Valve’s Steam Machine was quickly sold out in Japan just three hours after the launch, despite a high base price of $1,175. The official distributor of Komodo Station launched sales without prior registration and queues, allowing customers to purchase all available configurations instantly.

The situation caused a wave of resentment in the community. First, due to memory scarcity and exchange differences, the Japanese version was $127-$212 more expensive than the US version. Second, the lack of a requirement to link to a Steam account when placing an order opened the way for buyers and bots who bought devices for resale.

On Reddit, there has been controversy over whether such sales rates reflect real mass demand or are the result of artificial shortages and low supply. While the Asian market is facing an influx of speculators, customers in North America and Europe are forced to wait for their devices by passing through a randomized system of queues and invitations from Valve.