Slayer
Member
I'm a 1080p user and would remain so forever and even I can see 8gb being crap. Cause some games like Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, Space Marine 2, modded Fallout 4 etc requires more than 8gb to run well even on 1080p. Now imagine all the future more demanding games like FFVII Remake part 3, GTA VI, Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5, Witcher 4, Space Marine 3, Stellar Blade 2, Tides of A, Half Life 3, etc etc. 16gb vram would have hyped a lot of folks up even with a 800 price tag.
Little Mac
Member
Walking into Microcenter and buying the parts cost him just under $1700.
Hawk The Slayer
Member
If it can't run Epic then does that mean it also can't run Blizzard so no World of Warcraft or other blizzard games? Excluding Overwatch 2 on Steam.
pudel
Gold Member
Fortnite runs on this device. Epics anticheat is just kicking you after 2min ingame.
And its totally fine when its just a niche product. Nobody is arguing against that. Lots of people here just make hilarious assumptions and than get mad about their own hilarious assumptions. Thats idiotic.
Topher
Identifies as young
I've seen folks throw up youtube links as arguments like that shit is absolute truth. It is really bizarre.
MiguelItUp
Member
Yuuuup, it's honestly pretty horrifying, especially regarding certain topics, lol.
Hawk The Slayer
Member
At 500 it should definitely sell a lot. Lots of people even the poorer folks would be able to afford it. People with stronger PC might still just get one as a backup thing or just to have a cool little box from Steam.
Rich - get it as a collectible
Middle - get it as a backup pc
Poor - get it as their main thing.
But once it hits the 700+ territory especially for the base model that's when the interest is lost for many.
Laptop1991
Member
Yeah agreed, if a niche audience likes it that's fine, but the thread is about the price, i'm not making assumption's, i'm commenting on YT videos out there by content creators that are, and wouldn't buy a Steam box personally at any price anyway, i already have a PC.Fortnite runs on this device. Epics anticheat is just kicking you after 2min ingame.
And its totally fine when its just a niche product. Nobody is arguing against that. Lots of people here just make hilarious assumptions and than get mad about their own hilarious assumptions. Thats idiotic.
Where did I mention anything about an operating system? I mentioned installing launchers to access the other libraries. The exact same launchers you need to install on Windows to access those same libraries.
SteamOS isn't locked down, it boots into a controller first UI. But it's a full OS underneath that you are allowed to do whatever you want with it. It's not like a console that limits your freedom.
And for certain gamers, it's the exact solution we've been waiting for. $550-600 without a controller still sting a little. But it's not too outlandish.
The difference it that it has working HDMI-CEC support so it will integrate with your TV and audio system just like consoles do. It supports enhanced sleep and suspend modes like the Deck does that matches the functionality of the PS5 and XS. It supposedly will handle VRR, HDR, and not have messed up HDMI audio issues you get under Windows.
Is $500 that terrible? Try looking at the price of retail PCs at a place like Best Buy. If you look at desktop for $500-700 you get a bunch of PCs that all have iGPUs. Not a discrete GPU in sight. The Steam Machine will perform much better than those machine. Can you build one for less? At $499 it's very difficult unless you are going for used parts. If you have access to a MicroCenter I've posted a PC with a 9060 they are offering for $650. That will give you better performance, but it won't have the ease of life features I mentioned above, and it will be larger.
It's all trade offs. The price will be the decided factor. It's not going to take out Sony or Nintendo. But I could see who are console games but are curious about PC gaming getting one if the price is right. That exact thing happened with the Deck, it's some people's only PC and why Valve see something like 15% of them being played docked even with the Deck's limited power. There is a lot of hype, but it's not all directed at the Steam Machine. The Frame while it doesn't have the same level of hype surrounding it adds to the fire. The big thing there is being able to run PC games on ARM systems. Steam and PC gaming on ARM Chromebooks, set top boxes, tablets, and phones? That could change the PC gaming landscape.
Zacfoldor
Member
You didn't understand what that dude wrote? It's totally legible and I got it on the first read. What he is saying is in West Philadelphia born and raised on the playground was where I spent most of my days. Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin', all cool, and all shootin' some b-ball outside of the school.
Laptop1991 said:
I've just seen this and Digital Foundry's take on the price also Yong Yea's video and from what they are saying, the Steambox is not going to sell loads, it's going to be more expensive than the PS5 or the same as the more powerful pro console so won't attract the console crowd from their libraries and it won't support GOG/ Epic and Gamepass on PC as well as Steam games on Steam OS which is what PC gamers want, and not just being able to play Steam games, when the same priced fully fledged PC can, who is this aimed at besides a niched gamer crowd, if it supported all PC launchers as well, it might do well at a higher price, but not just Steam games only i feel.
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pudel
Gold Member
Yeah, me too! Welcome to the club! But the things you posted before were partly incorrect...just sayin.
Laptop1991
Member
Such as, i posted what info is already out there about the unknown price and what information they are presenting online so far.