Steam Deck officially announced by Valve

As part of looking around at the other handheld gaming PCs in this space someone pointed out to me that the GPD devices had a malware worm preinstalled on them that users discovered and is still ongoing—some as recently as last month.

It's suspected that the Aya Neo may have this, too though I haven't looked further into it. The user mentioned that both companies use the same facilities (or some common ground) and users believe there's some rogue employee in the chain inserting it but it's all speculative at this point.

It's stunning this both isn't more widely known (first I'd heard of it despite knowing of both devices and seeing various reviews of them) and that it's acceptable at all. Stark contrast to having something vetted by Valve and has certainly tainted my view of the competition.

See these topics (there are others as well):

Yep, malware found on GPD WIN 3
Gpd Win 3 shipped with worms
Win 3 just arrived and I have the dreaded worm virus
Is the software safe?

Edit: didn't realize this became top-of-page until refreshing but, still, relevant to the audience of these things I feel.
 
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Zepher said:
I still have mine but I damaged the video output when I was trying to get a composite signal out of the unit so I could hook it to a TV, the LCD shows basically a black and white image now.
It's also painted black with a black sharpie as I wanted it black and not grey.
I had maybe a dozen games for it but I somehow misplaced all but 2, War Birds and Blue Lightning.

I just looked and I can't remember where I put the Lynx but I found 3 games in my bedroom.
View attachment 376118
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I had a Lynx for awhile, I guess it was around 1990 or something, but it was my friend's Lynx. I played Blue Lightning and Klax. I played Klax to death on it.
There was a Lynx emulator a long time ago. Had it sometime around the late 90's around the time the arcade "Gauntlet 1/2" games got emulated but I can't remember what it was called. All I played on it was Klax I think.
 
I had a Sega Nomad, got it on a fire sale shortly after it flopped.

It was pretty good to have a portable Genesis machine. I really liked that Beavis and Butthead game.
 
Okatis said:
See these topics (there are others as well):
Click to expand...

As interesting as these devices have been, I've become increasingly suspicious that the Chinese government is using them to target a specific market.

They don't target markets for positive, world-uniting reasons, I shouldn't think.
 
DukenukemX said:
Wasn't Sony going to shut down the online store for both Vita and PS3? Pretty sure that means it's dead.

Why does everyone say it works on Proton? The last person to say it works was 6 months ago. The native version doesn't seem to work but through Proton it does. You can try fixing the native version with these instructions. "I fixed it by browsing the game files, opening the file named bin, and renaming lipstd++.so.6 to BADlibstdc++.so.6" This is the problem with Linux in that when you update the OS you also update the libraries and some applications don't like this.
https://www.protondb.com/app/221910
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I literally just bought 2 brand newly released games for the Vita earlier this month.
If a system that's still receiving new officially licensed games every single month is dead, then what would you consider a system like the Super Nintendo to be which hasn't gotten a new official game since the 90's?
 
Axman said:
As interesting as these devices have been...
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Who knows that the real story is but searching around a little more found a comment from earlier this month by a GPD employee/spokesperson who joined in joking about the issue when it was brought up, giving the impression they don't take it seriously or have any regard of how badly such a response reflects on the company.

I have to wonder if some of the larger reviewers were just given non-malware-infected versions as what ethical reviewer could recommend such a device to people otherwise without at least informing of this.
 
Just reserved mine. I'll be pretty excited to play all the 2d and indie games from my couch instead of my desk.
 
ZodaEX said:
I literally just bought 2 brand newly released games for the Vita earlier this month.
If a system that's still receiving new officially licensed games every single month is dead, then what would you consider a system like the Super Nintendo to be which hasn't gotten a new official game since the 90's?
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That doesn't mean the system is doing fine. Even Super Nintendo got games as far as 1999, but that doesn't mean the console was thriving. The only reason to own a Vita is to put emulators on it and homebrew.
 
