Current Events > Talk me out of canceling my Steam Deck order

(+) Yeah! (+)

Originally posted this on the PC board but seems hard to get an actual discussion going there

So I made my reservation about a month ago and just got an email this morning telling me my steam deck is now available to purchase. However Im not entirely sure if I want to pull the trigger on it since Im mainly a console gamer and not sure how often Id use it. I mostly play PC games that arent on console or for slightly older games that I know will be better than playing the console version. But without rebuying a bunch of more recent AAA games that I already own on console Im not sure how worthwhile it would be if Im not getting the full power out of it. If nothing else I feel like I might use it as a Nintendo Switch alternative and play older handheld games that cant be played there. Or I might just use it as an emulation machine since Ive heard it can play just about everything.

To anyone who has a steam deck, is it easy to use and figure things out compared to using a PC? Other than pricing are there any advantages/disadvantages of using it as my primary PC versus just upgrading my PC? Ive never felt like I need the most powerful gaming PC but I know the steam deck would be an upgrade over my current PC for the most part so Im hoping it might encourage me to do PC gaming more often.

Based on all of that, do you think I should keep my order and hope that Ill get some good use out of it? Even though Im somewhat worried about not using it very often, I feel like I might regret it later on if I dont buy it when I have the chance and valve eventually stops making them, which would be when the pricing on them would skyrocket in the second hand market. Is there anyone else who was in a similar situation where they bought a steam deck mostly out of curiosity but ended up liking it a lot? I got a couple days to decide one way or another. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help me out with this.

How powerful is a steam deck compared to a PS5, Xbox x, or even just a similar priced gaming laptop? Are they a good deal?

Would upgrading your PC be cheaper than buying a Steam Deck? If so, just upgrade your PC.

It'll probably just collect dust for months at a time after you're done with it being the new thing.

Do you value portable gaming? That's the biggest factor. You're looking at PS4 level games (or less) on the go. So that's really what it comes down to.

I wouldn't worry about Valve stopping making them. They're definitely gonna make new models for them.

If you don't care about portable gaming, there is no reason to have it.

apparently emulation fans love it
i would never touch an emulator because that is immoral and wrong
but from what i hear from immoral emulating heathens is that it can even run xbox 360 emulators perfectly

my laptop cant even run a ps2 emulator im assuming because its awful

yusiko posted...

apparently emulation fans love it
i would never touch an emulator because that is immoral and wrong
but from what i hear from immoral emulating heathens is that it can even run xbox 360 emulators perfectly

my laptop cant even run a ps2 emulator im assuming because its awful

oh my lord i have to pray tonight after reading this post

Ratchetrockon posted...

oh my lord i have to pray tonight after reading this post

That would be for the best

do you need the money for other, better things?
do you enjoy portable gaming and will do it more than you use your pc?

seems like the biggest questions to me. i don't own one though, mostly because of the first question.

apparently the steam deck also works as a high end gaming PC for less than $1000 which is like 2000 dollars less than a proper one

Have a Steak Deck (512 GB). Incredibly easy to use UI. It can run Cyberpunk 2077, and plays Doom Eternal at Ultra. Granted, all of this is at a lower resolution with it being a smaller screen. Still, it's quite a powerful device with lots of input options. You can easily filter games that are optimized for the Deck both in your library and store.

Steam deck was so much better than I expected.

Cancel it. Its a gimmick. Can they even be upgraded? By the time you get it, will it be old tech?

Buy a switch

yusiko posted...

apparently emulation fans love it

I don't have a Steam Deck but I do follow the emulation scene, I can confirm this. I'm not sure if it really goes up to 360 but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

TC - If they are shipping them out when you pre-ordered a month ago it seems like it won't be too long before there's no more wait list for them. If you want one in a year you should be able to get them pretty readily. I don't think there's harm in cancelling if you aren't sure.

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

I don't have a Steam Deck but I do follow the emulation scene, I can confirm this. I'm not sure if it really goes up to 360 but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

I can say for sure that it gets GameCube games consistently at 60 frames per second with upscaling.

The PS5 Remote Play app Chiaki is amazing.

Is the memory even expandable? It has trash memory space for being a Steam platform.

Cocytus posted...

Is the memory even expandable? It has trash memory space for being a Steam platform.

You can open it and change the ssd
Also there is a micro SD slot

So after taking a little time to think about it I decided Im going to hold off for now and buy the new Retroid Pocket 3 instead. From what I understand this thing is pretty powerful for its size and it emulates everything up to Dreamcast really well, plus some PSP and DS too. I feel like I would have mostly used the Steam Deck for retro gaming so I think this device will be a better fit for me, though apparently this thing is also good for game streaming so Id still be able to check out some AAA steam/gamepass games in handheld form if Im curious. Also it costs less than $150 versus the $600+ I would have been paying for the steam deck so ultimately I can see getting a lot more use out of this device while saving a lot of money in the process.

Flip it.

Anybody that actually has a Steam Deck will tell you its worth it. For $400 its a steal assuming you got the 64GB.

It made me love gaming again. Even a simple game like Vampire Survivors is so fun.

NeoShadowhen posted...

Flip it.

There is no market to flip. You can preorder today and get the thing in like a month or two. Valves preorder system has eliminated the scalper market.

No real profit to be made unless you get lucky and find some sucker.

Steam Deck looks nice, but I just got myself a top-end smartphone to emulate my legally purchased video games, and I have a PC for playing games at home.

For me, its great. I dont own a gaming PC or any modern console systems. I have a Switch, but none of the PlayStations or Xbox, so its awesome to be able to play stuff that was unavailable to me.