As expected really, Valve said they don't really expect to see a true next-gen Steam Deck for a few years yet. Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, it's clear Valve are very happy with the first year of the Steam Deck.
Talking to Valve's Lawrence Yang and engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais, it seems it has been blowing their minds. Something of a surprise though, even to me, is that Yang mentioned how they've noticed that "of the people who've purchased a Steam Deck, 42% of them end up spending the majority of their Steam gaming time on Steam Deck – preferring it over their other devices".
So not only is it still selling like tasty sugar-coated hot doughnuts, with it being in the top 10 of global sellers (based on revenue from SteamDB) where it's up against games shifting multiple millions, plenty of people are sticking with it and even shifting over to it.
One sticking point is more games coming out that don't perform well, and while the Steam Deck is impressive, it all depends on developers actually optimising for the hardware, as Griffais said "it'll depend on how developers approach it" and that "If high-end current-gen titles are able to scale to Deck and be a great experience, it also enables smoother performance on a wider variety of PCs, and improve the experience for the whole playerbase". Yang also mentioned how they've "seen a number of recently released demanding titles perform well on Steam Deck, due to developers targeting and testing on the device.".
As always, the problem is in numbers. If the Steam Deck continues selling well, developers won't be able to ignore it. I've seen many games perform brilliantly, even surprisingly so, when they've clearly had a lot of optimization done on them. Then I've also seen the opposite myself, with games that you would think would also work well simply don't (often these bigger AAA games that primarily seem to target consoles…).
When it comes to a true Steam Deck 2, we're clearly in for a wait, as Yang said "a true next-gen Deck with a significant bump in horsepower wouldn’t be for a few years".
Valve don't exactly need much to make the Steam Deck 2 a success — or do they?
Need some more games for Steam Deck? Check out the new Humble Heroines Bundle overview.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
That may be so, but it doesn't change my experiences. Life experiences are what make you who you are, and in this instance, this life experience put me off consoles.Sony royally screwed me overUhh, we have a PS3 (3xxx model, slim) and 2 Dualshock 3's, neither has failed yet but I heard horror stories from others. The PS3 is around 10 years old but used lightly. I also set up RPCS3 and that single PS1 game bought from PSN so I can keep playing on PC in the future.
I was a Linux user at the time (exclusive) and let's just say Linux gaming was hard to come by, so the consoles were my only method of gaming, thus quite heavily used.
Thankfully, that's changed and I can play almost any game I want on Linux now
3 Likes, Who?
It's interesting that Sony, a company that literally sells one of the major consoles, has made sure its PC ports are deck verified. I think they've set the standard that other companies should follow. It really doesn't require that much, just adequate graphics settings to turn down and lower-end hardware, something they should be doing for any PC game anyway.
4 Likes, Who?
StoneColdSpider Mar 10, 2023
I do have a deck, well who doesn'tAnyone in Aus.... Since Valve are scared of Spiders and Snakes they still have not released the Steam Deck in Australia.......
4 Likes, Who?
i dont know where to post it, so it will be here:
according to vg charts:
ps1 has 2706 games.
ps2 has 3565 games
ps3 has 1904 games.
if you pick the ps3 model wich had backward compatibility, then the full catalog of PS3 at the end of the generation was 8175 titles.
Steam deck currently have 8147 (verified+playable) with an average of 20~26 games beind added each day.
in other words, in just a few days, it will be the platform with most games, even if we only count the games that received some form of Q/A!
SD already have more games than any Nintendo console, all sega consoles combined and Xbox Series (including an total backward comp with xbox, xbox 360, and xbox one), ps3 was the only one left!
now aside from mobile (where most game suck anyway) and old pcs that are hard to count the number of games (eg: pc98) linux is the thirdy platform with most games with some form of curation / QA.
and, if we count total games on steam it should soon surpass mac too.
if we count all games and not just verified+playable it do have more games than mac already (at least on steam)
https://steamdb.info/instantsearch/?refinementList%5BappType%5D%5B0%5D=Game&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B0%5D=Steam%20Deck%20Playable&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B1%5D=Linux&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B2%5D=Steam%20Deck%20Verified
as for consoles, keep in mind that vgcharts isnt perfect and their list of games is not perfect
Last edited by elmapul on 11 March 2023 at 4:10 am UTC
according to vg charts:
ps1 has 2706 games.
ps2 has 3565 games
ps3 has 1904 games.
if you pick the ps3 model wich had backward compatibility, then the full catalog of PS3 at the end of the generation was 8175 titles.
