New estimates suggest that the upcoming miniPC console from Valve, the Steam Machine, could be drastically more expensive than thought.
Previously, the lowest predictions were around 500 dollars (5,000 kroner), but now there are signs that point to a price tag of around 1,000 dollars (ie 10,000 kroner) in some markets.
This has caused reactions among people who are now wondering which market the console is intended for.
The Steam Machine has been intended to suit those users who want to take part in the enormously larger gaming market that exists for PCs, but think that a gaming PC is too complicated, or too expensive, to deal with.
When the price goes up against what we have previously seen for some gaming PCs, then this justification is thinner.
AI technology is disrupting the market
One element that has driven the price increase is the ongoing explosion in AI technology.
This is not because the Steam Machine uses – or needs – AI, but because the big AI players are vacuuming factories globally for production capacity for RAM and SSDs for the big server facilities.
This causes the prices of the most sought-after, high-tech components to skyrocket – something our hardware writer experienced in the construction of Gamer’s latest test rig.
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Another element is that Valve does not follow the same business model for consoles as the other major manufacturers.
The PlayStation and Switch in particular are made artificially cheap – as perverse as that statement might seem – because the companies make the big profit through the games sold on the platform.
This is partly why Nintendo and Sony don’t have the same massive promotional campaigns that Valve’s Steam has.
And the Steam Machine is designed to let you play all the games you could have access to on PC, at PC prices.
It is worth noting that the Steam Machine will probably not be available in Norway at all, for one thing – Valve’s Steam Deck still isn’t.
Steam Deck is not available for Norwegians in the Steam store.
Rolf Riisnæs / Gamer.no
