You’re not having deja vu. Six years after launching a line of Linux game consoles that went down as one of the biggest tech flops of the past decad

Why the Steam Deck won’t flop like Valve’s Steam Machines

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2021-07-18 21:00:05

You’re not having deja vu. Six years after launching a line of Linux game consoles that went down as one of the biggest tech flops of the past decade, Valve is trying once again. Only this time, its Steam Machine dreams and unusual touchpads have been rolled into a 7-inch handheld PC that looks and works like a Nintendo Switch.

I’m not deluding myself into thinking it’s a Switch-killer. (Even if the Steam Deck’s $399 starting price might seem close to Nintendo’s $350 Switch with OLED screen, you’re not getting Mario, Zelda and Metroid on a Steam Deck.) But having watched Valve closely over the past nine years, I don’t believe it will flop like the Steam Machines either.

There are plenty of reasons why Valve’s Steam Machines failed, but one towers over the rest: Valve was never in control of its own hardware destiny.

When we exclusively revealed Gabe Newell’s plans for the “Steam Box” in 2013, he originally explained that Valve would sell its own Linux-based living room PC, while simultaneously creating an ecosystem where partners would deliver a wide array of good/better/best boxes as well, creating an entire new category of gaming PC. But Valve’s own box didn’t make it to market. It never broadly sold the impressive prototype it demonstrated for us in November 2013.

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