Valve confirms Steam Machine will be priced ‘like a PC with the same level of performance’
(www.videogameschronicle.com)
Someone in one of these video (might have been Linus Tech Tips) made the point that if they subsidized that thing people might just buy them as office PCs or otherwise unrelated to gaming, which would be a problem because they'd be losing money and presumably supplies are limited. Still think it would be smart to sell it at cost just to fuck the competition, it's not like this makes any dent in their profits, which are ridiculous.
Might still sell okay at 700-800$, there's probably some people that need an upgrade or some console gamers that want to get into PC gaming, and it's cuter and easier than building your own PC.