It’s pretty much as powerful as the gaming PC I made several years ago and is a decent price. I’d be happy to recommend it to someone even not taking into account how versatile it is
My laptop’s SSD died a while back, so I sent it away for repairs (yay, MSI’s warranty).
In that brief period without a PC, my Steam Deck was a god send - used it as my main machine for 4 days. Was even able to work on it.
That’s such a crazy addition to the value proposition, for me - totally makes it worth it.
Also, being able to play PS5 games in bed via Chiaki is delicious.
I’ve been using it as my main (and only) machine for the whole year. Work included (dev, illustration, graphic design, cgi)
Chiaki doesn’t get enough credit.
I mean, that makes sense, because its just running (a slightly restricted) version Linux of under the hood, which I is what I run on my gaming and work pc
It’s an immutable version of stripped Arch, dunno if that counts as ‘slightly restricted’. You can disable the read-only mode if you want to and know what you’re doing.
That’s why I said slightly, for the average user you can’t do quite as much
I mean for average console user, you can do a whole lot. Even for your average Windows user.
And if you drive Linux… I’m not sure why you couldn’t handle SteamOS?
I can, what I am saying is the way the steamos is built, its a bit harder for new users to do more advanced stuff, not that its that limited. I so admit I could’ve phrased IT better though
Why hasn’t anyone else made one to compete that’s cheap? Because, Mr.Author…No one else can make their money back by selling software.
The Switch certainly predates the Deck, and they definitely make their money back on software, but being forced solely into the Nintendo ecosystem is off-putting. Only Microsoft is a likely candidate to make a handheld that uses their Game Pass, and I would bet they aren’t really needing to push subscriptions at the moment.
You say it’s off putting as if the Switch doesn’t have dozens on dozens on dozens of quality 1st and 2nd party titles. Also, no one is being forced into the Nintendo ecosystem. It’s a Nintendo product, and you buy a Nintendo console to play Nintendo games. It’s not anti-gamer. That being said, apples and oranges to compare the switch to the deck.
Right, but the original statement was whether other companies have made a competing and profitable “Deck,” and the Switch is already such a device. Portable, plays games locally, has a thriving software ecosystem…
Whether those games within that ecosystem are “quality” or not is irrelevant. Both platforms have examples of good and bad games. My point was that if you buy a Switch, you are forced into their ecosystem. On the Deck, you do not have such a limitation (with a bit of effort, you can access anything a regular Linux machine can). Nobody is coerced in, sure, but that wasn’t the point I was making.
So where you see apples and oranges, I see a small, dry apple vs. a big, juicy apple. A better analogy might be Apple vs Windows.
No, the Switch is not such a device.
The article is very obviously about PCs. The Switch is not a PC.
Why are you trying to compare a computer to a walled garden Nintendo switch? Hell, you’re making my argument for me.
I can’t believe I have to rehash this again. A Switch is a computer. My point wasn’t that it’s somehow better, but Nintendo already did exactly what you said: made a handheld portable computer with built-in screen that can play games locally and is sold at a loss only to recoup those losses with software sales.
The Deck can do more than the Switch, but that doesn’t make the Switch less of a computer.
Bingo,I think people forget Valve went out of their way to make their profit margin razor thin, or at a slight loss because they know the benefit of having a device that basically assures a new paying user will be added in their Steam ecosystem. It’s based on Nintendo’s walled garden philosophy after all, just refined really well on PC.
It’s not a walled garden though, Valve made no attempts to lock anything down. You can install something like Heroic Game Launcher on the Steam Deck and play Epic Game Store or GOG games too.
Yeah, it’s based on the philosophy, but it doesn’t strictly follow the philosophy.
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Why do you say that? Heroic games launcher already exist on Flathub and is super easy to use
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It’s really not that hard and there are plenty of guides available. If you are unable to visit the “store” (discovery), download a program and finally run it, then maybe you should just keep using Steam and not complicate things.
I feel like if you are smart enough to know that Heroic Launcher exists then you could figure out how to do a google search on how to install it. It’s not like Windows “just works” every time
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While this is true and works out that way, it’s either put in a bit of work to get a game to run (I have epic games borderlands 2 handsome Jack collection and it crashes a lot on me) or use the store that has all the games and controller settings set up specifically to the deck. Having the option is great, but using steam is still easiest and makes any deck owners default purchase store choice for a game as steam. To the point where if I had to pay $25 for a game on steam vs $20 on epic or any other, I’d just go ahead and get the steam version if I intended to play it on my deck.
It’s funny. I thought I would just play through my SO’s gargantuan library for a long while, but I’m pretty sure I’ve spent more on new games than I did on the Steam Deck itself at this point. So, yeah. They made the right call.
Valve also made a really thought out and well designed product, which I think is pretty rare these days. The instant hibernation feature is just one example of why the Steam Deck is so much better than the competition
Does the title mean this person likes it?
I think so, but the wording is confusing to me.
I read it as “The budget price tag is why I still care enough to rate it”
Probably putting windows on any device adds an another 100€ to the price tag. With Linux, you save money 🤷
They pay nothing like that.
