EXCLUSIVE: Lenovo is working on a Windows PC gaming handheld called the 'Legion Go'
EXCLUSIVE: Lenovo is working on a Windows PC gaming handheld called the 'Legion Go'
Another Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally competitor enters the fray.
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@echoplex21 Why the hell would anyone want a Windows PC gaming handheld - Steam Deck through Proton is the future. Sure, innovate on hardware but building something for windows systems is just paying license fees for shitty experiences. #brokenwindows #proton #steamdeck
Gamepass PC, VR, and quite a few anti-cheat systems (so online games) are still windows only.
I made the switch because those make up a very small percentage of my (PC) gaming but they are very much things that aren't available with a linux based device.
Gamepass and anticheat I'll give you, though the latter situation is improving greatly, but using a handheld for a PC VR headset seems... impractical. Not to mention a cluster fuck of a liability
The Oculus (so Facebook) Quest works pretty well. And the very strong rumor is that the Deckard is (effectively) an HMD with a cable going to a steam deck with a big phat battery. And people have been using WMRs and even indexes with laptops for years.
I don't think it is a super common use case, but it is very much a concern for the overall "why linux and not windows?"
The Oculus (so Facebook) Quest works pretty well.
The Quest works because it is a standalone device. You don't have to plug anything into the unit, you don't have to have wires everywhere, and you don't have a significant risk smashing the unit to the floor because you literally can't see where the cables are, what they're snagging on, etc.
Meanwhile, conventional VR setups get around this by the PC being heavier than a handheld, as well as possibly by being situated under the desks. Laptops are less risk still than a SD, because the former is still heavier than a Nintendo Switch and is made to be used on a desk, with rubber feet for grip, something the SD form factor doesn't have
That and the conventional use case for the SD is fundamentally incompatible from a user experience perspective. It's a mess of cables, and most VR software requires more physics space to operate than you would realistically have in a non-home environment.
Its almost like you actively ignored where I pointed out Deckard which is strongly beleived to be a "fanny pack" VR
So I'll just repeat myself.
The latest Valve product we are all eager for any hot goss on is Deckard. Very poorly kept secret (almost like Valve are advertising and testing the waters) but it is believed to be an HMD similar to the Facebook Quest but with the compute components either in a box on the back or in more of a hip mounted (fanny pack) configuration, depending on the leak. The former being the safe bet but the latter building more towards a Steam ecosystem and, honestly, being a better design choice in general.
Because for VR? The only cable you really need is one (thunderbolt 3 or better) USB C cable. Power, data, and video all fit on that.
And laptops have basically been the foundation of "backpack VR" for years now.
But the idea behind all of this (okay, backpack vr was more about any way to be portable for a large play space) is that compute is hot and heavy. So if you are putting everything in the HMD, you are increasing weight and heat generation on people's heads. Whereas offloading that to a backpack or even just the equivalent of a steam deck (which can easily handle quest level VR) with a big ass battery duct taped to it, greatly relieves neck strain AND allows for much bigger batteries without weight or heat worries.
Its almost like you actively ignored where I pointed out Deckard which is strongly beleived to be a “fanny pack” VR.
I did. Partially because it is a rumour and not an actual product yet but also because, quite crucially to the point, it won't be a Steam Deck form factor PC. Because my entire point hinges around:
Steam Deck form factor + conventional VR setup with all the typical wires and stuff = considerable liability and just not fun.
My argument is not about the Linux OS but the form factor of the Steam Deck. A problem that wouldn't be solved by slapping Windows on it.
VR requires Windows?
SteamVR has no issues with Linux. But in the PC space, there are basically three major ecosystems for VR that basically interface between the HMD and SteamVR
- Facebook: I have no idea but I would be pretty shocked if this was linux friendly
- Windows MR: Actively not Linux friendly, but there are hobbyist shims that work to varying degrees
- Vive: No issues
So VR has no issues with Linux (because of SteamVR) but almost every single HMD does.
@null @echoplex21 for me personally I got the ROG Ally because of GamePass which I already had with my Xbox. Being able to play a bunch of PC games native has been great especially if they sync saves. Also the sheer amount of free games I got with Epic Game Store was also nice. Sure the UI isn’t the best (we really need a big picture mode for the Xbox app) but being able to play all these games without additional purchases was a no brainer.
Personally I just got a big SD card for my steam deck and now I can duel boot super easily between windows and SteamOS. Probably the best idea I've ever had.
duel boot
I’m imagining two cowboy boots at sunrise
There’s not enough room in this drive for 2 partitions, partner…
It's an adversarial boot process where only one installation remains.
The Steam experience is actually pretty great on the Ally. They have the big picture mode which works really great.
Completely different topic, but if you put a hashtag on a Lemmy post or comment does it appear on Mastodon?
Gonna test it out, #testingthefuckoutofthis
I think that only works if the post comes from Mastodon
You mean if it is crossposted from Mastodon?
Yes
If it's posted from Mastodon. Mastodon users can navigate Lemmy posts.
@thepineapplejumped doesn't seem to render as a clickable hashtag on my (mastodon using Tusky) end. Seems like a bug imo.
Same here, not sure if this is down to lemmy.world not federating with Mastodon instances or just if it isn't supported
Can you play Gamepass games without Windows?
Only through cloud which leaves a lot to be desired.
Yeah if cloud was a real option just a phone would suffice.
The real question is "can you make playing gamepass games on Windows handhelds a not-shitty experience?"
I have an Aya Neo, and honestly running Windows on it (after doing a reinstall without all the bloat), is pretty enjoyable. I get to run all my PC games no problem, emulators, and use it as a portable computer for other things (managing flipper zero files, that sort of thing)
Steam Deck os is pretty nifty too though, that's for sure.
Why buy a console when you can play the same games but at worse graphics for 45 minutes on a windows PC handheld?
I actually had a clamshell GPDWin2 that I used to play out of park baseball on in bed and it was perfect for that but I can’t image wanting it for real games. Inhome streaming is not worse than that unless you’ve cheaped out on your Wi-Fi and don’t wire in your main Pc/console.
The notion that "Steam Deck through Proton is the future" just showcases that you wouldn't be in a position to judge how to configure such a device in the planning phases of a multi-million company project.
It's a nice enthusiast attitude, sure. And don't get me wrong, us enthusiasts are important. But it's also entirely delusional to think that you can have true mass-market appeal of these handhelds without them running Windows on them.