> Everywhere I see reviews of it on the internet,

Gaming reviews have diverged from reality. Everything is about finding controversy and something to be angry about. Gaming journalism and social media are extremely toxic, but not really indicative of average gamers or consumers any more.

> The writing is on the wall. This thing is going to flop.

I would bet that it's going to be oversubscribed and sell out.

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foo12bar 3 days ago | parent [-]

I bet it sells out, too. But selling out a heavily limited release doesn't mean they are going to make a profit.

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drdexebtjl 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

They’re privately owned, not every project needs to be profitable. It can just not lose money and strengthen the Steam ecosystem where the real profit is.

If this thing becomes unobtanium unless you’re a game studio or a journalist, but becomes a standard optimization/compatibility target for game developers like the Steam Deck has been, I would consider it successful, imo.

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croon 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They may not recoup R&D costs for a while depending on volume, but they will make a profit per unit. They can't sell them as loss leaders like regular console manufacturers can, since then general computer buyers would get them as a priced down unlocked PC.

	▲	nisegami 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		And importantly, they have the finances to support that R&D expenditure taking longer than expected to be recouped. The same situation with a small company would be very different than a company with solid income elsewhere.

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rjh29 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

The Steam Deck also sells out but the overall userbase is a drop in the ocean compared to the Switch.