6 ms·

It's just too darn big for its own use case in my opinion. I don't want to bring such a behemoth around with me and when I'm not away from home I have my deskto

It's just too darn big for its own use case in my opinion. I don't want to bring such a behemoth around with me and when I'm not away from home I have my desktop which I don't have to hold up to use. For the occasional on the go gaming I find things such as those tiny retro gaming handhelds far more practical. Which have a similar phenomenon of bringing old games back to life due to the limited specs of such devices. The Retroid pockets and Anbernics are the best at this in my opinion.

atwebb 4y ago
Do you mean for the use cases in the article or in general? It certainly is big but it is a remarkable device and works exceptionally well. I'm shocked how well Valve did (just in general, they nailed it and are executing well). I bring the SD a bunch of places, quick resume is awesome, the screen is great, powering games isn't an issue. I suspect it may get smaller later but even the Switch now seems too small and there are lots of add-ons to extend it so your hands aren't cramped up.
- izzydata 4y ago
  The use case of playing a game outside the house. I find that even the switch lite to be far too big for this, but at least it fits in a bag a bit better. The Sony Vita was probably the perfect form factor in my opinion. Obviously those things can't play modern PC titles on low to medium settings, but that doesn't feel particularly necessary to me.
  - Sakos 4y ago
    > but that doesn't feel particularly necessary to me I mean, then the SD isn't for you, no? Just get a Vita or one of the modern indie pocket gaming handhelds.
climb_stealth 4y ago
Hah, I want one because I don't want to buy a big-ass desktop PC. Basically I want keyboard+mouse PC gaming without buying a desktop. It seems ideal for that. But I agree, it looks super chunky for something that is meant to be portable. I would consider the Nintendo Switch about the maximum size for something to comfortably travel with, and the Steamdeck is 250g heavier and bigger in all dimensions [0]. [0] https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-vs-nintendo-switch/#section-steam-deck-vs-switch-tech-specs https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-vs-nintendo-switch/#secti...
- nkozyra 4y ago
  It's "portable" but as someone looking for a gaming computer for a 9 year old, ideal in a lot of ways and certainly preferable to handing him some giant, ugly Windows box or teaching him how to navigate Linux (which I hope he'll do over time with this)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- Sakos 4y ago
  > I would consider the Nintendo Switch about the maximum size for something to comfortably travel with I don't understand why. The SD fits in every bag I take with me. Unless all you travel with is a purse? Then I guess sure, it's too big. But the SD being 250g heavier and it being larger than the Switch are all positives for me. It has such a solid feel and the sides are more ergonomic in a way that makes it more comfortable to use than my Switch ever was.
  - climb_stealth 4y ago
    I'm glad you describe it as a positive! It's still at the top of my list. The Switch fits flat down in my backpack. The Steamdeck would probably not fit in the same way. I haven't had a chance to handle one though. But personally I find the Switch already borderline annoying to take. Typing this whilst waiting for a flight with a fully packed bag for what it's worth. On its own it would be fine, but once you add a drink bottle, toiletries, a laptop and chargers it adds up.
    - floydnoel 4y ago
      The Steam Deck has an excellent travel case. If I were needing to travel with it, I would find a way to attach the travel case externally to my bag. That way, it wouldn't impact what can be packed already.
    - partdavid 4y ago
      It fits in my personal item (a small messenger bag), in its case, along with good noise-cancelling headphones. There's space for the other stuff I need (a small bottle of water and a snack), but not a jacket, which I have to wear or tie to the strap. I don't think any personal item-sized thing is going to have space for it and headphones a laptop (I put my laptop in my carry-on, which is usually either a 20L backpack or a 40L ultralight rollerboard). Its case has space for a charger and since my phone and headphones are USB-C as well I can just stick with it. It won't be flat like your switch. I don't think I'd try strapping it to the outside of any bag, even though the case it came with seems quite good. I think it would be unwieldy.
shkkmo 4y ago
It's not a pocket console, it's a backpack console. In terms on consoles, It's like moving from a desktop to a laptop. Laptops won over desktops, even when the laptop rarely leaves the house, because it offers free movement amd choice of location. Compared to gaming on a laptop, the steam deck works better and is more flexible in more locations. The quick suspend feature, though it doesn't work with every game, just extends this convenience by making it easy to pickup and put down. There's definitely a space for pocket gaming, but that faces stiff competition from phone games.
- stuart78 4y ago
  I think this gets it exactly right. I’ve taken the deck on trips where I have room in the suitcase, but I wouldn’t take it on my daily commute. But most of all, I’m just with it on the couch. Even though there is also a nice big tv right in front of it, the instant on / instant suspend makes it great for 5-10 minute chunks.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    I bought a deck mainly for the working suspend. I have an AMD based desktop that I run Arch Linux on, and suspend didn't work on it for most of 2022. Bug fixes have since trickled into the mainline kernel, and there's AMD employees and Valve contractors productively participating in issue tickets.
marcus_holmes 4y ago
I'm travelling at the moment (like, backpacking for 6 months). I find it perfect - it fits into my day bag no problem. I even have a portable monitor, and an external keyboard and mouse. Hook them all up with a USB hub and I have a "proper" desktop gaming setup that fits into my backpack no problem.
- theshrike79 4y ago
  I travel with an USB-C dock with HDMI + DualSense controller. I can just plug it in to any hotel tv with an HDMI port and play full PC games.
mikedelago 4y ago
