Can everyone please stop claiming and speculating that Valve’s new hardware will be loss leaders? If you watch LTT and Gamers Nexus’s first videos on the announcement, they actually spoke with Valve’s engineers. And the Valve representatives already said that the new hardware WILL NOT BE LOSS LEADERS.

There isn’t even evidence that the Steam Deck was a loss leader. All GabeN said was that the lowest cost launch model was priced “painfully”, which doesn’t necessarily mean it was sold at a loss, it could easily have been sold at a very tight margin.

And no, low margins does not meet the definition of a loss leader. A loss leader is a product sold below cost, in that every unit sold actually costs the seller money.

I get the desire to speculate on new hardware. It’s fun and it helps pass the time until we hear more info from Valve. But there’s limits to what is reasonable. Valve has already stated that the new hardware won’t be loss leaders, so hoping and/or claiming they are isn’t reasonable.

Sorry for the rant, but all of the comments that seem to have only skimmed headlines are quickly getting to me

  • krooklochurm@lemmy.caEnglish
    162·
    19 hours ago

    To be a loss leader doesn’t the need to lead to something?

    The only way it could make sense that they’re selling these at a loss would be - oh yeah. They’re coming straight for Nintendo / Sony / Microsoft now, huh?

    The day I see a steam console in wal mart is a day I will be very happy.

    • porkloin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      17 hours ago

      Some of the third party steam machines from 2015 actually had some distribution to Walmart stores. I saw it in the flesh!

    • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.worldEnglish
      121·
      19 hours ago

      For Valve it would ideally lead to a new Steam account being created. Which would make sense if someone got one as a gift or something, naturally they would set up a Steam Account if they didnt already have one.

      • krooklochurm@lemmy.caEnglish
        51·
        19 hours ago

        Yeah.

        Also the new offerings are very much something Johnny Joe who has only ever owned a PlayStation, Nintendo, or Sony console would potentially buy.

        Of course Johnny Joe would put the entire thing up his ass and die from heavy metal poisoning because he’s an idiot, but his peers would actually use them.

        • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          18 hours ago

          I guess that would depend on the front end and game support. If it is any less user friendly than Xbox or Playstation, people wont want to use it Johnny Joe and Little Timmy don’t want to fiddle with a bunch of settings and constantly change stuff to get games working. The Steam Deck does okay but I still find sometimes it needs some… coercing… to get some games to work right.

          If they dial it in right, everything should work properly out of the box without needing settings changes.

          • krooklochurm@lemmy.caEnglish
            11·
            14 hours ago

            I’d imagine they’re just porting over the exact sameuii that’s already on the steam deck.

            It’s great.

      • Nollij@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        101·
        15 hours ago

        The very first line:

        A loss leader (also leader) is a pricing strategy where a product is sold at a price below its market cost to stimulate other sales of more profitable goods or services.

        So the answer to their question is “Yes, a loss leader needs to lead to something”. I have no idea why you think they have no idea what they’re talking about.