In new interviews, Valve has explained how RAM was responsible for the Steam Machine’s price hike and disappointing performance. According to the publisher, RAM manufacturers even threatened them if they didn’t purchase Steam Machine components at the higher pricing.
Valve Says RAM Shortages Drove Up the Steam Machine Price
When the Steam Machine price was revealed recently, many players were angry at its $1,049 to $1,428 price tag. Things got even worse when Steam Machine performance tests also revealed the Valve console to be pretty underwhelming. However, Valve has now responded to the backlash and explained how RAM played a key part in the Steam Machine’s derailed launch plans.
In an interview with Gamers Nexus, a Valve employee revealed that purchasing RAM had become nearly “impossible.” Even more disturbing, the developer explained that manufacturers actually threatened them over purchase orders. “The memory companies give us a price and what we can buy, and if we say no they will never work with us again.” As many have pointed out, these companies sound more like the RAM Mafia than manufacturers.
Even more disturbing is that Gamers Nexus confirmed that Valve isn’t the only publisher getting this kind of treatment. According to the tech channel, companies such as G.Skill have also been given the same ultimatum from manufactures. This is, of course, troubling, seeing as G.Skill has been one of the biggest direct to consumer sellers of RAM in the gaming industry.
Valve Forced to Change Steam Machine RAM Due to Supply Problems
In another interview, Valve also confirmed that they were forced to drop their plans of having two sticks of DDR5 RAM in the Steam Machine. Valve again reiterated that it was impossible to buy enough RAM to ship all of their devices the way they wanted, so they made the hard decision to switch to a single stick of 16GB of RAM.
“It was quite literally impossible to buy 8GB [sticks], at least at the quantities we’re looking to buy, mostly because everybody wants higher storage, and that’s more profitable, so all the capacity shifted to that.”
Multiple reports have also confirmed that Valve isn’t willing to subsidize or sell the Steam Machine at a loss because they don’t know how much they will be paying for RAM and components six months from now. Meaning, if they were to sell the console at a loss today, they might take an even bigger financial hit if RAM prices continue to skyrocket or become less available.
Their fears might not be unfounded. In June, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma revealed that she expects console component prices to double within the next year alone. What gives me pause is that if this is how Valve is being treated, then imagine how your average consumer would fare. It sounds like gaming is about to get a lot more expensive for players. If you aren’t thrilled with the Steam Machine price and performance, just know Valve isn’t happy with it either.
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