Valve, the giant name of the gaming world, officially shares the price and release schedule of the Steam Machine model, the new generation gaming computer it has developed to conquer living rooms again.

The device, which has been eagerly awaited in the technology and gaming circles for a long time, attracts attention with its price tag in the premium segment. According to Valve’s official statement, the new Steam Machine will be on sale as of June 29, with prices starting from $ 1,049.

In order to prevent black marketeers and opportunists, the company is starting to receive registrations as of today and is introducing a lottery system for fair distribution.

This new hardware, shaped in the shadow of cost increases in the global semiconductor and memory markets, aims to bring computer freedom to television screens, even though it is more valuable than classic consoles.

Lottery and Turn-Based Sales Strategy from Valve

While launching its new hardware world, Valve is re-applying the reservation system, which it previously implemented in the Steam Deck model and had successful results, with much stricter rules.

Starting today, the company allows players to log into the system and register their interest.

In order to meet the high demand fairly, a random order is made for everyone in the queue on Thursday evening local time.

Users who register after this date are added to the end of the waitlist.

Confirmation e-mails will begin to be sent to the first lucky users who won the right to purchase the product as a result of the draw on June 29, the day the product will be officially released.

In this way, the company aims to bring the first batch of devices, which are produced in limited numbers due to difficulties in the supply chain, directly to real players.

Steam Machine Configurations and Price Table

In order to appeal to every budget and need, Valve offers its new game machine in four different versions in total, with two different storage and controller combinations. The official price list in the global market is shaped like this:

Price and Performance Comparison with Traditional Consoles

These announced numbers position the Steam Machine model in a premium segment, much higher than the classic game consoles that are seen as direct competitors.

In the current market, a digital version PlayStation 5 model is sold with a price tag of $ 600, the Xbox Series

Looking at the first hardware reviews, it seems that Steam Machine is almost at the same level as PlayStation 5 in terms of pure performance power.

Although this situation questions the price / performance ratio of the device, Valve argues that the real added value lies in software and library freedom. Instead of a closed console ecosystem, the device allows players to play hundreds of games that they have accumulated on their Steam accounts over the years in front of the television without paying any extra price.

Moreover, since the system functions as a fully customizable Linux computer, users can modify the device as they wish.

How Did the Global Memory Crisis Affect Prices?

Many technology lovers expected Valve to offer this device at a much more aggressive and competitive price. However, according to the hardware blog information shared by the company, there is a significant cost war going on in the background.

The company states that it sells this device for the bare production cost of its entire hardware components, without any profit margin.

The high-speed RAM and SSD storage chip crisis experienced worldwide, especially due to the explosion in the artificial intelligence sector, is skyrocketing production costs.

This is causing Valve to completely revise its original pricing and shipping plans.

Valve received an extraordinary response by starting to sell the new generation Steam Controller device alone in May. Work continues for the virtual reality headset “Steam Frame”, which is another module of the ecosystem, but no official price is shared yet.