If Valve creates an “entry point” for living room PCs, the console-beating Steam Machines will follow, argues Baldur’s Gate 3’s publishing director

Last week saw Valve reveal three pieces of hardware. The Steam Machine, a console-like mini PC you plug into your TV. A newly updated Steam Controller, which combines the original’s trackpad-style thumbpads with the double thumbsticks of a regular gamepad. And also the Steam Frame, a new virtual reality headset that streams games from your PC and opens up your whole game library to be played in the privacy of your own goggles.

While I have a default thrill setting that engages whenever Valve announces new hardware, it’s been interesting to see the variety of responses to the hardware reveals. I was surprised, in particular, by the muted response to the Steam Machine in our comments.

In large part, the criticism is aimed at its graphics chip and how effective it will be at competing with the likes of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The Steam Machine’s GPU is a customised chip using AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture. First released nearly three years ago (and surpassed by February’s RDNA 4 graphic cards), the chip’s main weakness, when compared to the current crop of consoles, is its limited VRAM. The Steam Machine can only muster up 8GBs compared to the 10GB in the Xbox Series X and the 10 to 12GB in the PS5. (Sony’s console dynamically allocates RAM from a pool of 16GB, hence the range.)

VRAM is the memory dedicated to storing graphical information when playing games. As a rule of thumb, when playing modern games that lean on this dedicated memory to store texture and shader data, the more of it you have the greater the smoother your play experience. The less space available, the more likely you will run into stuttering as the graphical data is loaded in. The worry, then, for the Steam Machine, is that when playing games like Cyberpunk 2077, is they you’ll run into a choppier game than those playing the same game on consoles unless you lower the texture settings.

Larian Studio’s Publishing Director Michael Douse took to Twitter to argue Valve aren’t looking to make a device that exceeds the power of the consoles, they’re making a baseline. “They’re probably betting on the fact that anyone who wants more demanding PC hardware on their TV is part of the audience who know how to turn any PC into a Steam Machine,” Douse argues.

If Valve went high spec, high price, the Steam Machine wouldn’t be accessible to anyone looking to dip their toe into an uncomplicated world of PC gaming. Nor would it likely win over the crowd currently demanding a powerful computer, as they will be able to make their own living room PC – and potentially for less than Valve can sell it.

Instead, Douse says, Valve are setting a baseline. “If Valve can once again normalise and thus create that entry point there is potential for big growth in that new market”. Once Gabe and his kin establish a baseline, other companies, such as ASUS and Lenovo, can roll in with their more powerful machines.

Anyway, we tend to shy away from ‘Person says thing online’ style stories, so in the classic bait and switch, I can now finally talk about what I want to, having justified it by grabbing onto the credible, authoritative coat tails of the lovely Michael Douse.

I’ve found the response to Valve’s hardware reveals fascinating because it’s shown the different ways PC games fit into peoples’ lives. There is much more choice than even five years ago and you can now pick and choose pieces of hardware that enable our hobby to live in completely different places.

Take me, for instance, when I read James’ pieces about Valve’s upcoming hardware, I was mentally slotting it into different orders of want based not on specifications, but how the devices would enable new ways to play games.

Until I got this job, back when I was still in the world of freelance, I was perfectly happy to keep my gaming confined to the desktop PC in the living room. I live in a one bedroom flat and my partner works from the office, so when I needed to review a game it was okay to take up the living room with the noise of whatever management sim or shooter I was playing. When they came home, I’d carry on with noise cancelling headphones. Less ideal, but still okay.

Since I’ve started at RPS, I’m both out and about more and needing to play more games in the evening. Suddenly a Steam Deck is much more appealing. Before, dropping £350 on even the cheapest LCD model would be a waste of money. Why would I ever use the handheld when the desktop was right there. Now, it means I can keep playing when I’m in the office, or travelling to and from events.

Then, in January, I’m moving to a flat that has a separate space to set up my desktop, so I’ll no longer be dominating the living room. Which has also made the Steam Machine a much more appealing buy. I’m not personally fussed about smudgy textures as my desktop is there if I need high fidelity, but I do like the ability to play games on the big television screen. Still, I’ll likely get the much cheaper option of a Steam Deck dock before buying a whole separate machine. Though, if I enjoy the docked life and find the new Steam Controller makes playing classically-PC games like Stellaris on the television more approachable then I may work up to the little Gabecube in time.

As for the Frame, while I’ve played and liked VR games, I’ve very large glasses and find the headsets generally uncomfortable. It’s not for me, currently. But, I know for others the order of their interest in Valve’s hardware will be radically different to mine.

When I asked around the Treehouse, young Callum said that the Steam Deck has been an introduction to PC gaming for a lot of his friends. They’d been put off by the research involved in buying a PC and the handheld made it easy. They’ve since been casting their games to TV and are exactly the sort of people who can see a Steam Machine being the next step. Especially if it allows couch co-op with a Bluetooth connection that supports four separate controllers.

I’m really keen to hear more about how Valve’s upcoming hardware will (or won’t) fit into your lives, as I’m enjoying the change of conversation away from what components your PC needs and this move towards what form factor fits you best.