They're all just tools to get people to buy more games, which is where the margin is. And the existence of the Steam Machine makes the ecosystem more attractive even if you don't actually buy the Machine.

If you have no revenue, you can say you’re pre-revenue... It’s not about how much you earn. It’s about what you’re worth. And who’s worth most? Companies that lose money.

That may not matter either.

In fact, the most likely outcome is that they sell out of inventory, and the next iteration of the device gets GTA6 level hype. The scarcity of the premium product.

If this thing becomes unobtanium unless you’re a game studio or a journalist, but becomes a standard optimization/compatibility target for game developers like the Steam Deck has been, I would consider it successful, imo.