Featured Image Credit: Valve/Xbox
Topics: Steam Machine, Steam, Xbox, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Details on the next-gen Xbox Project Helix have surfaced and the price is making the Steam Machine look all the more worth it.
Based on some of the company’s recent decisions, it’s clear that Xbox is looking to compete again.
Xbox Game Pass is getting a major overhaul starting with a reduction in price for its higher tiers, and there’s talk of a “build-your-own” subscription iteration coming soon.
However, as Xbox endeavours to make Game Pass more affordable to its users something has clearly gone wrong with its next-gen console, known for the time being as Project Helix.
Project Helix is going to be a console and PC hybrid allowing owners to play all of the games you’d expect to see on an Xbox console along with thousands of others you can only find on PC.
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The company has already dipped its toe into this front with the Xbox ROG Ally X, which supports both Steam and Linux.
Project Helix will be a similar story and aims to deliver a high-end gaming PC experience for the more casual console audience.
What certainly isn’t casual though is the price, as reports from Moore’s Law Is Dead claim, Xbox is currently considering a price-tag of $1,200.
It’ll apparently attempt to justify this cost by selling Project Helix as the equivalent of a $2,000-$3,000 PC, but that remains to be seen.
Now if you’re a long-time PC owner that might sound like a good deal but good luck convincing parents to buy their child the latest Xbox if that’s the final asking price.
However, there is a silver lining to this news. While the next Xbox is now looking far less appealing, the Steam Machine is looking all the more tempting. Once again, it’s a case of Valve doing nothing and somehow getting a win out of it.
Valve’s next attempt at making a home console device will offer what appears to be an entry-level PC experience at a somewhat affordable price.
Unfortunately, the full price hasn’t been named yet but insiders claim Valve is waiting for RAM prices to settle before it commits to anything.
For the time being though, a price somewhere between $650 and $750 is being targeted.
Sure, that’s not cheap but it’s way more affordable than the rumoured price of Project Helix and the PlayStation 6.
What you’d be sacrificing with the Steam Machine is power as while it’s said to be on par with the Xbox Series X/S, both Xbox and PlayStation will easily have it beat with the next-gen consoles.
For those who just want to play both console and PC games in their living room though the Steam Machine still looks worth it, and it’ll support multiple operating systems, not just Steam.
The Steam Machine is looking more and more appalling as time goes both in terms of price and in usability. Another benefit the Steam Machine will have is a quick and simple way of playing thousands of classic games without the need for separate consoles.
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