The first wave of Valve’s long awaited Steam Machines are now on sale . I’ve already explained what Steam Machines are, but who are they for? Looking at Valve's marketing materials, Steam Machines are “a new family of entertainment devices,” implying a grander vision than just gaming.

High Cost

Customization is a Double-edged Sword

“ Buying a Steam Machine is as confusing as buying a PC.

Convenience is King

“ Adding to the inconvenience and confusion is SteamOS.

Its Biggest Rivals

“ Who's buying Steam Machines?

Steam Machines were born out the fear that PC gaming is dying because of the popularity of consoles and streaming media boxes like the Apple TV that are bring gaming to a wider audience. PC gaming is now seen as something for hobbyists and in order to change that perception, Valve has to take PC gaming mainstream with its Steam Machines. PC gaming may be booming now, but Valve's watching its back with its Steam Machines. But there are quite a few challenges for Valve’s vision of the future of PC gaming.One of the biggest problems that Steam Machines face is pricing. On the low end, expect to pay around $500 for a Steam Machine, which puts it near the price of consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. But consoles often see price cuts down to $400 or even $350 and Steam Machine manufacturers just can’t match that.Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can afford to take a loss on selling their consoles in hopes of making it up in game sales. Since Valve doesn’t actually make any Steam Machine hardware itself (besides the Steam Controller ), it’s impossible for its partners to discount their hardware since they don’t sell games to make up the loss.But for some gamers, the higher cost of a Steam Machine is worth it. PC graphics cards, on the whole, are much more powerful than those included in consoles. Steam Machines are also infinitely customizable, so people can choose a chassis that works in their living room and components to play the games they want to play.PC gamers love a good deal, so many will build their own Steam Machines with off the shelf components that make it cheaper than what manufacturers can offer. Valve is also incentivizing people to build their own machines by offering its SteamOS operating system for free.That brings us to the doubled-edged sword of the Steam Machine: choice. PC gamers have long enjoyed the joys, and pains, of customization. There are millions of options for computer parts and you can individualize PCs with different colors, lights, and more. Most Steam Machines ship with the company’s controversial Steam Controller as well, which is infinitely customizable but will be confusing for those new to PC gaming.Consoles provide a much simpler and unified experience, for consumer and developers alike. Having one machine to create games for simplifies testing, unlike PCs and Steam Machines where you have an infinite number of hardware variations. When you buy a PlayStation, you know it works with the games in the blue box. For Steam Machines, you’ll have to look up each game and its recommended system requirements to see what type of configuration you need. Valve needs to convince console gamers that PC gaming is simple, but it’s not, even with a Steam Machine.The biggest advantage consoles have over PC gaming is convenience. You can drive to the store right now, pick up a console, and be playing games within the hour. Steam Machines, on the other hand, require research into the games you want to play and if the Steam Machine you’re looking at supports them. Then you’ll have to spec out, order, and wait for one to arrive at your door before you can start gaming. Sure, there are console exclusive titles that require a bit of research, but it’s nowhere as involved as researching which games work with which Steam Machine.Consoles have also gotten more and more features over the years like media streaming, which SteamOS wasn’t designed for. Valve’s marketing says Steam Machines are “entertainment devices,” but its operating system is built entirely around gaming, for now. There is a browser you can use for navigating to different video streaming sites, and it works, but it’s a pain. On a console, there are dedicated apps that provide a better media watching experience.To truly be an entertainment device, SteamOS has to do more than just game. As of now, SteamOS is far too limiting for people who expect more out of a full-fledged PC. Some Steam Machines can be ordered with Windows instead of SteamOS, but will cost more. It makes more sense to go with Windows though, so you can use your Steam Machine for things other than gaming. But then again, how is that different from a traditional PC?There’s definitely demand for playing PC games on the television, but the biggest rival for the Steam Machine is actually another Valve product: the Steam Link . People with existing PCs can stream their games over their home network to their TV using this $50 box. If your network can handle it, playing games with the Steam Link feels like you’re connected directly to the PC.NVIDIA users also have PC game streaming solution with the Shield TV . It’s four times the price of the Steam Link but does come with a controller and Android TV for streaming media and playing Google Play games locally. could come in the future . Currently, the Xbox One only supports streaming Xbox games to your PC.But if hardcore PC gamers with existing gaming rigs get the Steam Link, and Steam Machines are too expensive and complicated for mainstream gamers, then who’s buying Steam Machines? They’re too expensive, too confusing, and too limited right now. That can change in the future as Valve brings more functionality via software updates, but by then, it may be too little too late. As an avid PC gamer, I want the platform to live on. But Steam Machines aren’t the answer.