100%
But that’s not a terrible thing, I suppose.
Damage@feddit.it 13 hours ago
They’re letting us discuss this ad nauseam just to understand what prices people consider acceptable for these devices
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 hours ago
DonEladio@feddit.org 13 hours ago
Absolutely. I think 80$ for the full package seems fair.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
$60? why do they want $50 for something that’s clearly $10?
markstos@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
$70 if you hand deliver it to me. It’s my final offer.
Damage@feddit.it 12 hours ago
Fair pricing means a reasonable profit on the base cost. Trying to gauge what people are willing to pay means that you want to maximise your profit at all costs, consumers be damned.
I understand that’s what Americans consider “fair”, but I don’t fully agree.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 hours ago
Fair pricing means a reasonable profit on the base cost.
Under many circumstances, this is true. However, console makers have historically sold consoles either at or slightly below cost, expecting to make their real profits on game sales, online store sales, etc… In the business world, it’s called a loss leader. Meaning it’s something popular that the company takes a loss on, while expecting it to encourage more sales elsewhere.
The classic grocery store example is a rotisserie chicken. You can go get a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli for like $3. It’s so cheap because the store is selling it at a loss. It’s a loss leader. Very few people will simply buy the chicken by itself. Instead, they’ll buy a tub of potato salad, some roasted corn, a can of green beans, and a gallon jug of sweet tea to go along with it. By selling that chicken at a slight loss, they were able to get the customer to buy all of those other things at a profit.
That being said, Valve has already stated that they’re not planning on having the Machine be a loss leader. Which is why people expect it to cost as much as a prebuilt with similar specs.
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 hours ago
In most cases, yes. But you have to remember, this is Valve and not some ordinary company. They have extremely deep wallets and a lot of responsibility and expectations on their shoulders. If they charged what it cost for hardware and what it cost them to do r&d, it would likely not be in consumers favor.
SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 9 hours ago
They’re buying the parts directly from the manufacturers though, so cutting out the retailer middle-man could offset the R&D costs.
Goodeye8@piefed.social 8 hours ago
I doubt it. I think they understand that the hardware market is volatile and what might cost $800 might be $1000 in a few months.
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Anything more than $500 and we riot!
0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 hours ago
You’ll have to deal with a cult that will defend their lord Gabe’s every move.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 hours ago
Get ready to riot because there’s no way it’s that cheap. My money is on $800-1000.
curiousaur@reddthat.com 3 hours ago
This is absolutely where it’s going to be.
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
If it is priced higher than $600 they won’t sell enough to justify their existence. It will just be a repeat of last time.
This is perfect for people wanting a new console with a large games library, but Valve seems to be trying to force the square block in the round hole by placing it in the PC market space.
curiousaur@reddthat.com 3 hours ago
That’s a bad take. Look at PC prices. What equivalent PC could you build for $1000? This is going to be 800+ and still the best value in the PC market. Until they get steam OS on arm and you can put it in a 600 Mac mini.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
Why? Look at how many people here say they want Steam OS, and Lemmy skews heavy toward Linux users. This is that, but OOTB.
I don’t think it’ll sell anywhere near as well as the Steam Deck, but it’s also a less exciting form factor. I do think it’ll sell a fair number of units though.
The cheapest equivalent prebuilt I can find with similar specs (RX 7600 is slightly better than the Steam Machine) is $850, and a DIY build is more like $900 (lots of corners cut), so there’s probably not much margin on the prebuilt. Valve is probably saving some cash with their custom CPU, and they’re probably shipping it with a Steam Controller, hence the $800 target. If component prices rise significantly before launch, I could see $1k.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 hours ago
It’s a good idea, tout the market before doing anything controversial
echodot@feddit.uk 2 minutes ago
I suspect it’s because of the uncertainty over tariffs. Ironically making manufacturing in the US less appetising for businesses.