The community largely expected something like $800, with some overly-optimistic estimates going as low as $400-$600. So to a lot of people I think this feels overpriced. I personally don't have a sense for the PC market and costs, so I can't comment on this myself, but I know that a lot of people were hoping for something sub-$1000.

I'm personally really excited for the Steam Machine, but I'm not sure it makes sense for me to get one. It's a somewhat close side-grade of my current PC, which is working just fine. And we have two very small children, so there is really no benefit to a permanent couch computer for us either.