Valve announces Steam Deck

[MapelSerup]

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

Valve has just announced a portable PC game player called the Steam Deck. At first glance, it looks like an uncomfortable Switch clone; however, reviewers say it fits and runs very well, and allows PC games to be played easily on the go. For only $50 more than the OLED model, how do you think this will compete with the Switch? Will you pick one up?

Opposite younger, parchment to write, third game set where the bull netch shines neon bright.

 

[Chevywolf30]

Looks more like a Wii U gamepad ngl. On the one hand this looks nice, on the other if I want to play a PC game, I want keyboard and mouse controls.

 

[twilitfalchion]

I'm not a Steam gamer, but for those who are, I can see this being a very nice option.

Built in controls, etc. Looks very nice to me. Could very well be a strong Switch competitor.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

PC elitists having a field day

 

[Fraxinus]

It looks okay, although, having the buttons right next to the sticks like that look very unnatural to thumb movements. Looks awkward to play. It'd probably be something I'd be interested in since I'm so bad at like, sitting at the computer to play games, but I can't really justify it for the time being. I'll keep an eye on it though I guess. Might solidify a standard for ensuring what hardware all pc games should be able to perform well on; that might be a good start.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

It doesn't look bad at all, I would maybe consider getting it.

 

[A Link In Time]

Definitely feel it would take some time to get used to the layout. The touch pads seem like a good addition, though, for games that need the extra precision, like FPSs. I think it's a novelty, but the fact the dock isn't included in the $400 price point will stop it from reaching a wide audience.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I'm intrigued, I'd wait a while to see how the general reception is and how long valve supports it, if its all positive then I'd consider it

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

It looks pretty cool.

Portable PC gaming options have always been kind of hampered by cost, but the Deck's cost is surprisingly low for what it offers. At just $50 more than Nintendo's OLED version, it makes that tech seem archaic by comparison (at least with price and hardware taken into account). The specs are about on par with what I would need from a portable Steam thing and the design seems cool. If reviews are good when the system releases then I'll consider picking up the $400 model.

 

[thePlinko]

So, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the entire point of PC gaming that you can have the specs of whatever system you’re on be tailor made to your liking? And isn’t a gaming PC supposed to be able to be used like any other PC, just with powerful enough hardware to run any game smoothly?

So…. How is this a PC? Neither of those things really apply to this so I’m not sure why people are calling this “portable PC gaming” when this is effectively just a handheld console that happens play steam games. This is a PC in the sense that the Famicom was a “Family Computer”

Still, the specs announced for it are pretty damn impressive, and I’d be lying if I said playing my backlog of steam games while lying on the couch isn’t enticing to me. This definitely isn’t a hard yes for me, but depending on what general reviews say I might have to get this.

If this does well this is going to be a massive embarrassment to Nintendo and their “Switch part-time job.” If we’re lucky it might serve as a wake up call to them to get their act together and actually put effort into their hardware quality.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Nintendo doesnt care about specs. This doesn't do anything to incentivize them

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

So, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the entire point of PC gaming that you can have the specs of whatever system you’re on be tailor made to your liking? And isn’t a gaming PC supposed to be able to be used like any other PC, just with powerful enough hardware to run any game smoothly?

So…. How is this a PC? Neither of those things really apply to this so I’m not sure why people are calling this “portable PC gaming” when this is effectively just a handheld console that happens play steam games. This is a PC in the sense that the Famicom was a “Family Computer”

Still, the specs announced for it are pretty damn impressive, and I’d be lying if I said playing my backlog of steam games while lying on the couch isn’t enticing to me. This definitely isn’t a hard yes for me, but depending on what general reviews say I might have to get this.

If this does well this is going to be a massive embarrassment to Nintendo and their “Switch part-time job.” If we’re lucky it might serve as a wake up call to them to get their act together and actually put effort into their hardware quality.

It utilizes an operating system that allows it to do things besides game. It's no less a PC than a laptop is. The only difference is the form factor.

Nintendo doesnt care about specs. This doesn't do anything to incentivize them

This is true. Nintendo is certainly the Apple of the gaming world.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

his is true. Nintendo is certainly the Apple of the gaming world

As long as pokemon mario and zelda exist, pokemon mario and zelda box will also exist

 

[the8thark]

Daniel Ahmad is usually on the money, but he missed one important core issue. Good battery life. Sure it is 2-8 hours. I do think most games will be closer to 2 hours. Ie worse battery life than the Switch.

Secondly this is just playing steam games. My point is they are games made with PC in mind. Ie mouse and keyboard mostly. This is why the steam portable has so many extra triggers. To account for all the extra buttons/functions that steam games have. The games are not specifically designed for a console first (like Switch/PS/XB games are). Well the XB games are dual designed PC and XB so they play well with XB.

A very good example of this is the Blizzard games. Not steam but I'll explain. Diablo 3 plays well on PC but for console they needed to tweak the control scheme to make it playable. Also they added in certain things like rolling to make the console experience feel on par to the PC experience because the controller does not equate to a mouse and keyboard. Or what about an RTS game like Starcraft or maybe something actually on steam like Age of Empires or Command and Conquer. Try playing those as is with a console controller. Practically impossible. Even an RTS designed for consoles (Starcraft 64) still failed. Not because SF64 looked and ran like ****. That is true but it played like **** because it needs a mouse and keyboard to be played properly.

Lots of steam games will have this issue.
They will be playable on the steam portable. But not play at all optimally because they games are not designed for console. I think Gabe is either ignoring this or not fully understanding how big of an impact this really has. A large number of the smaller indie games though will run really well on this. That's where I see this shine. Not as a portable FPS or RTS machine. More like a portable indie machine as those can be played on console with very little (or none) work required.

This is true. Nintendo is certainly the Apple of the gaming world.

I agree but this has nothing to do with Mario or Zelda or anyother specific IP Nintendo has in my opinion. To me the similarity is the vertical integration that both companies. Both (Apple and Nintendo) develop their hardware and software either directly side by side or with an understanding of the other. So Nintendo can get more out of their games than most 3rd parties due to this. Though there is exceptions, the Panic Button games being some of the most notable.

This is unlike almost all other developers who have nearly zero say in what the the hardware is like because they are not developing it.