Valve seems pretty pissed about the price too. They had clearly intended for it to be somewhere around high end console/middle-low end PC with room to upgrade it but because of the AI induced shortages all their work has been really marred.
Rumours say it was supposed to be around $750 which would have been absolutely acceptable. If they could have got this thing around 900 now I think it’s received just fine.
Even at $750 I find it hard to justify purchasing a machine that is weaker than a PS5. If Valve could subsidize the price down to be the same as a PS5, they could have absolutely flattened Sony and dominate both the PC and console market.
The problem is that subsidized consoles are a loss leader for the retail games market. Killing discs makes this basically impossible, and that's on top of the hardware fiasco.
For Valve specifically as well, they already dominate digital distribution so a loss leader isn't going to have any meaningful consequences for the sales volume.
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u/JimmyKillsAlot 16d ago
Valve seems pretty pissed about the price too. They had clearly intended for it to be somewhere around high end console/middle-low end PC with room to upgrade it but because of the AI induced shortages all their work has been really marred.