Well today is the big day. Valve has now formally revealed the Steam Deck, a portable handheld gaming console powered by a new version of their Linux-based SteamOS operating system.
"We think Steam Deck gives people another way to play the games they love on a high-performance device at a great price," says Valve founder Gabe Newell. "As a gamer, this is a product I've always wanted. And as a game developer, it's the mobile device I've always wanted for our partners."
Since it's based on Linux, we now know a big reason why Valve has been investing in Linux gaming with the likes of Steam Play Proton. It will play your Linux native titles, with support boosted by Proton. Not only that, Valve said "we're vastly improving Proton's game compatibility and support for anti-cheat solutions by working directly with the vendors". This is pretty amazing, as anti-cheat was the big missing piece. In their FAQ, they make it clear that they are working directly with BattlEye and EAC to get support for Proton.
Anti-cheat support is coming too! That's huge!
The new SteamOS has been optimized for handheld and touchscreen gaming, while it will also have a desktop mode for those who want it. SteamOS 3.0 is also being based upon Arch Linux, with the desktop mode being powered by KDE Plasma.
We also know why Valve has been heavily investing in AMD GPU drivers for Linux too now then. It's a custom APU they partnered with AMD on for Zen 2 + RDNA 2.
Quick specs:
- Powerful, custom APU developed with AMD
- Optimized for hand-held gaming
- Full-sized controls
- 7" touchscreen
- WiFi and Bluetooth ready
- USB-C port for accessories
- microSD slot for storage expansion
- 3 different storage options available
The Steam Deck will also have a dock, much like you see with the Nintendo Switch with more ports to play with like USB, wired networking and enabling external displays. More tech info can be seen here.
It's an open system too, since it's basically a PC in your hands. Valve said "you can install third party software and operating systems".
Valve also did a session with IGN where they answered some questions. IGN also has hands-on video to give a better look at the device.
Steam Deck starts at $399, with increased storage options available for $529 and $649. The two higher models have bigger storage space, plus the two higher models actually use an NVMe drive for faster loading time and the top end has an anti-glare screen too.
Reservations open July 16th at 10 AM PDT; shipping is slated to start in December 2021. Currently it's limited to United States, Canada, European Union, and the United Kingdom with more regions becoming available in 2022.
For developers, Valve put up a video overview:
Direct Link
See more on the Steam Deck website and the Steam Deck store page.
Is this the holy grail of Linux gaming? Could be.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
QuoteThis item is not available for reservation in your country
Valve is somewhat repeating the commercial and marketing success of the Steam Link and Controller. "Let's not sell this to people with lots of money, eager to spend!" Seriously...
Quoting: AppelsinChecking out the Steam Deck page from Norway gives the following, happy message:
QuoteThis item is not available for reservation in your country
Valve is somewhat repeating the commercial and marketing success of the Steam Link and Controller. "Let's not sell this to people with lots of money, eager to spend!" Seriously...
I understand why they are reluctant to send it to (big) parts of the world and I understand the pain of the (many) people living there, but countries like Norway really come as a surprise. The only explanation I got is that it's kind of a blind spot. They should find it way up in the list of richest countries - if they'd just take a look...
Quoting: EikeQuoting: AppelsinChecking out the Steam Deck page from Norway gives the following, happy message:
QuoteThis item is not available for reservation in your country
Valve is somewhat repeating the commercial and marketing success of the Steam Link and Controller. "Let's not sell this to people with lots of money, eager to spend!" Seriously...
I understand why they are reluctant to send it to (big) parts of the world and I understand the pain of the (many) people living there, but countries like Norway really come as a surprise. The only explanation I got is that it's kind of a blind spot. They should find it way up in the list of richest countries - if they'd just take a look...
It's probably because we're not in the EU, but neither is the UK, so I don't know why they couldn't make an exception for us too. Norway is subject to the same certifications and requirements on consumer electronics as the rest of the EU, so there's no additional red tape either.
Quoting: fleskIt's probably because we're not in the EU, but neither is the UK, so I don't know why they couldn't make an exception for us too. Norway is subject to the same certifications and requirements on consumer electronics as the rest of the EU, so there's no additional red tape either.