Steam deck currently have 8147 (verified+playable) with an average of 20~26 games beind added each day.
in other words, in just a few days, it will be the platform with most games, even if we only count the games that received some form of Q/A!
SD already have more games than any Nintendo console, all sega consoles combined and Xbox Series (including an total backward comp with xbox, xbox 360, and xbox one), ps3 was the only one left!
now aside from mobile (where most game suck anyway) and old pcs that are hard to count the number of games (eg: pc98) linux is the thirdy platform with most games with some form of curation / QA.
and, if we count total games on steam it should soon surpass mac too.
if we count all games and not just verified+playable it do have more games than mac already (at least on steam)
https://steamdb.info/instantsearch/?refinementList%5BappType%5D%5B0%5D=Game&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B0%5D=Steam%20Deck%20Playable&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B1%5D=Linux&refinementList%5Boslist%5D%5B2%5D=Steam%20Deck%20Verified
as for consoles, keep in mind that vgcharts isnt perfect and their list of games is not perfect
Last edited by elmapul on 11 March 2023 at 4:10 am UTC
6 Likes, Who?
InhaleOblivion Mar 11, 2023
Smart move by Valve. Let the base of the original system continue to organically grow. Gain more dev support overtime, and keep the industry itself happy(similar to how the console manufacturers pace their hardware). The skies the limit and ultimately all of us Linux gamers win, as Proton support becomes a baseline in gaming.
Last edited by InhaleOblivion on 12 March 2023 at 3:39 am UTC
Last edited by InhaleOblivion on 12 March 2023 at 3:39 am UTC
3 Likes, Who?
Releasing a new Deck too soon would only hurt both the Deck and Valve (and by extension Linux gaming), since the people who already bought it will feel a bit cheated, it will create hardware fragmentation, and publishers/developers will be less likely to bother with it. Valve would seem like they got greedy, and pushed a not-proper-upgrade just for a quick cash grab. It is a very fine line to be walked here. They must convince game publishers that the deck is a stable and serious target, that will get and hold customers, while also convincing customers that the device will be relevant for long enough to feel like you didn’t just waste your money on an overhyped underpowered gaming tablet.
Last edited by Appelsin on 11 March 2023 at 5:21 pm UTC
Last edited by Appelsin on 11 March 2023 at 5:21 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
according to vg charts:Keep in mind that many games are counted twice, or sometimes three times as it was re-released for different markets (US, PAL, Japan) so the actual numbers are quite a bit smaller!
ps1 has 2706 games.
ps2 has 3565 games
ps3 has 1904 games.
if you pick the ps3 model wich had backward compatibility, then the full catalog of PS3 at the end of the generation was 8175 titles.
2 Likes, Who?
Steam can boast multiple tens of thousands of games, because most of them are crap. Stupid little indie knick knack games etc. I know one man's junk is another man's treasure, but that stuff inflates those numbers for the Steam platform :-)
P.S. When you look at it, GoG is even worse that way. The ratio of rudimentary crap (old and young) to desirable titles is much higher on GoG, for their numbers. Again, YMMV.
Last edited by Grogan on 11 March 2023 at 6:18 pm UTC
P.S. When you look at it, GoG is even worse that way. The ratio of rudimentary crap (old and young) to desirable titles is much higher on GoG, for their numbers. Again, YMMV.
Last edited by Grogan on 11 March 2023 at 6:18 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
The thing is, they don't have to target the hardware. They only need to ensure it works in proton or SteamOS (which, most of the work has already been done for them).
Even if the hardware changes, it doesn't break or change any of the developers previous or current on-going work.
I don't want to leave this hanging without acknowledgement. Of course that's right for the most part. The thing is, it's not me you have to convince.
First of all, customer disappointment. The clientele here is a bit different than iPhone customers lol
Secondly, right now they all have the same hardware and things are reproducible.
I'm sure I don't have to elabourate further, but these are more human conditions. Butthurt users, and devs that might throw up their arms and ridicule the platform for being so "unstable" (subject to change).
