If you haven’t heard, Valve recently announced three new products: a VR system, a new controller, and the second version of the Steam Machine. This isn’t their first attempt at creating a home media console that functions like a game console but is actually a small-form-factor PC. Based on what we currently know about the new Steam Machine, it’s unlikely to be the definitive end to the console wars.
Who is the Steam Machine marketed to, and what gap is it trying to fill? Judging by the Steam page, it’s clearly positioned as a gaming PC. Naturally, that means it’s geared toward people who already use a gaming PC or those looking to break into PC gaming. What it doesn’t appear to be doing is trying to convert console-first players.
The Steam Machine is a PC at its core, and PC owners generally tend to know a bit more about technology than the average gamer. That’s inherent to building, maintaining, and troubleshooting a PC. Not every PC user is a tech expert, of course, but most are at least comfortable with learning. Meanwhile, many console players want something that “just works.”
During my illustrious career at GameStop (where I worked for nearly a decade), I spoke with a huge variety of people from different backgrounds and age groups. From what I saw, most players who primarily game on consoles want exactly that: something they can plug in and play. Considering the price of consoles—and tech in general—I don’t see a mass migration of console players leaving their PlayStation 5 for a Steam Machine.
Valve has stated the Steam Machine will be priced like a PC. If that’s the case, console owners would need to spend roughly $400–$500 at minimum just to add another platform to their setup. I just don’t see that happening on a large scale. What I can see is that, over time, if Valve continues updating and iterating on the Steam Machine, some players may eventually choose it over the next generation of Xbox or PlayStation. Why buy an Xbox or PlayStation when many of their games will likely be playable on the Steam Machine anyway?
As a tech enthusiast myself, I understand the appeal. I love to tinker, and the idea of buying a small computer where I’m encouraged to open it up, mod it, and even install different operating systems is incredibly exciting. I do own a PlayStation 5 and most previous console generations, and I’ve been passionate about gaming since I was a kid. But I’ve always gravitated more toward PC. Why? Because of its flexibility and the sheer amount of gaming options.
I don’t think the new Steam Machine is going to flop. I do think it won’t have the dramatic impact some people are predicting as the “end of the console wars.” Console manufacturers will adapt—as they always have—or risk ending up like Sega and Atari.
