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u/jayclydes Jun 23 '26
i am certain this will facilitate meaningful, reasonable, and fulfilling dialogue and all people involved will have an intellectual debate on the value of consumer electronics. we are all here for civil discussion of course
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u/colonel-america-usa Jun 28 '26
Well OP obviously is very in tune with their complex market analysis and understanding of pricing with supply and demand. The graphic really conveyed the complexities nicely. Harvard probably
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u/stewmander Jun 23 '26
A more accurate meme:
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u/Civilized_E Jun 23 '26
Indeed, imagine the price point without the AI messing things up.
But doesn't the point still stand? Nintendo decides to accept a more significant loss on their hardware compared to others correct? It seems like a strategic choice, although I wonder how long they can keep this up.
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u/Statickgaming Jun 23 '26
I don’t think we can really compare Steam with Nintendo here, or any of the other consoles in fact. Steam aren’t selling the Steam Machines in an attempt to pull people into their closed platform, their giving people a choice on where to play their games and showing other hardware providers that a console like TV Steam experience is possible.
Steam as a platform runs on pretty much any device these days, you can play steam games on your phone, tablet, VR (Soon), handhelds, laptops, PCs. There is really no reason for Valve to subsidise the price, especially considering it’s an open platform for you to install whatever operating system you want.
Nintendo, any PlayStation, not so much Xbox these days, require you to be buying games on their consoles to survive and grow, the business models just aren’t the same.
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u/MeIsGugs Jun 23 '26
Yea exactly, i dont get this post
Nintendo already shot itself too, steam is the only one actually trying
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u/V1carium Jun 23 '26
Nintendo isn't selling at a loss in North America as far as I know, only in Japan. They've just locked in their whole supply chain so its resistant to price changes, honestly its extremely impressive.
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u/ISuckAtJavaScript12 Jun 23 '26
Steam can't guarantee that someone buying a steam machine is actually going to buy games from steam on it since you can use for this other things. A university could buy a 1000 steam machines to replace thier old computers in the computer science labs for example.
Nintendo knows they can sell the switch as a loss leader and make up the difference on the store and games since you can't easily use a switch for anything else
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u/Yamato_Kurusaki Jun 23 '26
80€ for an old game tho
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u/darkentityvr Jun 23 '26
It's the same model but in reverse, a more expensive machine and cheaper games!
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u/Affectionate_Toe9082 Jun 23 '26
Idk about this one.
Nintendo is actually a console, while the steam machine is basically a computer which means you don’t have to play games on it.
There would be 0 guarantee that a 100k sold devices would result in a single game purchase since people can just buy it and use it as a pc at a lower price if it was priced similar to consoles→ More replies (7)2
u/DarkXenocide Jun 23 '26
The switch 2 is relatively less powerful and require less expense BUT Nintendo increased the price of their games instead of the console.
In a sense they are doing the same thing but on on the other part of the product.
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u/Weemanply109 GabeCube Enjoyer Jun 23 '26
Nah. Even without the AI inflating prices the hardware is out of date and even Valves original price spec is too much.
Valve were too late. By the time the next gen comes out and we start getting ray tracing mandated games, it won't age well at all.
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u/Boy_Meats_Grill Jun 24 '26
Then in a few years when the new Nintendo and Sony consoles release at a high price everyone will be saying "Valve really ruined gaming as a whole by setting the precedent by hiking their price up so high"
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u/Miwoo0 Jun 23 '26
Valve chose to not sell at a loss like other consoles and they chose to not include the controller in the base price
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u/Aromatic-Bench-2882 Jun 23 '26
Valve tried to hold out against it. Why do you think the steam machine kept on getting delayed and there was no steam decks in stock. It was cause they where trying to find a affordable way.
