In a blog post, Valve detailed its Verified programs for Steam Machine and Steam Frame, and insists both pieces of hardware are still coming this summer.
In a blog post, Valve detailed its Verified programs for Steam Machine and Steam Frame, and insists both pieces of hardware are still coming this summer.
Charging more to cover their costs is NOT the same thing as maliciously price gouging (which is what was alluded to here).
If the cost of materials goes up, the cost of the device goes up. They’re a business not a charity. I think we both fully agree that they are waiting to see where prices land closer to launch to determine the final pricing of the device. But I don’t agree that they’re optimizing for profit. They already know what margin they expect from this device and might even be planning on eating some margin to keep the price competitive.
The Steamdeck, pre-RAMpocalypse, was maybe one of the best values in gaming hardware, in part because they were subsidizing the price like Sony and Microsoft do for home consoles. Any other handheld PC on the market was 2-3x the price. They can’t be expecting that same kind of sales volume from the Steam Machine, so the amount they can afford to subsidize will be lower for sure.