Different strokes, I suppose. I've had a fantastic time playing Dwarf Fortress on the Steam Deck as a passenger in a car, as well as Team Fortress 2 in bed.
MadcapJake 4y ago
agree with the other replies but also one thing to add: the gaming market in PCs is still mostly in the big screen world. They couldn't go too small or risk making the games too small for what they were designed for. The magnifier feature is not something you want to perform all the time. I imagine they did some AB testing and I firmly believe they landed on a good compromise.
Sakos 4y ago
The SD has basically the minimum display size for useable retro PC gaming. For PS1 emulation, you could probably get away with something the size of the GB Pocket, but PC games simply were never designed for small screens.
shanebellone 4y ago
I guess the meaning of portable gaming is ambiguous. I took it to mean "wireless gaming" and it succeeds by that definition. I rarely use the Deck but my girlfriend loves it. She prefers the handheld form factor for couch gaming. I just prefer my office chair to any other seat in my house which makes PC gaming more appealing.
dualboot 4y ago
For me the size is a major advantage. Traditional controllers are an ergo nightmare for me. The width of the controller means my hands are at a much more natural angle and the shape and balance of the deck is very well thought out. The steam deck replaces gaming laptops for me. Gaming laptops have always been hot, noisy, and highly failure prone. The deck is downright dainty in comparison and doesn't require me to carry a mouse, controller, and clunky power brick as well.
partdavid 4y ago
That's fair, size versus capability is always a trade-off. It's also not exactly inexpensive. I find it's just small enough, but I don't use it for every case. It's portable in the sense of being great to take with you on a plane or a trip; you wouldn't take it with you to work or school every day, I don't think. It fits in my personal item with good headphones, but there's not much space for something like a jacket. So I understand how the size excludes it from a lot of situations. My current gaming is built around NVidia GeForceNow, Steam and the Steam Deck. I have all my bases covered and (almost!) all the games I want, "retro" and "current". At home I have NVidia SHIELD devices on each TV. That's three rooms (one of which is on a gaming monitor with 120 Hz/HDR). I can play all my Steam (and Epic) games seamlessly on all three. They were $100 each and my founder's membership to GFN is $4.16/mo. The controllers were around $35 each as well. I don't strictly need three of them but I got them for symmetry. I like that I buy games on standard PC game stores like Steam, so if the service shuts down or gets crappy, I'll still have my games--it doesn't have the disadvantage that Stadia did. I had a PS4 and Xbone and I just never used them--I gave them away. For the "very portable" case I have my phone. Its GFN client is great. I can use it with an onscreen controller in a pinch, or I have a Razer Kishi which is okay (standard thumbsticks and buttons). I also have a cheap Chromebook with a good GFN client I can use the play the same games. Of course, both these require good wi-fi or particularly good cell service. I've played on hotel marginal hotel wi-fi and on 4G/"5G" and that's about on the border between useable on non-useable. Enter the Steam Deck. This covers the offline use case: planes, areas with bad wi-fi/wireless coverage. And it's still the same games with good hardware and good control. Ironically, what doesn't work well on it is GFN; but that's okay, because that's not really what I need it for. That's the setup that works for me, and it works very well. I'm not a "hardcore" gamer and I don't own a PC at all. So for me, it is definitely portable enough for its use case. There are various disadvantages that people might not like (besides the Steam Deck being pretty big, as you point out): Game Selection: Obviously, this is a tradeoff with any gaming platform; not every game is available on Steam. With my setup, it's even more narrow: not every game on Steam is offered on GFN; and not every game on Steam works on the Steam Deck. There are some games I own that I can't play on the Deck; there are some games I could buy for the Deck that I couldn't play on GFN (I don't buy those games). There are still hundreds of games of every stripe available, so this doesn't faze me. It's true I can't play GTA:V, but that's probably the only game I really "miss". Game streaming: I'm told input lag makes this not an option for "serious gamers." I'll believe them. For me, a "non-serious gamer", I detect no input lag. GFN isn't completely seamless and the fact that you're interacting with a Windows VM can be kind of clunky. No problem for a nerdy type, but there are a couple of rough edges for a consumer (for example, when launching a game you may need to interact with the Steam application in the VM to launch it, or sometimes it launches by itself; sometimes you need to invoke an onscreen keyboard and mouse input method to interact with a game launcher or close windows). It also means your Internet access needs to be up to snuff. When it is, streaming is fine. In the past, I'd run into lag/jitter problems even when the problem wasn't on my end; that seems to have been fixed and I don't experience that anymore. I think there are also time or usage limits but I've never run into one so I'm not sure. On the other hand, the game client's connection to servers is always great (e.g. on Star Wars Battlefront II). Limited controls: As far as I can tell, there's no GFN story for racing wheels, dance pads and other alternate controllers, at least with the SHIELD. This is probably the thing that bugs me most; I'd like to use a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Glitches: The biggest problem on my Steam Deck is Bluetooth audio delay. I have tried remedies and system settings and they haven't worked. It's not great for a game where synced audio might be important. As it happens, my games aren't really like that and the delay is "okay". It bothers me aesthetically but doesn't make playing a game much less fun. But I'd love to see it resolved. Another nit: cloud saves are not totally seamless, you need to pay attention to whether they're synced when using the Steam Deck. If you do, your play will be seamless; if you don't, it's possible to lose a save moving between the platforms.
furyofantares 4y ago
The deck works great in my 6yo daughter's hands.

