The Steam Deck's budget price tag is the reason I still rate it nearly two years on
PC gaming needed a budget champion and the Steam Deck filled that role at just the right time.
Nobody ever seems to point out the various features like trackpads, back buttons and all the software goodness that you don't get with the competition. That's the main selling point of the Deck for me.
The back buttons were a genius way to make some PC games with no gamepad support playable. Really the whole customizability of the controller mapping is awesome
The inputs plus what you can do with Steam Input is the real kicker for me. Means you can play any game even if it only works with a keyboard. Not saying the experience will be as good as with a keyboard and mouse but you can get really creative and play a lot of games unexpectedly well.
Now that I've used it, I don't think I could move to any device that didn't have literally all the inputs that the steam deck has including gyro, double touch pads and back buttons. You can just do so much with it.
It's basically a beefed up steam controller and while that one had its problems, it's still the only controller im willing to use because of it's many features.
Author can't seem to understand that Valve's the only company that can properly do the console-style "subsidize hardware cost based on the cut you'll get from selling the games" method in the PC space. Asus, Lenovo, Ayaneo - they don't have the luxury of maybe taking a bit of a haircut on the hardware and then more than making it up on the back end via software sales. They only get paid for the initial sale and then they're done, so their devices are going to have to be more expensive.
If they were to cooperate with valve and/or epic they could pull it off to some degree. Basically a fixed return from valve/epic per unit sold.
The big question with that plan, though, is what's in it for Valve/Epic? Valve has no incentive to let anyone else in on their cut, and Epic's is so low already there wouldn't be any room to let anyone else in on it with them.
I suppose Epic could try to get a deal in place where EGS is installed as the default store on the Ally or Legion, but it's not like anyone's going to just stick with the default - first thing anyone will do is just install Steam, and everyone knows it. I don't see a way for a deal like that to make sense for Epic to even bother with.
Author can't seem to understand that Valve's the only company that can properly do the console-style "subsidize hardware cost based on the cut you'll get from selling the games"
I disagree on Valve being the only company. I don't think your traditional PC hardware companies could pull it off, however I think a company that has an successful enough online store could do it. Microsoft could do it If they wanted to. They might already be in that path as the Xbox becomes more PC like. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an option to buy Windows for the Xbox.
Also depending on your definition of PC, love them or hate them but Apple potentially could do something like that. However I would be very surprised as Apple isn't in the business if subsided cost on hardware lol.
Epic or Amazon also come to mind.
Fair points, yes, but I was speaking within the context of companies that are actually producing handheld PCs. None of the other potentially capable companies you've mentioned have shown any indication that they care to enter the space.
My gamer laptop died, and I tend to spend a good amount of time out the house. Getting a steamdeck for like 350$ (sale) and packing one of my 15 thinkpads made more sense to me. Overall, spending about 450$ on everything instead of 1200$ for another computer that requires me to basically set up a full desktop to use it. It's great being able to just pull out the deck and get at it. It's not the best way to play games, but it's pretty nice for when I'm not home.
I’ve bought so many more steam games since getting the deck. They know what they’re doing.
Budget? It's $600 for a device that's already worse off then a console power wise. You can't use discs and do pay more games. In what world is this a budget device?
If you want to game on a budget gamepass+ gamefly + Xbox is the cheapest way to game hands down.
A. It's not $600.
B. Games on PC are far less than used discs are.
C. Gamepass is not and does not in any way resemble a budget option. The budget option is owning games so you don't routinely have new expenses to be able to play games all. Renting is and always has been an obscenely expensive way to play games.
A. Yeah $400 for 64gb, real value. But whatever I'm sure that one is real popular.
B. No, not if you sell them back or rent them.
C. I payed $70 for 3 years of game pass. I have since played well over 40 games.
The math on renting is easy so I'll spell it out to you.
Gamepass + game fly == 30+ 205 = $235 for the year. Let's say you are a light gamer and only play through 5 games a year. That's 70*5 == $350, you have already broke even unless you include hardware, then you lost a whole ago.
I personally play more like 30 so I'm saving well over 2k USD a year.
PC gamers spite their wallets so they can play a stream game once and be proud they own it
Here in Germany I can get it certified refurbished for 340€ (64gb), 440€ (256gb) or 540€ (540€). You can go for the cheapest and upgrade the storage. Seems affordable to me.
First of all why are we comparing a handheld to a console? That just doesn't make any sense.
And since when are games for consoles cheaper anyways? Seems like PC games go on sales much faster.
For any PC gamer with an existing library (or any pirate) you already have plenty of games to play on the steam deck. No need to buy anything new.
Also don't some games on the playstation for example need a subscription for online play?
That said you are right that if you want access to a large variety of games then game pass+Xbox is a solid option. But look at streaming services and mark my words: this won't last forever. They WILL enshittfy it eventually.
Why am I comparing a console to a handheld? I'm not. The deck was presented as a budget option. I agree mobile devices typically aren't budget friendly and I'm providing an alternative.
As for cheaper games it's because the console still has a rental and resale community. Unless you are actually buying 3 games a year and putting hundreds of hours into them; it's far cheaper to rent or buy and sell on Amazon. I played well over 30 games last year and spent about $250. Had I purchased them it would be well past $2000 a year. Even if I wait 3 years for every single title to hit $5 (which never happens in practice for many games) I've still spent $200 on those discounted titties.
Damn get a load of this guy listing physical discs as if it's a good thing in 2023. The experience of owning a game on Steam is so seamless and convenient I couldn't even handle the frustration of SD cards on the switch let alone a full on disc!
Of course the situation would be different if you live somewhere with a poor internet connection and you play mostly AAA games, then I understand the appeal of having physical media.
EDIT: Also have to add, $600 for a device that can play literally every game I've purchased for the last 20 years anywhere I go is a damn bargain. Consoles have their place and their own advantages but there's really no other device that can do that.
That's fine if you value that experience.
That's an expensive trait to value. I'm happy to rent games, wait a day for them to arrive, and enjoy much lower running costs.
Not sure why people here are all arguing about why you would want to use discs, rather than the fact that the Steam Deck is a PC, of course you can absolutely used discs. All you need to do is plug in a USB disc drive, and it's ready to go. I've installed a bunch of my older PC games from CD/DVD that way, and it works great. Even under Linux, applications like Lutris make installing Windows game discs pretty easy, and once they're installed, you're ready to go.
Yeah I guess that's true if you only play 20 year old games. Fair enough.
The value lies in its flexibility. And it's mainly targeted for existing PC players. I can play my whole 150+ games steam library on it. I can easily emulate my favourite childhood games. Also, the smallest version with like a 256 or 512 GB SD card is perfectly fine and a lot cheaper than 600$.
There are use cases where a traditional console is cheaper of course, but you can't get AAA handheld gaming for less money.
