Pretty safe to say Steam Deck is Hardware/device of the year.... No?

Can't for the life of me think of anything that came close. Microsoft was stock ms... Powerful console, nothing to differentiate itself from pc other than ease of use.... Sony ps5 seemed to have another year trying to justify a purchase, some great games but available elsewhere, namely ps4/pc. Sony actually had the stones to RAISE the price of a PS5 which is just.... Whoa.... Perhaps 2023 will fair better. Nintendo switch was almost entirely neutered by the steam deck this year... I love my switch and am not out to knock it. Nintendo delivered hardware that sets itself apart, but steam decks performance, library and experience have gone far beyond what switch is doing.

I'm not trying to pretend I haven't been gassing up the steam deck for a year and a half... I preordered it immediately on the day reservations opened. It's just that we've now got thousands of verified games an amazing team at valve constantly updating it, the best emulation and the best portable experience nce anywhere in gaming.

Now that it's out.... And a massive success, proof of concept and hotly enjoyed throughout the gaming community its time we give it its due. Steam deck is the best hardware/device of 22 and I can't think of a compelling reason why it would be any different.

Don't own one, but i wouldn't disagree. I just hope Steam improves them in the near future. Better screen, 1080p resolution, smaller, more powerful, etc. I like the idea of a portable system, but i can't deal with such weak hardware while also being bulky as hell.

Honestly, I would say you're right. It's just such a flexible machine. I mostly play gamepass games on it though, but the hardware allows me to do such a thing is what makes it more awesome. I wish they supported epic games store on this thing...it's just annoying because of platform exclusivity still happening on pc. I've wanted to play sifu for a while, but at this point I could just grab it for my switch instead.

Hopefully it encourages devs to port their games on Linux or at least test that it works fine on wine.

@hardwenzen: that's what I'm hoping for too.... They clearly made a product that resonates.... Now it's time to build the next iteration and blow it out of the box.

Also, the bulk is really not that bad. I much prefer holding a steam deck to a switch. So much more engaging and ergonomic.

@blaznwiipspman1: ugh.... Sifu not on steam is so meh.

I'm happy that Valve was able to make a decent portable PC that's friendly accessible to anyone who doesn't want to build a gaming PC so Steam Deck is ideal so glad it all work out for everyone.

Sadly it's not for me as I love my PC desktop style of my own choosing specs.

Yeah it definitely seems to be a very cool system. Wouldn’t mind having one myself but I just have so much on my plate these days.

@TheEroica: sadly I have a pretty sizable epic library too. Hopefully they port EGS onto the deck, that would be amazing and I feel like epic would also benefit from it.

What competition is there? A PC handheld with built in steam access? Yes, please.

I dislike gaming on laptops, so the Deck is fulfilling something I've always wanted.

I think it pretty much wins by default. Nothing else came out this year. The last new model device before that (at least from the big 3) was the switch OLED. But that was 2021.

But yeah: Overall they have done a great job with it. They got the price of entry down quite nicely. It's a good spec for the money overall (a portable PS4 basically is not too shabby) and they have supported it well with regular updates and getting more games to work.

It's also promoting gaming on linux which is great too. It's having an effect too. Even Sony seem to be pushing their own devs to test against proton too and get deck verified. Square too (even promoting deck support for the Steam release of FF7:R. Reunion also works fine from what i have seen.).

They didn't lock it down either. It still is very much a PC which is great.

I plan to get one some time next year.

Yeah Steam Deck is probably the best piece of hardware to come out in recent years as far as platforms go.

Sony and MS both made solid offerings, but there is little to no real reason to favor them over each other because their exclusives are not enough and frankly they're in a really unappealing pissing contest at the expense of consumers right now.

Switch is running on dated hardware, with serious quality issues (specifically drift). Their library is quality, but small.

As always it comes down to preference, but if a non-gamer was making a list of pros and cons and was asked to pick a product--PS, Xbox, Switch, or Deck--the best one in pretty much all categories is the Deck.

As always, privately-owned, non-traded Valve is the winner in this competition, as are their customers. When your company doesn't have to focus exclusively on pleasing shareholders, they can focus on pleasing consumers.