Okatis said:
As part of looking around at the other handheld gaming PCs in this space someone pointed out to me that the GPD devices had a malware worm preinstalled on them that users discovered and is still ongoing—some as recently as last month.

It's suspected that the Aya Neo may have this, too though I haven't looked further into it. The user mentioned that both companies use the same facilities (or some common ground) and users believe there's some rogue employee in the chain inserting it but it's all speculative at this point.

It's stunning this both isn't more widely known (first I'd heard of it despite knowing of both devices and seeing various reviews of them) and that it's acceptable at all. Stark contrast to having something vetted by Valve and has certainly tainted my view of the competition.

See these topics (there are others as well):

Yep, malware found on GPD WIN 3
Gpd Win 3 shipped with worms
Win 3 just arrived and I have the dreaded worm virus
Is the software safe?

Edit: didn't realize this became top-of-page until refreshing but, still, relevant to the audience of these things I feel.
Click to expand...

Got mine about 10 daya ago and had none of these issues. The device has a good build and runs moat games pretty well. My only issue is the 5.5 inch screen is too small for my old eyes.
 
Okatis said:
As part of looking around at the other handheld gaming PCs in this space someone pointed out to me that the GPD devices had a malware worm preinstalled on them that users discovered and is still ongoing—some as recently as last month.

It's suspected that the Aya Neo may have this, too though I haven't looked further into it. The user mentioned that both companies use the same facilities (or some common ground) and users believe there's some rogue employee in the chain inserting it but it's all speculative at this point.

It's stunning this both isn't more widely known (first I'd heard of it despite knowing of both devices and seeing various reviews of them) and that it's acceptable at all. Stark contrast to having something vetted by Valve and has certainly tainted my view of the competition.

See these topics (there are others as well):

Yep, malware found on GPD WIN 3
Gpd Win 3 shipped with worms
Win 3 just arrived and I have the dreaded worm virus
Is the software safe?

Edit: didn't realize this became top-of-page until refreshing but, still, relevant to the audience of these things I feel.
Click to expand...

Really good to know abotu the malware issuess with GPG and Aya devices; it will help in the "why didn't you just get one of these" conversations vs the Steam Deck. Not that the Deck doesn't overall seem to offer a better overall value/package (despite the fact it isn't perfect and I'd like to see some things change between now and release if possible, or at least be upgrade-friendly for core hardware components), but the malware issues for others is just another thing in the Deck's corner.


Oh and did anyone here manage to reserve the highest end ($650+) edition and have their page show a 2021 delivery date and if so, when did you manage to successfully complete your reservation? At current it seems that mine is set as a Q1 2022 ; I started at exactly when orders opened, but sadly thanks to all the site issues and the frustrating "too many attempted transaction" lockout I couldn't finalize it until almost an hour had passed. When Support gets back to me I may see if they can do anything, but who knows. I can only hope that Valve will be able to ship more of these models in 2021 than originally scheduled.
 
RanceJustice said:
Really good to know abotu the malware issuess with GPG and Aya devices
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've even started an Aya thread and have since kind of backed off because of the suspicious software and potentially compromised hardware/firmware.

FYI, I got my 512GB order through at 10:09, and it's slated for Q1 2022. I'm not sure many if any 512s will ship in December, except to reviewers and influencers.
 
RanceJustice said:
Really good to know abotu the malware issuess with GPG and Aya devices; it will help in the "why didn't you just get one of these" conversations vs the Steam Deck. Not that the Deck doesn't overall seem to offer a better overall value/package (despite the fact it isn't perfect and I'd like to see some things change between now and release if possible, or at least be upgrade-friendly for core hardware components), but the malware issues for others is just another thing in the Deck's corner.
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This is the problem with Chinese design products using ARM in that you can't just erase the device and install a clean OS. I have an Android stereo in my Lexus IS250 and during the pandemic it says wifi connected but no internet. Turns out Android allows some devices to phone home to determine if the internet is connected and nobody in China is picking up. I could fix this if I have root but I don't know any rooting methods that work. As opposed to x86 where if someone if fucking around I can just erase it and install whatever I want. This is why I want the Steam Deck because if it turns out that Gabe Newell has access to the device and uses it to spy on you taking a shower then I can erase it and install whatever I want. Valve must have some big balls to create a device and sell it for $400 and allows you to put whatever OS you want, including applications like Origin, Epic, GoG, and etc. This would never fly with Sony and Microsoft.
 
