Is this the golden hour for a Steam Machine revival?

https://steamdeckhq.com/news/its-time-to-bring-back-the-steam-machine/

I have to ask.... I mean.... Right? Sony and Microsoft can't get out of their own way... Pc is the clear leader of modern gaming and Steam Machines can play more games than Xbox and Playstation.... There is fantastic overlap of libraries as we all know.

There are also no predatory online fees....

Why wouldn't a steam machine suited with today's specs do well for steam. The competition has never looked weaker.

What i'd like Steam to do is a quality $999 PC that can reach the broader audience. A system that is noticeably more powerful than what you'd be able to build on your own. This is what's needed. $999 is that sweet spot that is expensive'ish, but not unreachable, and if it crushes consoles, with how much more popular pc gaming is getting because of streamers/youtubers alone, i think it'll sell extremely well.

The issue is PCs are so easy to build, and there’s so many good deals to be had on parts that there really is no reason for Steam Machines. Their margins would have to be razor thin to make them appealing. Just build a PC. My 9 year old built one in about an hour with only minor supervision.

Building a pc on your own is still way way way too difficult for your average casual that plays Warzone, your fav Fartnite and all the other shovelware titles built around microtransaction stores. Not only that, but the advantage of Steam is that they'd be able to offer better specs for what you're able to build on your own, and if the difference is very noticeable, that's a big plus to go with a Steam machine.

New steam controller please!!

As for Steam machines: A bit of a harder sell.

One of the big value adds of the steam deck is people can't make their own deck in the same way they can't make their own laptop. So the deck, and devices like it, offer a different way to play PC games and that's valuable to many people.

One of the big reasons steam machines failed was there was just no value added. Just use a normal PC. Stick linux on it if you want. A steam machine is just a PC that runs Steam OS. Or any Linux distro with steam running on it really. Of course Linux was in much worse shape gaming wise too: Proton wasn't even a thing back then.

Still: If they made something like a mini PC with a beefed up steam deck SOC for 300-400 bucks...would that be of interest to many? Not sure to be honest. With the way PC hardware pricing has gone though, it may be nice as an entry level option for people. However you can kinda already get systems like that. So i'm not sure what a steam machine would add.

Still, I can't emphasise it enough valve, new steam controller please. That thing was class. I think they need to give Scuff a bloody nose over a patent first though. Fingers crossed they can get a judgment from a few years ago overturned.

Also standalone VR headset!

As Super Sonic pointed out, its very easy to just simply build a PC capable of $800 and up by getting used components, deals on sales avoiding buying used, and we have dedicated strong CPU integrated graphics that won't break the bank when paying higher price GPUs.

Why should Valve bother with Steam Machines when building a PC is just too easy to do? Not to mention, we have powerful Handheld PC, so having a Steam Machine is useless at this point.

The handheld is not something PC gamers can re-create at a lower cost or practically thus the need. There is no need for custom boxes. However there is a need for compact PCs. These big ass towers got to go.😑

@Pedro: Full Tower PC cases are only use for customizing custom water loops on both CPU/GPU is why full towers exist. My PC case is small but not in a form of a mini-ITX case.

You have been stating a lot of overly specific views as facts as of late. What is up with that?

@Pedro: What's up with what exactly?

@davillain: Don't stress it then.👍🏽

consoles are sold at a loss, so I don't think Steam would be inclined to bring them back. Unless PC gamers would be fine with having a premium subscription fee for steam which would never ever ever happen.

Valve could be a beast in the console space with a Steam Deck-like Proton driven console with the option to install whatever you want. Without the battery to worry about they could deliver better hardware. With SteamOS and Proton they would control the software experience and deliver the same experience people love about the Steam Deck, easy to use, powerful control over the hardware, easy HDR, offline mode, etc.

And many people have a preexisting library.

Best Family Sharing features for digital games IMO, letting 5 or maybe more users play a different game from the same library at the same time.

The experience Valve can deliver with the Steam Deck has shown they can reach users that prefer a console experience in a way that it standard PCs don't seem to do. You see this in the reviews of various handhelds, people keep mentioning how Steam Deck has usability and accessibility advantages.

@TheEroica: Because Gaben has suckered you Hermits into his echo chamber (Steam) and has trapped you there and you even cheer for less options on how you buy your games and use them afterwards.

Why would he waste billions on an actual console when you make him money hand over fist without him hardly lifting a finger.