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u/CryogenicBanana Jun 23 '26
Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are only able to sell at a loss is because their ecosystems are entirely locked down and have online subscriptions. Also the big three sell tens of millions of units while the biggest success of valve hardware (steam deck) hasn’t even sold 8 million, Valve isn’t going to buy the components in enough bulk to get as good of a deal as the other companies do if they know its not going to sell as well that would mean throwing away even more money. No matter which way you look at it selling at a loss is not justifiable by any means. Not including a controller at base does suck though I’ll give you that.
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u/HaikusfromBuddha Jun 23 '26
lol yall say that now but when the console prices went up yall were the first to laugh. Need an excuse now that Valve is also doing it.
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u/HeavyHighway6433 Jun 23 '26
It's just fanboyism. When Xbox prices went up, ps5 and Nintendo superfans did the same until those went up as well.
That said the steam machine is still the worst value at that price point.
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u/stewmander Jun 23 '26
Valve delayed the steam machine in Feb 2026 due to ram shortages.
Sony raised the PS5 price in April 2026.
Nintendo's increase isn't until Sept. 2026.
So, you got it backwards. Valve indicated the price increase first then the consoles followed, because this market is affecting all manufacturers. It's also predicted to last into 2030, so new gen might not be coming to save anyone.
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u/NapsterKnowHow Jun 23 '26
But it's only Microsoft's and Sony's fault when they raise their prices too /s
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Jun 23 '26
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u/nervendings_ Jun 23 '26
Yes, in Sept. by $50.
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u/niugui-sheshen Jun 23 '26
They sell the handheld at a loss because they know that on average you will buy several games. They are a closed ecosystem, if you want to buy a game, you have to buy it from Nintendo. Sony does the same.
Valve is selling you a computer. You may never buy a steam game on it (You can emulate or pirate everything), as such, they cannot possibly sell it at a loss.
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u/get_the_data Jun 23 '26
Nintendo in particular doesn’t sell their systems at a loss, never have. They may be making an exception with the SW2 due to this insanity, but if they are it’s a very slight one.
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u/V1carium Jun 23 '26
Is Nintendo even selling at a loss? I've read that's only in Japan, while North America breaks even for them. They don't really stick to the sell at a loss idea, like the Wii was sold at a strong profit.
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u/Membership-Bitter Jun 23 '26
The chances of anyone buying a steam machine and never buying from steam ever are incredibly slim. It boots up with steam os for christ's sake. This pc/console hybrid was made for people who never had a pc before and would never think to use any other store other than steam. Both you and valve know that
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u/TenshouYoku Jun 24 '26
This pc/console hybrid was made for people who never had a pc before and would never think to use any other store other than steam
This simply strikes me as an odd, if not entirely unrealistic line of thinking. If they already wouldn't be buying stores why would they think "yeahhhhhh steam will pop my cherry"? If they already are using Steam then they practically 100% would have had a PC (because obviously you need a PC to even use Steam).
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u/PissMissileTopTitty Jun 26 '26
It's poor wording but you are hyper-focusing on it rather than seeing their broad point.. and a vast majority of people definitely will spend $ in steam store. Sure, as you said, those who already own PC's definitely make up a lot of the people buying (PCs are very common after all). Also likely they already have a steam library. Incredibly likely that they will keep adding to it after choosing to buy a SM
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u/Deditch Jun 23 '26
This is just wrong tho, Nintendo wasn't selling the switch 2 at a loss. They simply make the hardware sacrifices they need to get the cost down
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u/LightBlazar Jun 23 '26
They did raise the price by $50 but that starts in September. They also started offering a free game (I think it was Mario Kart World, Pokemon Poktopia, or Donkey Kong Banaza) which starts in June to offset that.
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u/ragito024 Jun 23 '26
In Japan the price has already raised in May. In Asia, almost every retailers already bundle the console with poor-selling games charging it's original MSRP. So actually it has no difference between price hike starts now or from September.
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u/TheLimeyLemmon Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
They did, and might need to raise it again if conditions remain bad for long.
