Valve introduces Steam Deck

[TVStactic]

I have a feeling this is yet another of Valve's ventures into hardware only made possible by steam's passive income for them and will be abandoned within a year just like Steam Controllers, Steam Link, and now the Valve Index with its accessories.

It is literally listed as one of the major perks of working at valve on their careers page to be able to do that because of steam.

pretty much that, valve is literally the google of games.

 

[Marissa Moira]

pretty much that, valve is literally the google of games.

Boy, people can't even remember that the Stadia is a thing even when making comparisons.

 

[Belvedere]

Valve can't give out the blueprints and schematics to anything other than the board layout. Steam Deck is actually worse than the 3DO when it comes to a pure hardware business model, they have nothing to license because they own nothing.

They own the name and the branding, and if we want to get technical, Valve owns the specific firmware and the specific code written within the custom version of SteamOS that will ship with the Deck and will allow full compatibility with its full array of control interfaces. I prefaced my post with "for the sake of argument" because I know the chances of Valve licensing the design of the Deck are a hypothetical, but if it were to happen and other hardware manufactures wanted to tap into the name recognition of Valve and Steam then licensing the exact hardware blueprints would be a good idea rather than making an "also-ran" off-brand handheld gaming PC.

How will Xbox, Sony, Apple and Nintendo react? They won't.

You misunderstood my post, that's is not the hardware manufacturer I was talking about, the Deck is a PC hence companies like Lenovo, Nec, Alienware, etc would be the most likely candidates to produce Deck clones, specially considering these companies have already shown interest into developing handheld gaming PCs.

Lenovo and Nec's LaVie Mini
( https://www.gamingoverdoseplus.com/...andheld-pc-gaming-device-prototype-lavie-mini )

Alienware's Concept UFO
( https://www.pcgamer.com/i-tried-out...d-gaming-pc-and-it-made-me-want-a-switch-pro/ )

 

[ZMOT]

They own the name and the branding, and if we want to get technical, Valve owns the specific firmware and the specific code written within the custom version of SteamOS that will ship with the Deck and will allow full compatibility with its full array of control interfaces.

that's what steam input is for, worst case it will a simple xinput emulation so all the windows games work, if linux doesn't already support it themselves. it doesn't do anything fancy that would prevent games from working (nor is it in valve's interest to go that way).

 

[murdered meat bag]

They own the name and the branding, and if we want to get technical, Valve owns the specific firmware and the specific code written within the custom version of SteamOS that will ship with the Deck and will allow full compatibility with its full array of control interfaces. I prefaced my post with "for the sake of argument" because I know the chances of Valve licensing the design of the Deck are a hypothetical, but if it were to happen and other hardware manufactures wanted to tap into the name recognition of Valve and Steam then licensing the exact hardware blueprints would be a good idea rather than making an "also-ran" off-brand handheld gaming PC.




You misunderstood my post, that's is not the hardware manufacturer I was talking about, the Deck is a PC hence companies like Lenovo, Nec, Alienware, etc would be the most likely candidates to produce Deck clones, specially considering these companies have already shown interest into developing handheld gaming PCs.

Lenovo and Nec's LaVie Mini
( https://www.gamingoverdoseplus.com/...andheld-pc-gaming-device-prototype-lavie-mini )

Alienware's Concept UFO
( https://www.pcgamer.com/i-tried-out...d-gaming-pc-and-it-made-me-want-a-switch-pro/ )

its a netbook with a nice cpu/gup and controller built in.. you can buy a gpd win or rig up something with moonlight and a phone and tablet.

the biggest difference is price, gpds cost a little more than a grand. i've seen vita knockoffs running android for emulation. but any computer manufacture can make the same thing. steam's goal is get people to use steam.

 

[Buttigieg2020]

A 3rd party steam deck is pointless because 3rd party manufacturers have to sell the hardware at a profit, because they won’t make any money off software. Valve can, so they can sell hardware at a loss like Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft. Any 3rd party steam deck is going to be more expensive than Valve’s, like the Aya Neo or GPD are.

 

[ZMOT]

A 3rd party steam deck is pointless because 3rd party manufacturers have to sell the hardware at a profit, because they won’t make any money off software. Valve can, so they can sell hardware at a loss like Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft. Any 3rd party steam deck is going to be more expensive than Valve’s, like the Aya Neo or GPD are.

depends on hardware prices in the future and who does it, samsung or some chinks could probably crank one out much cheaper than valve itself can. but even then the profit margin probably won't be high enough even in quantity unless the deck is such a smash hit they want in on the portable market, so doubt we'll see a lot of 3rd parties.

 

[Disc]

Apparently the Steam Deck will weight 670 grams. For reference, The Switch is 400 with joycons and the Switch Lite is 270.

So if when you drop it on your face, it's going to weigh as much as both systems combined. There's a small but tantalizingly nonzero chance it breaks a nose.

 

[DeadwastePrime]

Apparently the Steam Deck will weight 670 grams. For reference, The Switch is 400 with joycons and the Switch Lite is 270.

So if when you drop it on your face, it's going to weigh as much as both systems combined. There's a small but tantalizingly nonzero chance it breaks a nose.

a small price to pay for portable gaming on not a laptop

 

[Stasi]

I know what this guy is using his steam deck for

 

[Dr. Geronimo]

Linus did a video

Only piece of info I'm waiting on is if the triggers are double action like the steam controller. If they are then I can have true portable GameCube autism.

