Steam Deck officially announced by Valve

ZodaEX said:
Valve didn't fix the issues of playing Windows games with Proton because The Stanley Parable still won't run via proton.
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The games that don't run in general it boils down to terrible DRM schemes. If Valve moves the number of these that they appear poised to move... I suspect things like DRM that get in the way of Proton are going to be revisited by publishers wanting their games to run and be show pieces on Deck.

https://www.protondb.com/app/221910

Also your mistaken... The Stanley Parable runs well. Ironically its the badly done Linux port that has issues.

Steam has been doing a ton of heavy lifting themselves for a few years now. This is the point where they move a ton of hardware... and get publishers on board. Valve has set it up that to make it painless for them. Most of them won't have to do a damn thing.... however for a few years now Valve has been trying to get developers to create Proton configs themselves. This should crate the inflection point. Where it makes sense for developers to spend a few days to ensure their proton profiles are up to snuff.

I suspect a lot of people will install windows on these things... BUT most will not. SteamOS is back in a big way.
 
ChadD said:
The games that don't run in general it boils down to terrible DRM schemes. If Valve moves the number of these that they appear poised to move... I suspect things like DRM that get in the way of Proton are going to be revisited by publishers wanting their games to run and be show pieces on Deck.

https://www.protondb.com/app/221910

Also your mistaken... The Stanley Parable runs well. Ironically its the badly done Linux port that has issues.

Steam has been doing a ton of heavy lifting themselves for a few years now. This is the point where they move a ton of hardware... and get publishers on board. Valve has set it up that to make it painless for them. Most of them won't have to do a damn thing.... however for a few years now Valve has been trying to get developers to create Proton configs themselves. This should crate the inflection point. Where it makes sense for developers to spend a few days to ensure their proton profiles are up to snuff.

I suspect a lot of people will install windows on these things... BUT most will not. SteamOS is back in a big way.
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Stanley Parable crashes on launch in Ubuntu. Do some reading on it's forum.
 
ChadD said:
Steam has been doing a ton of heavy lifting themselves for a few years now. This is the point where they move a ton of hardware... and get publishers on board. Valve has set it up that to make it painless for them. Most of them won't have to do a damn thing.... however for a few years now Valve has been trying to get developers to create Proton configs themselves. This should crate the inflection point. Where it makes sense for developers to spend a few days to ensure their proton profiles are up to snuff.

I suspect a lot of people will install windows on these things... BUT most will not. SteamOS is back in a big way.
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Plus, it's clear to anyone even slightly interested in PC gaming can see that Steam has ceded a lot of ground to other game services. Like them or not, GOG, Epic, and the rest, they have certain perks, advantages, exclusives ... now Steam has a physical platform in addition to its digital platform and store.

And while the AMD hardware is low-powered, I'll bet Steam gets things working a lot closer to the metal than other operating systems. I just watched a MLID with a game programmer and he said they lose 40 percent of their performance right off the bat running on Windows. It takes a ton of effort to get things optimized, and sometimes AMD/Nvidia/Intel are part of the problem, since they're also developing drivers that optimize the games on their own. Which means there's a lot of optimization going on that works cross-purpose to other optimizations.

That's a lot of words to say I think we can expect games running natively will get more punch out of this relatively small APU.
 
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SOAREVERSOR said:
The Index was fine they just pulled a Valve and bailed on it. Other VR systems that were supported did better. Their controller, don't say you can sell one because people do all the time. Xbox controllers sell to PC gamers and there are entire companies such as 8bitdo that make sell controllers, not to mention companies like Razer and logitech. But again, these companies stood by their products. The Steam Link was fine and did make sense they just didn't bother to support it and update it as time went on, again same deal.
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8bitdo is more for consoles than PC, and they do retro controls. It works on PC like Xbox and Playstation controllers do but there isn't a lot of people making gamepads strictly for PC. Again their VR headset sold fine, but maybe not as fine as others. Considering Valve is the only company to have a AAA game that's exclusive to VR headsets, I'd say that Valve is going about it the right way. I doubt the sales of Half-Life: Alyx was as good as other games but again Valve is pushing the industry forward. As opposed to Microsoft who was pushing for the Kinect through games that really shouldn't. Did Microsoft make a AAA game exclusive for the Kinect? Not unless you consider Star Wars Kinect a AAA game.

