Valve's highly anticipated handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck met with some production delays but appears to be on track to ship by the end of next month. In its latest update, the company says that they're "on track to ship Steam Deck on time". "Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding, it looks like we'll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February," further notes the blog post. They also shared a picture of the first units in-house to test and evaluate (see above).

In its update, Valve also notes that they've been rolling out the Steam Deck Verified program and shipping dev kits to have game developers to test their games and have a green Verified check to show compatibility with the console. They are checking 4 major categories (input, seamlessness, display, and system support) and Steam users will soon be able to see Deck Verified status for Steam games.

With Valve's latest hardware a couple of weeks away, it will be interesting to see how well it performs, especially since the handheld PC gaming market has been growing with competitors like the ONEXPLAYER mini and AYA NEO NEXT.

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[BitMasterPlus]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay! Seriously, I don't get why people are so obsessed only with the Steam Deck when there are now like 10 different kinds of devices just like it. It's probably the best overall deal, but you'd think it was the first of it's kind the way people talk about it.

What devices are like it? I'm genuinely asking here so I could look into them myself for a possible future purchase.

 

[MikaDubbz]

What devices are like it? I'm genuinely asking here so I could look into them myself for a possible future purchase.

I mean 2 News articles down is another one https://gbatemp.net/threads/one-netbook-launches-onexplayer-mini-handheld-gaming-pc.606211/ they seem to pop up every day now it seems. Like I said though, the prices these other ones go for are not going to be able to compete with the Steam Deck, so to that extent I get excitement I suppose. But the excitement I see over the very concept of it doesn't really click with me. I mean the one real thing that has it standing apart at this time are the touch pads, and that's about it.

 

[djpannda]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay! Seriously, I don't get why people are so obsessed only with the Steam Deck when there are now like 10 different kinds of devices just like it. It's probably the best overall deal, but you'd think it was the first of it's kind the way people talk about it.

I am mostly behind the project because Valve is one of the only company’s able and trying to stop the Windows Monopoly.. if the deck is a hit it will change pc gaming (Linux and portable) but they failed with steam boxes .. the saving grace is the fact you can install windows on the deck gives it a afterlife.. even if steam os fails.. just install windows and a crappy usb c dock and you have a mid tier Windows pc.

 

[omgcat]

When can I actually pay for this already?

if you weren't in the early pre-orders, around 2024.

 

[Xzi]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay! Seriously, I don't get why people are so obsessed only with the Steam Deck when there are now like 10 different kinds of devices just like it. It's probably the best overall deal, but you'd think it was the first of it's kind the way people talk about it.

Can you really call them competitors when they're priced at $1300+ and Steam Deck is less than a third of that? That's like calling a $3000 gaming laptop competition for the Switch. Price is just one of several factors at play here as well. Valve/Steam are well known within the PC gaming sphere, while most of the other portable gaming PCs are coming from unknown or little-known Chinese startups. That puts warranties, replacement parts, and software security into question.

Essentially Steam Deck is the first of its kind when taken as a whole, just as Switch was. The closest thing we had to a portable running modern AAA games at this price point before 2017 was probably the Nvidia Shield Portable, but that ran Android.

 

[Kwyjor]

Have we learned nothing? Why would you buy something like this at launch? Even if there aren't a whole bunch of outrageous hardware flaws, there's still going to be a new revision six months from now with lots of convenient extra features and probably a lower price tag too. And while you're waiting, it's not like you can't already play the exact same games you would be playing on this thing some other way.

 

[Xzi]

Even if there aren't a whole bunch of outrageous hardware flaws, there's still going to be a new revision six months from now with lots of convenient extra features and probably a lower price tag too.

They might eventually discount it, but Valve is already taking a loss on the hardware as-is, and there aren't any missing features. Besides, with the chip shortages being what they are, Valve won't even have all the pre-ordered Steam Decks distributed within six months of launch.

 

[Kwyjor]

there aren't any missing features.

Well, they're hardly going to advertise it as "missing features"! That's the sort of thing that only becomes apparent after the product is actually in people's hands (whenever that actually happens!) and they start complaining about it online.

 

[Xzi]

Well, they're hardly going to advertise it as "missing features"! That's the sort of thing that only becomes apparent after the product is actually in people's hands (whenever that actually happens!) and they start complaining about it online.

It's a PC, we know exactly which features it needs, and it has all of them. Did you think they'd forget bluetooth or something? Lol.

