PC Gaming Discussion

[Scratch]

I think it looks cool, is a good combination of price/specs, and I really like how they're sort of bringing a "console experience" to a ton of Steam games. Plus it lets you install your own OS, so there's a lot of opportunity for gaming, but not JUST gaming, it's powerful enough that you could probably install Windows (or a Linux distro), attach a mouse/keyboard/monitor and use it as your main PC. I'd probably dual boot myself, use Steam OS for the most part and have a Windows on there for anything that wasn't compatible. I think it's gonna sell well. If I had money coming out of my ears, I would buy one, and probably also see a doctor.

But, in the end it's not for me because it doesn't really give me anything new. I already have a PC decent enough to play the games I want, and I don't really bother with handheld gaming. Even during the GB/GBA days, I'd rather use my Super Gameboy or GameBoy Player, so yeah. I also think the button placement looks really uncomfortable, and the console is quite large, even quite a bit larger than the Switch. So that's a bit off-putting. Maybe in the real world it's not so bad.

In conclusion, Steam Deck looks really good and I like it, I think it's gonna do well, but in the end it's not for me.

Also it can't hurt for this to be on the market, might keep Nintendo on their toes a bit. xD

[Ike]

Preorders are up now, if you can get on the page.

[bob]

I'm always a bit skeptical of Valve's hardware offerings, because they are making so much money from Steam I don't really see why they keep releasing things. There's no way their hardware department makes any money, and yet they keep coming out with these oddities. Leads me to conclude that it must be a tax dodge or something; funnelling all profits through their hardware department because the rate is lower for physical products than software....or something. And they have to produce something every few years to justify it.


Anyway, looks like a beefy Switch.

[Julius]

Did anyone manage to get one? 

I went to reserve, looped loading screen for a few seconds, then kicked me back. Added again, got through to my basket, went to checkout aaaaaaaand it started again, actually logged me out because of the servers going down for a second and the store crashing. 

23 minutes ago, Ike said:

Preorders are up now, if you can get on the page.

Pretty sure it's already over, showing next round at 18:00 on Sunday. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Julius

[Happenstance]

This isn’t preorders, it’s reservations to allow you to order later on when there’s stock.

Anyway I got one. No idea if I’ll go through with it when the time comes but I didn’t mind paying £4 so I can get one early down the line if I choose to.

[Sheikah]

Looks very cool, and actually I feel like those button placements will be more comfortable than what we normally see on controllers. Personally I'm not really into Steam gaming (and especially not on the go) but if I was I'd definitely pick one up!
It's pretty huge though, 298 x 117 x 49mm vs the regular Switch's 239 x 102 x 28mm

And it weighs 669 grams! 70% heavier than the Switch.

I don't know, I just can't quite see this having anywhere near the uptake of the Switch. It doesn't have exclusive games and I get the impression that people generally prefer to play full fat AAA games on their PC monitor or TV using their main system. And it's really expensive.

[Julius]

8 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

This isn’t preorders, it’s reservations to allow you to order later on when there’s stock.

Anyway I got one. No idea if I’ll go through with it when the time comes but I didn’t mind paying £4 so I can get one early down the line if I choose to.

Nice!

Think I got a bit overeager and probably dismissed my chances too early, the payment screen loaded up a minute or two later but I'd gone to get a drink and by the time I was back it wouldn't let me pay for it. 

Oh well. To be honest I'm in no real rush for one, would just rather get one of these reservations in than risk it after the fact due to the chip shortage -- will try again on Sunday! 

[Happenstance]

5 minutes ago, Julius said:

Nice!

Think I got a bit overeager and probably dismissed my chances too early, the payment screen loaded up a minute or two later but I'd gone to get a drink and by the time I was back it wouldn't let me pay for it. 

Oh well. To be honest I'm in no real rush for one, would just rather get one of these reservations in than risk it after the fact due to the chip shortage -- will try again on Sunday! 

I just did a lot of refreshing every time it failed until it worked. Even then the message I received was that your order “may” have gone through and to check my account page 😆

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, Sheikah said:

And it weighs 669 grams! 70% heavier than the Switch.

I don't know, I just can't quite see this having anywhere near the uptake of the Switch. It doesn't have exclusive games and I get the impression that people generally prefer to play full fat AAA games on their PC monitor or TV using their main system. And it's really expensive.

It doesn’t need to sell anywhere remotely near the Switch to be a success.  It’s a niche product with a killer USP for that niche.

[Sheikah]

It doesn’t need to sell anywhere remotely near the Switch to be a success.  It’s a niche product with a killer USP for that niche.

I expect they'll want it to sell pretty well, otherwise there's not much point of them making it. It's clear that they were going for a form similar to a Switch so comparisons with it are fair.

[Dcubed]

Got it!!!

In for the 256GB model  

[Dcubed]

8 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

56 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

It doesn’t need to sell anywhere remotely near the Switch to be a success.  It’s a niche product with a killer USP for that niche.

