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Valve had a sequence of strange failed experiments -- the Steam Controller, Steam Machines/SteamOS, Steam Link. But somehow these all came together to make the

Valve had a sequence of strange failed experiments -- the Steam Controller, Steam Machines/SteamOS, Steam Link. But somehow these all came together to make the Steam Deck which is an astounding success. I don't know if Valve are geniuses or just incredibly lucky.

jckahn 3y ago
It’s an overnight success that was years in the making!
- TillE 3y ago
  Exactly. It's a really big leap for a pure software/services company to start making hardware, and there's no way you get the Steam Deck - at least not a good Steam Deck - without the experience that comes from making those earlier products.
alpaca128 3y ago
To me it seems Valve correctly realised their Steam Machines failed due to software and too many different hardware combinations, and since then prioritized getting games to run better on Linux before trying again with a single device that's supported well and can run thousands of games at release.
nani8ot 3y ago
Yes. They might be a financial failure, but my Steam Link works great for me and still receives updates. The Steam Controller also has a loyal fanbase with them being more expensive now then what Valve wanted to clear inventory. I don't think it's luck. After the Steam Machines Valve worked for years on proton (wine, dxvk, vkd3d) and AMD graphics drivers to fix game compatibility. Experience with selling hardware themselves had Valve with the Index already.
gfodor 3y ago
Don't forget the Steam Deck is a bridge to the standalone VR headset that will run games like Alyx.
MagicMoonlight 3y ago
But were they failed experiments if they led to this? Apple did the same thing with random features like LIDAR scanners in phones that you have no reason to use. Everyone questioned their thinking. Turned out they were doing that in order to make the best VR headset ever made.
- loeg 3y ago
  As individual commercial products, they were failures, yes. They weren't kept in-house or released only as dev-kits; they attempted to commercialize them and failed badly. I'm glad they learned from the experience!
  - scheeseman486 3y ago
    Steam Machines never really launched. Index is still sold and hasn't even had a price cut after half a decade. Steam Link hardware was discontinued not because Steam Link was a failure, but because they moved it to an entirely software/app solution which continues to see active support. Steam Controller was a bit of a bust, but it sold ~2 million units so not entirely. They probably made their money back.
- ccity88 3y ago
  Kind of wild that Apple have built up so much of a reputation that you're calling it the 'best VR headset ever made' without it even being released yet. This just proves that good products are like 70% perception, and its why we continuously drink Coke even though there's so many better healthier, tastier drinks
  - parasubvert 3y ago
    A lot of the hype is based on trusted 3rd party first impressions.
  - tacocataco 3y ago
    I thought we drank soda pop because of corn subsidies and High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Ruq 3y ago
>Failed Experiments Lessons Learned. The Steam Deck is the culmination of previous iterations. Even with the flop of the Steam Machines, The Steam Controller and Steam Link have ended up as Cult Classics, and there is the possibility they'll get revisions down the line, even if they end up minor niche releases.
- zhynn 3y ago
  I LOVE the steam controller, and the deck is essentially a steam controller with a computer+screen embedded into it. But the software for customizing the inputs are extremely sophisticated and deeply integrated into Steam. I don't think the deck would have been as good without the steam controller.
  - Arrath 3y ago
    I also love the steam controller but honestly I think its biggest innovation was the community collaboration aspect of sourcing controller configurations. There is a lot less trouble in getting into a game initially if I can browse a ranked list of the best configs and seamlessly switch between them.
- theshrike79 3y ago
  I'm still beating myself for not ordering a half dozen Steam Controllers when they were selling them at crazy low prices to get rid of their stock.
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    Oh don't beat yourself up about that. They ran out of stock right away and lots of people that ordered one got a refund instead.
- xarope 3y ago
  +1. Your next success is a culmination of previous failures and purposeful learning.
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
BuckRogers 3y ago
I think it’s simpler than that. They looked at the Nintendo Switch and decided to copy it, but for the PC. Nintendo was the genius involved. What Valve did is why Microsoft is successful. They executed someone else’s idea very well. Which isn’t that easy to do.
- kaba0 3y ago
  Khm, PSP, Gameboys, etc. Handheld gaming devices have quite a lot of history.
  - BuckRogers 3y ago
    None of them plugged into your TV and worked nearly as well as a non-portable console. Neither did the old handhelds allow you to play two player on the same handheld on the go. Not to mention it pretty much allows you to play AAA games on the online from anywhere you can hold the thing. There’s no shortage of innovation or exceptional execution with the Switch. The history of handheld gaming pretty much is Nintendo. I fully realize the history (and recognize the innovation. That is the Switch). I had the original Gameboy back when it was a new product in the 80s.
    - kaba0 3y ago
      I don’t know, these doesn’t sound too innovative to me, just the results of the advancements hardware made.
      - BuckRogers 3y ago
        Talk is cheap. Executing a complex product like the Switch is difficult. My guess is that 99% of the people posting here can’t even envision the product that comes after the Switch and makes such a large impact. And they did not envision the Switch either. Even though now it seems obvious because someone more creative already did it. There’s an easy way to prove me wrong. Create the next Switch and become a billionaire. It’s that easy.
cubefox 3y ago
The Steam Deck is a success compared to previous attempts by Valve, but perhaps not as much as the initial excitement would have you believe. To put things into perspective, some source[1] estimates that a total of 3 million Steam Deck units will have been sold by the end of 2023. The Nintendo Switch, which probably inspired the Steam Deck, has sold 125 million units by March[2]. This amounts to 20.8 million units per year. [1] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/omdia-steam-decks-total-console-sales-count-to-hit-3m-units-in-2023 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/omdia-steam-decks-total-consol... [2] https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Switch https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Switch
- scheeseman486 3y ago
  You're comparing sales of a product in a nascent category (PC gaming handhelds) produced by a company with near zero retail presence with a marketing campaign almost entirely focused on their existing (Steam) user base to Nintendo, a long standing retail giant that has dominated the market for decades who follow an entirely different business model. That's not to say they're incomparable, particularly in how they provide value to consumers, but there's a whole lot of context that makes the business case more complicated. Valve might not directly profit from the sale of GPD, Aya or Asus PC gaming handhelds, but they still get their percentage from every Steam software sale made on them, other stores notwithstanding but lets face it, they continue to dominate that space. It highlights that it's not specific hardware that Valve care about as much as broadening access to their storefront. It's not the hardware itself you should be keeping an eye on, but rather how many platforms on which Steam is available.
  - cubefox 3y ago
    > Valve might not directly profit from the sale of GPD, Aya or Asus PC gaming handhelds, but they still get their percentage from every Steam software sale made on them But those handhelds, being quite expensive, almost certainly sold much less than the Steam Deck, which itself didn't sell overly well.
    - scheeseman486 3y ago
tacocataco 3y ago
You only need to get lucky once, so if you can only afford one lotto ticket the odds are against you. What amazing things do we miss out on because not everyone has a infinite well of capital to draw from?
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  Electric vehicles felt like that for decades upon decades. Sustainable energy still feels that way despite gaining headway this decade.

