NerdyPaul

@Divergent95 I mean market conditions outside of Valve’s control are why this is priced to poorly, they are not wrong about that. The same is true of PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo, as well as manufacturers of all the PC handhelds by the way.

The cold hard truth is that 2026 is a lousy time to be selling tech of any kind.

@NathanUC The long term value proposition of the Steam Machine is very low. The hardware is already out dated and the scope for upgrades in this form factor is very limited compared to a full PC

@Sunraku "Also, comparing PS5 game performance to games that have to run through a compatibility layer is a low blow."

People compare those games running through a compatibility layer with games running natively on Windows all the time, and the games running through the compatibility layer almost always compare favourably so not a low blow at all. The compatibility layer isn't the issue, the capabilities of the hardware is.

@DennisReynolds To be fair the Helix will be more powerful than this too. The Steam Machine is much older tech

On Currys site now you can get a base PS5 and Switch 2 for £904 which is less than the base Steam Machine controller bundle and covers everything you may want to play barring a few Xbox console exclusives. I know which I would buy.

512GB storage is pathetic for a PC so anyone thinking of a Steam Machine should probably discount that immediately if they play AAA games (or even the higher end of AA).

A d £1200 for specs this old is just stupid. I can't see this selling anywhere near Steam Deck numbers.

PS Plus should be a cheap complementary service like NSO is to Switch which is the only subscription that adds value to having the console at a reasonable monthly price. £35 a year for NSO+expansion is just far better value than £120 a year for PS Plus premium and that is why I will not be renewing my PS Plus at any tier.

If y'all want more games from Playstation, stop demanding ever more realistic graphics and bigger, more ambitious titles. More studios is not the answer, smaller games and more innovation in gameplay and story telling rather than graphics is the answer.

@UltimateOtaku91 Or instead of even more industry consolidation, how about making smaller more focused experiences dotted between the bigger ones. Works for Nintendo

Anyone who thinks this will be less than $70 is living a fantasy. It will be $70 minimum

$60-$69.....lol

@Retron Yep

Probably $70 - $80 base price with a $100 - $110 "deluxe" edition.

@Titntin Yep this is Sony being terrified that the next Xbox being able to play Steam games will eat into their hardware sales.

Nothing to do with "player experience" or "platform brand identity" or any other wooly crap. They are scared of Xbox Project Helix, plain and simple.

Density over scale is nice to hear. A smaller world filled with lots of interesting and unique things to do will always be better than a massive open world with nothing to do, or worse, filled with the same repetitive monotony we see all too often in open worlds.

Can't wait for no release November so I can catch up on all those September games that were released in a crowded window just to avoid a game I am not interested in

Honestly push it as late as possible.

Look at the newest PC handhelds that are coming out, the prices are just stupid and it is driving people away. Releasing a new console in the current market is incredibly tone deaf and is just going to exclude a lot of people.

Palworld looks like they already have used it

@McBurn "Now Asha Scharma's expertise with AI can really shine when they replace half their staff with it xD"

Can't wait for them to discover, as many other CEOs are discovering, that the AI compute costs are actually more expensive than human employees

@MinervaX76 Nintendo doesn't really acquire studios very often at all so there isn't much to shut down. They will typically acquire a stake in a company and/or rely on trusted partnerships built up over decades. Maybe Sony and Xbox could learn from that way of doing business instead of the more expensive and risky options they have been so fond of.

It is strange though that the publishers struggling the most right now tend to be western while for the most part publishers out of Asia are doing quite well. Maybe there is a cultural reason for that, that western companies could learn from too.

I know from a games perspective, most of the games I am most excited for are coming out of Japan right now.

@8th_Observer Yeah, JRPGs rarely have quality English dubs

Ultimately this ban is not really about child safety, it is about a beleaguered politician struggling to hold onto his job falling back on the age old moral panic strategy to try and win support. It is political theatre, plain and simple.

@Stocksy Not interested in straw man arguments or whataboutism

But I do agree that social media companies should be held accountable which is something I have said several times, but this ban ain't it because it completely fails to address the business models that drive development of the algorithms that push certain types of content over others because "engagement at all costs" and the design choices like infinite scroll that are made to keep people engaged for longer. I would argue that this ban lets the companies off the hook because where is the incentive to regulate when in their minds only adults can see it (even though that hasn't happened in Australia) and "adults make their own choices"?

Social media is harmful to children AND adults so would a better solution not be to address what actually makes it so toxic and make it better for everyone?

@Toot1st Labour may be in government now but the Tories were when the online safety act became law (Labour were in opposition and they were useless at that too). Two cheeks of the same backside. There are no good guys when it comes to tech policy and that's the big problem here. Political culture is rampant with anti intellectualism and vested interests, and this is the result.

@Ainu20 Also, why would Sony be any more likely to keep the studio open when the game fails to perform at the required commercial level given their own not too stellar track record.

Quite the blind spot people in these comments have

I'm no expert but wouldn't deliberately using a big game announcement to attract potential buyers and potentially drive up the market value of the company be a form of market manipulation and thus be potentially illegal?

If so, it would be a very serious accusation and anyone reporting on it would need to have something solid to back it up. All I'm seeing is speculation.

Never heard of Game File before and I am not seeing anything in the article that actually suggests that it was all part of the plan. Just one more "journalist" spreading speculation based on nothing.

This is why journalism is dying.

This makes me realised I haven't played anything on my PS5 this year. The first party games haven't appealed to me and I've played third parties on my Switch 2 or MSI Claw 8.

I'm very close to going all in on Switch 2 and my PC handheld, and stories like this just push me a little further away from Playstation and Xbox every time. Neither company has to do this, they CHOOSE to shutter studios and lay off so many people just to make the balance sheet look healthier for the quarter. It is no coincidence that this always happens around the end of a quarter or beginning of a new one.

