Valve, like other companies, is stuck with take-it-or-leave it prices.

Valve’s Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more.

The prices are so high in part because Valve isn’t subsidizing the hardware, and the company has already indicated that the component crisis forced it to reconsider its initial pricing plans. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Valve engineers discussed the reality of sourcing RAM in 2026, with take-it-or-leave-it prices as memory and other components remain in short supply, from only a few vendors like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix.

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Valve, of course, isn’t the only company in a bind over memory shortages, as the crunch is forcing many hardware makers to make significant pricing changes. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook is warning of incoming price hikes for iPhones, Macs, and other devices. And the RAM crunch isn’t projected to get better anytime soon.

  • Cocodapuf@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 hours ago

    Hey, I wouldn’t disagree with that for the most part. But I would still say this is mostly an example of supply and demand.

    When supply is so limited that you probably won’t be able to acquire all of a resource that you need, it’s perfectly rational to attempt to secure as much as you can from the next batch, even if that means prepaying to ensure your access.

    Now if that buyer is offering higher prices to secure the resource, it’s also perfectly rational for the manufacturer to sell it to them.

    We’re going to continue to have this problem as long as that relationship remains the same. No legislation or trade deal or tariff or is going to make a meaningful difference. The only way to solve this situation is to increase supply or decrease demand. Well, I suppose you could outlaw LLM training in every country on earth, but good luck with that.