6 ms·

At this price point they should have never released it, they should have waited. Everywhere I see reviews of it on the internet, come along with forced smiles a

At this price point they should have never released it, they should have waited. Everywhere I see reviews of it on the internet, come along with forced smiles and talk about how they agree with the philosophy behind it and they should be commended for fighting against Windows. But ultimately no one recommends this to the general public. The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop. Only thing they can do now is keep it on the market, and in a few years upgrade *and* discount this thing in hopes of reigniting the hype. If they withdraw it, the very small but existing set of current buyers will scream bloody murder about being abandoned, and if they then try and re-release, trust will already have been broken.

minimaxir 3mo ago
Waited until when? 2028?
blitzar 3mo ago
> The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to sell out. If prices go back to normal, v2 of this product will be great. This version, at these specs, at this point in time would only be a buy if it was good value (like $500). People will buy them all anyway.
- foo12bar 3mo ago
  Selling out doesn't equate to success. They've already said the initial launch will be heavily limited. What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle. Not whether they sell out on initial release.
  - esseph 3mo ago
    > What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle. That may not matter either. In fact, the most likely outcome is that they sell out of inventory, and the next iteration of the device gets GTA6 level hype. The scarcity of the premium product.
    - foo12bar 3mo ago
      It all depends on how well they support the current iteration, though. If it turns into a Google Glass or an Apple Vision Pro and is left nearly or actually abandoned, then I think people won't be so interested.
      - esseph 3mo ago
        This doesn't make any sense. They use the OS in multiple products. Tons of people run it on their own hardware. They could probably not update a single thing on there and it wouldn't matter, the games themselves are mostly running through an emulation layer anyway and will continue to work.
        foo12bar 3mo ago
        So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it? People will just flock to the next version when it comes out and not feel burned by what happened? Not many people run games on linux, only about 5%, amd of those nearly all keep a windows OS around to handle edge cases and upgrading firmware, etc. This is what the fight is about. If Steam can't get linux based devices into the hands of enough people continuing to support it will remain a money pit for them for as long as they try. Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now.
        esseph 3mo ago
        You don't understand how Steam works, the culture around it, or why people are excited about this. > So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it? They're selling a gaming console, of which in their case the hardware is the least important part and a means to an end. It is commodity hardware. No integrated memory. No special sauce. These are hardware drivers that are a part of the Linux kernel. What they are selling is a portal (grin) to their ecosystem, and an experience that is different from their competitors. One that unlike many of their competitors, doesn't require a monthly fee to be a part of (multiplayer). AND access to it is now scarce. A limited premium product. > Not many people run games on linux, only about 5% You're going to find a bunch of those on this website, myself included. No windows PC laying around though. I game on Fedora 44 w/ Steam. > Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now. You just don't get it.
  - bryanlarsen 3mo ago
    Steam Deck & Machine appear to be very low margin, so Valve will make very little profit on them whether they sell a lot or a little. So profit isn't the success measure they're aiming for. They're all just tools to get people to buy more games, which is where the margin is. And the existence of the Steam Machine makes the ecosystem more attractive even if you don't actually buy the Machine.
  - blitzar 3mo ago
    > Selling out doesn't equate to success If you have no revenue, you can say you’re pre-revenue... It’s not about how much you earn. It’s about what you’re worth. And who’s worth most? Companies that lose money.
- Npovview 3mo ago
  Dave2D covered it very well. https://youtu.be/Huw11M9aaMk https://youtu.be/Huw11M9aaMk
lizardking 3mo ago
I predict it sells out
Aurornis 3mo ago
> Everywhere I see reviews of it on the internet, Gaming reviews have diverged from reality. Everything is about finding controversy and something to be angry about. Gaming journalism and social media are extremely toxic, but not really indicative of average gamers or consumers any more. > The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop. I would bet that it's going to be oversubscribed and sell out.
- foo12bar 3mo ago
  I bet it sells out, too. But selling out a heavily limited release doesn't mean they are going to make a profit.
  - drdexebtjl 3mo ago
    They’re privately owned, not every project needs to be profitable. It can just not lose money and strengthen the Steam ecosystem where the real profit is. If this thing becomes unobtanium unless you’re a game studio or a journalist, but becomes a standard optimization/compatibility target for game developers like the Steam Deck has been, I would consider it successful, imo.
  - rjh29 3mo ago
    The Steam Deck also sells out but the overall userbase is a drop in the ocean compared to the Switch.
  - croon 3mo ago
    They may not recoup R&D costs for a while depending on volume, but they will make a profit per unit. They can't sell them as loss leaders like regular console manufacturers can, since then general computer buyers would get them as a priced down unlocked PC.
    - nisegami 3mo ago
      And importantly, they have the finances to support that R&D expenditure taking longer than expected to be recouped. The same situation with a small company would be very different than a company with solid income elsewhere.
laserDinosaur 3mo ago
I'm sure that the steam machine will sell out just because A) it's a small batch B) It's Valve C) It's a neat form factor. But as someone who was originally going to pick one up (thinking it was going to be a great little gaming PC powerhouse), seeing it come in close to last in most of the GamersNexus benchmarks was pretty disheartening (pulling 20-50FPS at 1080p on most recent games). I was hoping that they were going to bring a console mindset to PC building to create something that exceeded what a DIY-er could do with off the shelf parts. But the fact you can make a faster DIY machine for cheaper right now feels...eh, what's the point? My guess is they sell the first few batches, then Steam Machine goes on a small vacation for a few years while they wait for prices to come back down.
gaws 3mo ago
> The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop. No. They've made just enough to sell out and drive demand.

