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Is this supposed to challenge the switch? Personally, as a lifelong PC gamer, I've never been able to get into handheld/mobile stuff, or even consoles - its not

Is this supposed to challenge the switch? Personally, as a lifelong PC gamer, I've never been able to get into handheld/mobile stuff, or even consoles - its not even the screen size, but the controls and overall experience. I want to be upright in a chair, with a full keyboard + mouse in front of me. I like to use my dual screens to research stuff in downtime or check on settings/optimizations. Is this primarily used on the couch, or in public whilst out and about?

JKCalhoun 3y ago
You can drop the Steam Deck into a dock (Steam Dock?) and have your desktop monitor, keyboard, mouse, desk-chair.... But at that point what is the point, I guess.
- nucleardog 3y ago
  As someone that has probably used my deck docked at my desk more than anything… 1. Suspend and resume. If I’ve got a quick 20 minutes I can hit the button, change the input on a monitor, pick up my controller and play. No need to shut a bunch of stuff down to free up RAM, wait for the game to start, wait for a save to load, etc. And no need to worry about getting to a save point, finish a cut scene… just suspend. 2. It doesn’t heat my office up a bazillion degrees like my desktop.
jeroenhd 3y ago
You can play switch games on the Deck but I wouldn't call it a Switch competitor. The Switch is targeted at family gaming with colorful multiplayer games and inoffensive titles. The Deck is just a handheld console. It's a successor to the PSP more than it's a competitor to anything else. The fact it's implemented as a laptop with a weird keyboard makes it very flexible, so things like emulation become easily available without having to resort to hacking your console or jumping through dev mode hoops. The Deck is great for use in circumstances where you can't get behind a full desktop, like in public transport, or when you just want a quick session without having to boot/update/log in/load/save/quit/shut down. The sleep/resume functionality is very good, so quick five minute bursts in games that would otherwise take half an hour to load are suddenly a possibility. It works for gaming on the couch, in bed, in public, anywhere but at your desk, really. I suppose you could also use it as a desktop computer if you attach it to a USB C dock, but I don't think that's the primary intention of the device. If you're content with your desktop gaming experience and don't see yourself gaming anywhere else, the Deck is probably just not for you.
- Eumenes 3y ago
  I see, appreciate the breakdown. I could see this being popular with upcoming CS2 and similar games. The price tag seems a bit steep though. But I guess they need to make money on the hardware.
  - schmorptron 3y ago
    It's very likely that at least at launch they weren't making much if any profit on the 64gig model, instead looking to sales on the steam store later on as a sort of loss leader. You're really underestimating the amount of hardware they packed into a comparatively small space for 400 bucks.
smileybarry 3y ago
Maybe in the “port machine for PC gamers” slot. You don’t have to repurchase a bunch of ports and you get cloud save syncs with your PC.
jnsaff2 3y ago
A friend gave me a Switch as a gift and I really-really struggle finding games for it that I would actually like. There is one game that I had played elsewhere that I enjoy (Sniper Elite) but other than that I really wish it would have a more AAA catalogue. Most of the games are childish and/or arcade, just not for me unfortunately.

JKCalhoun 3y ago

You can drop the Steam Deck into a dock (Steam Dock?) and have your desktop monitor, keyboard, mouse, desk-chair.... But at that point what is the point, I guess.

nucleardog 3y ago
As someone that has probably used my deck docked at my desk more than anything… 1. Suspend and resume. If I’ve got a quick 20 minutes I can hit the button, change the input on a monitor, pick up my controller and play. No need to shut a bunch of stuff down to free up RAM, wait for the game to start, wait for a save to load, etc. And no need to worry about getting to a save point, finish a cut scene… just suspend. 2. It doesn’t heat my office up a bazillion degrees like my desktop.

jeroenhd 3y ago

You can play switch games on the Deck but I wouldn't call it a Switch competitor. The Switch is targeted at family gaming with colorful multiplayer games and inoffensive titles. The Deck is just a handheld console. It's a successor to the PSP more than it's a competitor to anything else. The fact it's implemented as a laptop with a weird keyboard makes it very flexible, so things like emulation become easily available without having to resort to hacking your console or jumping through dev mode hoops. The Deck is great for use in circumstances where you can't get behind a full desktop, like in public transport, or when you just want a quick session without having to boot/update/log in/load/save/quit/shut down. The sleep/resume functionality is very good, so quick five minute bursts in games that would otherwise take half an hour to load are suddenly a possibility. It works for gaming on the couch, in bed, in public, anywhere but at your desk, really. I suppose you could also use it as a desktop computer if you attach it to a USB C dock, but I don't think that's the primary intention of the device. If you're content with your desktop gaming experience and don't see yourself gaming anywhere else, the Deck is probably just not for you.

Eumenes 3y ago
I see, appreciate the breakdown. I could see this being popular with upcoming CS2 and similar games. The price tag seems a bit steep though. But I guess they need to make money on the hardware.
- schmorptron 3y ago
  It's very likely that at least at launch they weren't making much if any profit on the 64gig model, instead looking to sales on the steam store later on as a sort of loss leader. You're really underestimating the amount of hardware they packed into a comparatively small space for 400 bucks.

smileybarry 3y ago

Maybe in the “port machine for PC gamers” slot. You don’t have to repurchase a bunch of ports and you get cloud save syncs with your PC.

jnsaff2 3y ago

A friend gave me a Switch as a gift and I really-really struggle finding games for it that I would actually like. There is one game that I had played elsewhere that I enjoy (Sniper Elite) but other than that I really wish it would have a more AAA catalogue. Most of the games are childish and/or arcade, just not for me unfortunately.