Valve have confirmed the Steam Machine's price will be comparable to a custom-built PC with similar performance, rather than subsidised like a console.
It’s going to be a complete repeat because they learned nothing from the first time. This is only really appealing to console games as PC gamers have nothing to gain from buying one, but pricing it like a PC means console gamers won’t buy them either. This is exactly what happened the first time.
This is only really appealing to console games as PC gamers have nothing to gain from buying one
I have a PC gamer friend who has an 8-year-old PC. He has said he is getting a Steam Machine.
What this offers PC gamers is a ready-made box. Some PC gamers don’t want to build a PC, they want to just buy it. And this offers a very standard package to get.
I partially agree with you, this needs to be under $800. But the last attempt was awful, this would have to be over $1000 to be as bad as the original Steam Machines. Also Linux could not play many games back then.
I play a lot of PC games and it’s definitely of interest; if I can buy a powerful, compact machine that can play everything for less than the cost of a current generation 12-16gb+ GPU, I’m sold.
Why would I want to spend a bunch more money to build/upgrade my own rig? Have you seen RAM prices lately?
The first time it was largely due to lack of game support and confusion as they were 3rd party devices.
This time pretty much every game will run through Proton, Linux for desktop has matured a lot, SteamOS is much better and Valve are selling it 1st party. It will sell a lot, even if it is priced as a PC… I mean at the end of the day it is a PC, a custom SFF one, which are usually very expensive. This will good value for what it is, you just can’t compare it to a console.
I guess time will tell, but I’ve seen a ton of companies selling custom PCs fail and I’ve seen Valve fail at this the first time around and I’m not really convinced people on Lemmy have a real grasp on how unpopular Linux still is with the general public.
It’s going to be a complete repeat because they learned nothing from the first time. This is only really appealing to console games as PC gamers have nothing to gain from buying one, but pricing it like a PC means console gamers won’t buy them either. This is exactly what happened the first time.
I have a PC gamer friend who has an 8-year-old PC. He has said he is getting a Steam Machine.
What this offers PC gamers is a ready-made box. Some PC gamers don’t want to build a PC, they want to just buy it. And this offers a very standard package to get.
I am a PC gamer and am considering one as long as the price is reasonable.
I partially agree with you, this needs to be under $800. But the last attempt was awful, this would have to be over $1000 to be as bad as the original Steam Machines. Also Linux could not play many games back then.
The pc parts market is getting fucked by the AI rush, so maybe it’ll work out better.
And then bitcoin before that. I miss sane GPU prices.
I play a lot of PC games and it’s definitely of interest; if I can buy a powerful, compact machine that can play everything for less than the cost of a current generation 12-16gb+ GPU, I’m sold.
Why would I want to spend a bunch more money to build/upgrade my own rig? Have you seen RAM prices lately?
The first time it was largely due to lack of game support and confusion as they were 3rd party devices.
This time pretty much every game will run through Proton, Linux for desktop has matured a lot, SteamOS is much better and Valve are selling it 1st party. It will sell a lot, even if it is priced as a PC… I mean at the end of the day it is a PC, a custom SFF one, which are usually very expensive. This will good value for what it is, you just can’t compare it to a console.
I guess time will tell, but I’ve seen a ton of companies selling custom PCs fail and I’ve seen Valve fail at this the first time around and I’m not really convinced people on Lemmy have a real grasp on how unpopular Linux still is with the general public.
Steam Deck proved that Linux can now be a success in the hands of the general public. This is basically a more powerful one you plug into your TV.
While it is a custom PC, like the Deck, its also a curated experience, like the Deck.
The evidence is already there, I would understand you if this was their first product back, but it isnt.