jckahn 3y ago

It’s an overnight success that was years in the making!

TillE 3y ago
Exactly. It's a really big leap for a pure software/services company to start making hardware, and there's no way you get the Steam Deck - at least not a good Steam Deck - without the experience that comes from making those earlier products.

alpaca128 3y ago

To me it seems Valve correctly realised their Steam Machines failed due to software and too many different hardware combinations, and since then prioritized getting games to run better on Linux before trying again with a single device that's supported well and can run thousands of games at release.

nani8ot 3y ago

Yes. They might be a financial failure, but my Steam Link works great for me and still receives updates. The Steam Controller also has a loyal fanbase with them being more expensive now then what Valve wanted to clear inventory. I don't think it's luck. After the Steam Machines Valve worked for years on proton (wine, dxvk, vkd3d) and AMD graphics drivers to fix game compatibility. Experience with selling hardware themselves had Valve with the Index already.

gfodor 3y ago

Don't forget the Steam Deck is a bridge to the standalone VR headset that will run games like Alyx.

MagicMoonlight 3y ago

But were they failed experiments if they led to this? Apple did the same thing with random features like LIDAR scanners in phones that you have no reason to use. Everyone questioned their thinking. Turned out they were doing that in order to make the best VR headset ever made.

loeg 3y ago
As individual commercial products, they were failures, yes. They weren't kept in-house or released only as dev-kits; they attempted to commercialize them and failed badly. I'm glad they learned from the experience!
- scheeseman486 3y ago
  Steam Machines never really launched. Index is still sold and hasn't even had a price cut after half a decade. Steam Link hardware was discontinued not because Steam Link was a failure, but because they moved it to an entirely software/app solution which continues to see active support. Steam Controller was a bit of a bust, but it sold ~2 million units so not entirely. They probably made their money back.
ccity88 3y ago
Kind of wild that Apple have built up so much of a reputation that you're calling it the 'best VR headset ever made' without it even being released yet. This just proves that good products are like 70% perception, and its why we continuously drink Coke even though there's so many better healthier, tastier drinks
- parasubvert 3y ago
  A lot of the hype is based on trusted 3rd party first impressions.
- tacocataco 3y ago
  I thought we drank soda pop because of corn subsidies and High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Ruq 3y ago

