Updates are starting to stumble through the Steam Machine’s door, and with them comes the price of Valve’s box of hopes and dreams. It’s….well, not cheap.
For the 512GB version, Valve is asking £879 / $1049 / €1039. If you want the Steam Controller included, you’re looking at £938 / $1128 / €1108.
But what about the beefier 2TB model, for those users who like to install a lot of games so we can watch them all but not say what we’re going to play? £1149 / $1349 / €1359. If you would like a controller for that, it will be £1208/$1428/€1428.
Basically, if you buy a controller with a console, you’ll save about $20.
The good news is that the reviews seem to be impressed with the box, as they all correctly point out how expensive it is.
Early reviews seem to fall in the same general place: The new Steam machine is smart, compact, quiet and very Valve, but it is also caught in a no-man’s land between the simplicity of the console and the price of the PC.
The Verge called it “the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played,” but also concluded that it’s “not ready for the console wars yet.”
PC Gamer was harsh, arguing that “awesome design can’t overcome the harsh realities of price, performance, and consumer value,” before describing it as “an expensive item, rather than a gaming device for the masses.”
Rockpapershotgun liked it, saying “My living room, though? That’s a place that’s just been put on a Steam machine, and it’s going to stay that way until someone figures out how to make a compact PC run as fast as it is as obscure as it is.”
DigitalFoundry liked it a lot: “When the Steam machine was first unveiled, the question was about price and performance. Based on the documentation, we came up with a piece of hardware that works as expected – and runs well. Technically, it doesn’t move the needle, but I like the package. The form factor is beautiful, it’s amazingly integrated and functional. To see it is quiet.”
Notably, DigitalFoundry has pitted the Steam Machine against the PS5 several times and the performance difference wasn’t as big as one might think given the pricing.
Eurogamer: “So the short answer to how it stacks up against a console, or an HDMI cable or your actual PC is: there’s no real short answer. For upfront cost, performance, plug-and-play simplicity and smart features, at the expense of games and services that cost more over time and a console that looks like a mid-00s entertainment center called “our village” and the future is also the same platform – the future PS5 Pro.”
In other words: people seem to like the idea. They love engineering. They love SteamOS on TV. But at $1,049 before you even add a controller, the Steam Machine is no longer judged as a Steam Deck-for-your-living-room. It was judged against consoles, pre-built PCs, and the dangerous thought that every PC gamer eventually has: “Can I just build something better?”
Of course, in the current market, by the time you finish that thought, RAM prices have probably doubled again.