atwebb 4y ago

Do you mean for the use cases in the article or in general? It certainly is big but it is a remarkable device and works exceptionally well. I'm shocked how well Valve did (just in general, they nailed it and are executing well). I bring the SD a bunch of places, quick resume is awesome, the screen is great, powering games isn't an issue. I suspect it may get smaller later but even the Switch now seems too small and there are lots of add-ons to extend it so your hands aren't cramped up.

izzydata 4y ago
The use case of playing a game outside the house. I find that even the switch lite to be far too big for this, but at least it fits in a bag a bit better. The Sony Vita was probably the perfect form factor in my opinion. Obviously those things can't play modern PC titles on low to medium settings, but that doesn't feel particularly necessary to me.
- Sakos 4y ago
  > but that doesn't feel particularly necessary to me I mean, then the SD isn't for you, no? Just get a Vita or one of the modern indie pocket gaming handhelds.

climb_stealth 4y ago

Hah, I want one because I don't want to buy a big-ass desktop PC. Basically I want keyboard+mouse PC gaming without buying a desktop. It seems ideal for that. But I agree, it looks super chunky for something that is meant to be portable. I would consider the Nintendo Switch about the maximum size for something to comfortably travel with, and the Steamdeck is 250g heavier and bigger in all dimensions [0]. [0] https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-vs-nintendo-switch/#section-steam-deck-vs-switch-tech-specs https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-vs-nintendo-switch/#secti...

