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Weekend gamer here. This weekend, we will look at Steam’s Steam Deck (not to be confused with Elgato’s Stream Deck).
For some months, I’ve been eyeing on the handheld AYA Neo as a Windows-based portable gaming device. It was touted as the “World’s First 7nm Handheld Gaming Device” and was funded on Indiegogo with over $2 million. People were calling this the Nintendo’s Switch killer.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of crowdfunding project, AYA Neo only produced enough units for their backers. Obviously, I didn’t buy an AYA Neo.
Recently, in response to Nintendo’s lackluster announcement of the Switch OLED, Steam announced their Steam Deck portable gaming handheld.
So, why fans aren’t that excited about the Switch OLED? It is because the upcoming console offers no speed improvements (the internals are exactly the same as the initial release in 2017). When I finally got a hold of the system in March 2017, I noted that “the biggest problem isn’t that the tablet is underpowered.”
It was underpowered in 2017, so it’s inexcuseable to release the same underpowered unit 2021. Basically, for $350, you get an OLED screen upgrade and better kickstand for the new Nintendo Switch. I think if you own the original Switch… there’s no reason for you to rush out to get the new one.
Despite how fans feel and how I feel, I know the Switch OLED will sell gangbuster. It’s a fact, people love Nintendo, so it doesn’t really matter what product they sell, people will buy it and love it.
Steam Deck is supposed to be a much faster alternative to the Switch. The other advantage that Steam will have over the Switch is that if you have a vast Steam library of games… you can simply carry that over to the Steam Deck. Sure, you’re not going to get the latest Mario or Zelda game, but there are plenty of games on Steam/PC that are never going to make it onto the Switch.
Pricing seems reasonable, the Steam Deck starts at $400 and goes up to as much as $600 for the top-end model.
Now for some concerns. Steam, or the Valve Corporation, has never ever produced a good hardware product. Their Steam Machine, which was a line of gaming computers, based on Linux, were not very good, and its poor sales reflected as much. I ended up abandoning on buying the Steam Machine, based on owning the Steam Controller and realized it was poorly designed. As I mentioned in Jan 2016, “[the Steam Controller] pretty much sucked at being a controller”.
My other concern is that Steam is so big, they don’t really have a customer support department. Don’t believe me ? Try talking to a real person at Steam… you can’t. As I mentioned in Jun 2017, “there’s no way to contact Steam.”
I guess we can wait and see when the Steam Deck comes out. Due to the lack of inventory availability, I still don’t own a PS5 or Xbox Series X. I am going to assume the Steam Deck might be extremely hard to come by.
For some months, I’ve been eyeing on the handheld AYA Neo as a Windows-based portable gaming device. It was touted as the “World’s First 7nm Handheld Gaming Device” and was funded on Indiegogo with over $2 million. People were calling this the Nintendo’s Switch killer.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of crowdfunding project, AYA Neo only produced enough units for their backers. Obviously, I didn’t buy an AYA Neo.
Recently, in response to Nintendo’s lackluster announcement of the Switch OLED, Steam announced their Steam Deck portable gaming handheld.
So, why fans aren’t that excited about the Switch OLED? It is because the upcoming console offers no speed improvements (the internals are exactly the same as the initial release in 2017). When I finally got a hold of the system in March 2017, I noted that “the biggest problem isn’t that the tablet is underpowered.”
It was underpowered in 2017, so it’s inexcuseable to release the same underpowered unit 2021. Basically, for $350, you get an OLED screen upgrade and better kickstand for the new Nintendo Switch. I think if you own the original Switch… there’s no reason for you to rush out to get the new one.
Despite how fans feel and how I feel, I know the Switch OLED will sell gangbuster. It’s a fact, people love Nintendo, so it doesn’t really matter what product they sell, people will buy it and love it.
Steam Deck is supposed to be a much faster alternative to the Switch. The other advantage that Steam will have over the Switch is that if you have a vast Steam library of games… you can simply carry that over to the Steam Deck. Sure, you’re not going to get the latest Mario or Zelda game, but there are plenty of games on Steam/PC that are never going to make it onto the Switch.
Pricing seems reasonable, the Steam Deck starts at $400 and goes up to as much as $600 for the top-end model.
Now for some concerns. Steam, or the Valve Corporation, has never ever produced a good hardware product. Their Steam Machine, which was a line of gaming computers, based on Linux, were not very good, and its poor sales reflected as much. I ended up abandoning on buying the Steam Machine, based on owning the Steam Controller and realized it was poorly designed. As I mentioned in Jan 2016, “[the Steam Controller] pretty much sucked at being a controller”.
My other concern is that Steam is so big, they don’t really have a customer support department. Don’t believe me ? Try talking to a real person at Steam… you can’t. As I mentioned in Jun 2017, “there’s no way to contact Steam.”
I guess we can wait and see when the Steam Deck comes out. Due to the lack of inventory availability, I still don’t own a PS5 or Xbox Series X. I am going to assume the Steam Deck might be extremely hard to come by.
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