MajorMullet said:
I got my order confirmation email for the 512GB at 1:07 eastern and it says Q1 2022 for me.
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Nice! I landed in the Q2 bucket.
1626637359020.png
 
ZodaEX said:
I literally just bought 2 brand newly released games for the Vita earlier this month.
If a system that's still receiving new officially licensed games every single month is dead, then what would you consider a system like the Super Nintendo to be which hasn't gotten a new official game since the 90's?
Click to expand...

The wikipedia page that I was looking at is out of date, so you are correct... there were some Vita releases for this year. They just mostly kind of look like Indie games. I was also wrong about Sony cutting support.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/1...ore-decision-to-shut-down-ps3-ps-vita-support

It looks like they reversed that decision. I didn't know that. Good on the people that bitched, I didn't expect this to happen.

Anyway, so it is not as dead as I thought it was. But it's kind of like me saying that Wolfenstein Enemy Territories isn't dead. It isn't. There is a small contingent playing it... but official support is still kind of cut off, and it's basically like a 40 year old water heater that somehow keeps working.
 
With how far out the expected delivery of these things are, (as much as 18 months give or take if you try to get a reservation right now for a top end model), I would not be surprised if a more efficient, better performing, and cheaper APU replaces the current one by the time they actually build enough to fill demand.
Console revisions a year or three in are not unusual after all.
 
DukenukemX said:
t doesn't mean the system is doing fine. Even Super Nintendo got games as far as 1999, but that doesn't mean the console was thriving. The only reason to own a Vita is to put emulators on it and homebrew.
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You are wrong again. One of the best RPGs of all time, Dungeon Travelers 2 is a Vita exclusive and worth picking up a Vita for alone.
 
ZodaEX said:
You are wrong again. One of the best RPGs of all time, Dungeon Travelers 2 is a Vita exclusive and worth picking up a Vita for alone.
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I'm not saying it isn't worth picking up a Vita, but it isn't worthy picking up a Vita to play exclusives. I'd pick up a Vita and put emulators and Brutal Doom. Also Dungeon Travelers 2 was released in 2013 for both the PSP and Vita. Also what kind of game is this?
dt2-5.jpg
 
My order for a 512 went through at 12:04 Central, or 4 min after it opened, and still just says Reserved on Fri, July 16th with no expected date. Hope that’s a good thing.
 

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LZ_Xray said:
My order for a 512 went through at 12:04 Central, or 4 min after it opened, and still just says Reserved on Fri, July 16th with no expected date. Hope that’s a good thing.
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I think it is - guy a page or two back had the same thing happen to him with a 256 GB. The theory is no 'Q-something 2022' estimated date means you're part of the Dec 2021 batch.
 
My email confirm was 22 minutes after launch but I expect the actually order time was maybe 10 or 15 minutes after launch. It says Q1 2022 for me.
 
DukenukemX said:
I'm not saying it isn't worth picking up a Vita, but it isn't worthy picking up a Vita to play exclusives. I'd pick up a Vita and put emulators and Brutal Doom. Also Dungeon Travelers 2 was released in 2013 for both the PSP and Vita. Also what kind of game is this?
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The PSP version is only available in Japanese. Can you read Japanese? I can't.
It's a dungeon crawler RPG where you fight monsters that are fingering themselves/have big tits hanging out their shirt/sucking on a phallic shaped monster/ect.
 
