What to Make of the Steam Machine?

[AlfredoTurkey]

Arlo said:
I always thought the whole point of a Steam machine was that they could finally settle on one piece of hardware and manufacture it in large numbers so that they could compete price-wise with console makers, thus bringing high power and PC architecture to the more casual crowd and advancing the idea of an open platform for the future. But here they are again, making many models from multiple makers, thus giving us a rig that's too pricey for console buyers and too weak for your average PC builder.

I really don't get it. It was a great idea in my mind that could have changed everything, but they're just treating it like another regular old gaming PC.

Valve should have created their own online store and made ONE model like you're saying. Something in the $400-$500 rage. They should have taken the hit financially, and made it capable of true 1080P/60FPS gaming and marketed it as a digital only console for console gamers who want to have something like that.

I am convinced that had this happened, Steam machines would be the next big thing.