0 Likes
I belong to the 58% who still plays mostly on the desktop, but I am not parting with my Deck. It has become the device for gaming on the sofa or in bed and filled a gap for me there (I don't own a "proper" console and don't want one). I am still surprised how many recent games it can run just fine (including Hogwarts Legacies). Yes, that's probably going to change in the next few years when newer GPU generations become more widespread, but I expect the Deck to run most if not all the games I am playing for years to come.
I do not own Deck, but I fully understood. I known many people, who do not upgrade/exchange one's PC, because these people are using mobiles (smartphones). They told me, they do not need PC. I do not understand these people - I prefer work near my desk with my laptop. I even like KDEConnect, because it allow me to read notifications from phone and do a lot of stuff, like composing sms on my laptop, etc. I own laptop, but I work on desk with it, seldom move it out my desk.
3 Likes, Who?
I belong to the 58% who still plays mostly on the desktop, but I am not parting with my Deck. It has become the device for gaming on the sofa or in bed and filled a gap for me there (I don't own a "proper" console and don't want one). I am still surprised how many recent games it can run just fine (including Hogwarts Legacies). Yes, that's probably going to change in the next few years when newer GPU generations become more widespread, but I expect the Deck to run most if not all the games I am playing for years to come.Oof consoles. I'm glad I got away from them!
I do agree though, Steam deck is great for portable gaming or playing in otherwise off-limits locations! It should run games for many years as you say (assuming you don't get hardware failure) simply because PC games allow adjusting graphics settings and such, so anything that doesn't quite run can probably be tweaked to run at some point (with less visual quality).
The biggest plus over consoles though? All games you're playing on it now, should Deck 2 or even Deck 3 become a thing, you can still use them without needing to buy them again for the current "generation". This for me has always been a major plus of PC gaming over consoles.
Yes. Nintendo try to destroy emulation, because it provides emulation for never platform (closed platform; one's consoles). You must buy license again, but now for newer hardware.
And Valve allows to play title from your PC. It also allows you to install Epic Game Store/Launcher, Ubisoft Connect and other.
Many people claims, Valve supports Linux, because they were scary about Windows Store and Windows becomes tied to it. I think, they support Linux, because Windows do not fit to console/mobile gaming and MS have XBox, so they could do something to get rid Valve from Windows, if it will release console. Valve invest in Linux, so they do not have to use Windows on Steam Deck and in future do not have to be scary of what MS can do. If Linux became better gaming platform, MS could say "BYE, BYE Valve!", but Valve could say "Who cares? We have Linux!" and focus more on next Steam Deck generations.
Last edited by Lachu on 11 March 2023 at 8:45 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Mar 12, 2023
Are they saying there will be a Steam Deck 1.5 in between? I think there is room with 7000 series AMD APU's if they can get AMD to supply a RDNA3 one... but perhaps it be better to wait for RDNA4 ones?
2 Likes, Who?
So what is their refresh cadence? Turning it into incumbent consoles 5+ year cycle sounds like a bad idea.
0 Likes
I can't comment on iPhone customers, since I've never owned any apple products! So I can't comment there. (Too expensive for my taste)The thing is, they don't have to target the hardware. They only need to ensure it works in proton or SteamOS (which, most of the work has already been done for them).
Even if the hardware changes, it doesn't break or change any of the developers previous or current on-going work.
I don't want to leave this hanging without acknowledgement. Of course that's right for the most part. The thing is, it's not me you have to convince.
First of all, customer disappointment. The clientele here is a bit different than iPhone customers lol
Secondly, right now they all have the same hardware and things are reproducible.
I'm sure I don't have to elabourate further, but these are more human conditions. Butthurt users, and devs that might throw up their arms and ridicule the platform for being so "unstable" (subject to change).
It is certainly useful to have the same hardware and to make things reproducible. This I fully agree.
As it stands however, most of the clientele thus far has been either:
A) Linux users
B) Steam customers
As it stands, both of these groups are used to the idea of upgrading hardware as it ages.
