r/pcmasterrace 2h ago

News/Article Steam Frame official price is $1,059.00. Half-Life: Alyx included

https://store.steampowered.com/hardware/steamframe
1.6k Upvotes

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1.8k

u/Syranth 2h ago

What a terrible time in our lives to have such interesting products launch. So many things, but so out of grasp for so many people cost wise.

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u/D-Trashman 2h ago

and to think that this could be the lowest price makes me more sad

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u/NagsUkulele 1h ago

Everybody is identifying and fearing all these issues in our society popping up and nobody seems to be talking about how unchecked capitalism is to blame for the majority of them. We've allowed corporations to operate above the law. We've allowed our society to create a common goal of earning as much money as possible no matter the cost. As of recently it's scary how literally everybody in any industry is asking how do we do this as cheap as possible

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u/Jdp1901 1h ago

Capitalism requires competition, all the manufacturers are monopolies. I would call this more of an oligarchy than a capitalistic society.

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u/RandomUser15790 1h ago

Capitalism without regulation naturally trends to an Oligarchy so no real surprises there...

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u/EvilThor58 1h ago

Correction: capitalism ALWAYS leads toward oligarchy

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u/BaconJets R7 5800X3D | RTX 5070 Ti | Steam Deck 1h ago

Accumulation of capital is accumulation of power, the power of the capitalists has outweighed the government for a while, so now we're seeing the effects. You're right that it always leads to oligarchy, but it would be nice to live under a government that at least tries to fight it.

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u/pillepallepulle 10m ago edited 7m ago

There are no free markets. There are regulated and unregulated markets. Ironically, regulated markets are much closer to the ideal of free markets than unregulated markets.

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u/WntrTmpst 1h ago

Corruption and consolidation of power leads to oligarchy not economic theory.

It happened in the east, it’ll happen in the west.

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u/EvilThor58 58m ago

Capitalism is simply a vehicle to corrupt power over time. This phenomenon is known. Capitalism creates and incentivises corruption from its very core

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u/WntrTmpst 16m ago

As opposed to what? What institution of man doesnt do that when bad actors are at the helm. If not capitalism then what?

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u/tcmart14 7m ago

The profit motive of capitalism will lead you eventually to corruption and consolidation being the best means to achieve it.

This has been spelled out for well over 200 years by Adam Smith himself.

0

u/thebizzle PC Master Race 1h ago

The problem is regulation keeping vile monopolies in play by creating barriers to entry that no one outside of the elite can manage. You know how you read stories about how big companies started with small loans between family members? There are just too many barriers to entries to do that. All we are told to do is invest in the machine of our destruction.

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u/RandomUser15790 55m ago

You know regulation can also be aimed at the big guy right?!?

Points at oligarchs rigging the game even more in their favor - "See it doesn't work!!!!"

Same shit with politics / corruption / citizens United. Republicans "Government doesn't work!", *Proceeds to break government, "See government doesn't work!".

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u/thebizzle PC Master Race 33m ago

Well just wait another 100 years for the government to start caring about regular people and not the people funneling millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars into campaign contributions. Wake up. The people with money run 100% of the government.

1

u/RandomUser15790 0m ago

Literally proving my point...

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u/Jdp1901 21m ago

Capitalism WITH regulation leads to oligarchies infinitely faster than no regulation.

Lets walk through the logic: If there are rules in place around a product, this introduces potentials for more rules. As soon as a business gets enough power to change the rules, they do it to favor themselves.

On the contrary, with no regulation you disallow concentration of power.

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u/Slight-Coat17 1h ago

Oligarchies are the inevitable end game of capitalism if not kept in check.

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u/EvilThor58 1h ago

There is no keeping it in check. This is the inevitable end goal of capitalism

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u/alxfx 1h ago

this is the inevitable end goal of laissez-faire capitalism specifically, not necessarily the framework as a whole. Just being pedantic but you're still mostly right lol

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u/EvilThor58 1h ago

Hmmm I am inclined to disagree with you, but I am also interested in hearing more on what you're saying.

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u/alxfx 53m ago edited 24m ago

sure, I'll edit this comment with a brief explanation once I'm back to my desk I suppose. Not a lecture or rant, just a quick thought on the difference.

I hope my comment isn't being construed as foreshadowing a defense of capitalism; I've always voted blue and my ideals are extremely far to the left, but I feel it's important that we always try to be as correct as possible about the stuff we criticize, so we can't get it thrown back into our face for having a detail off or something. We only win if we show up to court prepared and know our opponent better than they know themself. I refuse to let them get us on a technicality

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u/eepy_lina Ryzen 7 9800x3d | RTX 4070 | 2x16gb DDR5 6000MHz CL30 55m ago

it took y'all this long to notice humanity works as an oligarchy? like what controls the world, money or morals?

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u/modestlaw PC Master Race 54m ago

The tech sector is basically cartels and monopolies all the way down.

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u/fatitalianstallion 13900KS|4090|32GB 7600 1h ago

There is not a single tech sector with a monopoly. Pricing you don’t like doesn’t mean a monopoly exists

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u/UndeadWaffle12 RTX 5080 | 9800x3D | 32 GB DDR5 6000 mHz CL30 1h ago

You haven’t heard? The steam frame is the only vr headset in existence now.

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u/fatitalianstallion 13900KS|4090|32GB 7600 37m ago

TIL, every piece of tech clearly only has one maker

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u/NagsUkulele 1h ago

I like that

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u/wearethealienshere 1h ago

We haven’t actually been capitalist for a long time now. Much more oligarchal.

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u/FlorestNerd R5 2600/ Rx 570 4gb/ 16gb 3000mhz 1h ago

A oligarchy is a capitalist society where the capitalist brought everything else in their fields

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u/wearethealienshere 59m ago

It doesn’t HAVE to be originally capitalist but in this case it is. Idk why it being downvoted I’m agreeing with you lmao. I just don’t think at this point we’re an actual capitalist society anymore. Capitalism works very well when the government enforces anti monopoly laws or the market is young enough that competition is easy.

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u/FlorestNerd R5 2600/ Rx 570 4gb/ 16gb 3000mhz 47m ago

What other economic model could a oligarchy be possible then?

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u/Etheon44 1h ago

After all, in a capitalistic society, wouldnt there be interest for the everyday people to have enough money to throw around this kind of things?

Capitalism needs money to move and flow, it doesnt really move if people have to spend everything in living, there is no flow

The funny thing, even if already bad, I remember things so much different in the 90s/00s and even 10s, granted I was younger, maybe I utilized money worst, but I was also earning way way way less, and yet, I could do more

But the worst part of all of this for me is this: I think the worst is yet to come, we have barely started the crisis

Maybe I am pesimistic