Begun, the handheld wars have. It seems like every company now wants a piece of the pie doesn't it? Even MSI appear to be jumping into the fold now with an announcement due at CES 2024.
We don't exactly have much to go on right now, other than the teaser they posted up on their Instagram page and on X noting "A whole new breed of MSI dragon is coming. Get a grip and stay tuned."
Here's some quick stills from their teaser video:
No doubt it will be another handheld running Windows though instead of Linux, but it's not like that has stopped people! Linux support for the ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go, plus various units from GPD and AYANEO have been improving pretty quickly with ChimeraOS being one of the best options.
It's always good to have options! Naturally I'll be sticking to the Steam Deck OLED since it's the most supported available with Linux out of the box.
Update: as a small addition, it seems this may be Intel powered given the reply on social media site X from the official Intel Gaming account with three thinking emoji. Obviously not a lot to go on, but why else would they reply like that?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Powered by Intel? I know Intel's graphic drivers have improved a lot since the release of Arc but their CPU power consumption and perf per watt at low TDPs is trash since the 12th Gen. And their integrated graphics aren't as good as AMD's. I don't think this is going to be an interesting product unless it comes with a semicustom chip with more Xe cores, but an off the shelf mobile chip is more likely.
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Quoting: PenglingSorry MSI, not for me! This'll almost certainly just be another generic Windows box with a poor user experience, and the parallels to how money was thrown at killing Linux netbooks are obvious and growing.One pleasant non-parallel is that the attempts are showing few signs of success and Valve is unlikely to fold the way the Linux-based-netbook makers did.
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyOne pleasant non-parallel is that the attempts are showing few signs of success and Valve is unlikely to fold the way the Linux-based-netbook makers did.That's very true, and I hope that continues. Also, I hope that we get some real competition as well...
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAnd even if you hate it..... Competition should mean better Steam Decks in the future........... As Spider notes, it'll be a very good thing for us to have.
Though personally I'm not sure if these netbook-wipeout-style efforts count as true competitors yet, since they seem to be coming from a place of trying to stifle the market rather than grow it.
I was in the netbooks community back in the day, and the way things went was downright ugly - not just from how manufacturers were strongarmed into killing the product-category, but also in how shills were sent out to undermine communities from the inside. I really hope that history doesn't repeat itself.
Last edited by Pengling on 5 January 2024 at 10:10 am UTC
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hardpenguin Jan 5
QuoteNo doubt it will be another handheld running Windows thoughIf I got a dollar for every time I saw an ROG Ally ad in super-mainstream places online...
Frustrating to see how easily ASUS and Microsoft can throw huge money at promoting it.
I understand that Valve took another avenue because they have the advantage of holding such central place in PC gaming but still... Frustrating.
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Quoting: Luke_NukemValve are open to helping OEM's support SteamOS, but I suspect that the OEMs want it to be more of a one-way street with Valve doing all the work.The OEMs are also likely to want a big bag of money from Valve.
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Quoting: hardpenguinIf I got a dollar for every time I saw an ROG Ally ad in super-mainstream places online...The musical Christmas ad, using the song "It Had To Be You", was particularly dreadful, if you had the misfortune of seeing that.
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Quoting: PenglingI was in the netbooks community back in the day, and the way things went was downright ugly - not just from how manufacturers were strongarmed into killing the product-category, but also in how shills were sent out to undermine communities from the inside. I really hope that history doesn't repeat itself.
They're certainly going to try.
But whereas Microsoft could kill netbooks to protect their desktop OS monopoly (ultimately clearing the field for iPads to break their desktop OS monopoly), Valve's device is already here, already great, and they aren't selling it to make money off hardware sales. If Microsoft kill all handheld PCs but the Deck, Valve wins; if OEMs keep churning out handhelds that show that Linux is better than Windows, Valve wins; if OEMs give up on Windows and make Linux handhelds, Valve wins; if Microsoft makes Windows as good as Linux and people still get all their games from Steam, Valve wins. The threat to Valve's Deck initiative only really comes if Microsoft brings out the big guns: their own handheld that runs the Xbox-tweaked version of Windows that can only run games from Microsoft's Store - which has just been juiced by the biggest acquisition the gaming industry has ever seen. That could go either way, especially as part of their offensive to get the Microsoft Store on Android and iOS via their Epic stalking horse. Even then, the Deck represents the open PC gaming ecosystem vs the locked-down Microsoft-only ecosystem that Valve have been endeavouring to protect since Windows 8.
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Apparently, if the PC can't compete with the consoles in the living room, it can win in the hands.
I miss my old PS Vita, but I still can't justify a handheld at this time. Despite enjoying Breath of the Wild on the Switch, I still have yet to complete it after all this time.
Deck news to me is like tech pop culture -- fun to watch... hard to resist.
I miss my old PS Vita, but I still can't justify a handheld at this time. Despite enjoying Breath of the Wild on the Switch, I still have yet to complete it after all this time.
Deck news to me is like tech pop culture -- fun to watch... hard to resist.
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