Ouch, Valve’s Steam Deck has seen its selling price rise sharply. While the company had been trying to maintain a competitive price, it finally had to raise its prices. The most credible hypothesis is that the company has exhausted its stock (or allocations) of low-cost memory and must now pass on the increase in new arrivals to console prices. Either way, the result is 35% more expensive consoles!
Steam Deck: a +35% price hike!
The end of the LCD version!
The LCD version of the console was the most affordable. When it was launched in France, the console was available for €419 with a small storage capacity, and up to €680 with a 512GB SSD. Then came the OLED version, with a better-quality screen and greater storage capacity.
If you go to Valve’s store, you’ll find that the LCD version is no longer available for purchase, and that you’ll have to make do with the more expensive OLED models.
Big price hike!
In the UK, before the price hikes, the 512GB OLED version was priced at around £479, compared with £569 for the 1TB model. Now, after price increases, the 512GB version is £649, compared with £779 for the 1TB model.
In France, we’re experiencing the same scenario, with a 512GB console priced at €569 rising to €779, a price increase of almost 37%. In contrast, the price of the 1TB console has risen by just under 35.3%, from €679 to €919.
Fears for future Steam Machines:
Valve’s major price hikes have led us to fear the worst for future Steam Machines. Although no price has been announced, we can expect the home console to be expensive when it arrives, especially with the memory market under constant strain. As a reminder, the device is due to arrive with 16GB of DDR5/LPDDR5X, the same for the Stram Frame, the brand’s new VR headset.