nkozyra 4y ago
It's "portable" but as someone looking for a gaming computer for a 9 year old, ideal in a lot of ways and certainly preferable to handing him some giant, ugly Windows box or teaching him how to navigate Linux (which I hope he'll do over time with this)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
Sakos 4y ago
> I would consider the Nintendo Switch about the maximum size for something to comfortably travel with I don't understand why. The SD fits in every bag I take with me. Unless all you travel with is a purse? Then I guess sure, it's too big. But the SD being 250g heavier and it being larger than the Switch are all positives for me. It has such a solid feel and the sides are more ergonomic in a way that makes it more comfortable to use than my Switch ever was.
- climb_stealth 4y ago
  I'm glad you describe it as a positive! It's still at the top of my list. The Switch fits flat down in my backpack. The Steamdeck would probably not fit in the same way. I haven't had a chance to handle one though. But personally I find the Switch already borderline annoying to take. Typing this whilst waiting for a flight with a fully packed bag for what it's worth. On its own it would be fine, but once you add a drink bottle, toiletries, a laptop and chargers it adds up.
  - floydnoel 4y ago
    The Steam Deck has an excellent travel case. If I were needing to travel with it, I would find a way to attach the travel case externally to my bag. That way, it wouldn't impact what can be packed already.
  - partdavid 4y ago
    It fits in my personal item (a small messenger bag), in its case, along with good noise-cancelling headphones. There's space for the other stuff I need (a small bottle of water and a snack), but not a jacket, which I have to wear or tie to the strap. I don't think any personal item-sized thing is going to have space for it and headphones a laptop (I put my laptop in my carry-on, which is usually either a 20L backpack or a 40L ultralight rollerboard). Its case has space for a charger and since my phone and headphones are USB-C as well I can just stick with it. It won't be flat like your switch. I don't think I'd try strapping it to the outside of any bag, even though the case it came with seems quite good. I think it would be unwieldy.

shkkmo 4y ago

It's not a pocket console, it's a backpack console. In terms on consoles, It's like moving from a desktop to a laptop. Laptops won over desktops, even when the laptop rarely leaves the house, because it offers free movement amd choice of location. Compared to gaming on a laptop, the steam deck works better and is more flexible in more locations. The quick suspend feature, though it doesn't work with every game, just extends this convenience by making it easy to pickup and put down. There's definitely a space for pocket gaming, but that faces stiff competition from phone games.

stuart78 4y ago
I think this gets it exactly right. I’ve taken the deck on trips where I have room in the suitcase, but I wouldn’t take it on my daily commute. But most of all, I’m just with it on the couch. Even though there is also a nice big tv right in front of it, the instant on / instant suspend makes it great for 5-10 minute chunks.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  I bought a deck mainly for the working suspend. I have an AMD based desktop that I run Arch Linux on, and suspend didn't work on it for most of 2022. Bug fixes have since trickled into the mainline kernel, and there's AMD employees and Valve contractors productively participating in issue tickets.

marcus_holmes 4y ago

I'm travelling at the moment (like, backpacking for 6 months). I find it perfect - it fits into my day bag no problem. I even have a portable monitor, and an external keyboard and mouse. Hook them all up with a USB hub and I have a "proper" desktop gaming setup that fits into my backpack no problem.

theshrike79 4y ago
I travel with an USB-C dock with HDMI + DualSense controller. I can just plug it in to any hotel tv with an HDMI port and play full PC games.

mikedelago 4y ago

Different strokes, I suppose. I've had a fantastic time playing Dwarf Fortress on the Steam Deck as a passenger in a car, as well as Team Fortress 2 in bed.

MadcapJake 4y ago

agree with the other replies but also one thing to add: the gaming market in PCs is still mostly in the big screen world. They couldn't go too small or risk making the games too small for what they were designed for. The magnifier feature is not something you want to perform all the time. I imagine they did some AB testing and I firmly believe they landed on a good compromise.

Sakos 4y ago

The SD has basically the minimum display size for useable retro PC gaming. For PS1 emulation, you could probably get away with something the size of the GB Pocket, but PC games simply were never designed for small screens.

shanebellone 4y ago

I guess the meaning of portable gaming is ambiguous. I took it to mean "wireless gaming" and it succeeds by that definition. I rarely use the Deck but my girlfriend loves it. She prefers the handheld form factor for couch gaming. I just prefer my office chair to any other seat in my house which makes PC gaming more appealing.

dualboot 4y ago

For me the size is a major advantage. Traditional controllers are an ergo nightmare for me. The width of the controller means my hands are at a much more natural angle and the shape and balance of the deck is very well thought out. The steam deck replaces gaming laptops for me. Gaming laptops have always been hot, noisy, and highly failure prone. The deck is downright dainty in comparison and doesn't require me to carry a mouse, controller, and clunky power brick as well.

