Home Gaming Valve’s “Early Bird” Steam Machines sold out

Valve’s “Early Bird” Steam Machines sold out

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steammachine

I still don’t really understand the appeal of Valve’s Steam Machine. Yes, I get the small form factor is appealing for a living room, but mini PC’s have been available for forever. The Linux-based SteamOS that the things run have a limited (though increasing!) playable game library, so their appeal, as far as I’m concerned, is limited – unless you want to use one as a go-between for your uber-powerful desktop and your TV. Limited Appeal hasn’t stopped them from selling out.

For a short while, Valve offered the initial run of Steam Machines to early adopters who could pre-order the things from Steam’s website. Those things are all done. For some reason, people actually seem to want to shell out money for Steam Machines.

Joining the “sold out for now” queue is the genuinely appealing Steam Controller, and the far-more-sensible Steam Link which functions as a little standalone proxy betwixt TV and Desktop.

Of course, Valve and its partners (Like Alienware and Syber) haven’t said how many made up the initial allotment in the first place. It could have been 5, 50, 500 or 5000 (Which, I’ve double checked, aren’t the same things) so it being sold out is relatively meaningless.

Those who did manage to get in at ground level will get their Steam Machines (or its peripherals) will start getting theirs in mid-October, while everyone else who wants one will have to wait until an unspecified date in November.

Neither the Steam Machines, nor its controllers nor even the Steam Link were available to pre-order from within South Africa. The Controllers at the very least will be available locally thanks to Dell, who’ll also be punting their own Alienware Steam Machines.

Poised by Valve as a device to take over the living room, I honestly don’t think console platform holders have much to fear. High prices, patchy Linux support and (as a result) a lack of big blockbuster games means Steam Machines will only ever be a niche product for now. Until Half-Life 3 is a Steam Machine exclusive, at least.

Last Updated: June 30, 2015

50 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief's Adventure

    June 30, 2015 at 12:02

    • VampyreSquirrel

      June 30, 2015 at 12:07

      They’re rich sheep though.

      Reply

      • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

        June 30, 2015 at 12:11

        Console Gamers thinking buying this will keep their street cred as console gamers and earn Master Race respect.

        Hahahaha … as if. 😛

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          June 30, 2015 at 12:15

          Actually I thought of this as something the master race could buy after talking down on console gamers for all these years. That way they can claim they are sill gaming on PC even though they are using a machine(totally not a console)

          Reply

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 30, 2015 at 12:19

            If you don’t build your gaming machine yourself you are a PC user and not #MasterRace.

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 12:46

            Pleeeeeeease. I didn’t build my PC myself. I just sent someone an email with the specs I wanted and they built it for me. I’m not 15 anymore. I don’t have to build these things up myself on a lonely Sunday afternoon. I gots things to do! Places to be! And a Wild Hunt to put down! That stuff won’t do itself. 😛

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            June 30, 2015 at 12:46

            (L)USER! 😀

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 12:47

            Lol.

        • Steffmeister

          June 30, 2015 at 12:30

          Haha.. actually its all just about gaming in the way you prefer.

          Reply

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 30, 2015 at 12:33

            No it is about The Way It’s Meant To Be Played! 😛

            Oh bloody hell. I just used Nvidia’s slogan for a funny.

            Excuse me while I go end my life.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 30, 2015 at 12:40

            Here, use my .45

          • Steffmeister

            June 30, 2015 at 12:45

            What if you want to ‘play it the way it is meant to be played’, but with couch comfort and 55″ LED.. and no MS Windows… did I mention how much I hate Windows?

        • Dark_Kitarist

          June 30, 2015 at 13:02

          HAHAHHAHA is right…

          Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      June 30, 2015 at 12:07

      Baaaah-Braaaaahhh

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 30, 2015 at 12:11

      Apple store?

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief's Adventure

        June 30, 2015 at 12:30

        Aye

        Reply

      • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

        June 30, 2015 at 12:43

        Fallout… mobile… game…

        That’s what those sheep are bleating.

        Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    June 30, 2015 at 12:08

    Steam MEHchine

    Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      June 30, 2015 at 12:19

      So says HaMEHrsteyn

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 30, 2015 at 12:20

        Lord um………never mind

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief's Adventure

          June 30, 2015 at 12:31

          Mehos?

          Reply

          • Lord Chaos

            June 30, 2015 at 12:46

            How dare you say that about a Highlander?

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 30, 2015 at 12:48

            Mehnion Mehlander?

          • Lord Chaos

            June 30, 2015 at 12:51

            Me? No, I’m just the Lord of Chaos, but Methos was all but Meh

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 12:54

            For a Lord of Chaos, you’re sentence structure is.. well.. very well structured. Almost like it lacks any form of chaos at all.

            Way to keep in character. 😉

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            June 30, 2015 at 12:57

            Of all the times not to make a typo.

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 12:59

            I wonder…

            If the Lord of Chaos used American spelling for all things South African.. would that be chaos? Cause technically it would not be incorrect. But it would be in poor form on a South African site.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            June 30, 2015 at 13:00

            If I was him I’d mix it up, just to keep people guessing.

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 13:04

            Guessing is random enough to be the very embodiment of chaos.

            I like it.

          • Lord Chaos

            June 30, 2015 at 13:00

            There’s no excuse for bad grammar/spelling.
            Everything else is fair game

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            June 30, 2015 at 13:00

            Of all the times not to make a grammatical error.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 30, 2015 at 13:01

            Hahahahaha

    • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

      June 30, 2015 at 12:42

      Proving once and for all that consoles are stupid.

      Reply

  3. Steffmeister

    June 30, 2015 at 12:19

    If you have the money, why not. Better than ps4/xbox. I have always wanted pc power with ps4 convenience… in other words.. no Windows operating system required.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 30, 2015 at 12:20

      Exactly my point.

      Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      June 30, 2015 at 12:22

      And even as limited as it currently is, it still has a bigger library than both.

      Reply

  4. Alien Emperor Trevor

    June 30, 2015 at 12:36

    Meh, wait a year & you’ll get it for half price with the peripherals thrown in & no bugs.

    Reply

  5. SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

    June 30, 2015 at 12:42

    I think if Valve REALLY wanted to screw with us (All Hail the Evil Tyrant Gaben) they’d have an allotment size that revolved around the number 3.

    Reply

  6. Dark_Kitarist

    June 30, 2015 at 12:43

    Is this controller for real? I mean for real real?

    Reply

    • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

      June 30, 2015 at 12:44

      Yep. But I understand the design for the controller.

      What do men and woman love above all else? Boobies. So let’s make a control that simulates rubbing a boob. It’ll sell. I promise. And it’ll improve technique.

      Reply

      • Dark_Kitarist

        June 30, 2015 at 12:46

        You know what I like? A good proper controller… The xbox controller is one of the best I’ve ever used and the new PS4 controller is also great… But what the hell is this? Is it even a game controller?

        Reply

        • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

          June 30, 2015 at 12:48

          I don’t know. I’ll just stick to a keyboard and mouse. Steam has not sold me on its PC inna Console idea. Plus for the price they’re asking… o.O

          Reply

          • Dark_Kitarist

            June 30, 2015 at 12:58

            Yeah I’m not sold either… I’m all for mouse and keyboard gameplay… But sometimes I like using the controller 😀 And it’s especially nice to go to a LAN party and owning everyone with a controller 😀

          • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

            June 30, 2015 at 12:59

            Try Hard. 😀

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 30, 2015 at 12:44

      • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

        June 30, 2015 at 12:44

        How many years on and I still can’t get over how ugly that mug is.

        Reply

        • Dark_Kitarist

          June 30, 2015 at 12:47

          Could be worse 😀 Shrek is love, Shrek is life! (buahahahahaha… Sorry :D)

          Reply

  7. Guild

    June 30, 2015 at 13:12

    Can it run Batman?

    Reply

    • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

      June 30, 2015 at 13:13

      Well since the PC version was a buggy mess… 😛

      Reply

    • Dark_Kitarist

      June 30, 2015 at 13:17

      But will it blend?

      Reply

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