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Valve Would "Love to Make the Steam Machine More Affordable" - Just Don't Expect It "Any Time Soon"
Digital Foundry • • general
Key Points:
- The Steam Machine's initial $1049 price point was considered expensive compared to other consoles like the PS5 Pro, mainly due to high costs of memory components such as RAM and SSDs.
- Valve engineers expressed a desire to lower the Steam Machine's price if component costs decrease, emphasizing affordability to strengthen the connection between players and games.
- However, industry experts and Valve staff remain pessimistic about near-term price reductions, citing historically high semiconductor prices locked in for years.
- Valve indicated no fixed target price but suggested the original goal was around $700, similar to price trends seen with the Steam Deck, contingent on future component cost drops.
- Despite the current pricing challenges, Valve views the Steam Machine launch as timely and hopes for eventual affordability, though significant price drops are unlikely in the short to medium term.
