As part of the price reveal for the new Steam Machine, Valve made a clear statement about the philosophy of the living room PC. They strongly criticized the traditional console business model and explained why the price was deliberately not subsidized.
The newly revealed ones Prices for the new Steam Machine This might make some gamers swallow at first – after all, a proud 1,039 euros are due for the living room PC. The reason for the hefty price tag: While Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo often subsidize their hardware, Valve deliberately avoids doing so.
The company has now explained why this is so in an official statement. At the same time, they didn’t miss the opportunity to take a strong stance against the traditional business model of the console competition.
No subsidies, no golden cage
While Sony and Co. throw their consoles onto the market at below production costs and cross-finance them through game sales or subscriptions, Valve goes with it Steam Machine a completely different path. The reason: subsidies do not correspond to one’s own convictions.
A press release states: “While (subsidization) may seem like a simple solution, it does not align with our beliefs about how to build healthy ecosystems. If there is anything we are steadfast about at Valve, it is our belief that open systems are better in the long run – for ourselves and for customers.”
In addition, Valve doesn’t skimp on criticizing the competition. According to the company, subsidizing hardware only serves to lock players in a golden cage:
“When companies sell their hardware below cost to gain a competitive advantage, or buy exclusive content for it, they are doing so to create a more closed system – one in which you don’t get to choose what software you want to use. We don’t want that for PC hardware, and we don’t think you should want it either.”
“A PC is a PC”
Interface designer Lawrence Yang also explained in an interview with colleagues at Valve that the issue of subsidies was discussed internally at Valve, but in the end the PC philosophy won Eurogamer.
“I mean, it comes up in conversations, but it always boils down to what our ultimate goals are and what our philosophy is around PC and open ecosystems,” Yang said.
He continued: “When hardware is subsidized or you have exclusives on a particular platform, it’s often because the company wants to lock consumers into that platform, and we don’t believe in that. We believe that if you buy a game, you should be able to play it on any PC.”
For Yang, the classic console model ultimately dilutes the actual core idea of an open platform: “A PC is a PC: the moment you start tying things to certain SKUs (models) or models, in our eyes it is actually no longer a PC. The idea of subsidizing content or hardware runs counter to that.”
However, Yang doesn’t accept the accusation that players are still chained to Valve’s own Steam store: “We don’t lock up our hardware. You can install Windows, you can install other game stores on the Steam Deck or the Steam Machine, and that’s something that we’re actually actively committed to making possible. We don’t think people should be tied to a single game store.”
Anyone who would like to get a Steam Machine can apply for a lottery process from now until June 25th at 7 p.m. our time, which will begin immediately afterwards. The first devices are scheduled to go out on June 29th.
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