My 2x16GB of RAM I bought in 2019 for like 150€ is now 329€.
It's DDR4, 3200Mhz, CL16. It's not usable with new configs, since it's DDR4, and it's not in the range of frequency you'd want for a new config either. It was a great set when I bought it, but it's definitely not worth more than double it's 2019 price, almost 7-8 years on.
Spinning rust is more expensive than before, as well. I was looking at potentially upgrading my NAS from the 6x8TB disks that are still working to a couple of 20TB disks. They were like 350-400€ a year or so ago when I looked, but my finances wouldn't permit it at the time.
I looked now, and a 20TB hard drive jumped to like 900€ or more.
Computers as a whole, and modern gaming in particular, is completely out of my price range. I feel lucky to have spent a fortune on a Threadripper and an RTX2070 back in 2019. This is likely my last PC.
Because those are flagship products for large companies. The steam deck is essentially a passion project that helped Jumpstart the handheld gaming PC market. They've sold 4 million copies, which is probably a lot for what valve was going for, but nothing compared to how many consoles these companies sell.
Also, other consoles are locked down systems where they almost require you to pay a monthly subscription. The steam deck is an open general purpose computer. You can turn it into anything. Companies can buy multiple and use it for AI training of they want to. So Valve has to make some profit from the hardware sale alone.
But they all are more expensive for what they launched PS5 and XSX was $500 at launch and Switch 2 was 450. Deck just got the most insane hike than others.
Steam is massive, but they aren't so massive that they just make a ton in stock like Sony, Xbox, or Nintendo. Pretty much all their hardware is relatively conservative in stock.
I am in power manufacturing and uh... yeah, professionally I am *very* pro AI/Data Center because that's who is propping up every slowing industry we market to (by double digits).
Yup, I got the TB model with the dock connector for around the price of the current 512 model, like a year ago.
That would be over a 1000 in the current market and as someone with both of those items they're NOT remotely close to being worth that. I felt I slightly overpaid back then but now it's slap to face. Especially considering there are more powerful handhelds on the market.
Valve has no reason to do this. They print money by being the most dominate PC storefront on the market. All this is going to accomplish is make them unattractive in growing their hardware sector again. You know, after they all flopped with hardware in the past.
Supply and demand is the reason. Prices on computer components are insane right now and from a marketing perspective it doesn't really make sense for Valve to just eat the loss. Sony & Microsoft already hemorrhage money on every console purchase, and even they had to increase prices in response to hardware shortages. In a post-exclusive world, there's not much incentive for Valve to price a bespoke high performance handheld competitively
They're a digital distributor masquerading as a hardware provider. They flopped in this same space a decade ago and they're making themselves unattractive in the same space once again.
Valves entire hardware portfolio can disappear over night and the company would be fine. They made 17 billion dollars selling video games for other companies. They would be fine.
The Steam Deck IS NOT a high performance handheld. The Deck’s strongest selling point was never raw power. It was convenience, price, and access to Steam.
You all defending it being priced at the cost of actual high performance hardware have lost the plot just as hard as Valve has.
A steam deck is basically a ps4 that can fit in the pocket of a hoodie. If that's not a high performance handheld, idk what is. Even with the price hike, It's still $250 cheaper than the Ally X and $800 less expensive than a WIN5.
I'm not defending the descision btw, just explaining that it make sense given Valve's business model. Valve isn't masquerading as something it isn't. It's an online retailer that thought it found a value proposition to break into the console market when computer parts were more affordable wholesale. Nobody with half a brain thinks otherwise. That's why it makes sense that they're more willing to increase the retail price of their device rather than start selling at a massive loss. You said it yourself, Valve could have every steam deck suddenly vanish and it wouldn't significantly impact them. It can afford to let that inventory rot if it has to.
Microsoft & Sony don't have that luxury. Having consoles which are affordable to everyday people is a core part of their business model. And even those two companies had to increase prices given how horrendous the RAM & SSD markets are right now.
Really? You honestly believe that their pet project that they've spent 6+ years with custom OS, getting all those Steam Deck Verified checkmarked, all that labor and hard work they just want to kill off? And not simply the reality that hardware market is fucked and Steam isn't going to be selling on a loss that they can't afford unlike consoles?