 

[Costello]

Have we learned nothing? Why would you buy something like this at launch? Even if there aren't a whole bunch of outrageous hardware flaws, there's still going to be a new revision six months from now with lots of convenient extra features and probably a lower price tag too. And while you're waiting, it's not like you can't already play the exact same games you would be playing on this thing some other way.

I have to say I am failing to see the appeal too. Maybe the most enthusiastic around here can shed some light

 

[Xzi]

I have to say I am failing to see the appeal too. Maybe the most enthusiastic around here can shed some light

It's really not that confusing: Switch sold 100 million units and people want a Switch Pro. If Nintendo gives us such a thing at all, it won't be for years, and it'll probably still be underpowered because they don't want to take a loss on hardware. In Steam Deck we have a device which can most likely play the whole Switch library at full speed, and as a bonus it'll play God of War, Halo Infinite, and Elden Ring on the go too.

 

[kiaghi7]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay! Seriously, I don't get why people are so obsessed only with the Steam Deck when there are now like 10 different kinds of devices just like it. It's probably the best overall deal, but you'd think it was the first of it's kind the way people talk about it.

Well, as with anything new, I'm taking a "wait and see" approach, as with any new piece of technology...
Both for the sake of getting reviews, but also to see if it is worth the while in the first place.
I want to know if it's well built, reliable, capable of doing what I want it to do, and of course time is on the buyer's side in this case, granting us time to benefit from everyone else's hindsight and "beta testing" so to say...

I'm hoping that for everyone's benefit, that the Steam deck will be outstanding, worth every penny, and bring the competition up a notch as well, so that everyone is continually bringing out more options with more features and driving down prices, all for the customer's benefit.

Rather than resenting the hype around the Steam Deck, I'm pragmatic about it in that at the very least like you've already said, it's driven companies to already make several competitor products, and hopefully even more will come out, and all of them will be rivaling one another and continually pushing each other to excel or fall out of favor.

 

[Kioku]

Have we learned nothing? Why would you buy something like this at launch? Even if there aren't a whole bunch of outrageous hardware flaws, there's still going to be a new revision six months from now with lots of convenient extra features and probably a lower price tag too. And while you're waiting, it's not like you can't already play the exact same games you would be playing on this thing some other way.

They're not going to release a revision if people don't buy it. Why would a company sink money into a product people aren't buying?

 

[Kioku]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay! Seriously, I don't get why people are so obsessed only with the Steam Deck when there are now like 10 different kinds of devices just like it. It's probably the best overall deal, but you'd think it was the first of it's kind the way people talk about it.

A competitively priced piece of hardware that allegedly hits well above it's weight class? Yeah, it kind of set a bar the competition fails to hit. I'm waiting for real world benchmarks and reviews before I consider placing another order.

 

[PatrickD85]

Coming, sometime, somewhere, to someone ... but any delay was more or less to be expected.

 

[Bladexdsl]

see sony even valve can get their hardware out to the public!

 

[tpax]

At this point, I'm just waiting for Valve to give me chance to finally throw my money at them.

As soon as the delivery date is announced, I'm gona take few days off of work and go camping in a national park nearby. Deploy my tent in a hidden spot deep in the forest, cook an adventurous meal and a delicious tee on my camping stove, and play some of my most favorite games on my Steam Deck until very late in the night, while watching the stars and listening to the trees cracking.

 

[wurstpistole]

At this point, I'm just waiting for Valve to give me chance to finally throw my money at them.

As soon as the delivery date is announced, I'm gona take few days off of work and go camping in a national park nearby. Deploy my tent in a hidden spot deep in the forest, cook an adventurous meal and a delicious tee on my camping stove, and play some of my most favorite games on my Steam Deck until very late in the night, while watching the stars and listening to the trees cracking.

Or maybe do all that, but without a screen.

 

[tpax]

Or maybe do all that, but without a screen.

I do regularly, that's why it's so special.

 

[Obveron]

It's really not that confusing: Switch sold 100 million units and people want a Switch Pro. If Nintendo gives us such a thing at all, it won't be for years, and it'll probably still be underpowered because they don't want to take a loss on hardware. In Steam Deck we have a device which can most likely play the whole Switch library at full speed, and as a bonus it'll play God of War, Halo Infinite, and Elden Ring on the go too.

I'm not sure how well it will run Switch emulators. This steam deck looks impressive for its size but it's low wattage APU will likely struggle. Halo infinite needs more cpu optimization on PC, the Windows version has bottlenecks on 250w CPUs. I'm certainly excited to see benchmark reviews of the Steam Deck.