Steam Deck OLED is finally back in stock with 'updated pricing' you are not going to like

Price hikes come for us all and Valve just announced a significant price increase for the Steam Deck, which is finally back in stock.The 512GB Steam Deck OLED now costs $789, up $240 from $549, while the 1TB variant now costs $949, up $300 from $649. As of this writing, both models are available for purchase from Steam.The LCD models are completely missing from the product page as they were officially discontinued late last year. Additionally, while refurbished OLED models are on offer for the original prices, the LCD versions are still listed as out of stock.According to a blog post the new prices "reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry." Valve specifically blamed rising memory and storage costs in the announcement.Valve is just the latest victim in the ongoing AI-greed festival that is RAMaggedon.More expensive than a PS5 Pro

(Image credit: Sony)Amazingly, this price hike makes the Steam Deck one of the most expensive consoles on the market now. In fact, it's more expensive than Sony's PS5 Pro, which currently starts at $899 after its own price hikes earlier this year.Even among the best handheld gaming consoles, the Steam Deck may not be the quality value pick anymore.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.Here's how the new Steam Deck price compares to other consoles like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Nintendo Switch 2.Swipe to scroll horizontallySteam Deck pricing comparedConsolePriceSteam Deck OLED (1TB)$949Steam Deck OLED (512GB)$789Nintendo Switch 2$449Asus ROG Xbox Ally X$999Asus ROG Ally$649Lenovo Legion Go S$989PS5 Pro$899We looked at similarly specced handheld consoles here. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally comes in different storage sizes, including a 4TB one. For this comparison, we looked at the 1TB variant.Honestly, at these prices, it might be better to pick up the Xbox Ally X. It's newer than the four-year-old Steam Deck and the Xbox streamlined Windows OS is a breath of fresh air, plus you can still use Steam.Not confident about the Steam Machine