Completely fair. Some fights aren't worth fighting, especially since there's no guarantee they'll recoup the losses. I buy a few games a year on Steam, almost never at full price. It would take me a very long time to cover any subsidized machine, and I'm surely not the only one.

Honestly, a steam machine was on my radar because for about 10 years now, me and some friends have traveled to Dreamhack Dallas, and packing 5 men and our computer equipment in a big van and driving 13+ hours isn't ideal. Something a bit smaller would be amazing. The price is a bit too rich for me since I do still have a functional computer.