[blitzar]

> The writing is on the wall.

This thing is going to sell out.

If prices go back to normal, v2 of this product will be great. This version, at these specs, at this point in time would only be a buy if it was good value (like $500). People will buy them all anyway.

[Npovview]

Dave2D covered it very well.

https://youtu.be/Huw11M9aaMk

[foo12bar]

Selling out doesn't equate to success. They've already said the initial launch will be heavily limited.

What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle. Not whether they sell out on initial release.

[bryanlarsen]

Steam Deck & Machine appear to be very low margin, so Valve will make very little profit on them whether they sell a lot or a little. So profit isn't the success measure they're aiming for.

They're all just tools to get people to buy more games, which is where the margin is. And the existence of the Steam Machine makes the ecosystem more attractive even if you don't actually buy the Machine.

[blitzar]

> Selling out doesn't equate to success

If you have no revenue, you can say you’re pre-revenue... It’s not about how much you earn. It’s about what you’re worth. And who’s worth most? Companies that lose money.

[esseph]

> What matters is if they make a profit throughout the product's lifecycle.

That may not matter either.

In fact, the most likely outcome is that they sell out of inventory, and the next iteration of the device gets GTA6 level hype. The scarcity of the premium product.

[foo12bar]

It all depends on how well they support the current iteration, though.

If it turns into a Google Glass or an Apple Vision Pro and is left nearly or actually abandoned, then I think people won't be so interested.

[esseph]

This doesn't make any sense.

They use the OS in multiple products. Tons of people run it on their own hardware.

They could probably not update a single thing on there and it wouldn't matter, the games themselves are mostly running through an emulation layer anyway and will continue to work.

[foo12bar]

So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it? People will just flock to the next version when it comes out and not feel burned by what happened?

Not many people run games on linux, only about 5%, amd of those nearly all keep a windows OS around to handle edge cases and upgrading firmware, etc.

This is what the fight is about. If Steam can't get linux based devices into the hands of enough people continuing to support it will remain a money pit for them for as long as they try.

Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now.

[esseph]

You don't understand how Steam works, the culture around it, or why people are excited about this.

> So what are you saying? They can do this single limited release and then discontinue it and everyone is going to be happy about it?

They're selling a gaming console, of which in their case the hardware is the least important part and a means to an end. It is commodity hardware. No integrated memory. No special sauce.

These are hardware drivers that are a part of the Linux kernel.

What they are selling is a portal (grin) to their ecosystem, and an experience that is different from their competitors. One that unlike many of their competitors, doesn't require a monthly fee to be a part of (multiplayer). AND access to it is now scarce. A limited premium product.

> Not many people run games on linux, only about 5%

You're going to find a bunch of those on this website, myself included. No windows PC laying around though.

I game on Fedora 44 w/ Steam.

> Releasing the Steam box at this price is not helping their cause. They have to recover from this now.

You just don't get it.