Steam Deck price hike and Blue Origin explosion signal troubling hardware cost trends
By
Brandon Vigliarolo
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
This article discusses the Steam Deck's 40% price hike as a symptom of broader hardware price increases driven by memory/storage shortages, AI demand, and geopolitical factors. It also covers Blue Origin's rocket explosion and its impact on NASA's Moon missions. The piece explores whether these trends signal a new normal for hardware pricing.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledIt was explosive news week – if you're the price of a popular-but-aging piece of consumer gaming hardware or a Jeff Bezos rocket.
Sure, it's just consumer hardware, but it's the latest in a line of price hikes justified in the name of AI and geopolitics – and it could spell the beginning of a new normal for hardware prices.
This week on The Kettle, we mull over whether the Steam Deck is a canary in the coal mine for the future of hardware prices, and the effect of Blue Origin's blowout on NASA's Moon missions
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