minimaxir 3mo ago

Waited until when? 2028?

blitzar 3mo ago

> The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to sell out. If prices go back to normal, v2 of this product will be great. This version, at these specs, at this point in time would only be a buy if it was good value (like $500). People will buy them all anyway.

foo12bar 3mo ago
Selling out doesn't equate to success. They've already said the initial launch will be heavily limited. What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle. Not whether they sell out on initial release.
- esseph 3mo ago
  > What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle. That may not matter either. In fact, the most likely outcome is that they sell out of inventory, and the next iteration of the device gets GTA6 level hype. The scarcity of the premium product.
  - foo12bar 3mo ago
    It all depends on how well they support the current iteration, though. If it turns into a Google Glass or an Apple Vision Pro and is left nearly or actually abandoned, then I think people won't be so interested.
    - esseph 3mo ago
      This doesn't make any sense. They use the OS in multiple products. Tons of people run it on their own hardware. They could probably not update a single thing on there and it wouldn't matter, the games themselves are mostly running through an emulation layer anyway and will continue to work.
      - foo12bar 3mo ago
        So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it? People will just flock to the next version when it comes out and not feel burned by what happened? Not many people run games on linux, only about 5%, amd of those nearly all keep a windows OS around to handle edge cases and upgrading firmware, etc. This is what the fight is about. If Steam can't get linux based devices into the hands of enough people continuing to support it will remain a money pit for them for as long as they try. Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now.
        esseph 3mo ago
        You don't understand how Steam works, the culture around it, or why people are excited about this. > So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it? They're selling a gaming console, of which in their case the hardware is the least important part and a means to an end. It is commodity hardware. No integrated memory. No special sauce. These are hardware drivers that are a part of the Linux kernel. What they are selling is a portal (grin) to their ecosystem, and an experience that is different from their competitors. One that unlike many of their competitors, doesn't require a monthly fee to be a part of (multiplayer). AND access to it is now scarce. A limited premium product. > Not many people run games on linux, only about 5% You're going to find a bunch of those on this website, myself included. No windows PC laying around though. I game on Fedora 44 w/ Steam. > Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now. You just don't get it.
- bryanlarsen 3mo ago
  Steam Deck & Machine appear to be very low margin, so Valve will make very little profit on them whether they sell a lot or a little. So profit isn't the success measure they're aiming for. They're all just tools to get people to buy more games, which is where the margin is. And the existence of the Steam Machine makes the ecosystem more attractive even if you don't actually buy the Machine.
- blitzar 3mo ago
  > Selling out doesn't equate to success If you have no revenue, you can say you’re pre-revenue... It’s not about how much you earn. It’s about what you’re worth. And who’s worth most? Companies that lose money.
Npovview 3mo ago
Dave2D covered it very well. https://youtu.be/Huw11M9aaMk https://youtu.be/Huw11M9aaMk

lizardking 3mo ago

I predict it sells out

Aurornis 3mo ago

> Everywhere I see reviews of it on the internet, Gaming reviews have diverged from reality. Everything is about finding controversy and something to be angry about. Gaming journalism and social media are extremely toxic, but not really indicative of average gamers or consumers any more. > The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop. I would bet that it's going to be oversubscribed and sell out.

foo12bar 3mo ago
I bet it sells out, too. But selling out a heavily limited release doesn't mean they are going to make a profit.
- drdexebtjl 3mo ago
  They’re privately owned, not every project needs to be profitable. It can just not lose money and strengthen the Steam ecosystem where the real profit is. If this thing becomes unobtanium unless you’re a game studio or a journalist, but becomes a standard optimization/compatibility target for game developers like the Steam Deck has been, I would consider it successful, imo.
- rjh29 3mo ago
  The Steam Deck also sells out but the overall userbase is a drop in the ocean compared to the Switch.
- croon 3mo ago
  They may not recoup R&D costs for a while depending on volume, but they will make a profit per unit. They can't sell them as loss leaders like regular console manufacturers can, since then general computer buyers would get them as a priced down unlocked PC.
  - nisegami 3mo ago
    And importantly, they have the finances to support that R&D expenditure taking longer than expected to be recouped. The same situation with a small company would be very different than a company with solid income elsewhere.

laserDinosaur 3mo ago

I'm sure that the steam machine will sell out just because A) it's a small batch B) It's Valve C) It's a neat form factor. But as someone who was originally going to pick one up (thinking it was going to be a great little gaming PC powerhouse), seeing it come in close to last in most of the GamersNexus benchmarks was pretty disheartening (pulling 20-50FPS at 1080p on most recent games). I was hoping that they were going to bring a console mindset to PC building to create something that exceeded what a DIY-er could do with off the shelf parts. But the fact you can make a faster DIY machine for cheaper right now feels...eh, what's the point? My guess is they sell the first few batches, then Steam Machine goes on a small vacation for a few years while they wait for prices to come back down.

gaws 3mo ago

> The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop. No. They've made just enough to sell out and drive demand.