 

[Marissa Moira]

Apparently the Steam Deck will weight 670 grams. For reference, The Switch is 400 with joycons and the Switch Lite is 270.

So if when you drop it on your face, it's going to weigh as much as both systems combined. There's a small but tantalizingly nonzero chance it breaks a nose.

good

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

Linus did a video

Only piece of info I'm waiting on is if the triggers are double action like the steam controller. If they are then I can have true portable GameCube autism.

PCGamer has also made a hands-on preview.

TL;DR:

Valve has work left to finish on the Steam Deck, and I think most of that will be on the software side. The hardware isn't quite final, but I expect only small changes that affect manufacturing and reliability, not design. SteamOS 3's new design looks great, but it isn't as seamless yet as a console UI. Valve still has months to left to work out those bugs. And for the most part, it just worked.

After spending a far too brief couple hours with the Steam Deck, I'm not sure if I would consider it a one-to-one replacement for the Nintendo Switch. Its bigger size isn't as ideal for throwing in a backpack and playing on the go. But as a portable PC gaming machine, it really is impressive: it's comfortable, feels great to hold, and seems to have the power to play games like Death Stranding with decent settings. If SteamOS really can deliver the compatibility Valve's aiming for, the Steam Deck is going to become my go-to system for playing games that I wish I could play on the Switch, lounging on my couch, that it just doesn't have the muscle for. And I'm convinced it's going to be the best emulation device ever made.

So basically, what everyone else has said in this thread all along: It definitely won't replace the Switch, but it'll most likely carve its own little niche as a "portable gaming PC" and emulation device, best case scenario. Also found this interesting little nugget of info:

Valve said that most of the work needed to make the entire Steam library work on the Deck is on them, not individual game developers. As Valve continues to refine Proton, plenty of games will just work without any specific treatment. But there will also be ways for developers to optimize their games for the Deck hardware.

"There will be an API that developers will be able to call that says 'Is this Steam Deck? If so, use these settings," said Valve designer Lawrence Yang. He compared it to how many games already detect some basic info about your hardware, like monitor resolution, and adjust accordingly. Hopefully by launch many games will have updates with settings optimized for the Steam Deck, but the graphics settings will still be there for us to tweak by hand if we need to.

Again, many people predicted this in the thread, so +1 for you guys.

 

[Toolbox]

I know what this guy is using his steam deck for
View attachment 2411741

This guy's even been at the company since Half Life. Supposedly used as an inspiration for Freeman's face and one of the lockers in the HEV room has his name on it.

Wonder how he feels with most people only knowing him because of his last name. Funny to think about.

 

[Dr. Geronimo]

PCGamer has also made a hands-on preview.

TL;DR:

So basically, what everyone else has said in this thread all along: It definitely won't replace the Switch, but it'll most likely carve its own little niche as a "portable gaming PC" and emulation device, best case scenario. Also found this interesting little nugget of info:

Again, many people predicted this in the thread, so +1 for you guys.

Basically what I wanted from the beginning. I have my main rig for the good stuff so something that I can play at work and stuff would be great since every handheld I have has some quirk or flaw that stops it from being perfect. Only thing I'm hoping for are the triggers being double action.

Am very disappointed with the dock though. I though we were getting something along the lines of the 3DS dock and not just some cable dock.

E: Really I thought we were getting a dock like this where is was in an upright position.

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

It definitely won't replace the Switch, but it'll most likely carve its own little niche as a "portable gaming PC" and emulation device, best case scenario.

So you're saying it will be a total failure and be abandoned like every other "portable gaming PC" that has come out and subsequently been rationalized as a "niche" system that is "great for emulation!"

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

So you're saying it will be a total failure and be abandoned like every other "portable gaming PC" that has come out and subsequently been rationalized as a "niche" system that is "great for emulation!"

That's the worst case scenario (one that admittedly has precedent). That's the devil with this thing - it could really go either way, since it's still way too early to tell. The positive hands-on previews are encouraging though. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Marissa Moira]

That's the worst case scenario (one that admittedly has precedent). That's the devil with this thing - it could really go either way, since it's still way too early to tell. The positive hands-on previews are encouraging though. We'll just have to wait and see.

The last time people were so divided on something was the ipad.

When it first came out people said it was just a larger iphone. Yet despite that being true, it's still around and selling.

 

[Pissmaster]

Apparently the Steam Deck will weight 670 grams. For reference, The Switch is 400 with joycons and the Switch Lite is 270.

So if when you drop it on your face, it's going to weigh as much as both systems combined. There's a small but tantalizingly nonzero chance it breaks a nose.

That’s about the same weight as an iPad 4, and I’ve fallen asleep while reading mine and accidentally bonked myself in the face.

It sucks, but you’d have to be as fragile as a saltine to break a nose.

 

[Megatardingo]

That’s about the same weight as an iPad 4, and I’ve fallen asleep while reading mine and accidentally bonked myself in the face.

It sucks, but you’d have to be as fragile as a saltine to break a nose.

Are you holding it like 1 cm away from your face or what? Half a kilo slapping your face hurts.