Valve's Steam Deck

[Gordon_4]

I have one and am quite happy with it. Is there any better controller to put into your PC to play console ports around ?

The Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers have been the standard by which I measure controllers. So far nothing's really beaten them, BUT with that said I've not had the privilege of trying the Steam controller. So it could kick their arse handily.

So long as each version of the Switch can play the same games, I don't have a problem with giving people options.

Its called market fragmentation and its a terrible idea. Hell I think the Switch Lite was a terrible idea, but at least makes sense when you consider the housing conditions of Nintendo's core market.m

Looking at even the top end £569.00 one (UK price) that's better than most gaming laptops for the price.

Hell that's better than my present laptop (an old mid range one I do game on) and on par with or better than the one I was considering getting eventually as my next upgrade.

I think you're ignoring that the Game Deck does one thing. Your laptop does one hundred things.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I think you're ignoring that the Game Deck does one thing. Your laptop does one hundred things.

I dunno it's running Steam OS and assuming it's capable of running most stuff on Steam I could use something like Nimble writer on Steam as a writing package and also from the Steam Deck site

You can also install and use PC software, of course. Browse the web, watch streaming video, do your normal productivity stuff, install some other game stores, whatever.

On Steam Deck, your games run on a different operating system than the one on your desktop PC. It's a new version of SteamOS, built with Steam Deck in mind and optimized for a handheld gaming experience. It comes with Proton, a compatibility layer that makes it possible to run your games without any porting work needed from developers. For Deck, we're vastly improving Proton's game compatibility

 

[laggyteabag]

I dunno it's running Steam OS and assuming it's capable of running most stuff on Steam I could use something like Nimble writer on Steam as a writing package and also from the Steam Deck site

You can also install and use PC software, of course. Browse the web, watch streaming video, do your normal productivity stuff, install some other game stores, whatever.

On Steam Deck, your games run on a different operating system than the one on your desktop PC. It's a new version of SteamOS, built with Steam Deck in mind and optimized for a handheld gaming experience. It comes with Proton, a compatibility layer that makes it possible to run your games without any porting work needed from developers. For Deck, we're vastly improving Proton's game compatibility

Im really curious to see how far this can be pushed. I rarely use my laptop as a standalone device, and I use it effectively as a transportable desktop that goes from my laptop dock at home, to my laptop dock at work. If I could install Office 365 on this, it could theoretically replace my laptop.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I have one and am quite happy with it. Is there any better controller to put into your PC to play console ports around ?

Xbox controller for sure. It is more responsive than the steam controller and more comfortable and just abiut every game with controller support instantly adapts to it with ease.

 

[Drathnoxis]

The Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers have been the standard by which I measure controllers. So far nothing's really beaten them, BUT with that said I've not had the privilege of trying the Steam controller. So it could kick their arse handily.

The D-pad is trash on the 360 controller, though.

 

[MrCalavera]

The cheapest version looks like a neat alternative for a low end gaming laptop.

Although the hard drive could be bigger, and as far as portability goes, there's also the question of battery life and this godforsaken(?) key layout.

Another thing i'm worried about: Ironically the potential key to its success. It looks like a cheaper alternative for "normal" pc builds these days. But will Valve be able to secure the demand if it takes off? If the real price suddenly skyrockets over 200+ dollars, it won't be looking as neat anymore.

 

[laggyteabag]

Although the hard drive could be bigger, and as far as portability goes, there's also the question of battery life and this godforsaken(?) key layout.

All models come with SD-card expandable storage, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue - though I wouldn't want to be stuck with only 64GB of internal storage, especially with how big games are getting these days.

Battery life is quoted as being 2-8 hours, depending on what you are doing/playing. So more or less the same as the Switch.

The stick/button layout does look odd, and really cramped - but now is really the best time to voice any grievances, so hopefully Valve can make any necessary changes before it comes out. Lets not forget that this is what the prototype Steam controller looked like, when it was first revealed.

 

[BrawlMan]

I have one and am quite happy with it. Is there any better controller to put into your PC to play console ports around ?

The Logitech controller works pretty well too. The one that shaped and formatted like a PlayStation controller, but has the Xbox button layout.

I also use my Sega Genesis 6 button controller to play beat'em ups and fighting games on MAME.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I'm not sure how I feel about handheld gaming. Not a lot of time for it in my life, using a handheld console while commuting is just tempting fate. Even in more secure public transportation like a bus, I get carsick. I guess it would be most useful on long airplane rides?

I bought a Gameboy Advance back then for the games (mainly Pokemon), not because I could bring it everywhere I went. This Deck thing doesn't have any exclusives, or even games that were developed with its capabilities in mind, so I have a feeling this will end up just as much of a gimmick as the Steam Machines. And even then, I don't trust Valve one bit to sustain this in the long run.

 

[Aiddon]

So completely sacrifice the identity and concept they built the Switch around?

