The earliest customers to pre-order the Steam Deck were set to recieve their units in the matter of a single month, as Valve's take on a portable gaming PC was planned for release this December. However, that is no longer the case, as they've sent out an email to affected customers saying that the Steam Deck's launch is being pushed back by two months. This is supposedly due to material shortages, with Valve claiming that they were unable to get the parts to manufacture units and get them sent out by next month. The Steam Deck is now due to ship out in February 2022.

The launch of Steam Deck will be delayed by two months. We're sorry about this—we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates.

Based on our updated build estimates, Steam Deck will start shipping February 2022. This will be the new start date of the reservation queue—you will keep your place in line but dates will shift back accordingly. Reservation date estimates will be updated shortly after this announcement.

Again, we're sorry we won’t be able to make our original ship date. We'll continue working to improve reservation dates based on the new timeline, and will keep you updated as we go.

Source

 

[Goku1992A]

@Dr_Faustus

Gotcha I didn't think of it like that as tech is constantly evolving but (IMO) I own a switch, vita, 3ds, and my Galaxy S10 is a champ for playing what I need

These handhelds are getting a tad bit oversaturated

Switch isn't perfect but as of right now it is the king of all handhelds when it comes to value, and performance the vita is next in line and finally the 3DS.

Those are the top 3.

 

[subcon959]

it may be that they're confident with Q1 but not thereafter and technically they have until March to ship those

I'm sure it won't be any earlier due to Chinese new year, if anything there might be another short delay due to that.

 

[HellGhast]

It's only a two month delay, everyone knows there's a supply shortage for semiconductors, so all mofos complaining n b1tch1n' 'bout canceling their pre-orders stfu

 

[RAHelllord]

Oh you mean how it was delayed numerous times and still came out to be a flaming pile of garbage? Yeah, that does not really work here.

The real problem here is delay vs the inevitability that the hardware will no longer exceed in its purpose or value in the constantly evolving market. If the delay takes too long, the hardware could reach close to obsolescence making it far less desirable than when it was first poised to release. (Anyone remember the Pandora?)

Delaying tech always has this issue, and the longer the delay the less it will be relevant compared to the technology that will continue to come out around the corner and blow this system out of the water. No one wants to be caught behind the curve (and pay 500+ dollars for it too) especially when its purpose is for gaming. PC gaming no less.

If I had taken the opportunity awhile ago to preorder a Deck I would have cancelled my order as well now. By the time it could come out its competitors in the market might actually have a better upper hand on the situation. This is not a good situation for Valve no matter how you look at it.


Also insert "Valve Time" Joke here.

No product on the market right now or until the middle of next year will be a serious competition to the Steam Deck at the price they're pushing. You could also just keep the preorder pending until a better device gets announced, either you get the Steam Deck or you get $4 in the steam wallet when you cancel it. Effectively turning the deposit for the deck into a deposit for a game on the other device.

Personally I'll be doing just that. I'll be keeping my place in the line and only cancel if there will be a better option by the time my order is up, if there even is one.

 

[Darth Meteos]

The worst is yet to come, the path to 2030 will not be pleasant. Enjoy your freedom while you can.

for fuck's sake

 

[sloppycrap]

It's only a two month delay, everyone knows there's a supply shortage for semiconductors, so all mofos complaining n b1tch1n' 'bout canceling their pre-orders stfu

Don't listen to HellGhast, cancel your order.

I'm already after Q2 '22. Please cancel so I can buy one sooner.

 

[Xzi]

A lot of people will be getting theirs about 18 months after preordering. There's still a chance this could be a similar situation as the specs were great in July 21, but will they still seem that great towards the end of 2022?

Uhh yes. Nobody else even has anything announced that could compete on specs + price point, and if they did announce something now, its release date would be even later than Steam Deck's. Nobody is capable of magically side-stepping the shortages, after all.

 

[1c4rus]

Volvo have to wait for its turn where the big brothers Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft comes first in the line.

 

[Noctosphere]

Hello @Chary
I preordered mine for 2022 Q2
Does that mean it will be delayed to Q3?

 

[RAHelllord]

Hello @Chary
I preordered mine for 2022 Q2
Does that mean it will be delayed to Q3?

It got delayed by two months, considering a quartal has 3 months you might get lucky and "only" got moved from the start of Q2 to the end of Q2. Check your reservation and you'll see the updated estimate.

 

[AngryCinnabon]

This actually works in my favor since q1 was too close to xmas for me to also get a new CPU for my rig at home, early q2 is perfectly fine as then it lines up with my bday better.