Well, the Steam Machine was pretty cool for the 20 minutes that it worked
A user reflects that the Steam Machine was a cool piece of hardware, but only functioned properly for about 20 minutes before encountering issues.
Background
- Steam Machines were a 2015-2016 initiative by Valve, the company behind the Steam PC gaming store. They were pre-built gaming PCs running a Linux-based operating system (SteamOS) instead of Windows, designed to compete with consoles like PlayStation and Xbox.
- The idea was to offer a console-like living-room experience (boot up, controller in hand, play on a TV) while keeping PC gaming's flexibility and lower software prices. Valve also released the Steam Controller, a trackpad-heavy gamepad.
- The project largely failed: the hardware was expensive compared to consoles, the Linux game library in 2015 was tiny, and most buyers who wanted a PC for gaming just stuck with Windows. SteamOS still exists as a free download, and the Steam Controller was discontinued.
- This post is by a modern owner who bought a used Steam Machine (likely from a reseller or e-waste recycler) and experienced a brief moment of working retro-tech before it broke down — a familiar experience with failed, niche hardware from a decade ago.