Steam Deck OLED 512GB: Now $789 USD; CAD 1,129; EUR 779; GBP 649; AUD 1,199; PLN 3,279
Steam Deck OLED 1TB: Now $949 USD; CAD 1,349; EUR 919; GBP 779; AUD 1,429; PLN 3,879
Well, here goes the hope for a sub-1000€ Steam machine.
Th 512GB OLED model still cost under 800 Dollars. Steam Machine does not include any OLED display, controller or battery. And it does not need to fit in small size. So there are things that help the Steam Machine compared to a handheld. Let’s say you have already a controller and decide to get the cheapest 512GB model of Steam Machine.
The big costs are memory, that affects ram and SSDs. Not having a screen is not going to lower the price much.
Not having a screen is not going to lower the price much.
Off course not having a screen will lower the price much, especially if we talk about OLED. It does not affect the price as much as memory, but it helps not having it. And that is not even the only thing. Yes, the Steam Machine has some other stuff going on over the Steam Deck, like 8GB of additional VRAM (oof) and bigger and better CPU. I am aware of that and that was not my point. I was talking about all the other non memory stuff, that combined still has impact on the price.
Yeah, but I was saying that it will not offset the price increase from memory related expenses.
I wasn’t arguing that? I feel like there is some disconnect in our discussion?
Ahh, I see. Sorry about that.
The conversation so far has been (paraphrasing) …
- Lemmchen: “Wow steam machines are gonna be expensive”, on a thread specifically about a massive price hike on Steam Decks (due to memory pricing)
- You: “Well maybe not, machines won’t have OLED screens, battery, and optional controller”
- Femtek: “yeah but those things aren’t why steam Decks are having this huge price hike. They are going up because of memory” memory is a shared component between Decks and machines.
- You: “yes, those things will impact the price, but these other things that the machine won’t have will also impact the price.”
- Femtek: “not by the same amount”
- You: “I wasn’t arguing that”
What point were you trying to make if not that having no screen/optional controller would offset the increased memory prices?
I think you guys don’t read the context of the message. I was responding to:
Well, here goes the hope for a sub-1000€ Steam machine.
In which I tried to explain there is hope for a machine under 1000 Euros, because the machine just don’t add up in price, but there are parts that make it cheaper to produce. So your paraphrasing therefore incomplete and misleading.
I assumed that the Steam Machine would be much more powerful than a four year old budget portable computer.
I thought a controller was generally included with consoles?
It will probably come with and without gamepad. As you can use other gamepads too and maybe you have one already. At times like these, having the choice of buying without gamepad to get it 100 Dollars / Euros cheaper is worth a lot.
I absolutely get that it makes sense that a new console comes without a controller, many people already have controllers.
But a controller is also pretty essential, and controllers get worn out too. So a bundling price of the 2 could also be more attractive for most.A controller is not essential for a PC / Steam Machine. Who says everyone wants to use a controller for the Steam Machine? One could just use mouse and keyboard and that is not wrong. Or another one already purchased the Steam Controller standalone (or has other controllers that could be used). On a console, usually you need the official controller as most controllers won’t work. I mean if you have a Xbox or Switch controller, it would not work on a Playstation. But most controllers work on a PC / Steam Machine.
In example, if I were to buy a Steam Machine, I would choose one without controller. Why? Because I have multiple, even a Steam Controller already. There is 0 value for me to pay 100 Euros extra for a controller I would not need. Valve tries to get the price down as much as possible, and having that option is a simple way.
Yes of course you could use it as a PC on a desktop with mouse and keyboard.
I just don’t think that will be the typical use, but more with a TV sitting in an armchair or on the couch.
Maybe I’m wrong?
The value in having the controller included default, would only be if the price is lower for the bundle. Since the latest retailed for 99 €, it obviously shouldn’t cost 100 € as a bundled part.I am not arguing that most people will use mouse and keyboard only. But nothing speaks against it and having the option to buy without controller makes sense to me. Even if it costs 70 Euros more with controller, why would I buy it with one? And I am surely not in the minority of having a controller already, and not everyone wants to use a Steam Controller anyway.
All I am saying is, that there will be an option to buy it without controller probably, which helps Valve keep the price down as possible. Which is a very important factor, so that will happen for sure.
There is absolutely nothing necessary about the steam controller. Everything can be done with other controllers or input methods. We have steam input available.
I’ve used the deck and Linux in general on TVs and in desktop setups. I pretty much always need a keyboard and mouse handy for specific things or specific games. Just makes it easier… like it’s always faster to type text on an honest to god keyboard than any other input methods from voice to motion to touch to sign language. A wireless keyboard is about the same price as a pizza where I live.
Instead of a battery + USB power supply, you have a “normal” power supply. The controller parts of the Deck are basically in the Steam Controller, plus the dock/dongle. The Machine has a huge chunk of metal on the chips to dissipate the additional heat, which also adds to the cost. All of this still needs to fit in an incredibly small form factor and has better, more expensive components plus more RAM in total. Add ~20% VAT because that’s how prices are calculated in the EU.
I say the cheapest we might see for a variant with included contoller is 900€ and that’s probably if we’re lucky.
They wrecked the economy so hard that game consoles are appreciating in value.
Friend has a used car that he’s contemplating selling because it’s gained value despite the higher mileage.
Meanwhile my launch steam deck just gained value… wtf
Yes but then what will he drive?
Because the other used cars have also gained value?
Think his car is sort of a limited production so it’s gained extra value
Better buy the Steam controller quickly before AI companies decide TMR sticks are essential to feed the AI machine.
Still waiting for my reservation to trigger… I don’t think they have shipped the second batch.
