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In a recent interview with IGN, Valve designer Lawrence Yang had some good news for those waiting to get their hands on a Steam Deck. Citing supply chain issues as the reason for the initial delays and slow rollout, Yang is confident that production will be ramping up very quickly. "In the first month very quickly we'll be in the tens of thousands, by the second month we'll be in the hundreds of thousands," says Yang. "And beyond that it'll grow even quicker." Yang also said those in the queue who's Deck is marked as coming "after Q2" should be getting more concrete information soon. "Once we launch, the 'after Q2' time slot will become more granular and clearer. And we'll be updating those dates for folks in that window as we go."

However, despite Yang's confidence, Valve president Gabe Newell is less sure of when users will be able to buy a Steam Deck without being put into a queue. Speaking to PC Gamer, when asked when purchases without a queue could happen, Newell simply said "No, because the demand is high, so it's going to be a while 'til we can make them… 'til we're caught up some."

 

[Aheago]

How many orders could they possibly be getting where hundreds of thousands of units a month expects them to still have a delay?

I get keeping a queue to stop scalpers, but that seems like a more plausible reason than somehow selling the hundred thousand units each and every month

 

[Taleweaver]

I don't think that Gabe and Yang are on the same level when it comes to predicting the near future. Yang seems over optimistic whereas Newell might be too cautious.

But that's okay. It remains to be seen just how many will end up buying a deck and at what rate.

 

[Plazorn]

$369 for Switch OLED,
Or $399 for base Steam Deck,
What a difficult choice!

 

[TehCupcakes]

The statements are not contradictory at all. You can have confidence in the hundreds of thousands of units being produced and still believe a queue is the right solution for the immediate future. The demand is in the millions.

 

[guily6669]

How many orders could they possibly be getting where hundreds of thousands of units a month expects them to still have a delay?

I get keeping a queue to stop scalpers, but that seems like a more plausible reason than somehow selling the hundred thousand units each and every month

I'm sure anyone wanting to play actual known games portably can only go steam deck way since Switch on all this time didn't got many known multiplatform big games, it only got a few due to its hardware not many Devs are willing to lose many time optimising the game for the switch.

Also Switch is very crappy for racing games without analogue triggers, I can't wait for my Steam Deck to arrive to play Gran Turismo 4 on it which is perfect for portable and many other racing\driving games.

Ps: I have my switch 4 for years and barely used it, it's definitely the first portable console I ever liked but still lacks known games and analogue triggers, that's mostly why I barely used it, but it sure is the first I like the visual quality capabilities. I personally never liked Gameboy or PSP but I will definitely never stop using Steam Deck until it blows after I receive one

 

[HarveyHouston]

High demand speaks louder than the amount you can sell, in this day of age. Even if you aren't able to sell a lot in the market, if there are still plenty of orders, that should count towards the success of the product.

Pretty much, I'm saying I told you so.

 

[Satellizer]

I wish I could get one, but Gabe refuses to sell his hardware to us Aussies.

 

[nero99]

$369 for Switch OLED,
Or $399 for base Steam Deck,
What a difficult choice!

How is that difficult? You can emulate the switch on the deck.

 

[Chary]

The Steam Deck subreddit has about 80k subscribed users. Honestly less than I would have guessed given the whole "hundreds of thousands" thing.

I wonder how many people are only just now jumping on board to buy, now that reviews and footage is plentiful. Let alone as the community builds itself over time. GabeN's estimate sounds a bit more accurate tbh.

 

[Jayro]

See, I told ya the 'chip shortage' was fake. I never fell for that bullshit.

 

[Xzi]

The Steam Deck subreddit has about 80k subscribed users. Honestly less than I would have guessed given the whole "hundreds of thousands" thing.

That doesn't mean much. Every game/hardware subreddit has only a fraction of the people who own it subscribed. There's like 18 million PS5s out there, and only 2 million on the PS5 subreddit.

See, I told ya the 'chip shortage' was fake. I never fell for that bullshit.

Uhh...what? This suggests the opposite: that the reservation queue will be staying in place for the foreseeable future because supply cannot meet demand right now. What Yang is talking about here is pretty standard when it comes to manufacturing something brand new, production starts super slow and then speeds up exponentially.

Similarly, the overall chip shortage was caused more by a sudden surge in demand from the auto industry rather than too little supply. They stopped ordering chips for on-board computers at the beginning of the pandemic because a lot fewer people were buying cars.

 

[tech3475]

$369 for Switch OLED,
Or $399 for base Steam Deck,
What a difficult choice!

For people ‘like us‘ or the average consumer?

I can still see the latter preferring the Switch, if they’re even aware of SD’s existence.

The statements are not contradictory at all. You can have confidence in the hundreds of thousands of units being produced and still believe a queue is the right solution for the immediate future. The demand is in the millions.

Personally I think a queue system should be implemented by retailers for the PS5, etc. It would make buying one so much easier and potentially reduce scalping as it gives time to review orders.

We did this back in the day when buying a Wii nearer to launch and the only stressful thing was going through Friday night traffic to collect it.

 

[kisamesama]

How is that difficult? You can emulate the switch on the deck.

pretty sure that was sarcastic...

 

[MohammedQ8]

Can I buy one by using VPN? I want one but I am not allowed to buy it.

 

[subcon959]

Can I buy one by using VPN? I want one but I am not allowed to buy it.

Are you gonna buy a house in EU to get it delivered to?

 

[tech3475]

Can I buy one by using VPN? I want one but I am not allowed to buy it.

Officially Valve prohibits the use of VPNs, etc. for purchases:

You agree that you will not use IP proxying or other methods to disguise the place of your residence, whether to circumvent geographical restrictions on game content, to order or purchase at pricing not applicable to your geography, or for any other purpose. If you do this, Valve may terminate your access to your Account.

https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/#3

Plus this is a physical good, so there’s potential for issues when it comes to the shipping address.

Remember though, even if you got away with it on Steam, you could still be hit with duty on import.

You’ll likely need someone to basically buy it in a region and ship it to you.

 

[MohammedQ8]

Officially Valve prohibits the use of VPNs, etc. for purchases:


https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/#3

Plus this is a physical good, so there’s potential for issues when it comes to the shipping address.

Remember though, even if you got away with it on Steam, you could still be hit with duty on import.

You’ll likely need someone to basically buy it in a region and ship it to you.

I can ship it to my Aramex US address but I have to pay twice for shipping which I am used to. will it be available in France soon? because I am going there.

 

[tech3475]

I can ship it to my Aramex US address but I have to pay twice for shipping which I am used to. will it be available in France soon? because I am going there.

The Steam Deck is operating on a first come first serve basis using the reservation system.

So yes it is available in France, but unless you have a suitable estimate and are there long enough, I wouldn’t place any bets on it being a suitable method.

 

[Xzi]

For people ‘like us‘ or the average consumer?

I can still see the latter preferring the Switch, if they’re even aware of SD’s existence.

Nintendo doesn't target the "average consumer" though, they target mostly a younger and more casual audience. SteamOS 3 will be pretty damn easy to use for those that choose to stay within the confines of it (it includes Firefox, as well as a music and video player), so I think a lot of the 16+ crowd will gladly take the upgrade. Especially those with any sort of existing Steam library (and Steam does have 100+ million accounts). Gonna be a good long while before another $400 portable device pops up that can play games like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War (2016), and even not-so-well optimized games like Elden Ring.