If you ask random players what price they think Valve charges for newly announced Steam Machine hardwareyou will get a wide range of guesses. But if you ask the same question to the analysts who follow the gaming industry for a living… well, you'll actually get the same wide range of (somewhat more educated) guesses.
At the top of these assumptions are analysts such as F-squareMichael Futter, who expects a starting price of between $799 and $899 for the entry-level 512GB Steam Machine and a whopping $1,000 to $1,100 for the 2TB version. WITH internal characteristics which Futter says will “compete with the PS5 and perhaps even outperform the PS5 Pro,” we can expect a “hefty price tag” from Valve's new console development. At the same time, since Valve is “positioning it as a dedicated, powerful gaming PC… I suspect the price will be lower than a traditional desktop with similar capabilities,” Futter said.
DFK Intelligence Analyst David Cole also expects the Steam Machine to cost “around $800” and rise to “around $1,000” for the 2TB model. Cole said he expects Valve to aim for “very low margins” or even break-even prices on the hardware itself, which he said would likely result in prices “below gaming PCs but slightly above high-end consoles.”
Loss leader?
On the other end of the spectrum Superdata Research founder and Author of the SuperJoost newsletter Jost Van Dreunen predicted that the entry-level Steam Machine could cost as little as $549, rising to $749 for the 2TB version (plus an extra $50 for bundles that include a Steam controller).
According to Van Drunen, Valve's unique position as a private company with a loyal fan base means it can “price its hardware in a way that is consistent with its own strategic point of view rather than reflective of its competitors.” And in this case, he said, that could mean “modest” losses on hardware to entice more gamers to invest in SteamOS.
Getting people to buy more SteamOS games could earn Valve far more than the profit from any Steam Machine hardware.
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“Just like Sony and Microsoft, the real money is not in the box, but in the ecosystem you enter as soon as you buy,” Van Dreunen said. “For me, the question isn't whether Valve can afford to eat into profits. The question is whether they want the SteamOS presence to grow fast enough to justify it… Strategically, it's about expanding the platform rather than cutting hardware.”