#1 Being made by Valve is sort of a negative here given their track record. The other makers were Alienware and ASUS which are dependable, it just wasn't a good idea and they didn't get support.
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The benefit of Valve making it is so the price is low. It doesn't even matter if Valve continues to support it for years to come because it's a PC and therefore can do PC things like run Windows. The only one who can lose here is Valve themselves when you erase it and install Windows.
#2 It's not really fixed. I'd love for it to be fixed as I could build a Linux box but it's not really there yet.
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It's not but it's a lot better than it was back in 2015. The idea is if Valve can push you to use Linux then they can push developers to port for Linux. Linux ports have been fewer in recent years.
#3 Price hasn't really been the failure here. It's been a mix of form factor, battery life, and performance. I don't see how they've avoided that.
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Ok... I wasn't talking about the problems but since you mentioned it. The form factor is basically the Switch or GameGear depending on how you view it. Battery life and performance are things we don't know because nobody has had their hands on it. I'm surprised it's running Zen2 with RDNA2 because that seems like an odd pairing.
 
ZodaEX said:
Demise huh? Vita is still getting new games every month.
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Wasn't Sony going to shut down the online store for both Vita and PS3? Pretty sure that means it's dead.
ZodaEX said:
Stanley Parable crashes on launch in Ubuntu. Do some reading on it's forum.
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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
 
People are selling the reservation spots for up to $5000 on eBay.
 
DukenukemX said:
The benefit of Valve making it is so the price is low. It doesn't even matter if Valve continues to support it for years to come because it's a PC and therefore can do PC things like run Windows. The only one who can lose here is Valve themselves when you erase it and install Windows.
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I don't think "Windows" so much as this is a modders dream for emulation and stuff. Lots of old portables like the PSP/Vita turned into amazing emulation stations.
 
SOAREVERSOR said:
I don't think "Windows" so much as this is a modders dream for emulation and stuff. Lots of old portables like the PSP/Vita turned into amazing emulation stations.
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I wonder if there is an Atari Lynx emulator. I really liked that portable when I got mine back when they first came out.
 
DukenukemX said:
The news of X86's death is greatly exaggerated. There are already Switch x86 clones able to run for 5-6 hours on battery so I would assume this would do as well or better. Considering this is using RDNA2 then I would say better.

Of course it won't which is why I'll buy one to install Yuzu and play Switch games on it.

Not when a new Switch costs $300 and this can emulate a Switch. It is running Debian Linux so you can do just about anything you want on this device.
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No it isn't. It's bastardized Arch.
 
Zepher said:
I wonder if there is an Atari Lynx emulator. I really liked that portable when I got mine back when they first came out.
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There are more than a few of them all over the place. Hell you can run some off a Dreamcast, another odd bird that lives on in the homebrew world.
 
Supposedly Valve has mentioned that all three models have a M.2 2230 slot on them and that anything in said slot is upgradeable but not user-upgradeable, which of course people will figure out. And the RAM is indeed dual-channel.

RAM
16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s dual-channel)

Storage
64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)
512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)

All models use socketed 2230 m.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement)
All models include high-speed microSD card slot
 
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I love playing retro games on handhelds so this thing is a must have. The fact it can also serve me as a back-up PC is huge bonus, and oh, it will also be great for the hundreds of Steam games I have accumulated over the years and never play.
 
StoleMyOwnCar said:
U
- Run a 10-15+ foot HDMI cable to your console and use it with the heavy cable hooked up (wearing down the probably flimsy slot by the way), and then hook up a dongle for your friend to use via USB and have them hold a controller?
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They make these things called zip ties and assorted other wire management schemes that allow one to not sag their connectors with heavy cables.yay.png
 
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They make these things called zip ties and assorted other wire management schemes that allow one to not sag their connectors with heavy cables.
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Okay, and you want to use these zipties and other such schemes... on a portable handheld console? Cool. Not to sound too snarky, but next are you going to tell me that you lug around your own custom 15 foot HDMI cable? >_>


DukenukemX said:
Wasn't Sony going to shut down the online store for both Vita and PS3? Pretty sure that means it's dead.
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Yeah unfortunately the Vita is all but "officially" dead. Several years ago when I went to a Gamestop they didn't even have a Vita section... just a few shelves, if that. Now there's almost nothing. The last release on Vita was roughly a year ago. I think anyone that was thinking of releasing on Vita is probably just going to either the 3DS or (more likely) the Switch. I think the PS3 and the Vita store are shut down to the point where you can't even download the games you own anymore? Not sure about that one, I know you can't grab your PS Plus games anymore, at least.

Frankly the way they phased out both my PS3 and my Vita left a very sour taste in my mouth. I was trying to figure out why I didn't really get (or considering getting) a PS5, even if it's just on a whim, and I just realized... that this probably a big reason for it. The way they just basically eschewed all responsibility for these consoles, old though they may be, is something I'm not fond of. I was very fond of my Vita. It was reasonably priced, very performant, and a far better gaming experience (by miles) than the gimmicky 3DS. I don't understand why Sony just couldn't stick with it. Probably those investors as usual...
 
