Valve Steam Deck

Joined
Nov 21, 2019

What do you guys think about this? It's essentially a pretty decent gaming PC in a Switch form factor. I can't say I'm hugely knowledgeable in all the specs and what's coming down the pipe in the future in the PC space, but I think it's pretty great value. I've been thinking about getting a Surface Pro or small form factor laptop for travel, and it seems this can fill most of that functionality.

The screen might not be big enough to fully replace a laptop, but I would really just want something that I can use to read emails, browse websites, and use google maps. And for travel it would be nice to actually be able to watch videos, unlike the Switch. The value is also potentially insane, if you think about it, since it can:
  • Play everything on Steam (and GOG, Epic, etc.)
  • Play PS Now and Gamepass and the like
  • Play Emulators
  • Play Movies from all subscription services off-line (if the app allows that, which most do)
  • Play your own video files and music files
  • And any other things you can use a PC for, though I'll wait to see what really is compatible with the OS. Though I believe you can install your own OS anyways.
I'll probably wait a few months to a year post launch to see how everything shakes out, but yeah, I'd say I'm pretty excited for this.
 

What do you guys think about this? It's essentially a pretty decent gaming PC in a Switch form factor. I can't say I'm hugely knowledgeable in all the specs and what's coming down the pipe in the future in the PC space, but I think it's pretty great value. I've been thinking about getting a Surface Pro or small form factor laptop for travel, and it seems this can fill most of that functionality.

The screen might not be big enough to fully replace a laptop, but I would really just want something that I can use to read emails, browse websites, and use google maps. And for travel it would be nice to actually be able to watch videos, unlike the Switch. The value is also potentially insane, if you think about it, since it can:
  • Play everything on Steam (and GOG, Epic, etc.)
  • Play PS Now and Gamepass and the like
  • Play Emulators
  • Play Movies from all subscription services off-line (if the app allows that, which most do)
  • Play your own video files and music files
  • And any other things you can use a PC for, though I'll wait to see what really is compatible with the OS. Though I believe you can install your own OS anyways.
I'll probably wait a few months to a year post launch to see how everything shakes out, but yeah, I'd say I'm pretty excited for this.
Overall I'm really impressed with the specs of this and the price point.

Yes the 512gb is a bit pricy and I'm not sure on battery life but having this in the portable market is top notch. I've got over 90 games on Steam and having them in the palm of my hand appeals greatly
 
I think it looks great and you know what? I have been thinking for a while about whether I want a PS5 or whether I want to wait for a Switch Pro/2 (which might not even be happening), but I think this Steam Deck might be the console for me.

I have a small Steam library and I would love to buy and play more Steam games, but I just cannot be bothered with PC gaming. I don't even own a decent computer anymore and I would rather play games on a portable device, followed by a home console, than on a computer. The library on Steam is insane and there are so many games that I wish were on the Switch or consoles that just aren't. Plus you can always run emulators, install games externally and use other platforms like Epic too.

So yeah, I think I will try my luck on paying the £4 to try to reserve a preorder later today.

This thing will run Shenmue 3 won't it? :)
 
I think it looks great and you know what? I have been thinking for a while about whether I want a PS5 or whether I want to wait for a Switch Pro/2 (which might not even be happening), but I think this Steam Deck might be the console for me.

I have a small Steam library and I would love to buy and play more Steam games, but I just cannot be bothered with PC gaming. I don't even own a decent computer anymore and I would rather play games on a portable device, followed by a home console, than on a computer. The library on Steam is insane and there are so many games that I wish were on the Switch or consoles that just aren't. Plus you can always run emulators, install games externally and use other platforms like Epic too.

So yeah, I think I will try my luck on paying the £4 to try to reserve a preorder later today.

This thing will run Shenmue 3 won't it? :)
Can you cancel the order later on if you change your mind? I may go for one and see how finances lie nearer the time.
 
Can you cancel the order later on if you change your mind? I may go for one and see how finances lie nearer the time.
That's the one thing I'm not sure about. I think technically they don't want you to, but legally I'm pretty sure consumers in the UK have a right to cancel pre-orders (anyone know if I'm right about that?). I don't think they can force you to pay when it's released in December or not allow you to cancel.

