The Steam Deck was probably my favorite tech purchases in the past few years, and I’m looking forward to checking out the linked article to see where it goes with things.
I had been mulling over the idea of getting a portable for awhile, and truthfully Asus and Lenovo’s offerings are pretty nice. I felt like they were all good enough, performance-wise, for the types of games I play, but battery life was a big enough concern for me that it held me back from actually buying one of these systems. After the OLED Deck was announced and specs on battery life were released, it eased my concerns enough that I felt like now was the time.
I do wish they had handled the launch a bit more gracefully, particularly as far as the limited edition goes. At this point it doesn’t really matter, but it did etch away at some of the “magic” initially and undermined my confidence slightly when they couldn’t keep the store operating, then said the special edition was out of stock, only for it to magically come back into stock after I’d already purchased the regular/standard Deck. Oh well.
Is this going to rival the Switch? Or will it end up like the PSP? They seem like a perfect balance to get all the games that aren’t available on the Switch.
Got two friends to buy one after I got mine. Love it so much. I didn’t think I would use it much when I first bought it, but I have played on it more in the last several months than my actual gaming PC.
Such a fantastic device, I stream movies and shows with it, listen to music while I game, go to LAN parties, use it with my family for couch co-op, play all my old GBA games on it, it’s just awesome.
Mad props to those that have it and use it.i just can’t find a use case
We play lethal company as a group and one of us plays on a steam deck. He can’t use the monitor or figure out the walkie talkies, but he can at least play with us, so it’s a win.
I have no idea why anyone would want a shittier PC with a tinier screen to play their steam library. It seems totally pointless to me. The only people I know who seem to rave about them are dads who can’t get away to game except in half hour increments on the couch. I guess that’s better than nothing, but fuck, that’s a bleak gaming experience.
This is going to be pretty shocking to you, so brace yourself…Some people actually leave their gaming chairs to go into other rooms in their home. There even some folks, (this will really blow your tiny mind) who actually leave their homes sometimes but still want to play games!
Those are the strange creatures that like to play games even though they are away from their main PC. Now pick up your jaw off your Cheeto-covered gaming desk and pipe down, the adults are talking.
Do you realize that you can do other things in other places that aren’t gaming? Why game in a substandard way all over the place instead of saving your gaming for where you can actually have a good gaming experience?
If I’m going hiking, or hanging out with friends, something else outside, I’m not bringing a glorified Gameboy with me to do it. I’m gonna go and enjoy some non-gaming time.
“Why game in a substandard way…” There is the crux of the issue. To you, gaming can only be enjoyed at 4K 160+ FPS, Ultra detail, HDR, Ray traced blah blah blah. You can’t fathom that there are people that value gaming for reasons other than getting ultra high framerates and 4K textures.
Not to mention all the folks who play games that don’t gain anything from super high frames or 4K graphics, like retro gamers, people who enjoy old school RPGs, turn-based strat games, sandbox/city buikders, pixel games, or hell, just people who don’t give a damn about any of that and value things like comfort and portability over raw performance.
Sometimes I want to chill on my couch in a blanket with my cats snuggled on my legs in front of my fireplace, sipping hot chocolate or tea while playing a turn-based strat game with my best friend. The Steam Deck allows me to do that.
Not everything has to be a sweaty HaRdC0rE G4mEr B0I experience 24/7. I have a super high-end custom gaming PC and play comp FPS/RTS. I also love playing on my Steam Deck casually at home, or when I’m out on the go and want to play some games.
Nobody has an issue with you only being interested in an ultra-hardcore gaming experience. Just don’t act like people who aren’t interested in that are idiots or sad wanna-be gamers. That’s the coolest thing about gaming, there’s something for everybody.
“People aren’t like me and I just don’t get it!”
You know, empathy is a skill you can learn. You may consider working on it.
I don’t like being tied down to a single location for too long. There are plenty of games that run fantastic on the deck. The screen size isn’t an issue because it’s close to the face. Sounds like you play demanding games, and that’s okay, the deck wouldn’t make sense in that case.
On several occasions I wanted to play a game for a while but did not want to sit at my desk to play so I ended up not playing at all. Now, with my steam deck, I often play for 15 minutes to about 1 hour or a bit more from my couch or my bed next to my gf and it’s super easy and enjoyable.
If you don’t like it, great. Just don’t try to shit on the millions of people that do. Cheers.
Its a portable handheld, it’s not meant to be a replacement for a pc. You could use it for playing games on a commute or during your lunch break. Nothing wrong with using it on the couch either, sometimes you want to be outside of your room.
Literally viewing this thread while laying in bed with a FFXIV cutscene playing on my Deck right now.
It’s so cozy playing stuff on this thing, even when I have an extremely powerful gaming PC less than 5 feet away.
And when I go over to my girlfriend’s house, I just bring it with me, instead of having to lug a whole laptop over there and get it set up just to mess around with something casual that I wouldn’t wanna run on my phone.