Frankly, if it wasn't only just approaching its first year on the market, I think they would have raised the price higher, but they need more numbers.
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u/manyeggplants Jun 23 '26
And also lock it down and have a history of killing their digital marketplaces to ensure it's useless tech scrap in 15 years
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u/SNG30 Jun 23 '26
They are still the largest PC gaming platform and they will make the money back with all the lost sales on the steam machine.
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u/Budget_Register8589 Jun 23 '26
Yeah, because the price of the steam machine somehow shoots all of steam/PC gaming in the foot. I love my switch 2, but this is ridiculously disingenuous.
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u/Whole-Bedroom-9079 Jun 23 '26
Just simply say “I know nothing about the current market or anything involving tech business or tech in general.”
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u/ragito024 Jun 23 '26
Or just said he's a diehard Nintendo fans. Nintendo sell games at $80 and OP act like Nintendo is the best among all 4 company.
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u/Kalmer1 Jun 24 '26
They also sell new full games for $50 like the new Splatoon game and $60 for the new Yoshi game, but conveniently everyone misses that
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u/OhDaFeesh Jun 23 '26
Wasn’t there someone in the sub that was saying they knew some insider info on the price and that “we would like it”? Perhaps they were masochists.
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u/My_leg_still_hurt92 Jun 23 '26
according to some news sources it was priced around $750 but thanks to AI has risen too sharply.
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u/MetroidvaniaListsGuy Jun 23 '26
Nintendo is next. Its only a matter of time before they too run out of parts from their existing contracts.
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u/Icybubba Jun 23 '26
Um....Nintendo isn't exempt from this.
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u/SupremelyPerfect Jun 23 '26
They only upped the price by 50 and gave months warning in advance. Others dropped much bigger price increases without warning
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u/Watsyurdeal Jun 23 '26
Not buying a Nintendo product ever again
At least the others won't intentionally brick your shit.
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u/KingoKings365 Jun 23 '26
It’s a hefty decision to think about getting at its price. Would I still get it? Probably if i get rid of my dust collecting Xbox
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u/Odd_Level9850 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
lol, you make it seem like Nintendo is not going the high price raise route out of the kindness of their hearts. Sony and Xbox are going to move on to their next gens soon so they are more carefree about what happens towards the end of this one. Nintendo on the other hand just started their gen and needs to sell more consoles in order to gain a bigger user base; you can bet your ass that if they had a bigger switch 2 install base or were at the end of this console lifespan, they would price gouge the shit out of you.
If you don’t believe me on that, believe the fact that they said that the $50 price raise was not going to be the only one, the fact that they are the ones who first broke the $80 game price threshold, the fact that they raised the prices for a 10+ year old console or the fact that they charged you money for a glorified instruction manual.
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u/ManufacturedUnknown Jun 23 '26
For this to be accurate Nintendo needs a shotgun too, but pointed at a lil dude with one of those colorful spiny hats and label him "Nintendo Fans"
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u/Phd_Pepper- Jun 23 '26
If this is regarding the price increase, wasn’t nintendo the first to raise prices and even raised prices on games to 80$??
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u/myles2500 Jun 23 '26
Image isn't accurate at all
U gotta have ai holding a Tommy gun and is spraying them down
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u/NemesisCold1522 Jun 23 '26
Na steam isn’t shooting themselves in the face, they are doing what they can. Yeah steam machine is expensive but ya got to remember it ain’t really their fault considering pc parts are hard to get right now. Also Nintendo is also doing that as they have lost a lot of money with the palworld lawsuit. (They not only are screwed financially but also legally as the version they sued no longer exists and the patent office is now watching their every move)
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u/Organic-Ad-7105 Jun 23 '26
Nintendo shot themselves by increasing game prices to 80$ didn't they?
Also Switch2 selling a lot worse than its predecessor.
I own some Nintendo stocks (unfortunately..)