@Boxmonkey There is absolutely nothing liberal about any of this, it is in fact very very very conservative. Mary Whitehouse level conservatism

@WittyApricot which is why a regulatory framework that actually holds these companies to account would be a better idea.

@Balosi Even that doesn't address the root cause of social media platforms being so toxic, and I have zero confidence that said politician would have any interest in addressing those root causes.

@WittyApricot a blanket ban would be too huge an attack on free speech (the ECHR may have something to say about that) and countries like China already attempt to ban foreign social websites, and it hasn't worked too well as people just use VPNs to get around it

@somnambulance 100% we need to hold platforms accountable but sadly this legislation doesn't even do that. In some ways it actually protects them from being held accountable for the content their algorithms promote

@WittyApricot It won't break any FOMO cycle at all. The business models will still be in place, the algorithms will still be tuned to maximise engagement at all costs and the platforms will continue to be toxic cesspits detrimental to everyone who uses them.

Thos ban for under 16s just delays the age at which people are exposed to the platforms (assuming it even works as intended and the signs from Australia are not reassuring so far)

@Supern0va This is just a silly comment. I was never suggesting that we should just write to them to change their algorithms. Only sensible and well thought out legislation to regulate these platforms and hold the companies accountable for the content they promote. This ban ain't it.

This is not about protecting children, it is about being seen to be doing something while protecting their tech company lobbyist donors from being held accountable for the content they share on the platforms.

@Hundred_Hand_Slap
"arents aren't around all the time. We aren't superheroes man. This is the kind of ***** government should do to help parents that ARE alert. Cause we can't be everywhere all the time."

and this is why a better approach is to make social media safe for everyone by tackling the root cause rather than just banning it for under 16s.

@Supern0va Except that social media is not just bad for children but adults too. How about instead of worthless bans that won't even work, we try to address the root causes of why these platforms are so toxic in the first place?

Oh yeah, that's right, because that will be much harder and take longer and politicians are notoriously short sighted at the best of times and Starmer is desperately trying to cling to his job so best to appeal to the moral panic hand wringers with anything.

@The_Jobbo This is not the real problem. Social media as it currently stands is detrimental to adults and children because of the business models and design ethos they employ with one goal, to maximise engagement and profit, and sod the consequences.

@Hundred_Hand_Slap So do adults because these platforms are built to maximise engagement at any costs. Bans like this do not solve the fundamental problem but hey the old political maxim that it is better to be seen to be acting even if it doesn't actually fix anything as long as it wins votes still rings true.

This ban is such an unbelievably stupid idea on many levels.

It will basically force adults to upload sensitive ID information to sketchy companies that are barely even regulated just to verify to sites that they are over 16. It genuinely feels like we are sleepwalking into a massive cybersecurity and data privacy cluster thing. Let's not forget that the age verification has already resulted in 70000 Discord users having their data compromised.

This won't even keep children safe because it does not address the actual reasons social media is such a toxic cesspool in the first place; namely the business models, algorithms and basic design principles that are built to maximise engagement at all cost. Social media in its current form is detrimental to adults and children alike but a ban for under 16s does not fix anything.

This protects platforms, not children.

This back and forth between Xbox and Playstation shutting down studios in recent years and indulging in so many lay offs really is nauseating. It puts me off wanting to buy anything from either company.

@11001100110zero Ports of years old games don't tend to do big numbers. That's the real reason they never did big numbers on PC. Truth is if it isn't day and date, expecting huge numbers is unrealistic.

Games like Forza Horizon 5 ported to PS5 and selling well are an anomaly

The only bad thing about the game was the side quests (and even then some of the later ones had some really cool character moments). I enjoyed everything else about the game tremendously

I bought Avowed and South of Midnight......on Steam. Nothing else Xbox has put out has interested me, and that is the real issue here. Clearly their games are of limited appeal when they are not selling despite being multi platform. Now, if they released a new Elder Scrolls or Fallout multi platform and that didn't sell well, THAT would be cause for comment.

I should add that Playstation is headed down a similar path. The last game I bought on PS5 is Ghost of Yotei and nothing else since has appealed to me. Saros didn't appeal to me. Wolverine doesn't appeal to me. The only thing on the radar from PS that appeals to me is God of War Laufey.

Nintendo on the other hand has Star Fox, Splatoon Raiders, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave, Xenoblade Genesis, Ocarina of Time, Pokemon Winds & Waves that all appeal to me more. Then we have various third parties like Square Enix who have multiple things that appeal to me. Hell, even Ubisoft has the Black Flag remake and Rayman.

Xbox and Playstation both need to get more games on the horizon or this could be my last generation caring about either from a first party perspective because with the third party support on Switch 2 and my PC handheld, I am covered for most games.

@Swandivetotheasphalt Or HFW Burning Shores, or Hogwarts Legacy, or Pragmata, or any other online "campaign" orchestrated by thin skinned outrage tourists who don't even play games.

@Bluetrain7 But don't say, "I'm gonna share my toys, psych--I'll decide if I want to share any of the same kind in the future."

Does this apply to Sony stopping their PC ports? Or just to Xbox pulling back from PS ports?

@Dogbreath Yep, literally the only difference between the two companies is the number of consoles sold. I could say the same for their respective fanbases, no difference between those either.

You can't say exclusives are important for brand identity when it's your favoured console but then turn around and bemoan games being exclusive to other platforms. That's just fanboyism.

Just like you can't moan about PC players wanting PS games on PC, and then moan about Xbox not porting games to PS. That's just fanboyism.

Exclusives are either important to all platforms or bad on all platforms, no picking and choosing.