My point is that even pre-built PCs are cheaper and better in every way other than size.

Size is a big factor here. Steam made a console sized PC.

There isn’t a lot of PC case that size. And the list of PC parts for SFF are limited and more expensive than their normal counterparts.

So yeah, if you want a full tower PC in your living room, don’t buy the Steam Machine. But I haven’t seen a PC build of that size cost less.

Yes I do have experience, in fact it’s core to my job.

The cost to design is significant and wasting a few years of development is not a light decision. So Valve either had to scrap the design and waste the development cost, or price it according to the current PC parts prices

You are right that people can DIY, but it always was an option and people still buy ready-made computers, so that’s a moot point.

The price for comparable parts and same form factor isn’t far off from DIY.

Do you have any experience in product development? They went through a design process and unfortunately for them, when came time to choose a storage and RAM solution, they had to do it through the current price crisis.

So they either had to table the design and lose their development money or go through with it with the current storage and RAM cost.

It’s both RAM and storage price. A 2TB NVMe cost upward of 300$ CAD.