Some huge news for the future of the Steam Deck, as Valve has announced a teaming up with Komodo for the release of the Steam Deck in Asia. This is absolutely massive considering the size of the potential playerbase there, and the continued expansion only continue to show how all-in Valve are with this device.
From the press release:
"We hope that gamers in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan agree with us that the performance and design of the Steam Deck makes it a great way to play the games they know and love," said Gabe Newell, President and CEO of Valve.
"We are very excited to be working with Komodo to bring Steam Deck to Asia. We have worked with the team at Komodo for years, and we have high confidence that they'll help us make customers very happy," says Greg Coomer of Valve.
"We are honored to deliver Steam Deck to gamers in Asia, and look forward to showcasing it and our first in-house game in Kyoto this weekend and at Tokyo Game Show next month," said Ricky Uy, CEO of Komodo.
Reservations for Asia will use a different reservation queue, so it will not affect anywhere else.
The first units are targeted to arrive in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan late this year which can be ordered from the dedicated Steam Deck site on Komodo. It will start off with Japan with additional units going on to Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan "in the weeks immediately following". Not only that, Valve also plans to be at BitSummit and the Tokyo Game Show.
Starting prices:
- Ľ59,800 in Japan
- NT$ 13,380 in Taiwan
- HK$ 3,288 in Hong Kong
- KRW 589,000 in Korea
From the site, it looks like Asia will be getting a slightly different type of carrying case too:
Philadelphus Aug 4, 2022
pleasereadthemanual Aug 5, 2022
Quoting: PhiladelphusCool to see it expand, but wow, RIP Australia. I still feel a bit guilty since I reserved my Deck while living there last year when the announcement came out, since I'd never gotten around to changing my Steam region from North America.
I predict AU/NZ wont be far behind (next Thursday?) and it will be via EBGames.
I'll be checking the dns ...
$ host steamdeck.ebgames.com.au
Host steamdeck.ebgames.com.au not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)Last edited by Nod on 5 August 2022 at 10:42 pm UTC
Quoting: NodQuoting: PhiladelphusCool to see it expand, but wow, RIP Australia. I still feel a bit guilty since I reserved my Deck while living there last year when the announcement came out, since I'd never gotten around to changing my Steam region from North America.
I predict AU/NZ wont be far behind (next Thursday?) and it will be via EBGames.
I'll be checking the dns ...
$ host steamdeck.ebgames.com.au
Host steamdeck.ebgames.com.au not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)
I hope you're right, but what's this rumour based on? And why would that DNS entry exist?
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualHappy if this means more Japanese-language VNs on Steam.What's a VN?
Quoting: johnfockerQuoting: pleasereadthemanualHappy if this means more Japanese-language VNs on Steam.What's a VN?
VN is short for visual novel.
Quoting: AnzaAw I see, thank you :)Quoting: johnfockerQuoting: pleasereadthemanualHappy if this means more Japanese-language VNs on Steam.What's a VN?
VN is short for visual novel.
Quoting: toojaysI hope you're right, but what's this rumour based on? And why would that DNS entry exist?
Not really a rumor more a guess on my part. Its based on previous communications from Valve where they talk about Japan and Australia being the next countries likely to be supported.
The dns check is another guess. I'm guessing that it will be EB Games as they have acted as a valve distributor in AU/NZ in the past (IIRC) and there are not many other likely contenders who distribute games and have a network of retail outlets. The domain name is based on the komodo domain: steamdeck.komodo.jp. It could just as easily end up at https://www.ebgames.com.au/steamdeck
TLDR; pure guesswork.
Also worth noting that others are less optimistic: https://www.pcgamer.com/when-does-the-steam-deck-release-in-australia/
Last edited by Nod on 8 August 2022 at 6:05 am UTC
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