Steam Deck (handheld from Valve) - shipping is 4-8 days from NL to UK

[QuackQuack]

Valve has kept hearing about these deck-building games and has built a Deck to play games!

 

It’s coming in December and starts at £349

 

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/

 

·       Powerful, custom APU developed with AMD
·       Optimized for hand-held gaming
·       Full-sized controls
·       7" touchscreen
·       WiFi and Bluetooth ready
·       USB-C port for accessories
·       microSD slot for storage expansion
·       3  storage options

 

My first impression: It doesn’t look very comfortable to hold...

 

 

Edited September 24, 2022 by Kryptonian
Shipping

[moosegrinder]

2 minutes ago, QuackQuack said:

My first impression: It doesn’t look very comfortable to hold...

Precisely mine too...

[Gabe]

Why are valve so keen to get into the hardware side of things? Don't they also tend to do a Google, given that steam link, the controller and the steam boxes all died a death? 

[QuackQuack]

IGN seem to have been given the hands-on scoop. I’ll add the video to the first post.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-valve-announces-handheld-gaming-pc-2021-release

[Strafe]

Switch Pro confirmed!

[Robo_1]

The d-pad and face buttons look to be on the verge of slipping off the thing. Interesting development though, sounds powerful enough at any rate.

[Bacon Horsemeat]

I am on this. I almost bought the AYA Neo earlier this year for over £500, so £450 for a better supported and less DIY version sounds good to me

[ImmaculateClump]

Glossy, reflective screen for a portable again?
Why do companies keep doing this?

16:10 aspect ratio seems strange.

 

The whole dock thing could make this very attractive to a wider market than just people looking for a portable.

Will be interesting to see how this does. This could sell really well if they throw some advertising budget at it!

[Qazimod]

That layout seems a bit "please use the trackpads  " to me.

 

All we need is for MS to reveal something which is essentially two halves of a 360 controller with a screen in the middle - the layout everyone (okay just me) wants.

[ox1973]

This looks like it has a lot of potential, especially as the OS isn't locked down.

[Jamie John]

If this is decent then I might cancel my Switch OLED pre-order. I've got a lot of unplayed Steam games that would be perfect handheld...

[Sarlaccfood]

Can just imagine some Neckbeard scoffing at a kid playing their Switch on the train as they proceed to take this thing out like Mary Poppins pulls a ladder out her handbag, settling in for 20 minutes of fiddling with graphics settings. 

[Marzipan Travolta]

It's very competitively priced. Huge spec leap from the Switch too. Really not sure about the positioning of the controls. Feels like you might end up with nothing in the right place while trying to get a compromise on both.

Still, it has massive potential. Be interesting to see if Valve go hard on marketing it.

[Strafe]

19 minutes ago, ImmaculateClump said:

Glossy, reflective screen for a portable again?

I’m guessing that given it’s the size of a hatchback and you have to sign into steam each time using WiFi that they’re assuming people won’t be taking it outdoors much.

[Ferine]

21 minutes ago, Robo_1 said:

The d-pad and face buttons look to be on the verge of slipping off the thing.

That makes a lot more sense when you see the handles on the back, compared to the flat rear of a Switch. Rather than gripping a slab with outstretched fingers it should be more like holding two affixed Wii Remotes/Move wands.

[Ry]

As Someone who doesn't do PC gaming this really really appeals to me. 

 

I'm totally sold. Although with only 250gb storage that seems pretty poor. Are PC games smaller file size than console? 

 

The thought of having the dock behind my TV and playing on my TV the tons of games you only get on pc is a brilliant proposition. 

 

I think it's people like me they are targeting. People who don't like the hassle or space a good gaming rig can have. 

[Bacon Horsemeat]

Just now, Ry said:

As Someone who doesn't do PC gaming this really really appeals to me. 

 

I'm totally sold. Although with only 250gb storage that seems pretty poor. Are PC games smaller file size than console? 

 

The thought of having the dock behind my TV and playing on my TV the tons of games you only get on pc is a brilliant proposition. 

 

I think it's people like me they are targeting. People who don't like the hassle or space a good gaming rig can have. 

There's a 512gb version. Expandable by microsd card (lol)

[Bacon Horsemeat]

The thought occured to me, by installing windows over it you can run emulators.... It will be able to play so many retro games!

[simms]

I'm intrigued.  Good price

[simms]

1 minute ago, Bacon Horsemeat said:

The thought occured to me, by installing windows over it you can run emulators.... It will be able to play so many retro games!

 

Absolutely this.  So many handheld emulator options out there.  This is prime for that

[Jamie John]

The fact you can run whatever on this (including, presumably, Game Pass) has me sold. I've going to reserve the 256GB one tomorrow, I think.

[HarMGM]

Looks hideous. The first thing that leapt to mind was the Game Gear. The size of the thing also doesn't help compared to the (already bulky) Switch.

[Mallet]

It looks a lot more comfortable to hold than my Switch.

[Ry]

Why would anyone pay the extra for storage (and its a fair increase) when you can buy SD cards for buttons these days?

 

In 75% in for one. Need more details. 

[Sabreman]

I like this for the idea of it essentially being like a docked Switch. Something that just sits next to the TV rather than this chonking great big box under the desk.

[Popo]

This thing screamed N-Gauge to me at first, but... it's actually kind of appealing?  And sexy, in a fugly sort of way. Looks big and heavy in the hands (big Deck energy?).  And it's basically running Linux, so you can plug it into a dock, download Chrome and use it to be productive as well?  That's rad.

[Mystacon]

Just now, Ry said:

Why would anyone pay the extra for storage (and its a fair increase) when you can buy SD cards for buttons these days?

 

In 75% in for one. Need more details. 

I was just thinking the same thing. Get a 64Gb one and stick a 1TB microsd card in it surely?

 

Would there be a performance hit if you’re not using the internal storage? I don’t really know about this stuff.

[Bacon Horsemeat]

3 minutes ago, Ry said:

Why would anyone pay the extra for storage (and its a fair increase) when you can buy SD cards for buttons these days?

 

Have you tried loading a modern AAA game from an SD card? They are slower than mechanical hard drives, which are bad enough

[bradigor]

An Indie machine. Could be tempting

[ImmaculateClump]

3 minutes ago, Mystacon said:

I was just thinking the same thing. Get a 64Gb one and stick a 1TB microsd card in it surely?

 

Would there be a performance hit if you’re not using the internal storage? I don’t really know about this stuff.

 

The higher capacity storage versions use NVMe SSD's. I also noticed that the most expensive unit is the only one that has a none reflective matte screen That should be standard for every model.