// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
The Steam Machine is the start of an even more expensive future for game consoles
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Valve’s living room PC isn’t cheap, which doesn’t bode well for the next Xbox and PlayStation.
Valve’s living room PC isn’t cheap, which doesn’t bode well for the next Xbox and PlayStation.
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It’s no secret that just about every aspect of video games is getting more expensive. Game consoles are getting regular price hikes, PC components are spiking in cost, and the golden age of affordable handhelds is over, all largely due to the global RAM shortage, which has had a similarly costly impact on PC gaming, including portable devices like the Steam Deck. This all led to some trepidation around the Steam Machine, Valve’s latest attempt to bring the breadth and openness of PC gaming into a form factor designed for your living room. The fact that the device was delayed in February due specifically to the memory crisis only exacerbated this feeling. Now, Valve has finally revealed the Steam Machine’s price tag. And while it may not be quite as expensive as some feared, it’s definitely not cheap, pointing to an increasingly costly future for the console space.
First, here are the details. The most basic Steam Machine, with 512GB of memory, costs $1,049, and bundled with a Steam Controller that price jumps to $1,128. If you want the 2TB version it’ll cost you $1,349, or $1,428 with a controller. That’s not necessarily egregious by PC gaming standards, but the Steam Machine isn’t just competing with other gaming PCs. It’s a device specifically designed to create a console-like experience, and even in the increasingly expensive world of gaming consoles, the Steam Machine costs quite a bit more than its closest competition, up through the higher-end options. A 2TB Xbox Series X now costs $729.99, while a PS5 Pro is $899.99. The cheapest of the bunch, a Switch 2, will be $499.99 starting in September.
Of course, there are benefits to buying a Steam Machine over consoles from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, not least of which is because it includes access to Steam’s absolutely gigantic library of games. That’s a big bonus. But some of the other advantages over a traditional console aren’t quite as obvious, particularly if you’re looking for a pick-up-and-play experience. In fact, performance-wise, the Steam Machine is pretty comparable to a PS5. As my colleague Sean Hollister explained in his Steam Machine review: “you aren’t getting a significant boost in performance over the 5.5-year-old Sony PS5 you can still buy today.” This, despite being nearly twice the price.