Steam Deck

Steam Deck, a handheld PC made by Valve that will let you play the games you were too nervous installing on your laptop.

YouTube video

Gotta say. I'm actually pretty excited for this.

You can even dock it to another monitor like the Switch.

Really impressive price point.

Looks solid all around.

Looks like junk to me.

Design irrelevent when, again, it can be docked and played on a tv/monitor. Not to mention a much cheaper alternative compared to the fancy setups.

But in reality, most people who have extensive Steam libraries already have a decent PC....so why would they want to use this in docked mode?

And people who are not playing PC games at the moment are most likely not going to buy this to play PC games.

The controls look bad.

My #1 complaint with the Switch are the Joy-Cons.

I’m not really sure how this will pan out, but I must say I do like the idea of a box that allows you to access Steam’s extensive library without having to maintain a quality PC.

This depends on developers as well.

The benefits of a console is that developers have one platform and during the entire generation, every game should work.

I assume developers will need to make a specific Steam Deck version of their games to ensure it works. If they do not...this thing could obsolete in 2 years

I'm not sure the Steam Deck is the best move.

Cloud gaming through stuff like GeForce NOW already provides this, except you can use it on any device--pc, phone, tablet, etc. The Steam library isn't fully available yet, but it grows literally every week. The need for fancy hardware is quickly fading, and my phone, which is the same size as the Steam Deck, fills the hand-held void quite nicely.

I just don't know how many people will want to drop $399 on something guaranteed to be obsolete so quickly. Seems like they should continue investing in cloud gaming, and save resources. I'd guess only a few hardcores with extra spending money will go for this.

Though...it would be obsolete if the device is treated like a PC by Valve and the developers.

If it's treated like a handheld like the 3DS, Vita and etc....it wouldn't because developers/publishers would know the limitations/specs for the next 5+ years.

But's also a problem. The general public will always go to the Switch before the Steam Deck......so who is buying this thing? PC gamers....and those ****ers are the most finicky gamers on the planet and most likely will only play indies/non-graphic intensive games (because they already own a 4K, ray tracing beast of a PC.

So then...you say to yourself...why would I get this when I can just grab a Switch, that is most likely highly supported by Nintendo for years....and have a very good track record of making handhelds...while to be honest, Valve has been terrible supporting their initiatives.

Because Switch, like other systems, don't have all the games? I certainly would like to finally have a device that supports Steam, play some games exclusive to PC and up-to-date Valve titles like Left 4 Dead. I don't think Gabe cares about updating my 360 copies, let alone rereleasing 'em for modern console. Plus too all the mods I want to try out.

Then it's for you....but you actually believe the general public will buy this?

This raises some good points. The Deck is more practical to be fair, but one should wait for reviews regardless, though the near future of owning one looks slim either way with all the scalpers.

Considering this is being released around Q1 2022 for shipments (according to pre-orders), it might be out of date by the time it gets released. And if Valve treats this as a portable PC and not a console/handheld similar to how MS, Sony and Nintendo...I think this is shortlived.

Assuming it actually makes that date.

But in reality, why is Valve doing this? To get developers to use Steam OS instead of Windows? I assume they are making very little on the pricepoint.

I also think it's misleading that people are saying "oh you got yourself thousand of games"...and then show pictures of Control and etc.

But there is no assumption all these PC games will actually work? One of the benefits of the big three companies producing game hardware is that its suppose to work...of course some games are iffy on those platforms (Cyberpunk for example)....but you will run into bigger issues with your Steam library.

Originally posted by Smasandian
But in reality, most people who have extensive Steam libraries already have a decent PC....so why would they want to use this in docked mode?

And people who are not playing PC games at the moment are most likely not going to buy this to play PC games.

It’s also been confirmed that it can play game pass games. So that’s pretty huge.

But the fact is it being handheld is a big draw. And with the resolution of the screen it shouldn’t become obsolete very quickly. Especially since it’s being sold as a handheld and people will provide have lower standards than they would a normal gaming pc. Meaning playing at 30 FPS is probably acceptable.

One thing I will say about this is, if it does what they're saying it will, is that it will put a lot of game ready machines to people's hands that have been ****ed over by the absolute massacre the PC parts market has been during covid. Even now, GPU prices are not falling fast enough, and supply is still only slowly getting back to normal. This could easily fill a gap in the market.

Originally posted by StyleTime
The need for fancy hardware is quickly fading

Can't say I agree with this at all. Internet speeds for a lot of people just aren't catching up fast enough, and latency is still a massive problem for a lot of them. Look at the shitshow Stadia was.

The Steam Deck is way too heavy, 669 grams.

The Switch is lighter and I find that too heavy to play for a bit in handheld.

Thinking about it now, ironically the Steam Deck is more interesting to get as an alternative to something like the PS5 compared to being an alternative to the Switch because by just having a mini PS4/5 but with Steam's library kicks the hell out of a PS4/5 in most cases, and you can hook it up to a TV. Only downside is the dock is sold separately, so depends on how consequential that is price wise compared to a current console.

The Deck might do decently, but it and the Switch won't really be competition for each other. If it does well it'll be because Valve supports it unlike some of their previous hardware, but the Switch had a 5 year head start and isn't going anywhere.