Hardware enthusiasts, gamers, and analysts are already impressed with Valve’s New Steam Machine, and it’s not just because of the hardware — it’s because of what it represents. By adding a familiar console-like interface that uses and ditching Windows, Valve wants to make PC gaming more accessible. This idea was already quite successful with a handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck.
Eurogamer spoke with Rhyss Elliot, head of market analysis at industry analysis company Alinea Analytics. Rhyss spoke on how important it is for Valve to nail the price if they want the Steam Machine to be a viable alternative to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2.
“Valve also needs to set a price that trumps current-generation consoles while effectively marketing its use cases over traditional consoles. This is a no-brainer for getting meaningful traction among console-curious gamers – not just PC enthusiasts.”
Will People Ditch PlayStation And Xbox For The Steam Machine?
As a longtime PC gamer, I’ve been using Steam for more than a decade now. The storefront is by far the best way to buy and play games, and some devs even call Steam a complete monopoly. However, Valve appears to have this “good guy” image in the hearts of gamers. The company provides great hardware, an easy-to-use storefront, and deep sales, and Steam OS is quickly becoming one of the best gaming alternatives to Windows.
Steam has never been the problem; people know it’s a great platform. The problem has always been building your own PC that costs twice (sometimes more) the price of a PS5. Some don’t want to tinker with motherboards, CPUs, and GPUs, while others just don’t want to deal with Windows issues like driver updates and whatnot. The Steam Machine addresses all these issues. It’s a plug-and-play mini PC with a sleek software experience, but it needs the right price to succeed. According to Rhyss Elliot:
“The sweet spot would be $400 with a controller. This would really send a message, as console manufacturers have been raising their prices. A digital PS5 costs $499, while the Xbox Series X Digital is $599.”
I highly doubt it will be $400, but Valve can price it between $500-$600 and generate real revenue from Steam game sales. That’s the business model behind every console anyway. While the Steam Machine is six times more powerful than the Steam Deck, the specs (6 Core Zen 4 CPU, RDNA 3 GPU with 8GB VRAM, and 16GB of RAM) suggest it won’t come close to a custom PC build for $700-$1000.
Who Is The Steam Machine For?
With a PC/console hybrid like the Steam Machine, you get the convenience of a PC, with the experience of a console. Steam players will be a big part of the target audience, but getting the new hardware to the living room is most likely the goal. Apart from price, Valve will have to deal with anti-cheat complications, which render major sports games like EA FC and Madden unplayable on Steam OS.
However, if you don’t mind tinkering, you will be able to get around this issue by installing Windows. The problem with that is that you again have to deal with the process of messing around with settings, installation, and the usual Windows issues. Stuff like this might not sway PS5 users, but if the next Xbox is going to be north of a $1000, a Steam Machine at $500-$600 does sound more appealing.
