Steam Machine Sells Out in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan

Valve’s Steam Machine sold out in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan before its official release. In those markets Valve sold units through retailer Komodo Station, which accepted immediate pre-orders without a lottery. Valve ran a lottery-based sign-up in other markets, including the US and UK, where customers registered for a chance to order.

Komodo Station listed all four available configurations and processed purchases on a first-come, first-served basis. The retailer limited sales to one Steam Machine per customer. All four configurations were reported sold out.

In Japan prices start at ¥189,980 (about $1,174) for the 512GB model without a controller and rise to ¥264,980 (about $1,637) for the 2TB model with a controller. Those prices are slightly higher than the figures listed for the US market.

Valve introduced the lottery system after the Steam Controller launch, when allowing multiple purchases led to rapid sellouts and resale of units at higher prices. The company implemented the lottery to reduce scalper purchases by randomly selecting buyers from sign-ups before enabling orders.

The Steam Machine is a PC-based gaming device that runs Valve’s Steam software and is designed for use with a controller in a living-room setting. The staggered pre-sale approaches reflect different regional sales methods ahead of the product’s launch.