Valve, like other companies, is stuck with take-it-or-leave it prices.

Valve’s Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more.

The prices are so high in part because Valve isn’t subsidizing the hardware, and the company has already indicated that the component crisis forced it to reconsider its initial pricing plans. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Valve engineers discussed the reality of sourcing RAM in 2026, with take-it-or-leave-it prices as memory and other components remain in short supply, from only a few vendors like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix.

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Valve, of course, isn’t the only company in a bind over memory shortages, as the crunch is forcing many hardware makers to make significant pricing changes. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook is warning of incoming price hikes for iPhones, Macs, and other devices. And the RAM crunch isn’t projected to get better anytime soon.

  • doctorflynt@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    6 hours ago

    yes. softwaresupport is a feature in every pc but not for consoles. this thing dies once its hardware dies or is so outdated you couldnt run a game anymore.

    a ps5 dies once the newer console releases, because there are no games coming anymore.

    but yes. i hoped that it would be more than that, but it seems like valve hoped for more too.

    • potustheplant@feddit.nlEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      Except that the steam machine is not a console? It’s just a linux pc with a UI that can be navigated with a controller. You can just install bazzite and achieve the same result. Software support could actually be worse for the steam deck, considering that it has a semi-custom apu.

      Be honest, when was the last time you wanted to use a pc and couldn’t because it didn’t have drivers? Heck, my first server a little over a year ago was using a 15 year-old i5 2400, and it worked just fine for a simple file server + jellyfin with the arr stack and direct playback.

      • doctorflynt@feddit.orgEnglish
        1·
        4 hours ago

        yes. thats why it isnt priced as one, but still gets compared to a console because it wants to compete with thwm in the living room.

        soo fun story regarding drivers. my notebook from work doesnt support my docking station at home anymore after a upgrade to win 11 from 10. My linux pc works just fine. its a tablet though and has some unsupported hardware like gyro sensors.

        but thats not the point. the point is, that valve still updates its distro for the steamdeck and keeps improving it years after the launch.i expect the same for the SM. compare that to the asus ally: 1 year after release and asus dropped its support if i remember correctly.