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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[64bitmodels]

And only like 5 competitors have come out in the time since the delay!

and none of them have managed to have the same appeal and reduced cost the deck has
Maybe if they were at 400 i would care more lol

 

[Devin]

Looking forward to getting my 512GB preorder. Was pushed back from Q1 to Q2 but I'm in no rush to get mine.

I do enjoy being on the "bleeding edge" of hardware though. (Early adopter on the Wii, Wii U, 3DS, HTC Vive, Valve Index, etc.) The argument for discounts and revisions could be made at any point in a product's lifecycle so it doesn't really dissuade me.

 

[onibaku]

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

For me, I've always preferred portable consoles, basically since I was a kid with a gameboy colour. Now as an adult with a relatively busy life, I still prefer portables due to the convenience. Most of my gaming is done before bedtime or when commuting, and i play short sessions so suspend resume function for today's portables lets me pick up a game whenever really.

I do have quite a large steam library, mostly untouched games though, but games that Ive wanted to play for a long time. I dont expect to play latest AAA games perfectly but Im ok with that, my standards for graphics are generally low. Most games I do want to play dont have heavy hardware requirements. I have a nintendo switch but there are many games that I'd like to play that are simply not available on the system.

To sum it up, its the convenience and availability of games for me. I think people may have unrealistic expectations for the deck and people might be disappointed, and there's a chance it'll flop but its the perfect device for me! But yeah for a slightly higher price of the base model, you could definitely get a pretty decent rig (I'd do that but I know I wouldnt have the opportunity to use it much).

I also haven't been this excited for a portable since the PSP came out.

 

[Xzi]

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.

Dunno why the power draw would make any difference, it's still a 4-core, 8-thread CPU that runs up to 3.5GHz. Ryujinx and Yuzu both have Linux builds as well, and recent updates have made both of them quite fast.

 

[xatzimi]

[cries in "After Q2 2022"]

 

[Obveron]

Dunno why the power draw would make any difference, it's still a 4-core, 8-thread CPU that runs up to 3.5GHz. Ryujinx and Yuzu both have Linux builds as well, and recent updates have made both of them quite fast.

Power and thermal limits are everything in modern chips. You may be right that switch emulators will run well on the Steam Deck, I'm eager to find out.

 

[Xzi]

Power and thermal limits are everything in modern chips. You may be right that switch emulators will run well on the Steam Deck, I'm eager to find out.

Yeah they already run pretty well on Aya Neo (generally 5-10 FPS under full speed), and there should be a performance increase of 40% to 50% over that with Steam Deck's hardware.

 

[Joeynator3000]

Actually reserved one, I think I just prefer my games elsewhere other than my computer, and doing the dual monitor setup with my TV is a pain and not worth it in the end. Can't even do 1080p with it because my card isn't strong enough or something. lol

 

[MushGuy]

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.

You can have portable Batocera, too.😉

 

[Veho]

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

The appeal of the Steam Deck, or the appeal of x86 handhelds in general?

 

[tech3475]

[cries in "After Q2 2022"]

One upside, we get to see the reaction of others before buying.

 

[Costello]

The appeal of the Steam Deck, or the appeal of x86 handhelds in general?

The appeal of playing PC games on a small form factor device.
PC games are great but I personally enjoy them from the comfort of my sofa with a controller, or from my desk with keyboard & mouse on a large monitor.
Handheld/mobile games the way I see it - more suited to puzzle games, platformers maybe, etc.
I guess to each their own?

 

[Deleted member 577889]

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.

I heard that Steam isn't great about returns and warranty, either 🤷‍♂️ Besides, they've stopped taking a look at refund requests. If you're out of the window (2 hours, 2 weeks), then they won't even consider refunding you. Only exception are some massive scams like Battlefield 2042.

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.

All they've shown so far are very flexible games. No critical footage, only IGN and that guy who reviews computers (he was obviously lying and overhyping the system). He was playing DOOM Eternal and it looked awful, despite doom being very flexible.

Death Stranding isn't heavy; Ni No Kuni is a PS3 game.. Control footage looked very clunky and Control is heavy but it has lots of scaling options, so that is likely why they chose it. Hades...

The pricing is a mess, too. Cheapest model costs as much as a digital PS5 and 100$ more than Xbox Series S. Then the anti-glare screen (which is kind of a big deal for a handheld) is almost 700$, when Switch OLED is half that.

Valve has good ideas and skilled engineers, but they can't seem to get anything right. Their initial console presence was halted, then the console-like computers that failed, VR that's too expensive for what it is offering and now Deck.

When this hits the customers, YouTubers will start testing heavy titles like Battlefield or Warzone, and that's where Steam Deck will get in trouble. I don't imagine it has anything to run those games at playable frame rate and graphics higher than medium. And I'm also wondering how good is the wi-fi performance on it.

 

[matias3ds]

Wow this is a great news , i was so scare that they were not going to make it on time!

