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At one point it seemed like there was just no stopping the Steam Deck but now it seems after being available for 1 year and around 8 months or so, the Steam Deck has started to move down the top sellers on Steam.

That was one heck of a run though right? Going over Valve's own Weekly Top Sellers list from the Steam Deck release up until the week of "Tue, September 26, 2023 - Tue, October 3, 2023", the Steam Deck was always globally in the top 10, where in that week it hit 11th place and the following week "Tue, October 3, 2023 - Tue, October 10, 2023" it hit 15th place. So that's around 83 weeks in the top 10 globally.

Keep in mind Valve's top seller list is by revenue, not units sold. Quite a number of those weeks (around 22) the Steam Deck was even in the number 1 spot globally. Coming up against games that were repeatedly selling in the multiple hundreds of thousands, and in many cases millions, that's a lot of Linux-powered Steam Decks going out into the hands of gamers.

That's only globally though, when going to different regions, the Steam Deck is still in the top 10 for some, but the opposite is also true, in some regions it's also much lower.

Given that handheld PC gaming is still quite a niche overall, with a lot more competition now from other vendors and with rumours swirling of an upcoming refresh, it's perhaps not surprising to finally see it start to slide down a little.

The Steam Deck only continues to mature and get better over time too, with lots and lots of Proton updates improving game compatibility and SteamOS 3.5 now in Preview, there's still constant excitement for the Steam Deck.

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Liam Dawe Oct 10, 2023
Quoting: denyasis
Quoting: Liam Dawe
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: VardamirIf the top sellers list is by revenue, how come that Counter Strike 2 is number 1?
probably microtransactions volume. especially considering players trading cs2 items on steam's marketplace, and valve also takes around 10% cut from each transaction.
Yeah it’s from micro and prime status upgrades. Revenue counts everything for a game.

Never thought of it that way. Thanks for the explanation! I've not played any games like this, so this might be a stupid question, but does that mean Valve requires all micro transactions to go through Steam or can a dev run it in their own, independent, platform?

I'm assuming, if the latter is allowed, there could be sin gaps in the data??

From Valve's documentation:
QuoteFor any in-game purchases, you'll need to use the microtransaction API so Steam customers can only make purchases from the Steam Wallet.
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/microtransactions
ElectricPrism Oct 10, 2023
I bought 6, I figure most people who wanted one have got one at the moment.

I know there is chatter about a refresh, but I have to agree with Valve's employee remarks that it is not coming for a while.

It doesn't make sense for them to cannibalize their achievement, what I mean by that is increasing hardware specs will mean developers have 2 targets instead of 1 target, and it will mean that games will choose target 2 instead of target 1.

So everyone who bought Steam Deck 1 will be upset if there is Steam Deck 2 if developers don't design their games to hit that target.

So, Valve would be shooting their balls off to produce a Steam Deck 2 that increased CPU too soon. Increasing the NVME size, Screen to OLED, Battery, swapping out the Wifi card for current gen, or other non-spec things would be fine. Maybe even the Ram.

Increasing the CPU or GPU would be working against their own interests. Therefore I don't expect a real Steam Deck 2 for maybe 3 to 5 more years realistically.

It's in their best interest to cultivate a robust growing market, condition buyers to buy their products, condition developers to target specs and have generations of games that target those specs, and then when the time is right for Steam Deck 2 it's gonna explode their player-base. (Similar to PSX -> PS2, Xbox #1 1999/2000 -> Xbox 360)

But in the meantime they have to be patient. It would be okay for them to release Deckard VR in the meantime as it wouldn't compete or cannibalize but enhance their existing player-base.
slaapliedje Oct 10, 2023
Quoting: ElectricPrismI bought 6, I figure most people who wanted one have got one at the moment.

I know there is chatter about a refresh, but I have to agree with Valve's employee remarks that it is not coming for a while.

It doesn't make sense for them to cannibalize their achievement, what I mean by that is increasing hardware specs will mean developers have 2 targets instead of 1 target, and it will mean that games will choose target 2 instead of target 1.

So everyone who bought Steam Deck 1 will be upset if there is Steam Deck 2 if developers don't design their games to hit that target.

So, Valve would be shooting their balls off to produce a Steam Deck 2 that increased CPU too soon. Increasing the NVME size, Screen to OLED, Battery, swapping out the Wifi card for current gen, or other non-spec things would be fine. Maybe even the Ram.

Increasing the CPU or GPU would be working against their own interests. Therefore I don't expect a real Steam Deck 2 for maybe 3 to 5 more years realistically.

