Steam Deck: Thread 01

[nonny]

Didn't know that, thanks for the heads up Marty...

[MartyG]

And the reviews are in ...

[Escape-To-88]

And the reviews are in ...

Jesus is that Richard Leadbetter? Remember when he wrote for Mean Machines!

[Neon Ignition]

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[Yakumo]

Jesus is that Richard Leadbetter? Remember when he wrote for Mean Machines!

Bloody hell dude, where have you been . Don't you watch Digital Foundry weekly news updates?

[MartyG]

Valve has put out a blog post explaining the email rollout: https://store.steampowered.com/news/...80716504852534

Anyone who has a Q1 reservation will get an email by the end of March which will now be sent out weekly on the Monday. I didn't get an email on Friday (reserved mine within the first 60 seconds of pre-orders going live), but no word on the volume of the batches.

[nonny]

The reviews sound very promising. IGN have also reported their unit has received 3 updates in just 24h so Valve are obviously pumping out the tweaks here.

Most negatives seem to be that the battery life takes a hammering on the bigger titles (no surprise), the fan noise is high pitched and can be a bit annoying, you can't install anything with the unit in rest mode (patch definitely needed for this one) and basically that the UI very much sides on the small PC angle more than a console-like stripped down experience.

All up I think Valve have knocked it out of the park as most of that is either expected, or can be remedied with updates.

What I still want to know is about non-steam related usage patterns. Currently reviewers aren't allowed to try out windows (or more they can't as there's no drivers). I also want to hear about emulation etc... I'm sure all of that will creep out fast now...

All up though, I'm probably going to cancel my order. The reality for my usage pattern is this is really nice, but in reality I don't actually need it (I just want it). Having just gotten the xScreen device for the Series S and owning the majority of my digital catalogue on Xbox that actually covers off most of the semi-portable setups I need at less cost, and on a larger screen. That makes picking this up a hard sell for a smaller form factor.

[MartyG]

I also want to hear about emulation etc.

PS3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMxVO_eUgEY
Switch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmmmZwk01CY&t=300s

I think it's probably safe to assume anything under those will be very good.

[Escape-To-88]

Bloody hell dude, where have you been . Don't you watch Digital Foundry weekly news updates?

Nope. I only have a vague notion of hearing the name Digital Foundary when I watched this.

[Escape-To-88]

Valve has put out a blog post explaining the email rollout: https://store.steampowered.com/news/...80716504852534

Anyone who has a Q1 reservation will get an email by the end of March which will now be sent out weekly on the Monday. I didn't get an email on Friday (reserved mine within the first 60 seconds of pre-orders going live), but no word on the volume of the batches.

I also pre ordered within the first few minutes and got after Q2. Tbh having looked at the reviews a few seem to note it as superb but currently unfinished, so it's probably worth waiting a few months. Looks like a decent device though, although I'm sure by the time I can pre order I'll have moved onto the next thing and will cancel it. ��

[fishbowlhead]

Hopefully valve are able to curb the scalpers as well. Didn’t they do it all around a steam account that has to be active and have a purchase history?

[MartyG]

Yes, Steam account had to be 6 months old and active and limited to one per account. There will still be Decks on eBay being scalped, but given the only place to buy them is via the Steam Store, it's not going to be as bad as the console/GFX card scalping has been.

[fishbowlhead]

Good and a great move by Valve for the average consumer.

[Yakumo]

Nope. I only have a vague notion of hearing the name Digital Foundary when I watched this.

Ah, you've been missing out. They often have some good tech news.

[Colin]

Yes, Steam account had to be 6 months old and active and limited to one per account. There will still be Decks on eBay being scalped, but given the only place to buy them is via the Steam Store, it's not going to be as bad as the console/GFX card scalping has been.

I set up a Steam account and preordered on the same day and I’ve never used the service before.