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StoleMyOwnCar said:
Okay, and you want to use these zipties and other such schemes... on a portable handheld console? Cool. Not to sound too snarky, but next are you going to tell me that you lug around your own custom 15 foot HDMI cable? >_>
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No but in general if you haven't figured out how to manage wires wtf are you doing here on [H]? presumably you already have a computer, run your hdmi from that to your AV receiver with wire races and zipties. To use it in the way you suggest is stupid, they are making an official dock. You'd use that and use a USB, unlicensed 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth controller to use it in your living room. You know, like you've been able to do with HTPCs and laptops for years and years...
 
Well, that's interesting. My second-hour order (mainly stalled from numerous failed purchase attempts right from the first minute) moved up from Q2 to Q1 2022.

ir0nw0lf said:
Supposedly Valve has mentioned that all three models have a M.2 2230 slot on them and that anything in said slot is upgradeable but not user-upgradeable, which of course people will figure out. And the RAM is indeed dual-channel.
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I just interpret "not user-upgradable" as "you'd better be comfortable disassembling your expensive product to change this", which I'm sure Valve is smart enough to keep their iFixit repairability scores high on this thing.

Heck, even BGA soldered components can be user-upgradable if you have a hot air rework station and enough determination. Most people probably aren't that [H]ardcore of an enthusiast, though.

ZodaEX said:
Demise huh? Vita is still getting new games every month.
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I meant its demise in the sense that Sony hasn't been producing new Vitas for a few years. Impressive that it's still getting games despite that, though, especially in the face of what was going to be a sudden store shutdown.

Zepher said:
I wonder if there is an Atari Lynx emulator. I really liked that portable when I got mine back when they first came out.
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Do you still have yours? I always wanted to get my hands on one of those things, but never got around to it.

There was an exhibit showing off a few at VCF Southeast back in 2018, though, and it turns out they make new LCDs for the Lynx. It really is a night-and-day difference, moreso than going from GBA SP AGS-001 frontlit to AGS-101 backlit screens.

Whether it tames the Lynx's infamous battery-guzzling qualities is another question. Everyone thought the Game Gear was bad about that, but the Lynx had a lit color screen on top of that, and probably more powerful hardware to boot.
 
Wade88 said:
No but in general if you haven't figured out how to manage wires wtf are you doing here on [H]? presumably you already have a computer, run your hdmi from that to your AV receiver with wire races and zipties. To use it in the way you suggest is stupid, they are making an official dock. You'd use that and use a USB, unlicensed 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth controller to use it in your living room. You know, like you've been able to do with HTPCs and laptops for years and years...
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That's kind of the point. You've been doing that with LAPTOPS and HTPCs for years. So what benefit are you getting from this console, in that regard? None, really. If you could detach the controllers and use them wirelessly like the Switch, this would literally be a Halo-level product. By making it so that I have to lug around a separate controller and hook it up to a dock, which I guess I'm also lugging around with me (and I haven't looked but I hope it's not sold separately... because it comes with a Switch).... I'm basically carrying a backpack full of random crap just if I want to play with a friend or even hook it up to a TV at my destination and use it like a console. At that point you'd be better off with a thin gaming laptop and separate controller.

You're just saving a modicum of space and a moderate amount of money. That's it. Technically speaking, given the specs, you're not even saving that much money. It's, what, an APU that's using a 720p screen?

Also yes apparently using it "in the way I suggest" is stupid, and indeed because I was pointing out how impractical it is, yet that's one of the few hypothetical setups you could actually use to game with a friend while saving space in your backpack. Something else that apparently went over your head.
 
Because none of that stuff is useful at the VA, in fatal accident traffic, and assorted other places where lugging around an 11lb workstation laptop is stupid.
 
Wade88 said:
Because none of that stuff is useful at the VA, in fatal accident traffic, and assorted other places where lugging around an 11lb workstation laptop is stupid.
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A modern thin gaming laptop is about 2-4 LBS depending on how high spec it is, and the screen size is anywhere between 0.5-2" larger than the Deck is, diagonal wise. The Steam Deck is probably going to be thicker (and its battery life worse). So no, it's not 11 LBS, and the Steam Deck couldn't dream of replacing an 11 LBS workstation laptop if its life depended on it anyway. I don't really understand where all of these fatal traffic accidents and whatever the VA is came from (I'm not going to try to guess what that vague abbreviation is). I could see the Steam Deck being useful in, say, doctor waiting rooms where you don't want to draw as much attention or something, but that's really about it. If that's worth the money, fine. I tend to read a book in those scenarios anyway.