Pretty much; the kinds of people begging for a non-Switch just don't get the appeal. There is never, ever going to be a dock-only Switch because then it's just another boring console. Yet another reason why people need to spend less time on gaming Youtube

 

[Worgen]

I think you're ignoring that the Game Deck does one thing. Your laptop does one hundred things.

You can install windows on it and you can also hook up a mouse and keyboard. So you kinda can use it just like a laptop.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I'm not sure how I feel about handheld gaming. Not a lot of time for it in my life, using a handheld console while commuting is just tempting fate. Even in more secure public transportation like a bus, I get carsick. I guess it would be most useful on long airplane rides?

I bought a Gameboy Advance back then for the games (mainly Pokemon), not because I could bring it everywhere I went. This Deck thing doesn't have any exclusives, or even games that were developed with its capabilities in mind, so I have a feeling this will end up just as much of a gimmick as the Steam Machines. And even then, I don't trust Valve one bit to sustain this in the long run.

Well it has every game on PC on Steam not on console as an exclusive lol

 

[Piscian]

I tried to reserve one but by the time I got the page to load it said my account was too new, my account literally being older than the steam store, so I guess I'm out. Another successful Scalper/influencer launch.

 

[MrCalavera]

Its called market fragmentation and its a terrible idea. Hell I think the Switch Lite was a terrible idea, but at least makes sense when you consider the housing conditions of Nintendo's core market.

Well... it might be terrible, but that's how it is right now. Besides Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED you also have 3 Xboxes and 2(?) PS5s. And every recently modern handheld got their variations too.

I don't think the target base of people who would gladly play their Marios, Zeldas, Metroids or other Nintendo's properties, but aren't interested in portable gaming is small enough to not atleast etertain the thought of a stationary Switch.

Though maybe they'll just buy the regular one anyway, so Nintendo don't need to fragmentarize.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Pretty much; the kinds of people begging for a non-Switch just don't get the appeal. There is never, ever going to be a dock-only Switch because then it's just another boring console. Yet another reason why people need to spend less time on gaming Youtube

No, I get the appeal of the switch. It's great for children who have to share the TV with the rest of their family, or it's good for people who commute to work by bus or train and have a lot of free time during those activities to do nothing. I fall into neither of those groups, and so do a lot of other people. Why would I want to pay extra for a bunch of features I have no intention of using?

I also don't understand this stance of if you change the switch then it's just another boring console. The purpose of a console is to play games. That's it, that's its only job. It doesn't matter what form it has, it's entirely defined by what games it plays. I would be completely happy if all consoles were just gray boxes that you could stack on top of each other and you just picked the one you wanted based on the games it played.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Well it has every game on PC on Steam not on console as an exclusive lol

Fair enough, though I's still say majority of those games are either pretty niche or not at all a good experience on a handheld.

 

[Adam Jensen]

How many Steam Controller users we got here?

Irrelevant. Steam controller was a bad idea because it's a device with a very stiff competition that tried to do something new for no reason. Steam Deck is a video game console that lets you play probably a vast majority of your Steam library anywhere you go, for $400. If there's a market for Switch, there's a market for Steam deck. And I'd wager that the market for Steam deck is a lot bigger.

 

[Chimpzy]

Well it has every game on PC on Steam not on console as an exclusive lol

That's not really true. Not out of the box at least.

Steam Deck will come with SteamOS installed, which is Linux-based. Tho it also has a feature called Proton, which is a combo of tools that serve as compatibility layer to allow Windows games to run on Linux. So the actual number of games is all Linux games and any Windows game compatible through Proton. Which is still quite a lot of games, tho it's not yet known just how many Proton compatible titles there will be. Early reports seem to indicate many of the most popular Windows games on Steam are (as of yet still) borked on Steam Deck.

Steam Deck Might Not Play Some Of Steam's Most Popular Games

Games like Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and PUBG don't currently work with Valve's "Proton" feature

kotaku.com

Tho the assumption is Valve will work on improving compatibility by launch and beyond.

Failing that, Steam Deck is basically just a PC in a tiny form factor. You can install Windows on it, ballooning its library to potentially every Windows PC game ever, and through emulation, a large chunk of console games as well. In a sense, it already has more exclusives than every console ever combined.

 

[09philj]

You can install Windows on it, ballooning its library to potentially every Windows PC game ever

Obviously this will come with inconvenience of getting Windows (£120 for law abiding citizens) and then doing things to Windows so that you don't have to plug a keyboard in every time you want to use it, so this is probably something for more niche users.

That said this is probably going to be an indie game machine like the Switch and a lot of them have Linux support anyway so spotty support for Windows games may not be that much of an issue.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Obviously this will come with inconvenience of getting Windows (£120 for law abiding citizens) and then doing things to Windows so that you don't have to plug a keyboard in every time you want to use it, so this is probably something for more niche users.

That said this is probably going to be an indie game machine like the Switch and a lot of them have Linux support anyway so spotty support for Windows games may not be that much of an issue.

I mean I think windows 8 onwards with the whole UWP thing has a built in touchscreen compatible keyboard and the Steam Deck does have touchscreen