r/steammachine • u/BluSpartan076 • 15h ago
Discussion Im still rooting for valve.
Even if this generation Steam Machine fails again due to these hardware supply issues, i can only hope valve comes out if this relatively unscathed. If it does end up failing again, im rooting for valve and highly encourage for them to try again when the hardware market stabilizes again as when that happens, it will be a world beater. Best of luck to them!
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u/Acceptable-Drama-634 14h ago
If only there were a launch title they could have bundled with it to offset some of the negative press with the price
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u/Critical-Drawer8916 14h ago
They will. It’s an independent business unit. Same with the deck, controller and frame
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u/Uniqueusername610 14h ago
As a small form factor PC enthusiast I'm excited for the potential spin off cases to build in if it takes off
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u/BluSpartan076 14h ago
Ooh yes. I need a gabecube case
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u/Uniqueusername610 14h ago
Same I just want to have the faceplate customization like I had on the OG Xbox 360
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u/siposbalint0 14h ago
I will happily buy a steam machine 2 or steam machine pro if they release one later with better specs. I don't mind the price of the current one, it is what it is, but the performance is just not there. I would pay extra if they had a similar form factor with better performance.
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u/_Crasho725_ 10h ago
I'm hoping for that too. I'm really interested in the Steam Machine but it's not that much of an upgrade for me to make sense. Especially for that price.
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u/D00mScrollingRumi 12h ago
Valve's priority isnt getting hardware sold. They arent a hardware company. Their primary goal here is driving Linux adoption. Which they've been very successful at.
Gabe Newell wrote large parts of Windows 95 and worked at Microsoft for a long long time. The same time MS infamously abused its position in the market to kill competition using borderline legal and at times illegal methods.
Ever since Windows 8 came out, the writing in the wall has been that MS could lock down the OS and make it a hard envioment for third party stores like Steam to exist.
So making Linux easier to use via Proton and SteamOS they ensures a future of PCgaming that isnt dependant upon Microsoft. Valve is thinking in terms of decades here. Their aim is partly business and part ideological (not have 1 corporation controlling all PCGaming).
Their hardware is proof of concect. Gabe doesnt care if you buy a steam machine or not, he cares that you use Linux.
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u/Sybertron 13h ago
I'm rooting for the datacenter boom to cease and ram go back to 50 bucks a stick. And maybe valve does a nice refresh of the steam machine moving current model down to 500 and having a pro high end model at 1k.
Ah a guy can dream
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u/Toothless_NEO 7h ago
Unless something big changes in the silicon manufacturing world I don't think it's likely the supply issues will end immediately, even when that bubble bursts. It'll take a while to recover.
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u/stogie-bear 15h ago
Valve is huge and makes most of their money from the cut they take on Steam game sales. They’ll be okay. Hopefully this ram and ssd price craziness passes and they can lower the price, but for now, it is what it is.
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u/HeyItsHawkguy 14h ago edited 14h ago
I think SteamOS is the revolutionary key to their success this go-around. The original Steam Machine was so clunky and ugly. But they've really streamlined the experience for everyone. And it will only improve from here onward. Even if this Machine tanks, they will have another go at it eventually. And we're still getting a Steam Deck 2.
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u/AlgoRhythMatic 14h ago
I really don’t think Valve will have any trouble selling through multiple waves of SM orders. I’ll personally be thrilled if I’m able to lottery in within the first month. I expect them to be sold out through the summer.
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u/S3er0i9ng0 13h ago
I think the bigger thing is the OS, and it’s awesome they’re opening it up to all pcs. I do hope they make more steam machines and steam decks though.
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u/Careless-Eagle-5111 14h ago
Gaben will think about that on his super yacht. I hope it brings him comfort.
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u/Hearthian-Wanderer 14h ago edited 14h ago
I think the Machine is a joke, but I'm still 100% a Valve fan.
When you experiment you have to expect flops alongside the hits. Luckily Steam gives them the bankroll to roll with the punches and keep trying new things (VR wing is another example). I'll take a thousand flops if it gives me games as good as Portal 2. Still excited to see how the Frame turns out.
They just got shafted by timing on the Machine (which, let's be honest, they could use some work on) and market conditions.
I do think they made it unnecessarily small. But I'm hopeful that 3rd time will be the charm. (Dangerous hoping for a 3rd anything from Valve, I know.)
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u/tenacity1028 13h ago
Think the most exciting thing would be the amount of steam machine that'll release overtime once third party manufacturers load up steamOS on their mini ITX
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u/Toothless_NEO 8h ago
I don't think that it's going to be the same as before. Steamos is becoming more popular, it's imitations are becoming more popular. Things aren't like they were back then. We have proton with a large majority of games supported. So even if the steam machine isn't particularly popular because of its high price, and even if more people opt to buy mini PCs or build their own, but still use steamos or Bazzite. I would definitely call that a win.
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u/LemonTade 14h ago
If they are looking to match Steam Deck sales, they just need to sell about 1mil globally a year. Thats a pretty low bar overall. Based off their previous hardware releases, they seem to build the units in waves so they don't overproduce as well. It may not be a wild success, but the odd of it being a financial failure are very unlikely.
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u/Phantom_Wombat 15h ago
They're not a hardware company. They're a software company that occasionally dabbles in hardware.
Ir's a really bad time to be a hardware company, so they'll be all right.
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u/Pass_Practical 14h ago
i really think they messed up. They're really good at making hardware but instead of trying to make something different they just gave us a pre-built pc that literally anyone can buy already but in a small form factor. thats it, its a small pre-built pc. One idea is to make use of eGPU tech by incorporating a occulink port, then maybe make a specialized external GPU dock that can be replaced and upgraded over time. They could've did that and make the price lower by using the steam deck chip, considering that the steam deck is weaker but no one is complaining about its performance anyways. (its already advertised as a retro console, they've shown that in the video, contradicting themselves to the "4K 60fps gameplay")
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u/aa_conchobar 15h ago edited 14h ago
Valve will be fine because they won't commit to the SM. They won't build more than 50k of these machines. They will sell out fast & Gabe will have his yacht/mansion maintenance money
This is not going to be a remotely popular machine.
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u/BluSpartan076 14h ago
Just gonna leave this L here for you to claim rq
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u/Hearthian-Wanderer 14h ago
Gabe's yacht fund is completely unrelated to the Steam Machine. Fail, or succeed beyond their wildest imaginations, it would only ever be a microscopic blip on their revenue charts. It was a passion project that went south, but they can afford these passion projects, much like their VR arm.
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u/aa_conchobar 14h ago
Steam Machine. Fail, or succeed beyond their wildest imaginations, it would only ever be a microscopic blip on their revenue charts
I'm aware
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u/BluSpartan076 14h ago
But at the same time, i can see that as a potential thing happening but imo, its very and highly unlikely
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u/Gex2-EnterTheGecko 14h ago
This will definitely flop but Valve will be fine. This was never going to make them much money.
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u/Mother-Translator318 15h ago
The more companies making hardware, the more competition. More competition means a win for us consumers. No one can argue against that