This is getting into a tangent at this point anyway, my original points were just related to my use cases, which is social gaming, especially in scenarios where I would want it to replace the utility my Switch provides. Given the price tag and the fact that its controller is basically soldered in... yeah I can't see very many. Given that I would have to lug around a controller to hook it up to a TV to begin with, a very thin modern laptop would overall take up just a slight bit more space in a backpack, if any, while having probably more horsepower...
 
StoleMyOwnCar said:
That's kind of the point. You've been doing that with LAPTOPS and HTPCs for years. So what benefit are you getting from this console, in that regard? None, really. If you could detach the controllers and use them wirelessly like the Switch, this would literally be a Halo-level product. By making it so that I have to lug around a separate controller and hook it up to a dock, which I guess I'm also lugging around with me (and I haven't looked but I hope it's not sold separately... because it comes with a Switch).... I'm basically carrying a backpack full of random crap just if I want to play with a friend or even hook it up to a TV at my destination and use it like a console. At that point you'd be better off with a thin gaming laptop and separate controller.
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It also is a feature that is detrimental to the primary purpose of the device; gaming on the go. Not only does it add cost and take up space, it is also a weak point in the physical design.

On the switch the whole device feels flimsy when the joycons are connected, and those connections have been the first thing to go unreliable on my release year switch. Not worth it for what, for me, has been little more than a gimmick.
 
StoleMyOwnCar said:
A modern thin gaming laptop is about 2-4 LBS depending on how high spec it is, and the screen size is anywhere between 0.5-2" larger than the Deck is, diagonal wise. The Steam Deck is probably going to be thicker (and its battery life worse). So no, it's not 11 LBS, and the Steam Deck couldn't dream of replacing an 11 LBS workstation laptop if its life depended on it anyway. I don't really understand where all of these fatal traffic accidents and whatever the VA is came from (I'm not going to try to guess what that vague abbreviation is). I could see the Steam Deck being useful in, say, doctor waiting rooms where you don't want to draw as much attention or something, but that's really about it. If that's worth the money, fine. I tend to read a book in those scenarios anyway.

This is getting into a tangent at this point anyway, my original points were just related to my use cases, which is social gaming, especially in scenarios where I would want it to replace the utility my Switch provides. Given the price tag and the fact that its controller is basically soldered in... yeah I can't see very many. Given that I would have to lug around a controller to hook it up to a TV to begin with, a very thin modern laptop would overall take up just a slight bit more space in a backpack, if any, while having probably more horsepower...
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I think he means waiting around in the Veterans Administration or stuck in traffic behind a fatal traffic accident.

emphy said:
It also is a feature that is detrimental to the primary purpose of the device; gaming on the go. Not only does it add cost and take up space, it is also a weak point in the physical design.

On the switch the whole device feels flimsy when the joycons are connected, and those connections have been the first thing to go unreliable on my release year switch. Not worth it for what, for me, has been little more than a gimmick.
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Most portables feel sort of flimsy and I doubt this is going to change this, maybe someone will make an aluminum cased portable at some point. I haven't had a problem with either of the two switches I've had. I think being able to replace the controllers is a plus as controllers in general are the first thing to fail on a device.
 
StoleMyOwnCar said:
I could see the Steam Deck being useful in, say, doctor waiting rooms where you don't want to draw as much attention or something, but that's really about it.
Click to expand...

That's what the VA is, on waiting time steroids.
 
SOAREVERSOR said:
I think he means waiting around in the Veterans Administration or stuck in traffic behind a fatal traffic accident.



Most portables feel sort of flimsy and I doubt this is going to change this, maybe someone will make an aluminum cased portable at some point. I haven't had a problem with either of the two switches I've had. I think being able to replace the controllers is a plus as controllers in general are the first thing to fail on a device.
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Even more flimsy, that is. There is a bit of an wiggle when the joycons are connected making the whole feel less sturdy than it would have been had the switch been a single device. I don't have the switch lite to compare it with, but I am certain that the normal switch is less sturdy (more flimsy, as you like) than the lite.
 
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NamelessPFG said:
Do you still have yours? I always wanted to get my hands on one of those things, but never got around to it.

There was an exhibit showing off a few at VCF Southeast back in 2018, though, and it turns out they make new LCDs for the Lynx. It really is a night-and-day difference, moreso than going from GBA SP AGS-001 frontlit to AGS-101 backlit screens.

