this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2026
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[–] stopforgettingit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

I wanted one, but not for this much. Glad I got the first gen steam deck when I could. Steam deck + dock is pretty much the same thing.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 2 points 10 hours ago

You don't even need their $80 dock. Literally any usb-c standard will do

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I'm also glad I got the first Gen SteamDeck for launch pricing but it's in just about zero ways the same as a Steam Machine, unless you just mean they're both PCs running SteamOS, as that's about all they have in common.

[–] stopforgettingit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, I am comforting myself by saying what I already have is good enough which is why I don't need the steam machine. I know they are not the same.

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Yeah, I'm definitely in the same boat. Would I love a Steam Machine? Sure. For $1050 can I continue plugging the HDMI from my desktop into the TV? Also very much yes.

[–] dil@lemmy.zip 2 points 16 hours ago

Same with legion go s, was great on sale for 400 (440 with tax), now its near 1000 retail, over with tax, great stable secondary computer

[–] arcine@jlai.lu 27 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Damn. I can't imagine this is what they wanted to price it at, I'm very sad to say it is a competitive price in this insane market...

[–] FinalRemix@lemmy.world 9 points 20 hours ago

Just the RAM accounts for 250. This feels pretty close to "at cost"

[–] melfie@lemmy.zip 13 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

Back when the Steam Machine was first announced, I liked the idea, but wanted something cheaper (I assumed $650 - $800) so I got a $375 off-brand mini gaming PC for the living room with a Ryzen 8745HS (780M iGPU, roughly 2x SD compared to 3x for SM), 512GB SSD and 16GB of DDR5.

The model I bought is not available now, but similar specs are going for close to $600, so the price is still roughly proportional. The machine I got cut every corner possible, and for example, I never could get Bluetooth to work reliably with my controllers and ended up getting $20 8bitdo dongles for each controller.

The SM, on the other hand, is a more refined hardware and OS combination where everything just works and that Valve stands behind, and where games will be tweaked and certified for that specific hardware. I am enjoying my mini PC, but I’ve put a lot of time into customizing and troubleshooting to end up with games that still stutter at 4K. For anyone who just wants to game instead of tinkering, SM is likely worth the current price.

Edit:

Fixed typo

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[–] garretble@lemmy.world 8 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

It’s funny to see that when the main console makers all raised their prices for the same reasons as this thing is expensive everyone was like “Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft are so greedy! They hate their consumers!”

And this thing being overpriced it’s “oh sweet baby angel Gabe, we know the hardships upon thee in thine many literal ships at sea. Please accept my money.”

I’m joking here so calm down Steam nerds.

But I do think some folks need to realize none of these companies want to jack up their prices like this. Everyone wants to make a profit, sure, but AI is screwing everyone.

[–] wowbaggerip@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

From the perspective of a game developer, I dislike the big 3 because they take money from consumers of their products to play games with online multiplayer features while ALSO not providing any support to the developers of those online games with regard to server costs, LET ALONE the crazy amount of work it is to add online multiplayer support to a game. I don't think a lot of consumers realize this because there are so many people flaming developers for not adding online multiplayer support to their games without considering A: How much work that is or B: How expensive server costs are. If consumers became aware of the fact that NONE of their subscriptions for online access actually went to supporting server infrastructure for online games, they would probably all move to PC/Steam.

[–] Eccowave@feddit.org 16 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Except steam doesn’t charge to play online, let you install mods, and doesn’t sell games from 2017 for 70€. Also, you can use this as a normal PC you're not locked in the seller's ecosystem, you can buy games from Epic, Gog, etc... or use it to make spreadsheats or code if you feel like it.

(edit cuz typo)

[–] dodecadance@lemmy.today 13 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

I've seen this sentiment (yours) in a number of threads about Steam Hardware prices but I never actually see the inverse. In the circles I move in everyone seems to understand what's going on broadly with chips. There is a pretty obvious correlation between the AI bubble and hardware prices and everyone has been drawing attention to it for months. Even in Nintendo spaces where hardly anyone cares about technical details and most would buy a cardboard box if it played Mario.

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[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 6 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I think the reason the big 3 get more shit for is is because they did it in the past without the excuse of A.I. - mind you, exclusive titles and paid online services were the main game for them and many console manufacturers sold their consoles at a loss. I guess that the margins on games are too slim now for the gaming system vendors to continue with that model?