It's a really weird system and I'd rather just order from Amazon or wherever, but it does seem fair in terms of stopping these ridiculous scalping episodes and from what I gather it will get a wider retail release in 2022.

I know what you mean about finances. I was just thinking I'm going to have yo start saving/setting aside an amount of money for this. But I basically don't buy PS4 games anymore and there aren't that many Switch games I want this year, so I think I can reduce my gaming budget and put that towards it.
 
Perfect way to play the Shenmue series.
If it plays Control and Jedi Fallen Order I believe it it will play Shenmue 3 if not its almost certain you can play via stream; but considering it has the same graphical power of a PS4 and Xbox One its almost certain it will play it.
 
i hope it proves to be decent device for the people that are interested in it. It is not my cup of tea personally. I am more than content enough with new gaming laptop and the ps5.

Mobile gaming has not been cup of tea since gameboy. When I am out I am buy with under things than gaming and when I am at home why playing at small screen when you have .40 TV or a decent .21. pc monitor
 
Might make for a cool emulation machine. I've been wanting an emulation portable for years but have been waiting for something that can actually do modern-ish consoles (Dreamcast to PS3 era) with relative ease.

Might be good for that based on the specs...would be cool to have some of my Steam library available on a portable as well,...I'm certainly curious and almost tempted.
 
Might make for a cool emulation machine. I've been wanting an emulation portable for years but have been waiting for something that can actually do modern-ish consoles (Dreamcast to PS3 era) with relative ease.

Might be good for that based on the specs...would be cool to have some of my Steam library available on a portable as well,...I'm certainly curious and almost tempted.
Yeah, I've tried a few emulation portables now and have always been left disappointed. They usually get overhyped by people who aren't that into gaming and therefore find subpar gaming experiences acceptable (at least in my opinion). The kind of people who are happy if it can play Super Mario Bros, Sonic, Pokemon and Final Fantasy VII and don't really notice graphical glitches or other issues on other consoles they emulate. I'm like you that I'm more interested in something that can emulate Dreamcast to PS3 successfully and effectively, with minimal tweaking required and very few glitches, slowdown or framerate issues.

Apparently this thing is easily powerful enough to run Dolphin well, so it should be a good device for emulation.
 
Rats, was hoping they'd revive Steam Boxes. They were a perfect niche for me, but i wasn't ready to invest quite yet before they were already disappeared away

Does the Deck have HDMI/mDP/DP output?
 
I saw about this yesterday and i'm really interested about the Steam Deck. If i buy this the first game i will play will be Shenmue.

Like Danielmaan said might make for a cool emulation machine.

"Despite being advertised as a console, the Steam Deck can also be considered as a portable computer. It will come with an adapted Linux operating system, SteamOS, but it won't prevent users from installing others, such as Windows, and its programs."

It is so nice that this is a portable PC. I don't know when i will buy but i'm excited for this.
 
Ok, I'm through to the checkout, but now it's saying there's a problem initialising or updating my payment method, so won't let me proceed :rolleyes:

Edit: Ok, so Paypal wasn't working, so switched to card, which let me proceed to enter my details, but now it's saying the purchase cannot be completed. Fuck's sake.
 
Handhelds costing that much never feel like a good value. It looks cool though and once the price comes down I'd consider one possibly. A much better value than the Switch for sure considering the diversity of games that will be available and the power compared to Switch.
 
Ok, I'm through to the checkout, but now it's saying there's a problem initialising or updating my payment method, so won't let me proceed :rolleyes:

Edit: Ok, so Paypal wasn't working, so switched to card, which let me proceed to enter my details, but now it's saying the purchase cannot be completed. Fuck's sake.
Hmm and looks like people on Twitter are being blocked from purchases for several hours if they make too many attempts. Valve have really fucked this up. I'm scared to try too many times now.

Edit: Woo through to the final confirmation screen. Will it work...? will it work? Hmmm this is taking a long time, not looking good. Edit again: It fucking worked wooooooo!
 
Can you cancel the order later on if you change your mind? I may go for one and see how finances lie nearer the time.
So I looked into this. You can cancel at any point. If you cancel within the next 30 days, you get your £4 refunded. If you cancel at any point after this, you lose your deposit. It's only 4 quid though, so not a big deal.
 
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