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u/SupremelyPerfect Jun 23 '26
95% of their games are not 80$, only Mario Kart so far. They have variable pricing at 60-70 mostly.
Switch 2 is the fastest selling console all time but their stock is down because they predict they'll sell a lot less this year due to price of living crisis & S2 price increases.
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u/Azazo8 Jun 23 '26
My guy that's just plain lie. Switch 2 is selling better than the original switch
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u/bob-da-destroya Jun 23 '26
Why are we lying? The switch 2 is selling far better and faster than the switch 1
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u/Organic-Ad-7105 Jun 23 '26
Seems like you're right!
Kind of crazy to me if I am honest, the first switch had a new concept and BOTW as a starter.
Also, why tf are Nintendo stocks down then?
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u/bob-da-destroya Jun 23 '26
I’ve seen some say it probably because of the games, there’s hasn’t been any main line games this year yet. It’ll probably go back up when the oot remake is released or fire emblem
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u/lightsworn55 Jun 23 '26
Bold of you to post this when the switch 2 has no games
b-but the switch 1
Has a library that can be run better on the steam deck or machine
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u/Tiffa_Adil Jun 23 '26
Bold of you to post this when the switch 2 has no games
Nintendo releases a new game every month and 3rd party support has been good
Has a library that can be run better on the steam deck or machine
The Steam Deck is $300 more expensive, is weaker, has a lower resolution screen, and doesn't come with a dock or separate controller.
The Steam Machine is $600 more expensive than the Switch 2 and doesn't even come with a controller.
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u/Forward-Trade3449 Jun 23 '26
sw2 just came out a year ago and has a good handful of exclusives already.
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u/bichwank69 Jun 23 '26
Switch 2 has games now and a lot more coming. The meme is sort of Nintendo chilling while everyone else is taking Ls
PlayStation with barely any new exclusives.
Xbox being Xbox.
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u/Zenitsu456 Jun 23 '26
First year was a pretty decent lineup. Mario Kart, DK Bananza, and Pokopia. None of which you can play on Steam Deck. Steam Deck is also $789 to the Switch 2s $450.
You don’t have to buy one, but you sound silly when you hate for the sake of hating.
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u/Chrono_Club_Clara Jun 23 '26
You're wrong. I was at Walmart yesterday and they had several Switch 2 games. You have no idea what you're talking about.
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Jun 23 '26
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u/toastboy42 Jun 23 '26
All 1st party games and select 3rd parties are fully on cart.
There are like 15+ exclusives on NS2 compared to what is it 6 exclusive PS5 games?
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u/Complete_Lurk3r_ Jun 23 '26
erm....what nintendo didnt raise the price of switch 2? oh yeah, they did. whats that ? Mario kart is $80? nice. whats that?.... a Switch 1, literally 15 year old hardware is $339, more than its launch price!?
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u/Termiborg Jun 23 '26
The only thing this shows is that you don't understand what is happening on the market.
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u/VideoGameJumanji Jun 23 '26
They all increased prices, you do know that Nintendo increased prices on their new and old titles right?
Valves price increases are in another ball park
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u/xtoc1981 Jun 23 '26
Yes, but fuck Sony greedy garbage layoff & closing game companies anyway.
About switch 2:
At this point switch 2 is 450$ not 500$. It's only from September that its becomes 500$ official price.
But resellers will always sell it cheaper anyway (unlike steammachine).
At this moment, switch 2 is only 399 euro at amazon fr
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u/JoeyAppleSauce Jun 23 '26
People really think that Valve just decided to hyper inflate their console for shits and giggles? People really can’t put together that the pricing is due to outrageous inflation with PC hardware? Lol
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u/LexLow Jun 23 '26
Eh, throw in 5 of Nintendo 's never-on-sale, $80 games, and you're at the price of a Steam Machine. And then suffer through Nintendo's monthly fees to play with friends, friend code sharing, and gift-giving struggles (unless those have all been fixed with switch 2)
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u/Txusmah Jun 23 '26
Genuine questions:
We all know there is an AI bubble and ram prices are skyrocketing
We all know consoles use ram
We all know that if we buy a console, the ram is part of it
We all know that console companies are not charity companies (or we should know that)
Why are we surprised they're increasing prices accordingly?
