Just like there is a market for high end cars, with the "community" aspect being sold as part of the package where you connect with owners of the same brand, there really should be a market for high end multiplayer gaming. Maybe Steam Frame will be that. Way fewer players, higher game cost, but experiences tailored to appeal to people who have the lifestyle that lets them afford a $10k headset + indoor space to play with it, rather than the high school broccoli heads that are high off their vapes most of the time.
The Steam Machine is nothing special either and it’s being sold at a ridiculously price. I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Frame being affordable by any stretch of the imagination.
Yeah, the Steam Machine is pretty tough to justify against something like the Minisforum AtomMan G1 Pro, or indeed a smaller much cheaper mini PC that’s closer
to Steam Deck performance.
I think it’ll sell well though because of the form factor, Steam OS simplicity (and the size of many people’s Steam libraries), and the fact there are not actually many options with the living room friendly form factor and someway reasonable modern gaming performance.
The Frame on the other hand has no competition. I know I’m buying one. I hope it’s more reasonable but it could be a worse deal than a Steam Machine and… yeah.