Board 8 > Valve announces the Steam Deck, their answer to the Nintendo Switch. $399

(+) Yeah! (+)

Handhelds are for nerds.

My Switch has never left its dock.

---

I get using the Switch only docked, but lmao if you buy this just to use it docked?

---

Yeah, you could probably do better with a prebuilt PC if you just want a PC.

---

I want a dedicated gaming console with absolutely no other functionality or third party applications needed.

I have always loved the idea of a steambox, but I want it to be completely on board with no streaming required and it's own, specialized front end.

I basically just want this to be a Playstation 5 but for PC games. I don't want options and open source freedom, give me ridged proprietary infrustructure.


---

I'll be watching its career with great interest.

My PC is getting old and it's still 32-bit so I have some Steam games I actually have no way of playing >_> <_<

---

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I want a dedicated gaming console with absolutely no other functionality or third party applications needed.

I have always loved the idea of a steambox, but I want it to be completely on board with no streaming required and it's own, specialized front end.

I basically just want this to be a Playstation 5 but for PC games. I don't want options and open source freedom, give me ridged proprietary infrustructure.

Well thats not this, theyve already said SteamOS will let you install other apps, even ones that are other game stores.

---

I think they've said one can even wipe the whole the device and just install Windows if they wanted to. It doesn't sound like the device will be locked down in any way.
---

Team Rocket Elite posted...

I think they've said one can even wipe the whole the device and just install Windows if they wanted to. It doesn't sound like the device will be locked down in any way.

And there are several Sony consoles you can install Linux on. What's your point?
---

This looks like a classic "wait until the next iteration for this nascent hardware developer to figure shit out" kind of play.

Would be much more intrigued if most PC exclusives didn't ideally require a keyboard/mouse.

Mac Arrowny posted...

And there are several Sony consoles you can install Linux on. What's your point?

I was merely relaying information that I had heard since it seemed like other people might find it useful. No particular point beyond that.
---

ChainLTTP posted...

This looks like a classic "wait until the next iteration for this nascent hardware developer to figure shit out" kind of play.

Would be much more intrigued if most PC exclusives didn't ideally require a keyboard/mouse.

Has Valve iterated on any of their hardware stuff yet?


---

An interesting product, but there's two things that hold it back for me.

I already have a 3ds and a Switch backlog to go through when I'm not on PC. This is $399 just to take my Steam backlog off my laptop when Steam is the primary thing I do when gaming on my laptop. As a concept it's interesting, but it feels especially needless at that pricetag.

The second thing is the technology. PC Gaming ramps up very fast. Can I actually trust this device to be able to play games made 2-3 years from now? Can I trust it to play intensive games without overheating to oblivion now?

---

---

A little competition never hurt anyone

---

Mewtwo59 posted...

I guess the dock could use Display Port, which I don't think many tvs have. As long as it has HDMI, it can be connected to pretty much any modern TV.

From all the articles I'm reading, it looks like you'll need the dock to gain access to HDMI ports. So that's a little disappointing and makes this substantially more expensive than a Switch now.

E: But now that I think about it I guess if the system already had all the ports you needed then a dock would be useless. Still, you don't have to pay for access to those extra ports on Switch.

---

From my perspective I'm not really considering it as a Switch replacement

but I'm not married to the idea of having a desktop gaming PC so whenever my current one (5 years old) decides it's had enough I could see myself getting one of these instead as a replacement. I use my laptop for most of my web browsing anyway.

---

What I want to know is does this thing have a sleep mode. That's honestly the main reason I don't play pc games a lot.

---

RikkuAlmighty posted...

What I want to know is does this thing have a sleep mode. That's honestly the main reason I don't play pc games a lot.

IGN confirmed they do indeed have a suspend mode. It works with one game at a time, so it's not like the Xbox Series X where you can suspend a bunch of games simultaneously.

---

StartTheMachine posted...

From all the articles I'm reading, it looks like you'll need the dock to gain access to HDMI ports. So that's a little disappointing and makes this substantially more expensive than a Switch now.

The website says it works with any USB C dock, so any USB-C to HDMI cable should do the job.

---

ninkendo posted...