My partner got the reservation email (did it on May 8) and delivery. While I’m still waiting for the email, even though I reserved a minute after. It’s silly
They actually have started. Just googled this an hour or so ago. They started shipping in the EU about two days ago. The people reporting that they got their mails all had reservations a minute or two before starting time.
That’s an insane price increase. And it makes me worried for the price of the steam frame/machine.
Daaaaaamn. If I didn’t have one already, I would not consider buying it at that price anymore. And I got the cheaper 512 gb model.
I still have the first generation, first pre-order 256GB LCD model, + 512GB microSD. It still rocks. The Steam Deck is not my main machine, so therefore I have nothing to complain. Seeing the new prices really hurts to watch go online. And I thought the Xbox Series X price is bad enough.
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Annnnd IT’S GONE
Crazy! Universally people saying “not worth it at that price” and yet…
Lower inventory than expected? Extreme FOMO?
Scalpers probably.
Also they’re back again
Valve probably needs to implement their waitlist system for all hardware at this point.
But the point remains, if it’s “not worth it”, who are scalpers gonna sell it to?
I’m happy that I already have a Deck OLED but if I didn’t, at this point I’d rather get an Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and install the latest beta of vanilla SteamOS (the beta officially supports it). Not because I’m a massive fan of that thing but because it’s cheaper at this point.
Still $999 here, although that’s for a more powerful processor. Those grips though, lol.
Here in Germany the 1TB Steam Deck is €919 and the Ally X is €899. Not a huge difference but still.
Oh yeah, I’d put up with weird looks for that + the more powerful chipset.
Still available at the moment
I’m just gonna go live in a cabin. Fuck this tech bullshit world.
Wait til you see the prices of cabins
Steam Deck OLED is awesome. Fantastic screen, excellent controls, insane ergonomics, light for long play sessions… even now, with older internal hardware and lessening power versus new games, it’s still the best stream-to-around-the-house device on the market, and it’s not really close.
But I can’t see it still being $789 / $949 USD awesome. My guess is that Valve has decided that they aren’t going to run out of Steam Decks again and have priced these accordingly.
My understanding is that Valve was hoping they could wait it out and not have to raise the price. Guess they decided that selling expensive Steam Decks would be better than selling none.
My guess is that Valve has decided that they aren’t going to run out of Steam Decks again and have priced these accordingly.
Whelp this didn’t age too great … they’re back again but for how long
At this point, I am doubting the Steam Machine will actually launch. Even on reveal, the value proposition was very questionable and entirely dependent on having an unrealistically low price. I expect Valve will announce “Yeah, never mind. We are just not going to launch the Steam Machine. It doesn’t make sense anymore in this new economic climate”.
One can just use off-the-shelf components to build their own small form factor (SFF) PC that has basically the same specs as a Steam Machine. Conversely, that is not something anyone can do for the Steam Frame, Steam Deck, or really even the Steam Controller. Even if most Steam hardware is priced absurdly high, someone could justify the price to themselves because the direct competition is just not there. But anyone can build a SFF PC that is equivalent to a Steam Machine. The only people who could justify an absurdly high price for a Steam Machine are the people who NEED a plug-and-play console-like system and can afford a high price. And that is just not a big market.
I share your skepticism, because Valve is definitely in a damned if you do/don’t situation. But…
The only people who could justify an absurdly high price for a Steam Machine are the people who NEED a plug-and-play console-like system and can afford a high price. And that is just not a big market.
I’m not sure it was ever a large market. Like I don’t think based on Valve’s comments during the launch that they were thinking “bigger than the Steam Deck”. It really felt like “for the subset of Deck users who want this too, and maybe it’ll surprise us.” The commentary around price has ALWAYS been “it’s going to be too expensive”, from the second it was announced, so it’s hard to know how much the price will actually impact sales, because so many people want to talk about how they’d buy a thing if not for this one factor who were never ever going to buy the thing.
The pricing is definitely going to be a problem now, there is no way around that. But because I’m the person you are describing, I will say… I’m just over building PCs and the inherent compromises (nevermind that the component prices are crushing that market too). The guy who did the video a few months back was a) in Canada, b) buying shit in parking lots from FB marketplace, c) doing this 6 months ago, before the war. I’m not convinced it could be done reasonably today at some remarkably lower price than whatever you or I think the Steam Machine will cost.
I don’t want the ecosystem lock-in of consoles, I already own tons of PC games. I want exactly what Valve is cooking, and not really anything else. Even if it’s an alleged better value.
The Steam Machine was always going to have a relatively small market, and that market is only going to get smaller and smaller as the potential price increases.
What is SFF ?
Small form factor
Ouch, that’s rough.
I mean, this is technically better than it just not being available. But those prices are hard to swallow, makes me really glad to already have mine. Really hope nothing happens to it.
The bright side is that Valve partnered with iFixit with the Steam Deck, so if certain parts need replacing, you can do it yourself without it costing too much. If anything happens to the higher end guts, though, yeah, that would be very bad!
I got a refurbished 512GB for $439 a year ago, that is nuts.
What’s even available that’s competitive? Legion Go 2 prices are absolutely bonkers, maybe the first gen at $849?
MS still had launch MSRP for the ROG Xbox Ally models.
Protecting my deck with my life…
Ouch. I don’t think they’re worth it at those prices, sadly.
I blame everyone except for Valve. Smart cars, AI, Smart TVs. Anything that has memory or SSDs. I remember when things got cheaper as they got older, not the other way around.
doesn’t make me hopeful for the frame price
The only thing I’m sad about, because I don’t really have much use for the deck or the machine. The Frame looked like a great VR device though, some really nice little considerate details in the design.
Isn’t that more than 50% extra compared to when the OLED version came out, I think it was 2023?
I bought my 1TB OLED for 679 euros end of 2024. So at least for that is 35% price increase.
Considering the increase in price, that turned out to be a very good deal. 👍