🤣 TC = rekt

I'd like to see another attempt.

Trouble is shipping a device with a dedicated gaming OS makes it more difficult to use it for other things and spending more than ~$800 for a dedicated gaming device seems like a waste of money when it can be used for general productivity.

I think it's more likely we see a version of the next Steam Deck as a non-handheld. Just a box with the same hardware with no screen or controller, charge less, add an easy-access M.2 for people to customize storage. Could be very small so you can stash it near your TV somewhere.

Bingo.... I don't disagree that a PC can be relatively easy to build for a novice, but console gamers choose consoles for a reason.

Steam machines, steam deck, rog ally, mini PCs, are all pretty much the same thing. Price points obviously vary and a 1k mini PC will give you better bang for your buck over a 1k handheld hybrid, but both are nice. Steam machines are just mini PCs and you can get them from a thousand different places online.

You are typing words, but none of them are making sense...

Exactly. Steam won’t bother trying to mass produce boxes that they may or may not make a couple dollars off of. Now the PC handhelds have a place since making that yourself is impossible at the moment.

You can build a PC the size of a Series X that’s like 4X more powerful. Small form factor cases have been quite popular for some time

@TheEroica: Hey it makes perfect sense. What part(s) you having trouble wrapping your head around?

Here let me try and simplify it a bit better for you.

You think Gaben is going to waste billions in R&D and to create a console for PC nerds to buy when he has all your games trapped to his store and doesn't even need to make games anymore to make money?

That's crazy talk.

I've owned consoles since the snes and from all the brands but the best non PC game station I've ever owned is the steamdeck OLED. A near limitless library of games including most past consoles with emulation, best ergonomics (the touch pads are an excellent addition), the best screen available for a portable and if you have a decent PC as well you can play the latest titles via streaming which works fantastically.

Can't see it happening. PCs are too easy to build and there is a abundance of prebuild choices on the market.

Again, you spray words against the wall like poo and hope some of them stick. Your assumptions are wild... And off the mark, but you do you. I have digital libraries on every platform and have been entrenched with each over the years. The thread is asking whether it's a good time for steam machines to make a reappearance...

You're popping off about Gabe not spending the r and d money on a pile of nerds because he has them indoctrinated or something, but then we are living in a world where he has already spent the r and d money on said consoles, and a new handheld that is very popular.

So again, following you is confusing because it's a ton of rage and very little actual substance.

Would be pretty cool, but not for me. More and more people are becoming PC gamers, and to help them a bit to get there in the form of an easy to work with steam machine would be cool.

Not only did you describe all gamers, who are investing in digital libraries on every platform, but steam has hardware on the market as we speak that cost them quite a bit to bring to market. Your fake rage is misguided, but at least you found a friend to get "rekt" with... 🤷

@TheEroica: The lad's trademark dick riding comment is always "blah blah got rekt". Never take dick riders seriously. They will just move on to the next dick they see to ride.😂

I am not against set spec PCs that developers can target, but Steam OS limits game access to Steam games, which makes it shit. Also, if I am spending money on hardware, I want to be able to use it for other things besides gaming. Having to run a dual boot setup goes against the simplicity of a console and just complicates the overall machine usage.

It would have limited appeal to PC minded gamers, true, but plug and play console gamers may not want a multifunctional console. Steam OS is not as optimized as it could be, I agree... But the plug and play feel is there for most games.

Geez mate you're coming across as someone who is angry, and angry for no reason. Hermits don't like consoles that's why their Hermits so a PC console would be a failure.

As for the Steam Deck being very popular, c'mon man you're not telling the truth, it's a failure of epic proportions. It's not easy finding total sales (because Gaben won't release them) however Valve said it had sold "multiple millions" of Steam Decks. It's also been reported that the Steam Deck was on track to sell 3 million units by the end of 2023, so it's a failure, but i'm sure you will make excuses as to why it's not.

So, making a console will cost Gaben billions and he won't recoup his costs, it's a dumb idea. You're so misguided that you should be asking Valve to make games first, not consoles, but like I said you guys have made him so rich that his video game company doesn't even need to make games anymore 🤦‍♂️

The Steam Deck is failure on epic proportions because you said so?🤔

@last_lap: The Steam Deck isn’t a failure. It’s a niche handheld gaming PC. And it’s performed so well in the marketplace that other companies have thrown their own products into the ring. 3 million by the end of 2023 for an expensive gaming device that uses Steam is good but quickly disqualifies it from competing with something like the Switch. They are going after 2 VERY different demographics. But the Steam Deck set out to do something and has done it very well.

