Steam Machine vs My Other Consoles: What It Actually Replaced

How many consoles do you have hooked up to your TV right now? Not that long ago, mine was a mess: a PS5, a dock for the Steam Deck, a Game Boy on the table, and an Xbox Series S somewhere in a box.

Then the Steam Machine arrived. If you've read my review, you know I like it a lot more than I expected. What I didn't expect was that, slowly and without really planning it, it would start replacing my other consoles one by one.

So I counted. Which ones did it really replace, which ones did it only partly replace, and where am I stretching it a bit?

These are my use cases, not a buying guide

Before going through the list, one thing up front: this is based on how I play. What works for me doesn't have to work for you. I'm not trying to justify buying a Steam Machine (I'm already happy with that decision), but my experience might give you a few ideas for getting more out of yours.

1. Steam Deck: replaced when docked

This was the obvious one. Same operating system, same Steam library, same company. I used my Steam Deck docked to the TV quite a few times in the past. Now that the Steam Machine is sitting right there, that dock is just collecting dust.

That doesn't mean the Steam Deck is going in a drawer. I love handhelds; this channel is basically built on them. But the way I use it has changed. When I want to play something heavier away from the TV, I don't run it natively on the Deck anymore. I stream it from the Steam Machine instead. The Machine does the heavy lifting and the Deck is just the screen in my hands, so I get better performance, longer battery life and a quieter fan.

Verdict: docked, it's fully replaced. As a handheld, it has become a very good companion to the Steam Machine. I hadn't considered that before buying one, but the two are a great match.

2. Game Boy (and SNES): replaced at home

My portable Game Boy of choice is the FunnyPlaying FPGBC. The screen is great, it plays my original cartridges, and it's one of the best ways to play Game Boy games today.

But at home, the Steam Machine is already there. With the GB Operator next to it, I take a cartridge from my collection, plug it in, and I'm playing Pokémon Red on the big screen, with my own cartridge and my own save. Having one device that's ready whenever I sit down is what makes the difference for me.

The same goes for the SNES with the SN Operator. My SNES collection isn't huge, but if you have a box of cartridges at your parents' place, this is a nice way to bring them back. I covered the full setup in my article on playing Game Boy and SNES cartridges on the Steam Machine.

I've also set up emulation for a few other retro consoles since then, but as I've said before, I rarely use it. The Game Boy games, on the other hand, I still play quite a lot.

What I'd really like to see one day is an all-in-one hardware dock: one box that takes cartridges from several generations. Maybe even PSP? That's wishful thinking for now, but I'd be first in line.

Verdict: at home, the Steam Machine wins. On trips, the FPGBC still comes with me.

3. Xbox Series S: replaced, with one big catch

I'll admit this one is a bit of a stretch, mainly because I didn't play much on the Xbox to begin with. I don't really play Xbox exclusives, and most of the games I would play there are already on Steam. That's why my Series S has been in its box since the Steam Machine arrived. At this point, I'm considering selling it.

There's one thing missing, though: Game Pass. That's the single feature that would make the Steam Machine complete for me. If Microsoft and Valve ever bring Game Pass to it, the Xbox would be fully replaced, with no stretching needed.

Verdict: replaced in practice, but not in principle until Game Pass arrives.

4. PS5: replaced more than I expected

The Steam Machine can't play PlayStation games natively. Many PlayStation titles eventually come to PC, but not the newest ones and not every exclusive. What I've been doing instead is streaming my PS5 games from the cloud using Asobi, right on the Steam Machine, without even turning the PS5 on.

It works better than I expected. I sit down, pick up the controller and play. No switching inputs, no second controller on the table: same couch, same TV, same box.

There are two important caveats:

• It costs extra. Cloud streaming requires the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription, so you're paying more every month for this to work.
• It isn't official. Asobi isn't made by Sony. It works today, but it could be blocked at some point, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Even without the cloud part, Remote Play (streaming from your own PS5) is worth it if you have more than one TV. I've used it a lot, and it works well.

Verdict: technically a stretch, but it's the console where my habits changed the most.

The scorecard

So, four consoles. Or maybe three and a half, if I'm being honest.

Did it really replace anything?

Some of you will say: "You still own all of these, so did it really replace anything?" Fair point. I'm not selling my PS5 tomorrow, and the FPGBC still comes on every trip.

But for me, replacing isn't about selling. It's about what I actually reach for when I sit down to play. Right now, nine times out of ten, that's the Steam Machine. That's the real test, and it passed.

"Replacing isn't about selling. It's about what I actually reach for when I sit down to play."

Should you replace your consoles with a Steam Machine?

Not necessarily. If you mostly play PlayStation exclusives, keep your PS5. If you live on Game Pass, keep your Xbox for now. But if you're like me, with a bit of everything and not much time to play, this little box might end up doing a lot more than you expect.

For me it comes down to the experience, and the fact that it has become the device I use most since I got it says a lot. You might see it differently, and that's fine: we can like different things.

Want to see the setup in action? Watch the full video, and tell me in the comments: what would it take for the Steam Machine to replace your consoles? Game Pass, like for me, or something else?