• 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.

    • 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.

        • 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.

    •  kryllic   ( @kryllic@programming.dev ) 
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      8 months ago

      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.

        • 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.

        • No, but they did make it very easy to buy Steam games and installing HGL or any other launcher is going to be both inconvenient and require a level of investigation that most people don’t care to bother with when they can just hit “buy” on the store.

      •  deo   ( @deo@beehaw.org ) 
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        78 months ago

        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

  • 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.

    • 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.