It's in their best interest to cultivate a robust growing market, condition buyers to buy their products, condition developers to target specs and have generations of games that target those specs, and then when the time is right for Steam Deck 2 it's gonna explode their player-base. (Similar to PSX -> PS2, Xbox #1 1999/2000 -> Xbox 360)

But in the meantime they have to be patient. It would be okay for them to release Deckard VR in the meantime as it wouldn't compete or cannibalize but enhance their existing player-base.
I was dumbfounded by people talking about Steam Deck 2 at about 6 months after the original one was finally in the hands of the early adopters... too many PC-based gamers are used to refreshing their hardware every 6 months to a year. Kept telling people that the Steam Deck should be thought of as a gaming console. Gaming consoles are typically at least 4-6 year refreshes. And to be fair, most PC games can actually work just fine with 4-6 year old hardware. People love to claim they got 10 more FPS than their friends though, which has driven nvidia to be able to charge absurd prices.

At least doing things like swapping out the wifi and nvme are fairly straight forward, from what I've seen of tutorials. I was thinking of doing the wifi on mine at least.
fenglengshun Oct 11, 2023
Sounds like everyone, Valve and consumers, know it's about time for a refresh/revision.
Brokatt Oct 11, 2023
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Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: ElectricPrismI bought 6, I figure most people who wanted one have got one at the moment.

I know there is chatter about a refresh, but I have to agree with Valve's employee remarks that it is not coming for a while.

It doesn't make sense for them to cannibalize their achievement, what I mean by that is increasing hardware specs will mean developers have 2 targets instead of 1 target, and it will mean that games will choose target 2 instead of target 1.

So everyone who bought Steam Deck 1 will be upset if there is Steam Deck 2 if developers don't design their games to hit that target.

So, Valve would be shooting their balls off to produce a Steam Deck 2 that increased CPU too soon. Increasing the NVME size, Screen to OLED, Battery, swapping out the Wifi card for current gen, or other non-spec things would be fine. Maybe even the Ram.

Increasing the CPU or GPU would be working against their own interests. Therefore I don't expect a real Steam Deck 2 for maybe 3 to 5 more years realistically.

It's in their best interest to cultivate a robust growing market, condition buyers to buy their products, condition developers to target specs and have generations of games that target those specs, and then when the time is right for Steam Deck 2 it's gonna explode their player-base. (Similar to PSX -> PS2, Xbox #1 1999/2000 -> Xbox 360)

But in the meantime they have to be patient. It would be okay for them to release Deckard VR in the meantime as it wouldn't compete or cannibalize but enhance their existing player-base.
I was dumbfounded by people talking about Steam Deck 2 at about 6 months after the original one was finally in the hands of the early adopters... too many PC-based gamers are used to refreshing their hardware every 6 months to a year. Kept telling people that the Steam Deck should be thought of as a gaming console. Gaming consoles are typically at least 4-6 year refreshes. And to be fair, most PC games can actually work just fine with 4-6 year old hardware. People love to claim they got 10 more FPS than their friends though, which has driven nvidia to be able to charge absurd prices.

At least doing things like swapping out the wifi and nvme are fairly straight forward, from what I've seen of tutorials. I was thinking of doing the wifi on mine at least.

I agree. What the Steam Deck needs is not a revision with 10% more power but better availability. It's needs to be launched in more countries and to be sold in more stores than just Steam. The price to performance ratio still is excellent. I don't believe a Steam Deck 2 release already would necessarily improve sales drastically.

Maybe for those who use the Steam Deck as their main gaming device and are prepared to pay for for marginal better performance in AAA games. But how big a portion of the total user base is that? I get the impression that most that have a Steam Deck (or ROG Ally) are satisfied except for the performance in Starfield.


Last edited by Brokatt on 11 October 2023 at 7:12 am UTC
Lachu Oct 11, 2023
Refurbished Steam Deck + Information About New Model, so sales go down.

But... What is better? Sold more units, so people get addicted to us, or earn more money. If we sold more units, we create space for earn more money in future or avoid risk to be forced earning less money.
adolson Oct 11, 2023
If Valve wasn't lying when they said there won't be a new Steam Deck soon, then they ought to announce whatever it is that people are thinking is a new Steam Deck. If this speculation is actually eating into sales, this would help.

Personally, I want a Steam Deck, but the battery life would irritate me. I'm already annoyed I have to charge my cell phone every 2-3 days. But maybe the next iteration will improve that... One can hope. I also don't have the money for it right now, given the cost of everything and other priorities.

