To buy a Steam Machine, you first must join a waitlist.
I signed up on a lark. I wasn't actually going to buy one. I had already resigned myself to playing PC games on my TV via my docked Steam Deck. That is, when I wasn’t playing my PS5, Xbox Series X, or Switch 2. The last thing I needed was another gaming device attached, through a tangle of cables, to the back of my TV.
Despite all this, I joined the Steam Machine waitlist (for the 512GB model with a Steam Controller) – and then quickly forgot all about it.
So I was surprised when my purchase email arrived roughly 10 weeks later. Once your email arrives, you have three days to place your order, or you lose your chance to buy.
Upon reading the email, I was sure I wasn’t going to buy it. Between the Steam Machine’s high price and my ability to play nearly any game I want on my other consoles, it would be a pricy and unnecessary addition to my gaming life.
Even though I wasn’t going to buy a Steam Machine, I kept thinking about it over my three-day purchase window. I watched and read reviews, mentally noting the pros and cons, trying to determine if, actually, maybe I should buy one?
Ever since I bought Valve's handheld Steam Deck in 2022, it's been my platform of choice. I’ve managed to accrue a large library of Steam games over the years, and it annoyed me that more power-hungry games don't run well or look good when played on a TV via the docked Steam Deck.
But I loved the PC platform, which offers endless backward compatibility and the ease of emulating older consoles. SteamOS is a marvelous thing that combines the convenience of a console with the versatility of a PC.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going