From my perspective I'm not really considering it as a Switch replacement

This is precisely why I think it's going to fail. It's directly competing with a system that's both cheaper and actually grants users access to unique things they otherwise wouldn't have.

I gave it some thought earlier and came to the conclusion that I might buy something like this in the $99-149 range - but at $399 as a base price, when you also need to add additional components? Not a chance. That's an incredible price for something that is ultimately closer to a "nice novelty to have" than anything truly remarkable, that will probably be going obsolete within 2 years when there are already an entire plethora of games it can't handle.

The only real selling point this could've had was as a cheaper Switch alternative, and it's... Not. It's a more expensive product that brings less to the table and is made by a company with a shaky history of physical products. What's worse is, I don't think it's even possible for them to sell it for low enough to actually get the interest of most gamers. I like the concept, but unfortunately I think this is going to bomb disastrously.

---

Crescent-Moon posted...

there are already an entire plethora of games it can't handle.

Do we know this for sure or is this just your assumption based on its specs? (Legitimately asking, not trying to be accusatory)

---

Maybe they are confusing it with the anti-cheat software games not playable currently due to the software and not spec-related?
---

Crescent-Moon posted...

I gave it some thought earlier and came to the conclusion that I might buy something like this in the $99-149 range - but at $399 as a base price, when you also need to add additional components?

What? lol comparable devices with worse specs go for $1000, why are you comparing this to like a Retroid in price?

---

StartTheMachine posted...

IGN confirmed they do indeed have a suspend mode. It works with one game at a time, so it's not like the Xbox Series X where you can suspend a bunch of games simultaneously.

Gamechanger. I'm in.

---

Apparently Proton is currently compatible with ~70% of the games on Steam. It's not just games with anti-cheat that it has issues with.

Lots of games have issues that're similar to what you see with other emulators. Messed-up colors, no audio, crashes at certain locations, etc.
---

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

The website says it works with any USB C dock, so any USB-C to HDMI cable should do the job.

So basically you can get a (likely) cheaper USB C dock without getting the official Steam Deck one and that cable and be good to go? Hmmm, neat.

---

Put in my deposit for one.

No need for a dock, considering I play my Switch handheld most of the time anyways

---

Kenri posted...

Do we know this for sure or is this just your assumption based on its specs? (Legitimately asking, not trying to be accusatory)

PC technology moves very fast. In 2-3 years there will very likely be Steam games this cannot play without a legitimate upgrade.

---

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

What? lol comparable devices with worse specs go for $1000, why are you comparing this to like a Retroid in price?

Because it has no set purpose to me outside of being a novelty.. It just lets me combine my PC backlog with my not PC backlog. The pricetag for that feels asininely high to the point where I can't even seriously consider a purchase.

My bet is that this is the kind of thing a small hardcore base will buy early, and then the sales will crash down hard and never recover.

I agree that, for the level of tech, it's probably worth $399. I just highly suspect most people won't consider it worth $399 to them. I gave the pricepoint I'd personally consider buying it at, and it's around 1/4-1/3 of the base asking price.

---

ninkendo posted...

if you follow the link $399 is actually for the 64 GB model so you're probably only playing 1 AAA game at a time on that. They offer up to 512 GB models but then it's over $600

8 year old GTAV is 88.9 GB on my Hard Drive so gg

---

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

What? lol comparable devices with worse specs go for $1000, why are you comparing this to like a Retroid in price?

I don't think he's arguing value from an actual specs/hardware viewpoint, but from a usage viewpoint. If you already have a PC that can run Steam games to begin with, which you likely do if you actually have Steam games, then it adds nothing but the novelty of being able to play them portable. But that novelty likely isn't worth the price to the casual consumer since it doesn't actually offer anything unique like actual dedicated game hardware does, and likewise there's more unknowns and potential headaches when it comes to compatibility.

---

My reservation timeline says Q2 2022, which is fine by me. Gives me time to see the general sentiment and make sure I want to commit.

I am pretty optimistic about this though! I think it'd have to be seriously flawed in some way to not be worth it (to me, at least). Portable gameplay (plus suspend) is huge, and there also the benefit of being able to use it easily for playing LAN with friends.

---

The 399 varient to me is usesless since its 64GB and not even on an SSD.

256GB SSD version or better.

---