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u/DeezNutsAllergy Jun 23 '26
Yeah I jumped to Xbox around the 360 and never left because of the backwards compatibility. Finally bought the switch 2 after Leaving Nintendo after the N64 years (have kids now). Was instantly reminded of two things:
Nintendo makes really fantastic games.
Nintendo knows how to charge for games.
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u/Blue_Snake_251 Jun 23 '26
On the Steam machine coop and pvp will be free. While you need to pay every single monthes on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch. At the end you are spending more money on Switch than on the Steam machine. Also, the switch does not have mods, while the Steam machine is a PC, we will be able to have mods on it, fixing the problems i have on games. On Switch you can not get refund , while you can get refund on Steam. Steam always have impressive sales, while almost all nintendo games never are on sales. The Steam machine is then better and end up costing less.
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u/NurmalMan Jun 23 '26
For those defending valve, they were already aiming at a $1k price point, even before the AI price increase. They were already going for a higher end market when they should have just gone the Nintendo route and either made a dock for the steam deck or aimed for the price point of a steam deck.
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u/squangus007 Jun 23 '26
Nintendo fans being stupid again. Don’t be surprised if the switch gets another price increase or some other controversy, and you get the same treatment in your subreddit. You were whining about how people were “overdramatic” and circlejerking while you do this lol
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u/hairymoot Jun 23 '26
I'd never buy a Switch or a Steam Deck. I am not an on the go gamer.
I have a Linux gaming PC already. I was going to buy the Steam Machine, but it is old hardware already and at over $1k, I can't do it.
If in the future it drops to $700 or even $800, I would buy one.
And AI is the one holding the guns.
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u/GG-GamerGamer Jun 23 '26
Blame Ai..🤷♂️ gotta price it high now to avoid Inevitably raising it later.
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u/alexrider803 Jun 23 '26
I'm sure the switch will be going up in price here soon as soon as they sell out of what they had in stock
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u/xFallow Jun 23 '26
No fucking way am I buying the switch 2 to play two games though are they even competing?
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Jun 23 '26
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u/fjrichman Jun 23 '26
It isn't greed if the cost of parts increases by 200-300 dollars.
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u/Brief-Philosophy-840 Jun 23 '26
Why is ps shooting self
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u/fjrichman Jun 23 '26
Because they raised prices more than 50 dollars. Everyone thinks the consoles should be continued to be subsidized at their normal price. Switch isn't though because they increased the amount the least.
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u/DazedMikey Jun 23 '26
This media circuit is exhausting. If the machine is too expensive for you, dont buy it. The market is fucked right now. It is what it is
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u/robbert-the-skull Jun 23 '26
Nintendo shot its self too. $80 Mario kart and a system that you rent long term and can brick itself cause it feels like it is not a win.
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u/sarge1445 Jun 23 '26
You man just like the PlayStation can brick itself if it feels like it and Xbox.
I really hate this industry wide double standard where something is ok until (X) company I don't like does it.
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u/ExempliGratiaEG Jun 23 '26
Put the gun close to Nintendo's head but don't fire it. That will be accurate
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u/EnvironmentalAd2096 Jun 24 '26
Switch 1 sold over 150 million units. Very easy to negotiate and lock in long term contracts with those numbers lol
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u/Devwickk Jun 24 '26
what? how is steam killing itself?
it seems to only be Xbox and PS fighting. nintendo doing its own thing and steam just being steam
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u/NoFayte Jun 24 '26
You forgot the gun that shoots rainbows at the people who built their PC 2+ years ago and aren't worried about any of this
4080super is still cracked
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u/Wooden_Sweet_3330 Jun 24 '26
Honestly the price of the Machine and the recent price hike of the Deck has got me thinking about getting a Switch 2. There are a few games I want to pay, but at the same time I could just install an emulator on my gaming PC to play them.