With this awesome information i will probably buy 10 or 20 just in case they will go out of Stock .

By the way what are they selling ?

 

[anhminh]

It too expensive for a single player handheld when phone at the same price offer more ultility. Switch novelity is they convinced people into believe that it is a home console as well so it justify the price. Can't say the same for Steam Desk though.

 

[Xzi]

I heard that Steam isn't great about returns and warranty, either

They don't have the most generous policies in the world, but they're straightforward about the policies they do have.

Besides, they've stopped taking a look at refund requests. If you're out of the window (2 hours, 2 weeks), then they won't even consider refunding you. Only exception are some massive scams like Battlefield 2042.

I mean yeah, they're called exceptions for a reason. Not sure why you'd expect to be able to take unlimited advantage of that.

The pricing is a mess, too. Cheapest model costs as much as a digital PS5 and 100$ more than Xbox Series S. Then the anti-glare screen (which is kind of a big deal for a handheld) is almost 700$, when Switch OLED is half that.

Lol are you seriously trying to gaslight people into believing the screen is the most important comparison to make between Switch and Steam Deck? $350 for Switch OLED, or $400 for a Steam Deck with more than three times the power in handheld mode. Which is important, because most Switch games only manage around 540p internal resolution, whereas you'll get a pixel-perfect 800p on Steam Deck.

Valve has good ideas and skilled engineers, but they can't seem to get anything right. Their initial console presence was halted, then the console-like computers that failed, VR that's too expensive for what it is offering and now Deck.

Valve has never manufactured consoles or PCs before. You might be thinking of Steam machines, which were entirely third-party. That was simply the start of the push for Linux gaming. And Index has been a success, your opinions on its pricing notwithstanding.

When this hits the customers, YouTubers will start testing heavy titles like Battlefield or Warzone, and that's where Steam Deck will get in trouble. I don't imagine it has anything to run those games at playable frame rate and graphics higher than medium. And I'm also wondering how good is the wi-fi performance on it.

Valve have stated numerous times that the graphics target here is 800p @ 30 FPS, which should not be hard to achieve with the hardware provided. It won't be shocking if it struggles a bit in unoptimized crap like Battlefield 2042, but what you have to keep in mind is that a lot of these games are impossible to port to Switch at all.

 

[aaronz77]

I'll just grab one on ebay for $1200. it's just money right?

 

[Xzi]

It too expensive for a single player handheld when phone at the same price offer more ultility. Switch novelity is they convinced people into believe that it is a home console as well so it justify the price. Can't say the same for Steam Desk though.

Steam Deck can play most of the same games that Series X and PS5 can, while Switch will never even be able to run certain PS4/XBO games. If the latter can be considered a home console despite its shortcomings, then the former certainly can be as well.

 

[Kioku]

I heard that Steam isn't great about returns and warranty, either 🤷‍♂️ Besides, they've stopped taking a look at refund requests. If you're out of the window (2 hours, 2 weeks), then they won't even consider refunding you. Only exception are some massive scams like Battlefield 2042.

All they've shown so far are very flexible games. No critical footage, only IGN and that guy who reviews computers (he was obviously lying and overhyping the system). He was playing DOOM Eternal and it looked awful, despite doom being very flexible.

Death Stranding isn't heavy; Ni No Kuni is a PS3 game.. Control footage looked very clunky and Control is heavy but it has lots of scaling options, so that is likely why they chose it. Hades...

The pricing is a mess, too. Cheapest model costs as much as a digital PS5 and 100$ more than Xbox Series S. Then the anti-glare screen (which is kind of a big deal for a handheld) is almost 700$, when Switch OLED is half that.

Valve has good ideas and skilled engineers, but they can't seem to get anything right. Their initial console presence was halted, then the console-like computers that failed, VR that's too expensive for what it is offering and now Deck.

When this hits the customers, YouTubers will start testing heavy titles like Battlefield or Warzone, and that's where Steam Deck will get in trouble. I don't imagine it has anything to run those games at playable frame rate and graphics higher than medium. And I'm also wondering how good is the wi-fi performance on it.

Buy a PS5, or get a PC with pretty decent specs (on paper) at that price.. Guess it depends on what you're looking for? Closest console competitor would be the Switch. Even then, the Switch falls way behind.

If big name YouTubers are testing games like Warzone or Battlefield and then casting judgment? They're pretty dumb. This was never touted as a high performance gaming machine. Come to think of it, nothing in this specific genre of hardware has a decent price/perf ratio. The ones with seemingly higher end specs start well above 2x the base price of the Deck.

I'd like to think that as more time goes by, there will be better chipsets for pure mobile gaming. Unfortunately, phones still can't hit that niche. Not for me, anyway. There are a few exceptions, but I'll never game on a phone the same way I'd game on a PC or console.

 

[Deleted member 532471]

Can't wait for it to come out so I can see people's hype paying off

I wanna get one too eventually, I need games to be portable and a lot of them don't run very well on switch...