I expect they'll want it to sell pretty well, otherwise there's not much point of them making it. It's clear that they were going for a form similar to a Switch so comparisons with it are fair.

There's a very big range between 100 million seller and 5-10 million seller...

Valve would likely be over the moon if they got 5+ million sales with this thing!

[Sheikah]

There's a very big range between 100 million seller and 5-10 million seller...
Valve would likely be over the moon if they got 5+ million sales with this thing!

But why? They're no doubt looking at the Switch and thinking they can do better to produce what is more or less a Switch Pro but for PC games.

[Dcubed]

15 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

17 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

There's a very big range between 100 million seller and 5-10 million seller...
Valve would likely be over the moon if they got 5+ million sales with this thing!

But why? They're no doubt looking at the Switch and thinking they can do better to produce what is more or less a Switch Pro but for PC games.

Because that’s a wildly unrealistic expectation.  This is not a mass market device, and Valve aren’t going to be expecting console level sales for this thing.  They are most likely forecasting something more like 3-5 million at best (something similar to their VR hardware); which is still a great result for them!

[Sheikah]

Because that’s a wildly unrealistic expectation.  This is not a mass market device, and Valve aren’t going to be expecting console level sales for this thing.  They are most likely forecasting something more like 3-5 million at best (something similar to their VR hardware); which is still a great result for them!

The entry level costs £350, only 40 quid more than the Switch. Meanwhile Steam games are generally much cheaper than Nintendo games. If they didn't have an entry price model then I might agree with you, but as it stands they clearly want it to sell to a broad range of gamers.

 

They've no doubt looked at PS5s and Series X consoles flying off the shelves and see no problem with the pricing in terms of appeal. What I doubt though is that this system will do as well as they might want it to.

 

Also comparing it to VR is not right, VR is much more niche in terms of appeal and always has been, but handheld gaming has always been massive in terms of broad appeal.

[Cube]

But so far, Valve hasn't expressed any plans on making the Steam Deck available to the mass market.

You also need to buy the dock and an extra controller if you want to swap between the handheld and a screen. If you don't care about that, then it's more comparable to the cheaper Switch Lite.

Also, even though the storage is more than the base/lite (and same as OLED), the lack of physical games as well as the file size of games (games are optimised for Switch, Game Deck will have to download the full max 4K textures and everything) means that it will fill up much quickly.

And for using outside the house, you have to rely on Steam's offline mode, which is very temperamental.

[Happenstance]

Well I’m at least feeling a bit more excited for this year’s steam winter sale to get some new games for the Deck. 

[Jonnas]

The prospect of playing my smaller Steam games (which is almost all the ones I own) on the go is appealing, and it does mean I don't need to buy anything more than the device... But Valve is really bad at selling their own hardware (for example, their controller), in marketing, distribution, and general staying power. Plus, Cube presented a good few reasons as to why this machine might be way more cumbersome than it first seems, and the whole reason you'll want a portable is for convenience.

So, I'll wait and see. But I confess, if any such model can somehow play some of my more intensive games (Tekken 7, or even just KOF XIV), I'll likely end up getting it.

[Kav]

 

[killthenet]

It does look pretty cool and I'm potentially interested in picking one up (I don't really have a recent PC so this would open up a lot of different experiences to me) but if I did pick one up it would most likely be one of the more premium models - faster and larger storage seems like a real necessity

It'll be interesting to see how it does, like others have mentioned it'll be a while (if ever) before it's available at normal retailers but there seems to be a lot of buzz about it. It won't make much of a dent in Nintendo's market share but hopefully it gives them a kick up the backside for the successor - I don't expect it to be close to the Steam Deck in terms of performance, even if it comes out in 2024, but you'd think with DLSS they have a chance of getting in the same ballpark

 

[Julius]

8 hours ago, Julius said:

Oh well. To be honest I'm in no real rush for one, would just rather get one of these reservations in than risk it after the fact due to the chip shortage -- will try again on Sunday! 

Well, never mind then. Just checked on a whim after finishing a late gaming session with someone from work and seems like they're unlocking the reserves and may have thrown Sunday out of the equation, so I've nabbed the one I wanted (512GB). 

Downside is it doesn't expect it to ship until Q2 2022. Thankfully I'm not in a massive rush to get one (gives me a bit of time to more sensibly and intentionally get those funds together) and don't need it Day 1, so I don't mind the wait for this as it's not like my PC is in my gaming rotation at the moment anyways. I guess there's the answer on how much of an impact they expect on the production from the continued chip shortage issue though! Do appreciate being able to reserve one even this far out, that's for sure. 

Again, they've blown Xbox's and PlayStation's next-gen pre-order system out of the water. Obviously I think the demand they'd need to meet would still have been higher, but being able to stick a reservation down now and not even having to wait until Sunday as seemed to be the plan before, when in my case it's not expected to be available until upwards of 9 months from now, just saves so much hassle. The people still looking for the PS5 and Series X should definitely have this option, and it's a bit embarrassing that they don't. 

