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The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
11–20 of 86 posts
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#12Something desperately needs to pop the AI bubble. There's plenty of value to be generated with all of these other applications of computer hardware, value that could be generated much sooner than the horizon over which GenAI expects to see its first dollar of profit.
I wonder if certain checks should be put in place to prevent a few companies from hoarding a valuable and limited resource many other industries rely on.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#13I think people really underestimate the brand loyalty that valve has. They have consistently shown for 25+ years to strive for quality and I know I’m unlikely to get a headache if I purchase from them. Their hardware is really top notch, I have used a steam deck LCD for years and it was not until very recently that I had a single issue with a button that was easily fixable. Probably the purchases went down due to som…
I generally find Valve's software quality subpar but their ethics to be vastly superior to anyone else's. For that reason they are the only place I'll even look for games anymore. They aren't perfect but they at least don't hate me like Epic does.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#14But they also introduced a new console and probably changed its advertising strategy on steam to promote it, probably taking away space that previously was used for the deck. Also, I think people are less likely to buy something that is perceived as old and because there is a new console, the thing they sold before now feels old. Additionally to all of this, they also introduced a new controller that seems to be doing pretty well, probably also taking advertising space away.
No doubt the high price of the deck has an impact, but I would say that there are multiple reasons and not just one.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#15Something desperately needs to pop the AI bubble. There's plenty of value to be generated with all of these other applications of computer hardware, value that could be generated much sooner than the horizon over which GenAI expects to see its first dollar of profit.
I've been curious to see what happens with all of this. I think a lot of people have been caught in a perpetual upgrade cycle they probably didn't need to be in but were out of decades old habits. The lack of hardware may start to change habits and behaviors to where the masses begin to ignore upgrade cycles. I'm already doing this myself.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#16If competitors are not raising prices dramatically, then they're eating that loss. Steam should follow suit—at least with something like a loss-leader model. When I rewrote/released an old shareware game to Steam some years ago I made just enough money to buy a Steam Deck. Since then OLED Decks came out and I'm jealous. (With the prices of the new Steam Decks, I'm wondering now if there is instead a way to retrofit m…
A lot of the competitors have had to raise prices too, Legion Go 2 is now nearly 2 grand for the Z2 Extreme version. It's hard to do a loss leader model in the PC space because they're not guaranteed money on the backend from game purchases. Even Steam can't really count on it because even though they're the main vendor people will use their existing Steam library in a lot of cases.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#17I think people really underestimate the brand loyalty that valve has. They have consistently shown for 25+ years to strive for quality and I know I’m unlikely to get a headache if I purchase from them. Their hardware is really top notch, I have used a steam deck LCD for years and it was not until very recently that I had a single issue with a button that was easily fixable. Probably the purchases went down due to som…
Also, consumers are increasingly being tapped out for literally anything and everything. The demand for the things they want still exists, but they cannot readily afford it like the could in the past. Its not like all the Steam Deck customers are buying some budget friendly alternative instead. They're simply just not spending money period.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#18I think people really underestimate the brand loyalty that valve has. They have consistently shown for 25+ years to strive for quality and I know I’m unlikely to get a headache if I purchase from them. Their hardware is really top notch, I have used a steam deck LCD for years and it was not until very recently that I had a single issue with a button that was easily fixable. Probably the purchases went down due to som…
I generally find Valve's software quality subpar but their ethics to be vastly superior to anyone else's. For that reason they are the only place I'll even look for games anymore. They aren't perfect but they at least don't hate me like Epic does.
What ethics do you see being superior in the company known for exposing underages to gambling? The anyone elses must be really bad guys. Yes I like my deck and I respect their contributions to gaming on linux, but Valve is no saint.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#19But will Nintendo and the like be able to retain pricing for much longer? Of course they have better contracts but for how long?
Nintendo is raising the price of the Switch 2 in September by $50. And that’s after the Switch 2 being priced $100 more than expectations on launch.
Re: The Great Steam Deck Crash of 2026: How the New Pricing Decreased Demand by 80%
#20Something desperately needs to pop the AI bubble. There's plenty of value to be generated with all of these other applications of computer hardware, value that could be generated much sooner than the horizon over which GenAI expects to see its first dollar of profit.
The monkey's paw curls...