Comment on Valve's new hardware will NOT be loss leaders

• deranger@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  What do you think the Xbox and Playstations are?

  Consoles.

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  • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    That’s a small computer my guy

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    • deranger@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      No, it isn’t, in practice. Xbox and PS5 have more in common with my iPhone than my desktop PC or NAS when it comes to being able to do what I want with it.

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      • FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        As far as how most people use their computers there is little difference.

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      • ag10n@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        The steam deck is also a small PC, just like the consoles and was priced perfectly for success

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• RicoBerto@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

  You are correct in that all technically fit the definition of computers. However consumers don’t care about technical definitions or think rationally about purchases. They don’t all do a rational analysis of the products on the market that would accomplish their goals and spend accordingly. They walk into GameStop and buy one of the boxes that makes call of duty show up on their living room tv. Just like the Deck fits the definition of a handheld computer with a built in screen and controllers for playing games but isn’t stealing any customers from the switch.

  Deck isn’t selling millions and it’s doing just fine. The Steam Machine will be a small computer box priced as such and there won’t be a single person that decides to buy it over a ps5, and that’s fine. Valve doesn’t have to compete with consoles cause they don’t make consoles.

  Valve themselves have said that the Machine will not be priced like a console but like an entry level PC whatever that means. The only people that will notice this to buy it are people who already know what a PC is.

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• ElectricWaterfall@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I think the difference is that the Xbox and PlayStation are locked down to their respective ecosystems with monthly subscription and only one online store. Microsoft and Sony have almost guaranteed return based on that alone. If valve prices this as a loss leader what’s to stop a large corporation to buy 20k steam machines and use them as computers instead of consoles. Then valve is just eating that cost with no return on the other side.

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  • ag10n@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    The Ukraine military has been using steam decks on the front line Do you really think it’s affected their bottom line?

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