How would you feel if Valve's Gabe Newell appeared at your front door to deliver a signed Steam Deck? Well, some people got to find out. Also, an overview of a recent IGN interview for you.
There's been quite a few reports now of Newell out and about with a Deck in hand, and it's pretty wholesome but it does sound quite a lot like some sort of marketing stunt. Not that anyone will be complaining about it of course, it's a great way to show it all off. Writing on Reddit, user "bitfiddler0" showed off the signed Deck along with a shot of Newell outside:
Across another report on Reddit, user "SeattleRainPidgeons" mentioned: "Saw a camera crew going up to my neighbors house while I was loading stuff into my truck. My roommate recognized the guy being followed as Gaben, I didn't believe him, our other roommate then verified it was indeed Gabe. After delivering my neighbor's Deck, we yelled "Hi Gabe!". At which point he asked how many were living in the house, then he went back to his van and grabbed us each a Deck. Was also filmed receiving ours so I assume these will be used in some promo or online. Very cool day."
Meanwhile IGN managed to get Newell to stay still for a little while to have a chat, here's the full video and below will be some notes on what was said:
Direct Link
A quick overview for you:
- Newell feels problems they're solving will help lots of hardware manufacturers in the PC space.
- Thinks this is a permanent extension of the PC marketplace.
- Said he wanted a device like this since "forever" (didn't we all?).
- Expects to see a "wide variety" of hardware devices (meaning more PC portables) and continued innovation in software for it all.
- He's been playing Final Fantasy online with family on it.
- Newell thinks the Steam Deck is a "pretty good bargain" on the subject of bridging the gap with the shortages and high prices of other hardware.
- No plans to increase Steam Deck price.
- Far more people having been buying the most expensive model, more than they expected. So they will continue to look at the high-end. The 512GB model has significantly outsold the base 64GB model.
- When asked about new Steam Deck models in future, Newell said "absolutely". Valve plans to ride the wave of new hardware, like newer and better AMD chips.
- Demand overall is a lot higher than expected.
Were those extra Decks meant for other people who ended up not getting one, or were those already meant to be for being given away?
gradyvuckovic Feb 28, 2022
Quoting: mt>"then he went back to his van and grabbed us each a Deck."
Were those extra Decks meant for other people who ended up not getting one, or were those already meant to be for being given away?
I imagine they were fully expecting someone to approach them and say 'Hey can we have a Steam Deck!?' and came prepared just in case.
QuoteWhen asked about new Steam Deck models in future, Newell said "absolutely". Valve plans to ride the wave of new hardware, like newer and better AMD chips.
A V2 with Thunderbolt 4+ (this one could have had it if Intel didn't have the TB4 exclusivity, albeit a bit more expensive) must happen, a decent handheld laptop with eGPUs support, it's a no-brainer.
Arehandoro Feb 28, 2022
MasterSleort Feb 28, 2022
Quoting: minkiuA V2 with Thunderbolt 4+ (this one could have had it if Intel didn't have the TB4 exclusivity, albeit a bit more expensive) must happen, a decent handheld laptop with eGPUs support, it's a no-brainer.
Not true. For about a year it has been possible to buy AMD motherboards with Thunderbolt 4 support. At some point last year I was about to get an ASUS ProArt B550 CREATOR, which has two Thunderbolt 4 ports built in.[/quote]
Regarding a v2, I don't expect that to happen until 2024 at the earliest. First AMD have to release a better enough APU and then they have to create one that they can produce in the numbers needed. Going by the sales numbers I would expect Steam to drop the middle SKU, if people mostly buy the most expensive version then the middle one sounds completely unnecessary.
Surprisingly they sold more top tier decks then they thought. So far valve still earns my trust in buying the most expensive one. Unbelievable how open they are with it and the partnership with ifixit is unbelievable good news.
That's what I would call a sustainable product!
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