The demand for a Nintendo Switch-type portable console that promises to activate the AAA games on the fly, it is apparently imposing. Despite the fact that some portable devices exploring the same concept have been around for quite some time (like AYA Neo, which even includes two additional Zen 2 cores or the Intel-based One XPlayer), this machine was built by Valve and which integrates with the Steam Library It’s a guarantee that many gamers don’t want to miss.
Speculators are already predicting shortages of steam bridges
As is the case with any recent hardware release that gets enough mainstream attention (like GPUs or next-gen consoles), an imbalanced relationship between supply and demand is a playground for guys. unscrupulous seeking to make a profit at the expense of other people. We are of course talking about speculators, and we have already seen their way of proceeding on several occasions: when there is a shortage of a product and they manage to obtain it, then they resell it at really abusive prices, extremely high, to take advantage of it.
Regarding the Steam Deck portable console, this is already happening: even if the console has not yet arrived on the market and only one reservation per person is authorized (in fact by advancing money) , they have already started to appear on sites like eBay for really exorbitant prices: sold as “confirmed for pre-order”, at a price of 4,324 dollars, or about eight times its price.
This is an extreme case, since the average price on the second-hand market is around 900-1000 dollars for the variant with the 512 GB NVMe SSD, the most expensive of all. In any case, provisional or not, it only shows that the new normal is that the products launched are actively evaluated for speculative practices, now more than ever and which, if you will allow us, is somewhat unfortunate.
From the start, Valve has already put in place measures to avoid speculation with the Steam Deck, but also stating from the start that there is most likely a shortage; On the one hand, only one order per person is allowed, on the other hand, a small payment must be made as a signal for the reservation, and finally only Steam accounts having a certain age will be able to access this reservation.
This may prevent speculators from starting to create new Steam accounts to make multiple reservations and then seek to profit by selling the more expensive device, but also many of them will already have one or more accounts with which they can. make the reservation, and that’s precisely what they apparently did. We will see if finally Valve is able to meet the deadlines (first quarter of next year) and if there are enough units not only to cover the reserves, but also to be able to sell individual units to people who do not. did not want to or were not able to do so.
Right now you can still reserve the Steam Deck, by the way, so if you want to get one, don’t hesitate and make the reservation (the deposit as a signal is only 4 dollars, this that will be added to your Steam balance, so you will not lose them under any circumstances).