I could imagine UK is the first country (that doesn't count as enemy) a US citizen comes to mind when thinking of something outside the USA. (US citizens, please correct me if I'm wrong.)
slaapliedje Jul 21, 2021
Quoting: SupayI think of it sort of like Hunting / Preparing / Cooking food. Like there are generations, maybe a few before mine, where mankind as a whole knew how to hunt, prepare and cook their own food, as occasionally it was required to survive. Same thing with computers, the generation right before mine grew up having to purchase a kit to build their own computers. I started my computing knowledge young, but it wasn't like I needed a soldering iron before inserting the floppy disk. But still had to deal with Atari DOS, knowing that I can load .com and .exe files, and figuring out on Strip Poker, that if you reverse the file names, they'll also be in reverse order as you play! (okay, I didn't figure that one out, at the time the copy we got of the game already had the pictures reversed, and I felt the need to figure out how to fix it! Felt weird to have to win for them to put their clothes back on!)Quoting: PhiladelphusQuoting: Purple Library GuyShe's older, but as far as I can tell the younger supposedly all tech-savvy generation is pretty much the same--they're just really comfortable clicking those icons, but they mostly don't look beneath that.A bit off-topic, but a friend of mine was talking this past week how she was teaching students in high school and had to show them how to do complicated computer things like…creating a folder to put their project photos in (it was an art class), or selecting more than one file at a time.Apparently "digital native generation" doesn't automatically equate to "knows anything about computers beyond surface level"!
I do IT support and I see a regular pattern that above a certain group (around 60) there is a dropoff in IT knowledge, but now also below 25 there is also a similar dropoff. Go close to 20 and below, and it is intense. I regularly have to talk people under 25 through IT basics, even on Windows. How to create and navigate folders, use Outlook, how to use the start menu, what a browser is and the difference between them, and so much more. The Pi Foundation has it right: education in IT is severely lacking these days and everyone should have to use a Pi and learn IT basics on it.
This brings up the 'people will just install Windows on it'. sure there'll be some people who do that, but I don't think many will (assuming SteamOS 3.0 works really well and doesn't have weird incompatibilities, or crashes.) Many simply won't realize 'it's a mini-PC' means they can just plug in a USB Stick, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor and install Windows. They'll just think 'cool, I can play Steam games with it.'
Quoting: AppelsinChecking out the Steam Deck page from Norway gives the following, happy message:My understanding is that it's all because they fundamentally aren't a hardware retailer. Those would have distribution centres in most countries they do business in, and agreements with brick-and-mortar shops to cover things like returns and revenue sharing. And a bunch of people employed specifically to handle logistics.
QuoteThis item is not available for reservation in your country
Valve is somewhat repeating the commercial and marketing success of the Steam Link and Controller. "Let's not sell this to people with lots of money, eager to spend!" Seriously...
Valve doesn't have any of that. They're a shop that sells software. They've got a couple of empty rooms in the countries that they have developers in where they can store boxes, and they get the postman to take them from there and deliver them to customers.
It's why they tried to get other people to make Steam Machines, why they're content to sell limited numbers of the premium Index, and why they're so relaxed about other companies making Steam Decks. If they want to sell as many units of the Steam Deck as they can they'll need to get all the trappings of a hardware retailer; otherwise they'll be limited to just selling a few units in a handful of countries.
Quoting: CatKillerIt's why they tried to get other people to make Steam Machines, why they're content to sell limited numbers of the premium Index, and why they're so relaxed about other companies making Steam Decks. If they want to sell as many units of the Steam Deck as they can they'll need to get all the trappings of a hardware retailer; otherwise they'll be limited to just selling a few units in a handful of countries.Couldn't they just sell 'em on Amazon and let Amazon's warehouses handle the logistics?
Mohandevir Jul 21, 2021
Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: CatKillerIt's why they tried to get other people to make Steam Machines, why they're content to sell limited numbers of the premium Index, and why they're so relaxed about other companies making Steam Decks. If they want to sell as many units of the Steam Deck as they can they'll need to get all the trappings of a hardware retailer; otherwise they'll be limited to just selling a few units in a handful of countries.Couldn't they just sell 'em on Amazon and let Amazon's warehouses handle the logistics?
Looking forward to see how they will handle the manufacturing process... Because selling millions of units is exactly what Gabe Newell is wishing for. At least, he said so.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 21 July 2021 at 8:44 pm UTC
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