Valve have confirmed the Steam Machine's price will be comparable to a custom-built PC with similar performance, rather than subsidised like a console.
The first time it was largely due to lack of game support and confusion as they were 3rd party devices.
This time pretty much every game will run through Proton, Linux for desktop has matured a lot, SteamOS is much better and Valve are selling it 1st party. It will sell a lot, even if it is priced as a PC… I mean at the end of the day it is a PC, a custom SFF one, which are usually very expensive. This will good value for what it is, you just can’t compare it to a console.
I guess time will tell, but I’ve seen a ton of companies selling custom PCs fail and I’ve seen Valve fail at this the first time around and I’m not really convinced people on Lemmy have a real grasp on how unpopular Linux still is with the general public.
The first time it was largely due to lack of game support and confusion as they were 3rd party devices.
This time pretty much every game will run through Proton, Linux for desktop has matured a lot, SteamOS is much better and Valve are selling it 1st party. It will sell a lot, even if it is priced as a PC… I mean at the end of the day it is a PC, a custom SFF one, which are usually very expensive. This will good value for what it is, you just can’t compare it to a console.
I guess time will tell, but I’ve seen a ton of companies selling custom PCs fail and I’ve seen Valve fail at this the first time around and I’m not really convinced people on Lemmy have a real grasp on how unpopular Linux still is with the general public.
Steam Deck proved that Linux can now be a success in the hands of the general public. This is basically a more powerful one you plug into your TV.
While it is a custom PC, like the Deck, its also a curated experience, like the Deck.
The evidence is already there, I would understand you if this was their first product back, but it isnt.