I'd nominate the 8bitdo Ultimate controller for seemingly beating out the first party offerings. But the Steam Deck also looks cool, and I haven't personally tried either of these things. So, you may be right.

Seems like it, although haven't pulled the trigger yet. Not sure I would enjoy the handheld aspect of it.

Sad barely anyone bought one. I get so many awesome PC games for free on mine. I got Spider-Man and Elden Ring for free on mine. I already own the games on other devices, so i just downloaded my backup PC copies for free. And its easy to get past the Steam check so it never knows you didnt pay for the backup.

Absolutely, Steam Deck is freaking amazing!

@Heil68: gaming on the couch with your Bluetooth headphones in and a full battery ready to rip... I guarantee the Heil can get into handheld gaming.

@mesome713: Nobody bought one? Huh? It's sold more than a million units. Pretty sure it's exceeding valves expectations. Wer removing towards steam deck 2 baby.... Let's goooooo!

@kuu2: I just downloaded them. Check YouTube, and learn how to use cracks.

I am certain that for the majority of REAL gamers, the ones that actually care about portable gaming, the Deck made the Switch completely irrelevant. Nintendo is lucky that there is way more casual scrubs they can farm than actual gamers, tho.

No for me.

The price for that thing is just out of this world, I'm playing both old games and new games on it no trouble.

The only thing they seemingly cheaped out on is the battery, wish it was a bit better, but I understand going for a lighter model as to not increase the weight.

I want a SD but still too many dimes to purchase one now. The price has to go down.

RTX 4090 disagrees.

And it should be noted during the VGA, they were given away Steam Deck to the audience during the show so that alone tells you Valve's supplies of Steam Deck has finally met all the demands.

I could be wrong about this, but I think our technology to make our Batteries smaller with packing long lasting power is still limited and I can't fault most of the latest handhelds for having lightweights batteries. Seeing such a small battery with long lasting power could take a long time to develop.

@BassMan: meh... I'd rather have a steam deck.

Love the system. Wish it had an OLED

Nah it's been the Nintendo Switch for the last 5 years. This is a bit like when Xbox and PS released Kinect and PS Move years after the Wii - nobody gave a shit because it was all just a fad anyway.

Portable gaming sucks hard. It's Nintendo's games that is their ace in the hole. I'm not saying Valve sucks but damn what is the last game that had an official release from Valve? Desk job? Imagine if Valve really entered console space, they'd get ripped apart worse than Xbox game studios.

That is just my take on it. Otherwise, it does seem like a pretty cool device, I certainly wouldn't sell it if it just fell on my lap one day.

The Steam Deck actually offers something new.

4090 offers new levels of performance not possible before and new features like frame generation.

Thanks for confirming that the Steam Deck actually offers something new.😎

And like I said in the past. If the Steam Deck helps get people into the PC realm, I'd welcome the Steam Deck's help. Anyone with a Steam Deck are also now Hermits😉

Thanks for shit posting.

There was no shit posting until the bold. 😂

Absolutely love mine

@girlusocrazy: Being a Manticore these days just kills the mood.

I cancelled my preorder after the launch of the windows drivers.

I'd definitely buy one if it could properly run windows without a performance hit

I don't see the need for it at all. Not to mention that if you want to play the Steam library with the finest performance possible, it's best to build a gaming PC of that caliber, and such hardware that compromises performance for portability would only be for specific demands.

Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but Valve will not be bothering with more powerful anytime soon. This thing is weak already, good luck running anything unreal 5. The only reason the Switch succeeds is it relies on first party, the deck does not.

https://www.eurogamer.net/dont-expect-a-souped-up-second-gen-steam-deck-soon

I would say so, yes.

The Switch may have had a tremendous year, but... it does not keep up to the vast ammount of software the PC has amassed in the past decade.

The Steam Deck is strong enough to run the overwhelming majority of Steam Games, a new second gen steam deck seems unnecessary.

What would the power be needed for exactly? Most PC games can still be run on a 1070, that I use.

Yeah, it has to be. You could argue for the RTX4090 I suppose, but its let down a lot by the price theyre asking for it.