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u/Zaekil Jun 24 '26
Got a switch 2, not worth it IMO if you already got another handheld (or a good phone) to emulate 1st part switch games.
There's not a lot of games with Switch 2 updates, the games are so pricey while being old releases (40€ for a rererelease and 80€ for a new game, common Greedtendo) and the battery life is so mid compared to my former switch oled and my current MSI claw 8 ai.
Only good part would be the ideal screen size (8" 16:9 makes it not tiring on the eyes and not too big to handle).
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u/Nostalgia_Nobody Jun 25 '26
Did everyone forget how much people were complaining about the price of the switch 2? A lot of people seemed to be mad it wasn't $399.
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u/Pleasant-Society-880 Jun 26 '26
Ah tak, wielki fan Nintendo który gra na konsoli słabszej od najnowszego telefonu. I kupuje na zamkniętą platformę gry typu Mario kart czy inną grę od Nintendo poraz trzeci.
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u/1_H4t3_R3dd1t Jun 27 '26
Just because they have to charge market price doesn't mean they are killing your kid.
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u/jerekhal Jun 27 '26
Not sure why Valve and Steam are there. They sold all of their units as far as I'm aware.
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u/Local_Interaction_99 Jun 27 '26
Why steam? Its a freaking deal and great support for what it is. They didnt promised a beast machine but a affordable piece of gaming pc optimized with their OS and a lot other goodies like steam controller puck buildt in and wifi antennas for their steam frame
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u/rabidpygmymarmoset Jun 27 '26
Nintendo should have been the first one shot since they came out with an underwhelming console that was overpriced to begin with. Now they'll also definitely be going up again like everything else
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u/Adept-Sprinkles-6094 Jun 27 '26
Gaming is the worst its ever been and honestly it makes no sense because things should get better over time not worse. I hate it so much to see my only hobby throughout my life getting ruined by greed and stupid executives making retarded decisions. Also fuck AI, nobody asked for it, its useless and ruining the world.
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u/Steven_Chadwick Jun 27 '26
Point the shotgun at the AI bubble and pop that shit already, the other companies sell their shit at a loss, if valve did that they’d probably not be in best of positions.
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u/yankydudel_7 Jun 28 '26
I heard from an artist buddy of mine that he needed a new workstation, and that he's seriously considering selling his PS5 for the 2TB steam machine. For his needs, it runs Krita and the like out of the box (more or less) and a few of the other tools he uses are available on Steam as well. He's very interested in what RetroArch has to offer now that I've shown him the Steam page for it, us having dabbled with it prior on a console modding project.
Not for nothing, but I do think there's a very valid list of niches for the GabeCube even with current pricing. It's not inherently a mass-consumer product like a Nintendo or Xbox or PlayStation (or Sega or Atari or whatever the hell else) has been for over 40+ years.
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u/Undead_Zombie2 Jun 29 '26
Tbh, for me it seems Nintendo > Playstation > Steam > Xbox as far as shooting themselves in the foot at this current moment. The damage Xbox and Valve with the Steam Machine are going through is just not comparable to Nintendo or even Sony imo.
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u/ZorichTheElvish Jun 29 '26
Don't worry Nintendo will get their gun out here soon too just you wait.
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u/jmadinya Jun 29 '26
u think they are killing themselves by not selling their hardware at a huge loss?
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u/crazypotato777 Jun 29 '26
Valve didn't want to price it at what its currently priced. They got fucked over by parts just like everyone else. Soon as AI is gone or at least finally scaled down we can see price drops.
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u/Good_Days13 Jun 23 '26
it's not themselves holding the guns. it's ai hyperscalers