The Steam Machine needs to cost less than $800. Honestly, less than $600 if it wants to genuinely compete within the console space.

Everyone online is saying how Valve just cooked the PlayStation and Xbox, and that this thing is going to be a game-changer for the console space. First of all, Valve don’t need to cook anybody, especially Xbox, because Microsoft already does that themselves. But I get it, the “GabeCube” looks awesome, and with how successful the Steam Deck was, it only makes sense for Valve to come out with something like this.

However, they’ve already said that this is a PC, and as such, will be priced accordingly to a PC. Yazan Aldehayyat told IGN, “If you’re trying to make a PC that has similar features and similar performance, I think the Steam Machine is going to be a really competitive price to that and provide really good value to it.”

So, this isn’t going to be a $500 console. But Valve are marketing it to be a plug-and-play “console experience.” And if you’re trying to lure the casual masses, especially if you sell this thing at a Best Buy, then you’re going to have to price it accordingly for grandma. And that price has got to be around $500-$600 for a base model. You can go crazy for higher-end models, but you have to start at a number that doesn’t cause sticker shock.

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