Not from Valve's end. Third parties can build them.

@Pedro: No it's a failure based off of its numbers. That's how these things work, or are you gonna play dumb?

@ghostofgolden:C'mon man it's a failure, sales are what count and 3 million in 2yrs is a failure of epic proportions, but, but it's niche. That's a poor excuse when you consider how many Steam users there are, and Steams reach around the world.

It's funny with you Ghost as you post GP numbers and how its failing at 34 million subscribers and yet defend this failure, put your Xbox hating hat on and revisit this thread i'm sure you will come to a different conclusion lol.

Edit: As for the Switch comparison, well they are both handhelds and play video games, but are somehow going after different markets lol.

Third parties have been hurting for a while and are even starting to shy away from making GPUs. I doubt they’d wanna take on trying to sell these kind of PCs at cost. There’s really no financial reason for them to want to do this sort of thing. At least Steam would have the benefit of getting boxes with their storefront built in out there. But how many folks would be new Steam users?

The more I think about it, the worse this idea seems. There‘s just not a big enough of an upside for Steam.

So it is a failure because you said so. Thanks for confirming your foolishness.👍🏽

@last_lap: The Steam Deck and other handheld PCs are premium products. It’s $549 of you want the cheaper OLED Steam Deck. $649 for the 1TB. Nintendo customers would never spend that kind of cash. And the appeal to the Steam Deck is emulation and customization. Things that Nintendo would never allow.

They are selling to different demographics

@ghostofgolden: Steam has over 100 million active users and has sold 3 million units, that's a failure, it's as simple as that. As for Nintendo Switch, well they're both handhelds that play video games so like it or not they are competing with each other.

It's amazing how some of you try to spin that this gaming device is not competing with that device for X reason and so on.

@Pedro:So you're going to "act" like a dumbarse, you do you.

@ghostofgolden: "The more I think about it, the worse this idea seems. There‘s just not a big enough of an upside for Steam."

When right now they rake in a fortune letting every third party game developer/publisher put their games up on their massive consumer supported storefront and collect their industry standard 30% royalties on sales, I'd see very little reason for them to do anything other than administrate it. That's been clear since everyone gave up on Half Life 2 Episode 3 ever releasing.

You made an objectively foolish comment and for some reason you believe you should double down on the foolishness.🤔

Only Valve could tell you if the Steam Deck was a success or failure as it’s performance would be based on their expectations.

Nah bro, it is based on feelings.😏

@Pedro: My bad. 😅

I responded to a mod who called it very popular and yet it has sold 3 million units in 2yrs and there are 132 million active Steam users, the math doesn't make it popular let alone very popular, it makes it a failure, and you can't prove that it isn't, but here you are trying (and failing) to make my posts look "foolish" but you are just making yourself look foolish.

Maybe you should look into calling the mod out for calling it VERY popular when the math's prove that wrong, but you won't, and your next post will only prove me right.

The popularity of a product doesn't automatically equate to a success or failure a product. You factually do not have data on the SteamDeck to make your claim that it is an epic failure or even basic failure. Sharing your opinion on an objective matter is foolishness. Instead of refraining from foolery, you decided to triple down on it with a dash of whataboutism.🤷🏽‍♂️

@Archangel3371: I see you like to agree with pedro a lot, which makes you just as bad as him. Valve hasn't posted official number and has only celebrated a million units sold, but and yet Steam has 132 million active users, maybe use your brain instead of echoing pedro's.

@Pedro:See you proved me right, and I knew you wouldn't engage with the OP who says it's very popular without any proof but want to comment on my posts, you're a clown, and we're done here.

No. Steam deck does this and better.

@last_lap For the first year plus, every Steam Deck produced was already sold to a customer on a waitlist. A “failure”’would be more like PSVR2 or Apple Vision Pro where production had to be slowed down in the first year due to excess unsold product. Steam hasn’t lost a ton of money because of ”poor” Steam Deck sales. PlayStation likely lost their ass on PSVR2. That’s a failure…

Why would I be engaging the OP when you are the one that falsely stated that the Steam Deck was an epic failure without evidence? You made the foolish claim and you are resorting whataboutism to deflect.🤷🏽‍♂️ The irony in you calling others clown is 😂.