The announcement of the Steam Machine was a pretty exciting one, for about 10 minutes, until the brutal realities of the world we live in came home to roost and ruined all that in pretty short order.
Valve’s first attempt at a proper home console (or at the very least a hybrid between a standard PC and console) certainly could be a pretty groundbreaking bit of kit, but there’s a lot Valve needs to get right.
Pricing was the first concern, with rumours that the device could cost as much as a mid-range gaming PC seemingly causing some potential buyers to balk at taking a chance on the Steam Machine.
Now, it seems another issue is really starting to put its head above the parapet and it could spell disaster for all of the major console manufacturers, as well as Valve’s entry into the market.
RAM Prices Could Ruin Some Big Plans
As first reported by Insider Gaming, the exponential increases in the price of RAM, almost all of which is attributed to the rise of AI, could cause major delays in the rollout of the next generation of consoles, including the PS6.
The important piece of information reads as follows, “From what we understand, the situation has led console manufacturers to debate whether the next generation of consoles should be delayed from their intended 2027-2028 release window, with the hope that RAM manufacturers will be able to build out their infrastructure to produce more RAM, thereby allowing prices to drop.”
Now, the fact that Valve announced the Steam Machine during this crisis probably means that their release plans already take it into account; there’s little chance the price of RAM has no effect on the release.
Chiefly, we can safely assume that the final price is going to be higher than we’d like, but there will likely be issues beyond that which stop everyone who wants one from getting their hands on it.
Many of you will likely remember the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, both of which experienced major supply issues, particularly in the west, with many having to wait a long time to get their hands on one.
Valve will be very keen to avoid this, but we’ve seen plenty of stock outages for the Steam Deck over the years, and it’s difficult to see how they will be able to avoid these global issues entirely with the Steam Machine.