RanceJustice said:
Oh and did anyone here manage to reserve the highest end ($650+) edition and have their page show a 2021 delivery date and if so, when did you manage to successfully complete your reservation? At current it seems that mine is set as a Q1 2022 ; I started at exactly when orders opened, but sadly thanks to all the site issues and the frustrating "too many attempted transaction" lockout I couldn't finalize it until almost an hour had passed. When Support gets back to me I may see if they can do anything, but who knows. I can only hope that Valve will be able to ship more of these models in 2021 than originally scheduled.
Click to expand...
I'm largely in the exact same boat you are; reserved the highest-end trim about an hour and 10-15 minutes past opening, mostly because the site just wouldn't take payments and had blocked me for a bit for attempting to make too many purchases because nothing was going through. (I was trying to make my order right from the first minute, but yeah, it was like trying to order an RTX 3080 on launch day.)

Initially, the estimate was Q2 2022, but it moved up to Q1 a few hours later.
 
ZodaEX said:
The PSP version is only available in Japanese. Can you read Japanese? I can't.
It's a dungeon crawler RPG where you fight monsters that are fingering themselves/have big tits hanging out their shirt/sucking on a phallic shaped monster/ect.
Click to expand...
Clearly Duke just doesn't understand the natural the evolution of dungeon crawlers, and ... Wait a second.
 
The Steam Deck remains a neat idea, and I hope it works well, but... based on these order delays, I don't know how people think it'll ever meaningfully compete with the Switch (in terms of the market, not so much features). Nintendo probably sells more Switches in a month than Valve will sell Steam Decks in an entire year.
 
I've read some used Steam Wallet credit as an alternative to go through the checkout faster.
 
I have Q2 availability. But in fairness, I got royally fucked by their "try again in a minute" and "you've tried to place too many orders." Who in their right mind has the bottleneck at the point of processing the payment. My CC declined them for all the random hits when they said to "try again."
 
Q2 2022 and beyond now, not something I would want to commit to without reviews. Anyways some quick storage options is like a 1TB C2 Flash drive, maybe something like this but smaller (has decent read speeds):
https://www.amazon.com/ROKHY-Portable-External-Smartphone-Chromebook/dp/B082PGM2FM/ref=sr_1_25?dchild=1&keywords=Type+C+flash+drive&qid=1626706084&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin:10285020011&rnid=1259751011&s=pc&sr=1-25&th=1

As for the M.2 slot which says not intended for user upgrade, to me does not mean it cannot be user upgraded. Now is this really not a vapor ware launch? Looks like Steam really was not expecting the demand they are getting lol.
 
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ZodaEX said:
The PSP version is only available in Japanese. Can you read Japanese? I can't.
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Wouldn't surprise me if someone hacked the rom and made it English. Both the PSP and Vita are thoroughly hacked.
It's a dungeon crawler RPG where you fight monsters that are fingering themselves/have big tits hanging out their shirt/sucking on a phallic shaped monster/ect.
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Ok, you have my interest in this game.
noko said:
As for the M.2 slot which says not intended for user upgrade, to me does not mean it cannot be user upgraded. Now is this really not a vapor ware launch? Looks like Steam really was not expecting the demand they are getting lol.
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I assume that maybe the worst Valve can do is not even solder on the M.2 slot. I actually have a bunch of M.2 slots laying around that I solder onto devices where the manufacturer is too cheap to stick on. You'd be surprised how many M.2 slots work right away so long as you solder one onto the board.
 
I got through on July 16 @ 1:40PM EST - 40 mins after it went live and still got Q1. I had it in my cart in the first minute but it immediately gave me issues for the next 40 mins.
 
damstr said:
I got through on July 16 @ 1:40PM EST - 40 mins after it went live and still got Q1. I had it in my cart in the first minute but it immediately gave me issues for the next 40 mins.
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Where are you guys seeing ETA on your orders? I do not see it mentioned on mine. Am I blind? Bueller? Bueller?
 
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