[–] garretble@lemmy.world 3 points 18 hours ago

The price increases were also a function of tariffs and junk, too. Just a big double whammy.

I think it was MS last year who started off the price hikes. Then they did another this year.

Nintendo had tariff issues right when the Switch 2 was launching then finally upped prices in the last month or so, and Sony just in the last couple of months had to adjust prices, too.

I don't really think any of these companies raised console prices before the idiocy of the trump admin and the AI bubble, though. Not that I can recall at least.

[–] djdarren@piefed.social 20 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

Just compared the storage price jump to the current iPad Pro.

512gb to 2tb Steam Machine + £270 (£90 per 512gb) 512gb to 2tb iPad Pro + £800 (£267 per 512gb)

That's straight up robbery from Apple.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Their profits are enormous, this is why. People are wiling to pay because they have these luxary stores, luxary brand. Then they can charge much more. Its like a luxary clock.

[–] Magnum@infosec.pub 2 points 10 hours ago

You mean like one of those cool GShocks or like a fancy full balls out on display Swatch?

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[–] cenariodantesco@lemmy.world 13 points 21 hours ago (7 children)

i still added myself to the raffle queue. even thou the price is steep, I still see it as an option in the diy PC building landscape. it's a PC, free from the console ecosystem, I can install any os I want, games from my gog library, emulate freely, all in a tiny quiet box.

i think this price is not what they intended, and in the bigger picture valve is tiny compared to console manufacturers, they can't get deals in hardware like they can.

I also think valve could sell as option a version with no storage and memory, lower price, it would fit the diy/options community like a glove

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Oh man, I saw your post calling it a raffle and jumped to sign up. It’s not.

It a wait list to make a reservation.

[–] cenariodantesco@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Ah sorry if I mislead you, it's a raffle because you sign up for a reservation list but it's not guarantee you'll be selected, on the 25th their system will random pick some and send the email, with the 72 hour deadline to buy

[–] Smaile@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 hours ago

Wait so the raffle would have been the better option??

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[–] Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 36 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Funny, cause whilst its very pricey, i spent more than this on my phone. And most flagship phones cost about the lower end of this. But because i get my phone essentially interest free over a 4 year contract i somehow justify the cost without thinking too much about the fact that i spent 1500 quid on a small slab of glass and metal.

Maybe i need to rethink my grasp on the concept of money.

[–] 87Six@lemmy.zip 15 points 22 hours ago

Maybe i need to rethink my grasp on the concept of money

Yes

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[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 43 points 1 day ago

It could or should have been around 700-800. We must be thankful AI companies that it is how it is now.

[–] LemmyEntertainYou@piefed.social 10 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (3 children)

I'm still tempted at this price. It's about the same as a similarly specced custom build but will have much lower running costs.

Ideally I'd just use Sunshine and Moonlight to play in my living room but the colours are always washed out whenever I try.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

Could it be the living room TV?

Most have to be set to an explicit PC mode with game mode turned on.

And what device is the client for sunshine? That is just as important

[–] LemmyEntertainYou@piefed.social 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I don't think so. It's a very new flagship Samsung TV and it does put itself into PC mode.

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[–] hal_5700X@sh.itjust.works 103 points 1 day ago (11 children)

The sad part is that Valve really did price all the parts for pretty much as low as they could go:

[–] Thunderbird4@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago

Now also consider that the Steam Machine also has a tiny form factor, extremely quiet cooling, and CEC over HDMI that make it exceptionally suited for a living room PC and it more than makes up for that $71 gap. It really is about as good a deal as it could have been in 2026, but most people are still comparing it against 2024 prices. I think the $99 Steam Controller having a bundle price of $79 shows that Valve really are trying to do what they can here.

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[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago (12 children)

I'm still getting one but this is clearly a luxury item now rather than a competitive console. Sucks to be Valve here, the timing really worked against them.

I just really hope the VR headset is not much worse than this as I just want to play No Man's Sky on linux VR.

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[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 0 points 10 hours ago

ITT: (Car Announcement)

No thanks. 0/10 POS. I mean I already have a functioning automobile

???

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