With the release of the Steam Deck OLED and the Steam Deck OLED Limited Edition tomorrow, Valve has given out a little bit more info on how they plan to combat scalpers.
Firstly, there is a Limited Edition model with a smoky translucent shell that's only available for the USA / Canada but the rest of the line of Steam Deck OLED are not limited. The normal 512GB and 1TB Steam Deck OLED models will be available globally where the existing LCD Steam Deck is. I've seen a surprising amount of people confused on this across the net thinking the Steam Deck OLED as a whole is limited but it's not.
For the special Limited Edition version Valve has said:
- You need to be in the United States or Canada.
- Your account needs to be in good standing.
- Your account needs to have made a purchase on Steam before November 2023.
- Only one unit may be purchased per account.
If their experiment with this extra Limited Edition model goes well, we may see others come in future.
Additionally, their FAQ also notes for the normal 512GB and 1TB Steam Deck OLED models you will only be able to purchase "1 model of Steam Deck OLED per customer per week" but they plan to relax that when they're confident they can meet demand.
They will switch to the reservation queue if needed and email people when it's ready but Valve also said "we will be refreshing inventory of Steam Deck regularly, and do not foresee long queue times like we saw with the Steam Deck LCD launch".
All models go live at the same time at 10AM PST / 6PM UTC on November 16th on the Steam Deck store.
Be sure to follow GamingOnLinux on YouTube for regular Steam Deck videos!
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
That's not saying that I support nor condone scalpers. It's just kind of cool to think that the device is popular enough for this to even be a thing.
Meanwhile as a Linux user, there's me renewing my FSF and LWN subscriptions today, instead of buying the new Linux device.
But in my defence I did pre-order the original device. 
Your account needs to have made a purchase on Steam before November 2023.
Should have been a month prior to their announcement!
But it wont work any way.
IMHO that's a sign they have been majorly successful at keeping scalpers at bay with regards to the LCD version
I would love if they could just get around to selling it here before i gather enough idle money and tire of waiting... resorting to scalpers for a unit is not my favourite prospect at all, even if I manage to find a reliable one (which is a feat unto itself)
Last edited by Marlock on 16 November 2023 at 3:23 pm UTC
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