Valve has announced offical pricing for its mini PC offering, the Steam Machine, and it confirms fans’ concerns in light of the ongoing computer memory shortage. The 512GB model stickers for $1,049 (around P64,360), while the 2TB model goes for $1,349 (around P82,760). A Steam Controller can also be bundled in for an additional $79 (around P4,800).
In its official announcement, Valve shared that the spike in the price of computer components over the last year—particularly memory and storage—disrupted its original pricing plans for the Steam Machine.
Valve explains: “The overall effect is that our original goal for the price of Steam Machine is no longer viable. So the prices we’re sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing; or, more accurately, it reflects the price of the components as we’ve secured them over the past six months.”
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Other than pricing, recent hardware trends will also affect the Steam Machine’s availability: “There were periods where we found we couldn’t source some of our components at all, at any price.” As a result, Valve has only been able to produce a limited number of units for launch.
Shortly after the official price announcement, some gaming publications have also released their own first impressions of the Steam Machine. Media consensus so far agrees that Valve’s mini PC is an elegant and well-made piece of hardware. At just 152mm tall, 156mm wide, and 162.4mm deep, it’s a very compact cube meant to blend in with other living-room gadgets.
Unfortunately, testing conducted by multiple outlets revealed that as a result of limited GPU power and VRAM capacity, the Steam Machine struggles to run triple-A titles, even with upscaling and frame generation assists. At the price point that Valve is forced to sell the Steam Machine at, it has to compete with larger offerings equipped with more capable full-sized hardware.
Overall, this isn’t the launch that Valve was hoping. While the Steam Deck was a breakout success, the Steam Machine is hamstrung by circumstances outside Valve’s control. As it stands, this mini PC’s value proposition is heavily dampened by the high cost attached to it.
For the asking price of around P60,000 to P80,000 for the Steam Machine, consumers could easily opt into a fully-fledged budget gaming desktop instead, provided they were fine with sacrificing the compact form factor. For gamers trying to get the most frames out of every peso spent, that’s likely a tradeoff they’re willing to make.
Currently, the Steam website lists the Steam Machine as “unavailable for your region” in the Philippines. But local retailers have managed to snag stock of Valve hardware in the past, only to flip it to customers with a significant markup. Most recently, it was the Steam Controller going for around P14,000 to 18,000, depending on the seller. For a single controller, mind you. We dread to learn what the final Philippine peso price for the Steam Machine will be...
Price aside—would you still grab a Steam Machine even with its limited power? Or would you rather pick up something else and pocket the change? Let us know how you feel about the latest installment of Valve hardware in the comments.