>Failed Experiments Lessons Learned. The Steam Deck is the culmination of previous iterations. Even with the flop of the Steam Machines, The Steam Controller and Steam Link have ended up as Cult Classics, and there is the possibility they'll get revisions down the line, even if they end up minor niche releases.

zhynn 3y ago
I LOVE the steam controller, and the deck is essentially a steam controller with a computer+screen embedded into it. But the software for customizing the inputs are extremely sophisticated and deeply integrated into Steam. I don't think the deck would have been as good without the steam controller.
- Arrath 3y ago
  I also love the steam controller but honestly I think its biggest innovation was the community collaboration aspect of sourcing controller configurations. There is a lot less trouble in getting into a game initially if I can browse a ranked list of the best configs and seamlessly switch between them.
theshrike79 3y ago
I'm still beating myself for not ordering a half dozen Steam Controllers when they were selling them at crazy low prices to get rid of their stock.
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  Oh don't beat yourself up about that. They ran out of stock right away and lots of people that ordered one got a refund instead.
xarope 3y ago
+1. Your next success is a culmination of previous failures and purposeful learning.
johnnyanmac 3y ago

BuckRogers 3y ago

I think it’s simpler than that. They looked at the Nintendo Switch and decided to copy it, but for the PC. Nintendo was the genius involved. What Valve did is why Microsoft is successful. They executed someone else’s idea very well. Which isn’t that easy to do.

kaba0 3y ago
Khm, PSP, Gameboys, etc. Handheld gaming devices have quite a lot of history.
- BuckRogers 3y ago
  None of them plugged into your TV and worked nearly as well as a non-portable console. Neither did the old handhelds allow you to play two player on the same handheld on the go. Not to mention it pretty much allows you to play AAA games on the online from anywhere you can hold the thing. There’s no shortage of innovation or exceptional execution with the Switch. The history of handheld gaming pretty much is Nintendo. I fully realize the history (and recognize the innovation. That is the Switch). I had the original Gameboy back when it was a new product in the 80s.
  - kaba0 3y ago
    I don’t know, these doesn’t sound too innovative to me, just the results of the advancements hardware made.
    - BuckRogers 3y ago
      Talk is cheap. Executing a complex product like the Switch is difficult. My guess is that 99% of the people posting here can’t even envision the product that comes after the Switch and makes such a large impact. And they did not envision the Switch either. Even though now it seems obvious because someone more creative already did it. There’s an easy way to prove me wrong. Create the next Switch and become a billionaire. It’s that easy.

cubefox 3y ago

The Steam Deck is a success compared to previous attempts by Valve, but perhaps not as much as the initial excitement would have you believe. To put things into perspective, some source[1] estimates that a total of 3 million Steam Deck units will have been sold by the end of 2023. The Nintendo Switch, which probably inspired the Steam Deck, has sold 125 million units by March[2]. This amounts to 20.8 million units per year. [1] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/omdia-steam-decks-total-console-sales-count-to-hit-3m-units-in-2023 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/omdia-steam-decks-total-consol... [2] https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Switch https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Switch

scheeseman486 3y ago
You're comparing sales of a product in a nascent category (PC gaming handhelds) produced by a company with near zero retail presence with a marketing campaign almost entirely focused on their existing (Steam) user base to Nintendo, a long standing retail giant that has dominated the market for decades who follow an entirely different business model. That's not to say they're incomparable, particularly in how they provide value to consumers, but there's a whole lot of context that makes the business case more complicated. Valve might not directly profit from the sale of GPD, Aya or Asus PC gaming handhelds, but they still get their percentage from every Steam software sale made on them, other stores notwithstanding but lets face it, they continue to dominate that space. It highlights that it's not specific hardware that Valve care about as much as broadening access to their storefront. It's not the hardware itself you should be keeping an eye on, but rather how many platforms on which Steam is available.
- cubefox 3y ago
  > Valve might not directly profit from the sale of GPD, Aya or Asus PC gaming handhelds, but they still get their percentage from every Steam software sale made on them But those handhelds, being quite expensive, almost certainly sold much less than the Steam Deck, which itself didn't sell overly well.
  - scheeseman486 3y ago

tacocataco 3y ago

You only need to get lucky once, so if you can only afford one lotto ticket the odds are against you. What amazing things do we miss out on because not everyone has a infinite well of capital to draw from?

johnnyanmac 3y ago
Electric vehicles felt like that for decades upon decades. Sustainable energy still feels that way despite gaining headway this decade.