[Happenstance]

There we go, we can just create our own physical versions of games for it 😆 

[Dcubed]

8 hours ago, killthenet said:

It does look pretty cool and I'm potentially interested in picking one up (I don't really have a recent PC so this would open up a lot of different experiences to me) but if I did pick one up it would most likely be one of the more premium models - faster and larger storage seems like a real necessity

It'll be interesting to see how it does, like others have mentioned it'll be a while (if ever) before it's available at normal retailers but there seems to be a lot of buzz about it. It won't make much of a dent in Nintendo's market share but hopefully it gives them a kick up the backside for the successor - I don't expect it to be close to the Steam Deck in terms of performance, even if it comes out in 2024, but you'd think with DLSS they have a chance of getting in the same ballpark

 

I think it definitely sets the floor for what we can expect from Switch 2 in 2023.  Nintendo could certainly do even better than this if they wanted to, even at the $299.99 price point; but they have to want it… and that’s a big ? coming from the Big N…

DLSS is undoubtedly going to be the Switch 2’s secret sauce, it’s what will allow it to punch above its weight and compete with PS5/Series X|S; and it’s something that the Steam Deck, or any other console, can’t offer.  The Switch 2’s ARM CPU will also offer a huge advantage in performance per-watt over X64 Zen 2; while it’ll also have the advantage of native console development and APIs (as opposed to running on Windows, or even worse, Steam OS/Linux with its Proton/Wine compatibility layer reducing performance even more so).  On top of that, Steam Deck is limited to UHS1 MicroSD cards (same as the current Switch), while Switch 2 could easily spring for UHS3 or even SDUC support to nicely bridge the gap in loading times between itself and the PS5/Xbox Series.  Oh, and speaking of storage… Steam Deck is limited to having full fat PC games with heavily bloated file sizes… those SD cards aren’t going to go nearly as far as they do on Switch, let alone Switch 2!

The only real unassailable advantage that the Steam Deck will have over the Switch 2 in terms of hardware is the fact that it’s so stonkingly HUGE! There is no way that Nintendo will accept making the Switch 2 as big & heavy as this monstrosity; which in turn will limit what hardware they can shove into the Switch 2.

Nintendo can definitely outdo what Valve is offering here, even if they end up being conservative with the hardware they launch in 2023, and even at the $299.99 price point… But Nintendo is known for making incredibly stupid & boneheaded decisions when they’re coming off of a successful console generation; so they could just as easily shit the bed completely knowing them  

However, the Steam Deck will be able to play games that will absolutely never come to a Nintendo console for political reasons (no matter how powerful Nintendo make their next console, or how successful it ends up being, it’ll never get proper western 3rd party support, or proper support from developers like Namco, Falcom and Atlus); plus it can also be used as a desktop PC.  So regardless of where Nintendo do decide to aim for with Switch 2, the Steam Deck fills a unique niche.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Dcubed

[Dufniall]

14 hours ago, Sheikah said:

I don't know, I just can't quite see this having anywhere near the uptake of the Switch. It doesn't have exclusive games and I get the impression that people generally prefer to play full fat AAA games on their PC monitor or TV using their main system. And it's really expensive.

They mentioned in one of the interviews with IGN that they are going to share the specs and the OS as free license for other manufacturers. So everyone who wants to can make their own Steam Deck, and that will probably increase interest and decrease pricing. And the obvious reason is a new product that sells games for them. Same way as Microsoft tries to create new markets every now and then, first with the Surface leading to detachable and the Surface Neo that should lead to dual touch screen devices. Not that they want to shift hardware but create more platforms and form factors to sell software for.

11 hours ago, Cube said:

But so far, Valve hasn't expressed any plans on making the Steam Deck available to the mass market.

Same comment as above goes for this. It's more of a showcase, same as with the VR. Show how to make a VR platform, hope other brands pick up, sell more VR software. Again Microsoft did it as well with their Mixed Reality. And the reservation system is a great system, creates plenty of buzz while keeping scalpers out.

11 hours ago, Cube said:

You also need to buy the dock and an extra controller if you want to swap between the handheld and a screen. If you don't care about that, then it's more comparable to the cheaper Switch Lite.

You don't need an official dock, any USB-C dock will do. And every controller will work so it's quite cheap to go full screen.

Anyway, still on the fence about getting one. I don't need one but I do want one. The one thing that holds me back for playing more pc games is that I would have to sit upstairs and the misses is downstairs, so that's not really a fun way to spend evenings. That's why I play my Switch 90% handheld, we can both sit on the couch and do our own things.

But, my PC is upstairs so I would be much cheaper off investing in a good controller for the smartphone and just stream all my games from my upstairs PC. I don't see me using it out of the house. So for now I'll just hold, let's see if I can stay strong haha.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Vileplume2000

[Cube]

When I was looking at solutions for using my PC in two rooms, I looked at all sorts of solutions. Streaming boxes, a cheap PC to do the streaming from.

 

In the end I went with the very high tech solution of a long HDMI cable and usb extender.