I really can't see the Steam Machine being a success at this point, if it ever even releases. It seems like they were really banking on hardware steadily getting cheaper like it pretty much always has in the past. A $1000+ Steam Machine makes the PS5 look like a good deal even after the price increases.
That was my first thought, there is no way they are going to hit that console price point anytime soon... so they can either release now at a price that reflects the reality of the market, or hold on even longer hoping for a near-term miracle. If they wait too long, they risk not being a good value due to aged hardware.
The performance envelope was already uninspiring. They said it does better than some big percentage of the people on Steam, but it's not an obvious upgrade over my 2023 Legion Go handheld in anything but a bit more RAM (and it's only 8GB discrete VRAM, which may be paltry for 4K).
Its not unless its subsidised which valve may chose to do given that the enthusiast PC marked is crashing, which in time will eat some of their growth.
I don't see Valve doing it. Unlike an actual console they can't lock down the hardware. People would start buying Steam Machines then replace the OS or even resell the parts.
> People would start buying Steam Machines then replace the OS or even resell the parts.
That would be highly unprofitable. A subsidized Steam Machine contains a 7600M equivalent. It'll probably have a great price for machine with a 7600M, but it'll be significantly more expensive than a machine with an iGPU. Non-gamers aren't going to pay extra for a machine with a 7600M. And gamers are likely buying Steam games even if they aren't using SteamOS. You can't rip out the 7600M to sell it.
If they only subsidize engineering time, not part cost, this could still be a success for them. It could benefit them even to have people swapping OS and reselling parts. Steam does work across a lot of these combinations already.
I fully understand being uncomfortable with a CPU swap, but a GPU swap isn't difficult.
Valve also could have gone the Framework route of releasing a motherboard+CPU combo so you can upgrade later down the line just by swapping the board out.
I guess they can earn more money by soldering everything on the board and having you buy a completely new PC every time you want to upgrade.
That would include trade off of locking yourself to single form factor. Less of issue with laptops with decades of design behind them. But unlikely to be preferable for first design you make.
It won't, but that's an arbitrary number, and due to the sudden spike of inflation, $2000 is the new $1000. Yes your wage just got cut in half and you didn't notice.