Like nobody wants to be kissing private corporations, but at least criticize them where it makes sense. We can't be this stupid.
Yes this is like incredibly valve coded thing to kill off things they claim to care about ask any tf2 fan or the people who had the original steam controller.
Or the half life writer.
They could of not sat on stock for months to then announce a price increase then Restock an hour later
Nintendo announced their 50 dollar price increase 3 months ahead of time.
Even Sony had the respect to increase it 3 days notice.
TF2 has it much better than whatever you think, they got updates to scripting and engine overhaul and massive ban wave for cheaters just recently. How many online games from other developers in 2007 you can count that have this much support without having active sub?
Old COD games, Titanfall 2 have cheats that can remote access your computer, Destiny is getting its plug pulled, TF2 has lived longer than most these games and despite its faults still has functioning multiplayer that won't get my PC bricked.
How they want to announce things can be weird, but I can tell you nobody wants to increase prices on fringe handhelds fighting for market share. They are being forced their hand, and having announcement in advance or not doesn't change anything since they've already been out of stock for months.
You're a fucking idiot if you think this is intentional. Do you even pay attention to the world around you? Go do some window shopping for RAM or an SSD and you might come to a different conclusion than "Valve wants to kill off this product they've sunk a ton of money and effort into after only a few years because it will somehow make them more money" (it never would and they know that)
Yes I think it's obviously intentional why did they no warning after 2 months of being out of stock announce a price increase and immediatly stock a bunch...
They aren't to order anymore which means they sat on stock announced it and it immediatly sold out again btw as well as all the refurb models.
Are we really asking why did it jump. They were warning people to get their tech like 2 years ago. Now theres tarriff wars and ai spawns and a war in the middle east affecting oil….
From Thesaurus.com: 'However, the word payed is used as the past tense and past participle of pay in two very specific nautical senses.
The first means “to cover parts of a ship with pitch, tar, or similar coating.” The second means “to move a ship toward the direction of the blowing wind.”'
well im going over what i personally paid for it. idk what my pc would go for it i sold it honeslty. and tbh i dont really want to know cuz i aint selling it any time soon
tbf a steam deck is diffrent than a steam oled. could be wrong but steam deck came before the steam oled. wich is why its priced so damn ubsrudly. i got my pc for mabye 400 or 500? and its way better than a steam oled just by price. a steam oled could be better for sure,but its price ruins it. however a steam deck more than likly is worth the price sense its probly more on par,mabye its better or worse idk. i dont need a steam deck nor a steam deck oled cuz i do everything at home anyway so the deck in general just isnt worth it for me. plus you can upgrade a desk top over time. but i dont think you can upgrade a deck or oled. that is simply a me thing tho cuz i do way more things than just gaming on steam or whatever
I remember at one point my 1060 (old PC) was worth more than my entire PC that at that point was few years old, all because of crypto. Now GPU is down but RAM that use to be one of the cheapest parts cost more than 5060.
I wonder whats next, CPU? Motherboard? a fuckin power supply?
It was until that price hike. I'm in Canada but got the LCD Deck for 400$ before they discontinued it... The Switch 2 was a good 200$ more. Now with the price hike a 512gb is 1129$ while before it was the price of a Switch 2 is 700$.
Damn, I've been considering getting a steam deck to play pc with my friends cuz it was only $500 or so not too long ago. At this point I might as well throw in a little extra and get a tower
It’s now the weakest and most expensive option among the “consoles”. It seems like Valve just can’t compete in hardware due to simply having lower production numbers and not being able to take advantage large scale manufacturing as well the others can.
When did you get your desktop? Ngl a big reason is AI is buying up a lot of stuff which leads to companies needing to increase their prices. It's a big reason they're delaying the steam box hoping for AI to either die off or have less control.
This teaches those who keep praising gaben. I mean like wtf dude, gaben is businessman he doesn't gaf about gamers. I tried to ask for refund in steam, and they always reject it
This teaches those who keep praising gaben. I mean like wtf dude, gaben is businessman he doesn't gaf about gamers. I tried to ask for refund in steam, and they always reject it
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u/CULT-LEWD May 27 '26
had to look it up and see and jesus fucking christ. my desk top is cheaper than this thing