partdavid 4y ago

That's fair, size versus capability is always a trade-off. It's also not exactly inexpensive. I find it's just small enough, but I don't use it for every case. It's portable in the sense of being great to take with you on a plane or a trip; you wouldn't take it with you to work or school every day, I don't think. It fits in my personal item with good headphones, but there's not much space for something like a jacket. So I understand how the size excludes it from a lot of situations. My current gaming is built around NVidia GeForceNow, Steam and the Steam Deck. I have all my bases covered and (almost!) all the games I want, "retro" and "current". At home I have NVidia SHIELD devices on each TV. That's three rooms (one of which is on a gaming monitor with 120 Hz/HDR). I can play all my Steam (and Epic) games seamlessly on all three. They were $100 each and my founder's membership to GFN is $4.16/mo. The controllers were around $35 each as well. I don't strictly need three of them but I got them for symmetry. I like that I buy games on standard PC game stores like Steam, so if the service shuts down or gets crappy, I'll still have my games--it doesn't have the disadvantage that Stadia did. I had a PS4 and Xbone and I just never used them--I gave them away. For the "very portable" case I have my phone. Its GFN client is great. I can use it with an onscreen controller in a pinch, or I have a Razer Kishi which is okay (standard thumbsticks and buttons). I also have a cheap Chromebook with a good GFN client I can use the play the same games. Of course, both these require good wi-fi or particularly good cell service. I've played on hotel marginal hotel wi-fi and on 4G/"5G" and that's about on the border between useable on non-useable. Enter the Steam Deck. This covers the offline use case: planes, areas with bad wi-fi/wireless coverage. And it's still the same games with good hardware and good control. Ironically, what doesn't work well on it is GFN; but that's okay, because that's not really what I need it for. That's the setup that works for me, and it works very well. I'm not a "hardcore" gamer and I don't own a PC at all. So for me, it is definitely portable enough for its use case. There are various disadvantages that people might not like (besides the Steam Deck being pretty big, as you point out): Game Selection: Obviously, this is a tradeoff with any gaming platform; not every game is available on Steam. With my setup, it's even more narrow: not every game on Steam is offered on GFN; and not every game on Steam works on the Steam Deck. There are some games I own that I can't play on the Deck; there are some games I could buy for the Deck that I couldn't play on GFN (I don't buy those games). There are still hundreds of games of every stripe available, so this doesn't faze me. It's true I can't play GTA:V, but that's probably the only game I really "miss". Game streaming: I'm told input lag makes this not an option for "serious gamers." I'll believe them. For me, a "non-serious gamer", I detect no input lag. GFN isn't completely seamless and the fact that you're interacting with a Windows VM can be kind of clunky. No problem for a nerdy type, but there are a couple of rough edges for a consumer (for example, when launching a game you may need to interact with the Steam application in the VM to launch it, or sometimes it launches by itself; sometimes you need to invoke an onscreen keyboard and mouse input method to interact with a game launcher or close windows). It also means your Internet access needs to be up to snuff. When it is, streaming is fine. In the past, I'd run into lag/jitter problems even when the problem wasn't on my end; that seems to have been fixed and I don't experience that anymore. I think there are also time or usage limits but I've never run into one so I'm not sure. On the other hand, the game client's connection to servers is always great (e.g. on Star Wars Battlefront II). Limited controls: As far as I can tell, there's no GFN story for racing wheels, dance pads and other alternate controllers, at least with the SHIELD. This is probably the thing that bugs me most; I'd like to use a wheel for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Glitches: The biggest problem on my Steam Deck is Bluetooth audio delay. I have tried remedies and system settings and they haven't worked. It's not great for a game where synced audio might be important. As it happens, my games aren't really like that and the delay is "okay". It bothers me aesthetically but doesn't make playing a game much less fun. But I'd love to see it resolved. Another nit: cloud saves are not totally seamless, you need to pay attention to whether they're synced when using the Steam Deck. If you do, your play will be seamless; if you don't, it's possible to lose a save moving between the platforms.

furyofantares 4y ago

The deck works great in my 6yo daughter's hands.