Quick Summary
Valve says that the Steam Machine price closely matches the cost of its components, but the bad news is that RAM and storage could get even more expensive still.
That means, once current stock runs out, the company will be faced with a further dilemma – raise the Steam Machine price or move onto something else.
The Steam Machine was never intended to be one of the most expensive games consoles of all time. It was meant to be an affordable entry point to PC gaming in the living room.
However, AI came along and munched on available RAM chips like locusts in a wheat field, and Valve's good intentions ended up going awry. So, instead of a cheap and cheerful PC console, we got an overly-priced, under-spec'ed mini PC (albeit one that's cute).
That's not to say it's been a flop. Even starting at over $1,000, Valve is struggling to make enough units to meet demand. It is thought to have sold up to 15,000 Steam Machines so far and many on the lengthy waiting list are still awaiting.
If you're still undecided though, or are waiting for a price drop in future, we might have some bad news. There's every indication that the price will actually go up at some point.
As quoted by Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, one of the engineers that worked on Steam Machine, Yazan Aldehayyat believes the scarcity of components and the knock-on effect on prices isn't going to get better anytime soon: "Honestly, it’s still getting worse," he said.
The products and stock currently being sold are old, he suggested, and are soon to run out: "What people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging what we’re seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months."
The likely result of further price hikes for RAM and storage is that Valve will be facing higher costs to make more Steam Machines. And as a small company, those costs are likely to be passed on to the customer – just as they are now.
Aldehayyat's colleague, Pierre-Loup Griffais recently admitted that the existing elevated price the Steam Machine "ends up matching pretty closely" to the cost of its components. A sombre thought.
It could be why Valve has seemingly switched tact in recent times, from wanting its own console in some gamers' hands to wanting Steam OS in everyone's. It has recently started to release a version of its excellent front end and gaming platform for PCs of all shapes and sizes.
And so, if you want a more powerful Steam Machine, that's entirely possible. You just won't be buying it from Valve.
