Steam Controller developer interview — Valve talks design, the learning curve, and the lack of kernel drivers
Valve said it's not subsidizing the Steam Machine because it goes against its belief in the "openness of the PC ecosystem."
"When companies sell their hardware under cost for competitive advantage, or buy exclusive content for it, they're doing that to build a more closed system, one where you don't get to choose what software you want to use," the blog reads. "We don't want that for PC hardware, and we don't think you should want it either. You shouldn't feel like you have to buy Valve hardware; you should be able to view it as just one option alongside all the devices for playing games, and select the one that makes sense for you."
Previously, Valve had said there would be no subsidy, but suggested it was because it was competing with PCs and because of the engineering work the company had done.
For those who can't get a Steam Machine or want to use other hardware, Valve says it's working on getting SteamOS to work on more hardware. Beginning with SteamOS 3.8, Valve says you will be able to put the OS together with a DIY rig , though for now, it only supports AMD GPUs.
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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net . You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01 ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-24/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Andrew E. Freedman Social Links Navigation Senior Editor Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net . You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01
LordVile So double the price of a XSX with half the storage and worse performance. Yikes. Reply
coolitic A cost breakdown would've been interesting, but I suppose pricing contracts insist on some confidentiality. Reply
hotaru251 i was actually right about price before they stated it xD and my statement is true too….its overpriced for what you get. at the original release price they wanted it would have been an incredibly great deal…but the cost increase made it an awful deal. Specs were already "meh" for games today, can't upgrade the cpu or gpu…which being "meh" today means its longevity is only going to become worse faster as games advance requirements. (and that will reduce resale value) Reply
TerryLaze LordVile said: So double the price of a XSX with half the storage and worse performance. Yikes. Not locked down, not locked to one store, not locked to being a console…. You pay twice up front to buy games for pittance. hotaru251 said: Specs were already "meh" for games today, can't upgrade the cpu or gpu…which being "meh" today means its longevity is only going to become worse faster as games advance requirements. (and that will reduce resale value) It's in line with current consoles, as long as valve keeps releasing new versions along with MS and sony with same-ish specs this isn't going to be an issue. And I do agree with you guys, it's super expensive and pretty weak…for a gaming PC, but this is going against the consoles and not gaming PCs. Reply
LordVile TerryLaze said: Not locked down, not locked to one store, not locked to being a console…. You pay twice up front to buy games for pittance. Aside from games are cheaper on console and you don’t have to wait to see if a game will go on sale to be a realistic price. Also physical stores exist. And steamos cannot play all games. TerryLaze said: It's in line with current consoles, as long as valve keeps releasing new versions along with MS and sony with same-ish specs this isn't going to be an issue. It’s miles worse than consoles it’s not “in line” at all. TerryLaze said: And I do agree with you guys, it's super expensive and pretty weak…for a gaming PC, but this is going against the consoles and not gaming PCs. The issue is going against console is that it doesn’t play games a console player would want to play, it performs worse than a console that’s 5 years old and is double the price. Why buy this when the next gen of consoles are due soon, will likely be at this price point or lower, out spec it and ok the Xbox side is rumoured to have steam as a third party store anyway. Also I don’t buy games on steam anymore, valve can take their monopoly, anticonsumer behaviour and their 30% and go do one . I can get games on the Xbox store for the same price and have the option to play some of them on Xbox too if I want to plus devs get a better cut. Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/console-gaming/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/console-gaming/valve-opens-steam-machine-reservations-details-usd1-049-starting-price-randomized-queue-to-stop-scalpers-and-limited-inventory#main
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