Why comparing a Gaming PC to a Steam Machine misses the point
The Steam Machine is finally here, and after thinking about it for a while, I think many of us, including me, have been asking the wrong question.
Let’s get this out of the way instantly, do I think that the hardware is worth the money….. No. Yet there is something to what they have done here, and I honestly think we have all missed the point of the Steam Machine, myself included.
Let’s first look at the Steam Deck. When it launched there was the Nintendo Switch and a few other handhelds out there but Valve launched the Deck and changed the handheld gaming landscape. Bringing PC style gaming to a handheld platform opened the door for new gamers to get the console experience in your hand.
The Steam Machine is the next evolution of the Deck.
What is the Steam Machine?
Is it a console? Or is it a really small PC? Or is it both? For me the Steam Machine sits between consoles and a gaming PC. Building on the idea of the Deck bringing the simplicity of that Operating System to a desktop is something I think a lot of people would love to have. So for me this sits between consoles and Gaming PCs.
The Steam Machine lowers the barrier to entry for people who have always been curious about PC gaming but never wanted the complexity that often comes with it.
But is the Steam Machine worth it?
This is such a difficult one to answer, on paper just looking at the hardware starting at £879 to £1208 I would say I don't think it is a great value.
But you're not buying the hardware alone, you're buying the experience. The ability to sit on your couch, pick up a controller and bam your gaming.
Yes i know you can do this with a PlayStation or Xbox but Valve's offering brings the largest game platform to the console experience, the question for me is simple is that better than the others? Realistically, Steam's library is one of the largest in gaming and offers such good value that it's almost obscene.
DIFFERENT GOALS.
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES.
DIFFERENT BUYERS.
This is only the first part, the interface can allow you to run the Machine in big picture mode or as I jokingly call it ‘console mode’. This means that if you use a Steam Deck you just pick up and carry on where you left off. Steam OS is genuinely good.
The operating system Valve has built allows the Steam Machine to switch effortlessly between a console and a small form factor PC , this isn't something you can do on a console easily and consistently. Out of the box Steam OS is designed around a controller, allows instant resume, auto updates and unless you want to use a desktop you don't ever have to!
I know everyone is going to say ‘but a PC can do that’ and I agree it can BUT a PC isn't always going to be THAT small.
The Comparison is wrong
Would you compare a Sports car to a Van because they both have four wheels? Probably not because they solve 2 different problems.
A console solves the convenience but locks you into one eco system.
A traditional gaming PC gives you the highest performance and the most flexibility, but it usually asks more of the user
The Steam Machine sits between, there are people who want to have a console experience on a PC and the Machine solves this issue and this is something the Gaming PC space have been trying to figure out for decades now.
"The Steam Machine isn't trying to replace a gaming PC. It's trying to replace a console."
So what do we compare it to then?
Honestly there isn't anything else like it on the market at the moment that covers both worlds. Can you build a Steam Machine ‘Killer’ for close to the price? Actually yes, you could build or buy a similarly priced gaming PC.
But it's still missing something the Steam Machine offers: the experience of behaving like a console. You press the power button, pick up a controller and you're straight into your games. That's the experience people are paying for—not just the hardware inside the box.
If someone came to me today and asked ‘Should I buy a Steam Machine or one of Rebels PCs?’ my question wouldn’t be ‘what’s your budget’
It would be ‘what do you actually want it to do?’
THAT is the real question we should be looking at not is it as good as a PC but that question isn't an easy one to answer for every one and is personal to each of us.
I'm not saying ‘Buy this’or ‘Buy that’. Instead I think that the question every buyer should ask before looking at specifications, benchmarks or price tags is this.
What do you actually want it to do?
Once you know what you actually want your machine to do, the right answer often becomes much clearer.