pls to meke stem controller 2 🥲 😻
Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming
Submitted 1 month ago by Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
58008@lemmy.world 1 month ago
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Personally, I think the Deck is too big for my tastes, but the beauty of the ecosystem is that anyone can make one while still having almost all the Deck features.
I’d love to have a Vita or even PSP sized Steam handheld with a great screen for smaller titles, but that comes with its own problems
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
At some point you’re going to struggle to put a capable x86 machine in a device that small.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Might run into trouble with UIs as well, but the heart wants what the heart wants.
mlg@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Yeah the one big thing Valve probably won’t touch is ARM because unlike WINE, that’s a whole other beast in which the only valid solution is for game devs to compile for ARM, because translation layers like Rossetta and Box64 will always have 20-30% performance losses.
raptir@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
I think the Deck is too big for my tastes
That’s what she said.
Honestly though I love the size of the deck but could even go a little bigger. Agree that as more manufacturers start using SteamOS it will be great to have options.
technomad@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
Are you kidding me? Steam Deck is so big and clunky. Don’t even get me started on the piss poor ergonomics and the thing is fucking heavy as shit too!
I love it because it’s open source, but it’s shortcomings really leave a lot to be desired in my opinion.
polysics@lemmy.world 1 month ago
They are, in almost every way, taking the console model approach. Updates when there is a significant generational leap and not just yearly updates because AMD made a slightly faster APU (though they did the switch to switch OLED thing but no one complained about that because they kept the LCD models for sale and the OLED really is nicer), selling at a loss (and making up for it in game sales) and of course, the ease of use that a console interface offers over a traditional PC interface.
Then they step it up beyond that by making it as open as possible (software/emulation, games from any source, it’s really a PC) and making the hardware repairable (making parts available and easy to fix in the first place,) and of course, cheap games and practically every game you’d ever want.
What the other handheld PC companies are lacking is (with some exceptions) repairability, that console experience, and price. Us nerds that can do whatever with technology will do it, so a legion or an ally or a gpd will sell just fine to that demographic, especially for the frame rate chasers. But for most of the rest of people, they would just get a switch or a PS5 or Xbox because it’s just plug in and game, and at least in the case of a Switch or Xbox S, the cost of entry is way lower than a PC, be it a gaming desktop/laptop, or even many of the handheld PC competitors. Yes you can build comparable cheap PCs to an Xbox or PS5, but that means building a PC, and most people don’t want to do that (I’m not talking to you, I know you have a sweet rig.) Yes I know games on PC are usually cheaper especially Steam sales or key seller/bundle sites, but console gamers often don’t consider that, and initial cost of entry is very important to non-enthusiast type people in any given hobby.
There’s a reason why Nintendo consoles sell so well despite being behind the competition in raw horsepower. It’s the console model (and in their case aggressive exclusivity of their famous IPs)
The things keeping Sony and Microsoft in the competition are basically the console ease of use, and their all you can eat subscriptions. Even they both realized that they can get more sales putting their games on PC, but that still means forking over MSRP for a single game, so those ps+ and gamepass subs are keeping them afloat at this point.
I’m a huge tech nerd and have been deep in related industries for over 20 years. I know how to do whatever I want with any pc hardware or software, I own a steam deck, and a rog ally, a proper beefy gaming desktop, a gaming laptop, a Switch, and a PS4. Despite all that, in the past 2 years, easily 90% of my gaming has been on the Steam Deck. It does everything I need it to and more, and it does it anywhere, anyhow. If I want to tweak and tinker with it I can, but more importantly, I can just PLAY GAMES with almost no friction. At home, on a break at work, at the airport waiting for my flight, cozy in bed, wherever, whenever, and fast, and easy.
The Steam Deck is the swiss army knife game device that childhood me always dreamed of, and now it exists. That is why it’s outselling it’s competition, and genuinely making PC gaming a viable thing for the masses. No it won’t beat Nintendo anytime soon, but it’s gaining steam on them and other consoles faster than any other attempt ever has before, and it will only get better.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 month ago
Until more recently when they started getting competion, what other handheld gaming PCs even existed?
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
GPDwin for example?
I always wanted a mini laptop basically as big as my current phone but actually mobile.
Sadly I didnt have enough F-U money :(Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 month ago
There’s been a handful but nothing I could name off the top of my head and the specs meant anything more impressive than Super Meat Boy might be out of the question.
Just cheap crappy Windows 8 tablets for the most part, with controller buttons tacked on.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 month ago
The first one I had was a GPD Win 2, in like 2018/2019-ish. You could do some fairly recent 3D stuff on it at the time, but it was better for 2D games.
SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
I love when my hands get dominated
_cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
There’s a reason for that, and it’s more than the usual Valve fanboyism. The Deck is objectively a better user experience than the alternatives, Steam Input is a masterpiece, Linux runs games better than Windows now (thanks, Gabe), and the community around it is friendly and super helpful to everyone.
Even a device with better specs will have trouble surpassing the Deck if they can’t cover these areas as well.
4shtonButcher@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
They better release a new one before I break down and buy a new “gaming laptop” because I sometimes game.
SabinStargem@lemmings.world 1 month ago
I would like Gabe to with the EU to make a EULinux. They both have respective reasons to get away from Microsoft’s control over software, and I would very much like to daily drive a Linux without worrying about game compatibility. Unfortunately, I am stuck with Windows because I play many obscure or old games, and simply hate dealing with technical hassles enough as it is. Here’s hoping that Linux becomes good enough within a couple years from now.
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I think the biggest hurdle against transitioning away from Windows to Linux for most government offices isn’t the OS itself - but rather the MS Office suite!
You’d honestly be surprised how pervasive Excel is amongst white collar workers; and I think the biggest hurdle is the uncertainty of compatibility (of formulas, macros, workbook links etc.) from Excel to Open/Libre Office alternatives.
ohshit604@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Here’s hoping that Linux becomes good enough within a couple years from now.
I jumped head first into Linux without any prior knowledge a year-ish ago, I went and chose what seemed to be a simple distro (Debian) and later found out it’s one of the more difficult distros out there (also most native packages are outdated) and some how made it work day to day.
Basically every game on steam is essentially Linux compatible and a good handful of popular anti-cheats have partnered with Valve to ensure proper compatibility.
Now the problem is, game producers (like Ubisoft & EA) have been pushing this rhetoric that Linux users are all cheaters & hackers and intentionally prevent users from connecting to their servers or even launching the games.
SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 month ago
The legion go s with steam OS should replace it 10000% but I don’t know if it will. There will never be a steam deck 2 and the steam deck is already outdated and slow.
pennomi@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Citation for there never being a Steam Deck 2?
Because the interview at CES 2025 heavily implied it: youtu.be/UI-C-nZnDE8?t=525
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 month ago
And the article we’re commenting on mentioned it.
SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Well that’s cool. I heard just last year they weren’t going to and instead just make steam os more available. I’m not going to scrounge the internet for one video I saw several months ago sorry.
But what’s weird is when I look for steam deck 2 I get contradicting info like “steam deck several years away” and in the exact same particle “possibly late 2025”
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Why would there never be a Steam Deck 2?
dinckelman@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Because some people love going off headlines, and not the actual articles, and then further twist information, to promote their narrative.
They never said there will never be one. They said there won’t be yearly incremental releases, because they want a substantial performance leap. And that is something I strongly admire. Makes the customers feel more secure in their choice, and lets Valve work on new stuff in peace
umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
it can still run everything, nothing outdated about it just yet
explodIng_lIme@lemmy.world 1 month ago
That is over generalising. I got Control recently (great game BTW) and it technically runs but isn’t really playable. That said I still love that little machine and it is an auto include in my bag whenever I’m away from my desktop for a longer time.
SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It can “run” everything you mean. I at games that either struggle to stay above 30 or look worse than switch graphics. So because a game can run doesn’t mean it’s viably playable to other people. I think the aim should be medium settings for new games at a steady 40fps for the next deck. But for now we have to rely on Linux optimization.
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 1 month ago
touchpads
SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Legion go will have one for mouse. Not great for games I’d imagine. But I’d also imagine 99% of people use the joysticks on a steam deck when playing a game.
But, software usually dies before hardware does.
the_q@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Tell me how it’s slow? If you turn on fps counters and your goal is to make that number go higher then you’re not using the deck to play games.
SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 month ago
When you are competing with PCs and home consoles. <30fps is slow in my opinion. Or. Turn the graphics super low and get maybe ~40? The CPU/GPU is subpar The ram is okay for most games, but soon 32 will be the new required standard. The ssd makes apple seem generous…
I’m not bashing on it, I enjoy the steam deck, but if someone were to say they want to buy one right now I’d suggest waiting for legion go s or “the next steam deck” a few years from now. Unless valve cuts the cost of the steam deck by at least $100 each model, it’s not worth it anymore. There are dozens of better handhelds that you can install steam os on instead.
Note. I do also realize the steam deck community is hardcore shilly and everything I said will be read but not actually enter a brain and just passed off. Which is fine. Like I said I like the steam deck overall.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 1 month ago
If you’re just looking for sales numbers, which we haven’t had much of for a long time, the long and short of it is:
4M Steam Decks since launch, 2M of all of its competitors combined; expected that all handheld PCs sharing this AMD tech will sell about 2M more this year.