this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2026

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Valve on the Steam Frame: 'I wish we could have shipped it at the price that we were at last year' (www.pcgamer.com)

submitted 1 month ago by inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world to c/pcgaming@lemmy.ca

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t's certainly been a journey for Valve. A week prior to the Steam Frame's launch, we spoke with two engineers at Valve about the project: Joy Lyons, hardware engineer, and Jeremy Selan, software engineer. The memory crisis and the price were a big part of that conversation. From that chat, we can confirm that Valve had aimed for a lower price point than the one it's launching the Frame for today.

Here's Lyons on the memory crisis:

"We set out to design this hardware with one particular price in mind, but we've made choices to make sure that we're making a product that is choiceful, that people can purchase, they can upgrade with different features later. But we wanted to make sure we had a base product with really great performance. Then that price target shifted due to the ongoing RAM crisis around the world."

Lyons also said that forecasting for the cost of certain components used in the Steam Frame is an ongoing challenge.

Not exactly boding well of the Steam Deck 2.

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[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 54 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (27 children)

If you wouldn't pay $500, then VR just isn't for you. And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that, but that's basically the baseline bottom of the barrel price for this type of device (and the ones priced like that come with a LOT of caveats), so if you wouldn't pay that price, why are you even part of the discussion? You were never the target audience in the first place.

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[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Gatekeeping who can post or join the discussion? Yeah, its not the most useful but they can comment. Completely vibes based, I would also say around 500-700 dollars would be a more comfortable price than 1.1k. At four figures its very off putting even if it is its own standalone system because of the type of device it is. I had hoped for a price that the broader market would accept rather than just VR enthusiasts too much like the person you responded to.

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[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 26 points 1 month ago (1 child)

I'm not gatekeeping who can participate, I was asking why they would want to participate, particularly with a comment that just amounts to 'I wouldn't buy this device at any price it would reasonably have been priced at'. Like, okay, but then why are you here?

It was originally forecast (by Valve) at "less than $1000", which to me meant $900-$1000. I'm not pleased with the current price, either, but it was never going to be $500, not in the best possible case scenario.

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[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 2 points 1 month ago

That less than 1000 announcement had me mentally pricing it at 600-800. Which is more reasonable if a little expensive. Four figures is prohibitive for most people. Just because its Valve, and supply chains are fucked, doesn't mean this is a good deal or that Valve needs protecting. We know they got fucked too. This is still really expensive. Especially when I already have a computer than can do everything but the VR part. But either way, they can come in here, say their piece and get downvoted, but being like "WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE" is an overreaction to someone just saying their piece on a public forum in any case.

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[+] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -21 points 1 month ago (23 children)

I am the target though as I've wanted to get a VR setup for awhile now. I can get a Quest 3 used for $320. $1100 is just pissing your money away.

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[–] Statick@programming.dev 29 points 1 month ago

Gamers Nexus went over the privacy concerns with the Meta Quest 3 and they're arguably worse than LGs TV fiasco. That is the price you pay for cheaper devices in this market. I'd rather the extra price overhead rather than giving a corporation access to everything in my home with cameras and microphones attached to my face but that's just me.

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[–] marighost@piefed.social 13 points 1 month ago

I thought about the Quest 3 route but the idea of being locked into Meta's bullshit environment is enough to drive me to the Frame, even at that price. It's what burned me on the Quest 2, which was a really cool piece of tech but ruined by all that metaverse shit that ended up bloating my Q2 so bad it can't even turn on.

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[–] fonix232@fedia.io 21 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Have fun in Meta's walled garden then...

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[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 27 points 1 month ago (1 child)

It's more the absolutely egregious privacy concerns than anything else. They're selling them at a loss because they make up the difference by selling your data, and the data they collect is unreal.

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[–] fonix232@fedia.io 6 points 1 month ago

That's implied with the walled garden part. Meta keeps very tight control of the platform et al to ensure absolute datamining possibilities.

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[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 month ago (1 child)

Walled garden? It’s android and installing any APK is not prevented in any way. You can even run your own unsigned code.

The privacy violations, however, are an inexcusable showstopper.

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[–] fonix232@fedia.io 4 points 1 month ago

The VR/AR SDK isn't open so good luck making your own apps.

Android apps don't work directly on it.

Bootloader cannot be unlocked.

You can't use it without a Meta account.

For all intents and purposes it's a walled garden.

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -5 points 1 month ago (1 child)

I will, thanks

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[–] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

He was insulting your intelligence. If you could comprehend, you might be upset.

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[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Ya enjoy your locked ecosystem. There a reason the quest is so cheap. You aren't getting anything worth it for 500$, especially not with the inflation in tech. What a silly thing to say.

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[+] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -9 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Ya enjoy wasting $1100 on something that will collect dust 95% of the time you own it. You'll never use any headset enough to justify that price. Just ask the Apple zombies. But it's Gabe so better defend my favorite billionaire.

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[–] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 9 points 1 month ago

At least you OWN the thing, not the other way around.

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[–] pressanykeynow@lemmy.world 1 point 1 month ago

To be fair it won't record everything happening at my house like me entering passwords on my keyboard while it collects dust. I won't go to jail and be tortured to death because of steam frame, so I think in the modern world that's a win.

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[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Bro, I hate Gaben and bash steam every chance I get. I'm not in the Gaben Simp Squad, believe me. It's a good product though, same for the steam deck. Still a soft monopoly and the cunt has too many boats, but credit where credit is due.

I'm also not getting it because I'm simply not that into VR, at least at that price point. That doesn't mean it's a bad headset.

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[–] cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Honest question: why don't you get that cheap Quest3 then?

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Better lens and better screen resolution.

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[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

What you seem to be saying is that you want to pay an entry-level price for an enthusiast tier device, and like... yeah, we all would, but we don't realistically expect anyone to sell it to us for that price.

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

Ah misread that. I thought they meant the Quest 3S which has the inferior lens and screen resolution. The Quest 3 resolution is very close to the Steam Frame and I can get one for around $300.

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[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 6 points 1 month ago

Sure - the primary strikes against the Quest 3 are the absolutely egregious privacy concerns, and the closed ecosystem. If neither of those are dealbreakers for you, go get one.

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[–] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Then no, you are not the target then. If you cannot afford it, then it isn't for you.

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I can afford it, I'm just not dumb enough to pay it.

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[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

Seems to me this is just not something that interests you. Why are you so down on others for enjoying something you wouldnt?

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago

Mostly because you can't speak ill of valve or the Gabe cucks come out in droves. Its pathetic to see lemmings simping for another shit billionaire. I guess that's to be expected from gaming "culture."

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