Whether it tames the Lynx's infamous battery-guzzling qualities is another question. Everyone thought the Game Gear was bad about that, but the Lynx had a lit color screen on top of that, and probably more powerful hardware to boot.
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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.
IMG_1841.JPEG
 
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SOAREVERSOR said:
I don't think "Windows" so much as this is a modders dream for emulation and stuff. Lots of old portables like the PSP/Vita turned into amazing emulation stations.
Click to expand...
My Switch does a pretty good job at emulation as well. Though this will go far beyond that of a Switch.
ir0nw0lf said:
All models use socketed 2230 m.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement)
All models include high-speed microSD card slot
Click to expand...
That's just Valve's way of saying "please don't upgrade". If it can be replaced then it's upgradable.
 
emphy said:
Even more flimsy, that is. There is a bit of an wiggle when the joycons are connected making the whole feel less sturdy than it would have been had the switch been a single device. I don't have the switch lite to compare it with, but I am certain that the normal switch is less sturdy (more flimsy, as you like) than the lite.
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My Switch still works fine, and I'm not the gentlest of gamers. Yes, it wiggles, but it's plenty usable. Like others have said, at least the controllers are replaceable. The alternative is the Vita style, which is what the Steam Deck is. Now fortunately the Vita was actually user serviceable. I was able to open mine up and reseat a few ribbon cable connectors that were causing one of my joysticks to basically disconnect. I'm hoping you can easily do the same with the this thing... but either way, you gain a lot of mobility and usability from having detachable controllers. Considering how many times I have gamed on my switch (or on other friends switches) just by snapping off the controllers and then splitting the two between us, I'm a firm believer in this. It just seems like a very missed opportunity to not even have that option, and put a higher price tag on it. Modularity never hurt anyone.
 
TheGeekFreek said:
Scroll past the picture of the Deck and it will show all the models, the one that you reserved should have a note underneath it.
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Mine has no date, confirmation 4 minutes after orders started.
 

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StoleMyOwnCar said:
My Switch still works fine, and I'm not the gentlest of gamers. Yes, it wiggles, but it's plenty usable. Like others have said, at least the controllers are replaceable. The alternative is the Vita style, which is what the Steam Deck is. Now fortunately the Vita was actually user serviceable. I was able to open mine up and reseat a few ribbon cable connectors that were causing one of my joysticks to basically disconnect. I'm hoping you can easily do the same with the this thing... but either way, you gain a lot of mobility and usability from having detachable controllers. Considering how many times I have gamed on my switch (or on other friends switches) just by snapping off the controllers and then splitting the two between us, I'm a firm believer in this. It just seems like a very missed opportunity to not even have that option, and put a higher price tag on it. Modularity never hurt anyone.
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I wonder if the underside paddles and the fact that one side has a dpad and both sides have tracks stopped them. Oh well, I'm sure removeable controllers will come in the Steam Deck pro, given Valves amazing track record on supporting hardware and releasing upgrades.
 
Accursed said:
Mine has no date, confirmation 4 minutes after orders started.
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On the steam site (at least on a PC) when you are logged in, go to the steam deck page and look at the bottom under cancel reservation,
steam-deck-pre-order.jpg
 
SOAREVERSOR said:
I wonder if the underside paddles and the fact that one side has a dpad and both sides have tracks stopped them. Oh well, I'm sure removeable controllers will come in the Steam Deck pro, given Valves amazing track record on supporting hardware and releasing upgrades.
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I wouldn't be surprised, if the Steam Deck is a success, another hardware manufacture releases their own version that copies the Switch modularity. There is (or was?) a portable PC that was designed to have control points 'pop out', so you could have a D-pad or an analogue stick. I quite liked that design.

Personally, I'm not too worried I haven't had a handheld's control points break on me yet and I'll still likely just pop this thing on a stand and use my 8bitdo.
 
I didn't like the ergonomics of the switch. The controllers were too small for my man hands and the slide that the controls fit in felt flimsy.

I think I'll prefer the steam deck design.
 
SeymourGore said:
I wouldn't be surprised, if the Steam Deck is a success, another hardware manufacture releases their own version that copies the Switch modularity. There is (or was?) a portable PC that was designed to have control points 'pop out', so you could have a D-pad or an analogue stick. I quite liked that design.

Personally, I'm not too worried I haven't had a handheld's control points break on me yet and I'll still likely just pop this thing on a stand and use my 8bitdo.
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Alienware had a concept unit and Razer had a release along those lines.

Razer_Edge_35561052_04.jpg
alienware.jpeg
 
It would be interesting if the wifi card can do monitor mode.

Would make a great "hackerman" portable pentest unit.

Just sit in the Starbucks looking like you're playing a game...
 
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