The Steam Machine, Valve's mini gaming PC, was initially slated for a much lower price than its current $1049 entry-level cost. Valve Engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat indicated that the original target price was likely around $750, prior to the significant impact of the current memory market conditions.
This projected price of $750, when compared to the final $1049 cost, represents an increase of approximately 33%. This figure is consistent with the price hike experienced by the Steam Deck, which saw a 35-36% increase from its original $549 price to $789 due to similar market pressures. Valve had not finalized the Steam Machine's pricing before needing to adjust it to reflect the escalating component costs.
The current component cost challenges are not unique to Valve. Both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have seen price increases in recent months. A memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reportedly stated that hardware costs for Xbox consoles could eventually become five times their original figures, suggesting further potential price rises for those systems.
While there is ongoing speculation about the duration of the current RAM crisis, it remains uncertain if the market will stabilize and allow Valve to revert the Steam Machine's price closer to its initial target.