I feel the sweet spot is to have newer versions of the deck available after a reasonable time period (say, 4 to 5 years). This again has an advantage for the Deck though, unlike regular consoles, new games will continue being available for both Deck devices since they are, after all, just portable PCs. So customer who may wish to not upgrade to a new device are not forced to. They can still play the new games on their older deck at lower graphics settings. Unlike normal consoles, you're not going to be suddenly locked out of playing your new games.
Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 12 March 2023 at 2:44 pm UTC
5 Likes, Who?
mr-victory Mar 12, 2023
pornableI hope this is a typo.
5 Likes, Who?
Portable*
2 Likes, Who?
Makes a lot of sense. I knew I wouldn't use the Steam Deck as my primary device, but it's a nice thing to have and during the summer I plan to take it with me on holiday. I got mine more to support Valve's linux development. The amount of games I can play now is astounding. The only slight disappointment is the developers using anti-cheat as an excuse to block us still (as if all Linux users are elite hacking cheaters 
). Which is why I keep hoping the Deck becomes big enough where they can't ignore us any longer.
Last edited by lejimster on 12 March 2023 at 6:26 pm UTC
). Which is why I keep hoping the Deck becomes big enough where they can't ignore us any longer.Last edited by lejimster on 12 March 2023 at 6:26 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I can't comment on iPhone customers, since I've never owned any apple products! So I can't comment there. (Too expensive for my taste)
Mine too (waste of money) but I was referring to the upgrade cycle of iPhones. It keeps them envious, and a lot of people tend to upgrade their iPhones whether they need it or not.
(Personally I HATE getting a new phone! What do I need that hassle for? I keep a smart phone for 4 to 5 years at least. It's usually Android getting too old that makes me upgrade, not the hardware)
1 Likes, Who?
Then Fairphone may be to your interest. Even comes with a 5 year warranty, is user serviceable (yes, that's right, you can actually pop the battery out! You can even buy spare parts) and you can easily swap the OS without having to "hack" the device.I can't comment on iPhone customers, since I've never owned any apple products! So I can't comment there. (Too expensive for my taste)
Mine too (waste of money) but I was referring to the upgrade cycle of iPhones. It keeps them envious, and a lot of people tend to upgrade their iPhones whether they need it or not.
(Personally I HATE getting a new phone! What do I need that hassle for? I keep a smart phone for 4 to 5 years at least. It's usually Android getting too old that makes me upgrade, not the hardware)
I don't have one yet, as I myself only heard about it recently. I'm going to wait until the next fairphone model (speculated sept this year) and use that, since my phone is only 3 years old and still getting security updates. Additionally, apparently the FP4 has a bug which can cause the bootloader to become locked after switching OS.. for me that's a problem as someone who changes my phones operating systems.
One thing I'm interested to try is uBuntu touch, which supposedly works well with it.
3 Likes, Who?
CyborgZeta Mar 14, 2023
I still play on my desktop 95% of the time, but I do love my Deck for when I'm stuck in bed. It can also play some games that my desktop has problems with (possibly due to my use of Flatpak Steam, hard to say).
I have modest gaming needs, so my Deck is fine as is. Frankly, I'm debating moving away from large desktops with large graphics cards to using one of my laptops, or a tiny PC, for computer stuff with devices like my Deck becoming my primary means of gaming. Building my desktop PC took time and money, and my dislike of most modern games makes building another one not worth it. As long as I can use emulators up to PS2 and play the dozen or so Steam games I want to play, then I'm fine.
I left consoles behind for PC gaming back in 2021, but my PS4 still has a place for games; one of the benefits of consoles is that I can boot up a game and I know it will run. I'm debating getting a PS5 sometime this year to complement my Deck, should I choose to move away from large desktops.
I have modest gaming needs, so my Deck is fine as is. Frankly, I'm debating moving away from large desktops with large graphics cards to using one of my laptops, or a tiny PC, for computer stuff with devices like my Deck becoming my primary means of gaming. Building my desktop PC took time and money, and my dislike of most modern games makes building another one not worth it. As long as I can use emulators up to PS2 and play the dozen or so Steam games I want to play, then I'm fine.
I left consoles behind for PC gaming back in 2021, but my PS4 still has a place for games; one of the benefits of consoles is that I can boot up a game and I know it will run. I'm debating getting a PS5 sometime this year to complement my Deck, should I choose to move away from large desktops.
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me