Steam Deck: Thread 01

[MartyG]

Isn't that already happening in this very thread?

[Neon Ignition]

Not enough... I'm still post-Q2!

[fishbowlhead]

I have probably asked this before but what's the deck the equivalent of now its in the wild and finished? like an equivalent console, XboxOne?

[MartyG]

Above Xbox One / PS4 and somewhere behind Series S in terms of raw performance.

[fishbowlhead]

Very nice, plus the advantage of being basically a pc so you can teak all you want to get it running smoother should you wish too. Its amazing how quick tech moves still.

[Neon Ignition]

Everything seems to lean to it being in a class of its own. Basically, for equivalent ability in another handheld you're looking at paying twice as much. It puzzles me that even in speculation Switch 2 is even mentioned, it feels clear that Deck will be the better system unless Switch 2 is incredibly far out. Valve are really taking the financial brunt to make this happen which Nintendo would never remotely consider.

[nonny]

Yeah Valve are almost pretty much bankrolling is market penetration given the RRP they've been able to hit.

For me I think it's just going to come down to ongoing support both from Valve and the community, plus how things play out in regards to non-steam related uses.

I think battery life is also going to be a factor for those more high-end uses and once that comes into picture you might start to favour other devices.

One thing for sure is its got the grunt...

[wakka]

Yeah, the value is bonkers. £349 is a steal. Just £40 more than a Switch OLED for a vastly more powerful machine.

I'm really intrigued to see how it fares sales-wise once the initial launch hype is over, and like nonny says what kind of support it gets long term.

It's a fascinating product.

[nonny]

Yeah I mean the switch is more pocketable and I guess a bit more versatile as you can play e.g. two players with a joy con each using the stand...

But this is just a powerhouse for the entry fee way above anything Nintendo is doing. It'll probably eat the battery doing some things, but the mere fact it can do them is impressive.

[Brad]

Yeah Valve are almost pretty much bankrolling is market penetration given the RRP they've been able to hit.

For me I think it's just going to come down to ongoing support both from Valve and the community, plus how things play out in regards to non-steam related uses.

I think battery life is also going to be a factor for those more high-end uses and once that comes into picture you might start to favour other devices.

One thing for sure is its got the grunt...

There are similar devices already available but they are at least twice as expensive as the most expensive version of the steam deck. Hamaze!

[Neon Ignition]

Checked the Library Tool and from my Steam Library:

Total = 607 Titles

49 = Verified
33 = Playable
10 = Unsupported
515 = Untested

It's kind of why the staggered launch might work out as a positive as though Steam holds a mountain of titles my collection hardly veers niche so it's kind of surprising as to the scale of 'untested'

[nonny]

There are similar devices already available but they are at least twice as expensive as the most expensive version of the steam deck. Hamaze!

Yeah I've watched ETA prime on YouTube messing with the Aya Neo Pro and a couple of others but they're way too expensive.

Gabe said the hardest part of this venture was hitting the price point and you have to give them credit, it's mouth watering when you look at the spec sheet.

[Asura]

It's kind of why the staggered launch might work out as a positive as though Steam holds a mountain of titles my collection hardly veers niche so it's kind of surprising as to the scale of 'untested'

Steam have a team of people manually testing the games; it's taking them a while to crawl through stuff. In practice a large number of your "untested" games will work.

[Brad]

Yeah I've watched ETA prime on YouTube messing with the Aya Neo Pro and a couple of others but they're way too expensive.

Gabe said the hardest part of this venture was hitting the price point and you have to give them credit, it's mouth watering when you look at the spec sheet.

Already getting replacement parts ready as well. For a device of this type it's surprisingly fixable.

[MartyG]

People should have been getting their emails by this time tomorrow if you're in the first wave. Also, the full review embargoes of the software will lift at 6PM GMT tomorrow giving us a full idea of what the device is able to do.