I'd love to see a home console, though. Or at least a new controller based on the Deck controls.
yerald Oct 11, 2023
Quoting: BrokattMaybe for those who use the Steam Deck as their main gaming device and are prepared to pay for for marginal better performance in AAA games. But how big a portion of the total user base is that? I get the impression that most that have a Steam Deck (or ROG Ally) are satisfied except for the performance in Starfield.

The Steam Deck is my only gaming device, after never owning a gaming PC or console in my adult life, and only occasionally playing a few steam games on my low-end Mac or Linux laptops as a college student. There’s nothing I want changed on it as of now, and I wonder how many people have use cases like mine, where the concerns of hardcore long-time gamers feel totally irrelevant, because this thing opened up a new or long forgotten hobby to us and seems revolutionary, rather than ready for a refresh.

I also don’t really have much attraction to most AAA games, and since I’ve missed out on so many interesting games, I am enjoying playing the best of the last two decades that I’ve missed, and emulating childhood favorites from consoles I never had, but play at the houses of friends or relatives.
Brokatt Oct 12, 2023
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  • Supporter
Quoting: yerald
Quoting: BrokattMaybe for those who use the Steam Deck as their main gaming device and are prepared to pay for for marginal better performance in AAA games. But how big a portion of the total user base is that? I get the impression that most that have a Steam Deck (or ROG Ally) are satisfied except for the performance in Starfield.

The Steam Deck is my only gaming device, after never owning a gaming PC or console in my adult life, and only occasionally playing a few steam games on my low-end Mac or Linux laptops as a college student. There’s nothing I want changed on it as of now, and I wonder how many people have use cases like mine, where the concerns of hardcore long-time gamers feel totally irrelevant, because this thing opened up a new or long forgotten hobby to us and seems revolutionary, rather than ready for a refresh.

I also don’t really have much attraction to most AAA games, and since I’ve missed out on so many interesting games, I am enjoying playing the best of the last two decades that I’ve missed, and emulating childhood favorites from consoles I never had, but play at the houses of friends or relatives.

I have a custom built gaming PC and a Steam Deck but I could see a future were I have only a Stream Deck, and a dock with my monitor, mouse and keyboard. That's a real possibility and a very interesting one. Some games really are played best at a desk with a mouse and keyboard but the Steam Deck docked can accommodate this.

My gaming PC is only 2 years old so it's probably at least 3 more years before I feel the need to upgrade. By that time the Steam Deck 2 is probably released and could be good enough as my main gaming device.
slaapliedje Oct 12, 2023
Quoting: yerald
Quoting: BrokattMaybe for those who use the Steam Deck as their main gaming device and are prepared to pay for for marginal better performance in AAA games. But how big a portion of the total user base is that? I get the impression that most that have a Steam Deck (or ROG Ally) are satisfied except for the performance in Starfield.

The Steam Deck is my only gaming device, after never owning a gaming PC or console in my adult life, and only occasionally playing a few steam games on my low-end Mac or Linux laptops as a college student. There’s nothing I want changed on it as of now, and I wonder how many people have use cases like mine, where the concerns of hardcore long-time gamers feel totally irrelevant, because this thing opened up a new or long forgotten hobby to us and seems revolutionary, rather than ready for a refresh.

I also don’t really have much attraction to most AAA games, and since I’ve missed out on so many interesting games, I am enjoying playing the best of the last two decades that I’ve missed, and emulating childhood favorites from consoles I never had, but play at the houses of friends or relatives.
I mostly use my Steam Deck for emulation of older games, and playing platform games and such. I like cranking resolution / details up way too high for most of the modern games to have good performance on the Steam Deck. But then I also would rather play those on my Super Ultrawide monitor instead of a 800p screen.

I do wish there were an official dock that had some cooling built into it, so it could work kind of like the Switch does, where it clocks things upward when docked, and you can get a bit better performance out of it when plugged into a television. I don't think it'd be that difficult to have something like this happen, but I tend to think it'd need some extra cooling. It is a really great device and I don't see the need to buy a faster one. I think the design of the ROG Ally and Legion Go made a mistake with going 1080p. It looks good on specs, and sadly a lot of gamer culture is 'more specs!', but all it does is drain battery and make a lot of assumptions about playability that aren't going to be possible on a small form factor anyhow. I'd much rather play at 1280x800@60 fps than play at 1920x1080@30 fps on such a small screen.
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