You wouldn’t really want it on the Steam Deck though.
My only real gripe is that the SSDs aren’t being refreshed as component prices drop. There’s no reason for the entry level not to be 256 now, with 512 mid range and 1TB top end. Retail - and I presume wholesale - prices on the parts have dropped by half or more since the deck was launched. There may be contractual issues involved, but - for Valve - it would make sense to make these machines as self-contained as possible. Yes, you can by a SD card, but at this point you probably shouldn’t have to. And, lets face it, 64GB on a gaming device is pretty limiting. Just start slotting in larger drives as the inventory breaks the previous price floor and inventory is cleared.
Still a very expensive paper weight, I think I’ve used mine about 6 times so far…
I’m not sure what you expected the Steam Deck to do?
Play games for him, without his input.
Yeh, I just cant figure out how to make it do that for me! :D
Id say they’re probably someone that never had a handheld, because lately I’ve been using it more than my desktop lol
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What the fuck is with the formatting? I kept trying to read it as a poem or song.
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Nah I had and used my vita all the time but I think it is because it is a handheld and I don’t get on so well with them in general.
I think its all about the games you choose! For example, survivor games like Vampire Survivors, Halls of Torment, Soulstone Survivors are super fun to play on the deck.
My spouse is also using it as emulator device so he’s been playing many ps1/ps2 games on it.
Halls of Torment is actually one of the games I have played on there, I also did the same and set it up with a load of emulators but I think I enjoyed setting it up more than playing any of the games as I haven’t really put any time into any of them.
The other thing I did play on there was Skate 2 but emulating that caused it to get really hot and absolutely chore through the battery in no time!
The reason I have been hanging on to it is in the hope I find a jrpg or something as that is what I used my vita for the most but nothing has really come up that I want to play as of yet. I had been considering putting Disgaea 6 on there recently but haven’t ever gotten around to it.
I recommend trying the first two Personas to start if you haven’t played those yet
I played and absolutely loved P4G on the vita but I couldn’t get into the gameplay loop in P3P. The story was super interesting but the gameplay itself was repetitive and boring as it didn’t offer as much to do as you got in P4.
Do you think the first 2 are worth playing having had 4 as my first persona game?
I’m so addicted to halls of torment right now!!
My desktop PC sits like 3 m away but I haven’t played on it since I got my steam deck. Playing in bed, on the sofa or even on the toilet on the steam deck is so much more fun! In the summer I would just lie in my hammock outside and play for hours. Such a great time :)
I know right? I was addicted on trying to get all achievements hahah
It does what I “expected it to do” I think it comes down to the fact that I thought I would use it more but I find it uncomfortable to use.
In general I don’t get on so well with handhelds, I just hoped that this one would be the change in that, I loved the vita and used that all the time but every other handheld I’ve ever owned I never really used bar the aforementioned vita and the neo geo pocket colour way back when.
Mine is mostly hooked up to my lounge tv via a dock and using my steam controller. Gets me out of my work room.
If you have a cool living room setup (nice tv/sofa/soundbar) the dock is a must have!
I never saw the point in wasting my money on a dock when it takes me 15 seconds to just plug my laptop in with a HDMI cable and have more power and compatibility. G
Well, in my case, my Steam Deck is way more capable of running games than my laptop, so the point of a dock would be to play games on a bigger screen. I mean it seems kind of self-explanatory, no?
I said I don’t see the point in wasting my money not what the point of a dock is…
This sounds like a “you” problem.
Did I say it wasn’t?
You called it an expensive paper weight. Insulting something that people like will often prompt them to defend it. It’s perfectly fine to not like something. It’s fine to point out objective flaws in it. However, don’t call something bad (which is essentially what you did) just because you don’t like it. That starts arguments.
To be clear, I don’t want to argue here. I just want to point out an observation that has impacted how and when I state my opinion.
It is good to give people the benefit of the doubt (I know it is hard, but trust me it works wonders). I could easily say that my Switch was a paper weight for a long time before I actually got use out of it, so they didn’t elaborate and maybe wanted to show frustration that their investment wasn’t good enough for their use. When in doubt just ask people to elaborate, no need to escalate.
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So sell it. They’re pretty easy to sell used.
Guys, would it be wise to buy a Deck now (almost end of 2023)? Since rumors about Deck 2 has surfaced. I’m afraid the Deck 1 will reach end-of-life soon.
I don’t know if you saw it, but they just announced an OLED Steam Deck earlier today.
Should have the same motherboard/specs based on leaks, just a much better screen.
I’d probably wait and see how much it will sell for, and I’d they discount the non-oled decks.
LOL, I literally wrote that comment and went to sleep. Just to woke up the next morning to see the internet exploding with news about the refreshed Deck :)))
Definitely gonna get a 512GB OLED now. If I hold off till Christmas, I may even be able to get the 1TB. The SSD upgrade is overpriced but the anti-glare should be nice.
Being that it’s Linux, it shouldn’t have an end of life even if they stop selling it
Your disadvantage would be hardware
