It's a somewhat justified fear - the box screams 'home server' to me. Then again a Mac Mini is just $600

The steam machine is a $350 server + a $300 GPU + a $200 controller. A good deal for $500-$700, but only if you want the GPU and controller.

	▲	hombre_fatal an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Something else worth considering in comparison to consoles is that the games you buy on the Steam machine can be played on other devices and they'll be available long after the games you bought on console this generation EOL. I've wasted $1000+ on console games over the years that I don't have access to anymore, yet I can still install the first Steam game I bought decades ago.
	▲	stavros 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The Steam Machine doesn't come with the Steam controller, though, as far as I know.