8 ms·
I know this is extreme, but people buying these Xbox handhelds over a Steam Deck are directly harming the future of gaming on PC. It's time that the PC gaming e
by klipklop 1y ago
I know this is extreme, but people buying these Xbox handhelds over a Steam Deck are directly harming the future of gaming on PC. It's time that the PC gaming ecosystem breaks free from its dependency on Windows. Proton and SteamOS, combined with the unpopular mess that is Windows 11 is the perfect opportunity to do so.
The long-term end goal for Microsoft is to lock down Windows and force signed code. Once users are locked in, expect service fees to sharply rise just to use Windows. People should not fall for it. Leave Windows for crusty corporations that love their office 365 employee spy platform.
- xzjis 1y agoI completely agree. I pre-ordered the Steam Deck without knowing if I would actually use it, telling myself that at least I was supporting gaming on SteamOS by providing financial support. I boycott all Windows-based alternatives, even if they are better, because I refuse to use a product sold with Windows.
- cortesoft 1y agoI love my Steam Deck, but it is really frustrating how many of the games i regularly play can't be played on it - Madden, EA FC, PUBG, all won't run even though the hardware is plenty to play them. The limitations of anti cheat on Linux might be insurmountable
- Gigachad 1y agoCompetitive online gaming is the least strong part of the steam deck. But on the flip side it’s way better for local multi player. You can pack it in your bag with some controllers and plug it in to a friends TV easily.
- kjkjadksj 1y agoVery few games bother with local multiplayer anymore
- eru 1y agoThe relative number of games that do this is small, but the absolute number is growing all the time.
- Gigachad 1y agoIdk about that. The selection is pretty huge. Sonic racing just came out with 4 player local multi player, stardew valley has it, the majority of Nintendo games. Almost the majority of games designed for a TV and controller have local multiplayer. And there’s software you can use to split screen most games which don’t have it by just running two instances of the game.
- kjkjadksj 1y agoNintendo games generally have it but not so much the actual major console games. I believe the last local multiplayer fps on xbox platform was halo mcc for example.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- jay_kyburz 1y agoI love the idea of my Steam Deck, but most steam games just aren't make for tiny 720 screens. I'm an old man now, I can't read tiny fonts. Also, the face buttons are just to far to the right. My thumb will begin aching after 15 mins or so. Other controllers are far more comfortable. To be honest. I like my Playdate more than my Steam Deck.
- nosrepa 1y agoAlways good to see the playdate mentioned favorably. Excuse me while I try to get higher on the leaderboards for M03k.
- jay_kyburz 1y agoI'm 33 on the leader-board for Hyper Meteor!
- Agingcoder 1y agoSame here - I did consider buying a steam deck, then after experimenting with GeForce now on a small screen realized that pc game designers assumed larger screens. This is ok, but this makes many games unplayable on a small screen unless you have some kind of cyber vision. So no steam deck, even though every now and then I want to buy one.
- cortesoft 1y agoI use Xreal One Pro's when I play. It is like playing with a giant screen.
- eru 1y agoThanks to the Steam Deck efforts, gaming on Linux in general has improved massively in the last few years. Most games 'Just Work' these days on my Linux desktop.
- cultofmetatron 1y agoI use cinema glassses (rayneo S3). absolute game changer. I can play games on massive virtual screen in 1080p. and best of all, it fits in the bag alongside my steamdeck.
- ZenoArrow 1y ago> The limitations of anti cheat on Linux might be insurmountable Why is it insurmountable? It's not like it's impossible for the companies that produce anti-cheat solutions to get them running on Linux.
- colechristensen 1y agoThe tools for owning your Linux OS are strong enough that anti-cheat is pointless because they're just broken all the time and nobody wants a linux box they can't control at all.
- brokencode 1y agoI think most people who buy Steam Decks don’t care whatsoever about Linux and would be perfectly fine with not having control over it as long as all their games worked.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Gigachad 1y agoI can imagine a world where you still have full control most of the time, but when you open a multi player game the system reboots on a clean / verified OS image. Then when you quit it can reboot in to the OS with all of your mods and customisation on.
- colechristensen 1y agoI think Steam Decks wouldn't ever have existed without Linux enthusiasts as early adopters of Steam Decks and the few previous iterations of Steam + Linux either playing games on their own machines or on the previous iteration of a Steam Linux computer. If at any point it was all tied up with DRM and that complete loss of control required for anti-cheat it would have just died and not be seen again. The only way it changes course is an enormous rug pull that removes most of the differentiation between PC and Console gaming and you end up with Steam as a dying product unable to compete with either other modes of PC gaming or the dominant console players. (Sadly that's basically what I expect when gaben retires)
- klipklop 1y agoI just refuse to buy games that rely on kernel-level anti-cheat to work.
- simlevesque 1y agoPlaying any PvP games without them isn't fun anymore.
- eru 1y agoI suspect playing any PvP game with random members of the public? Playing Streetfighter 2 with people you know should still be fun?
- cortesoft 1y agoAs an avid gamer for 35+ years, I have played a ton of PvP both locally and online. One of those experiences can't replace the other. I am married with two young children. All of my video game time comes in the hour or two after they go to bed and before I go to bed. I don't have friends around at that time, yet I still want to get some good multiplayer gaming in. Online matchmaking is amazing these days. You are able to match up against people of about your skill level at any time of day. That experience is magical, compared to the matchmaking from 25 years ago where you would try to find a random lobby, and the players might be amazing or terrible.
- Gigachad 1y agoFor most online games, especially ones without chat, playing against sufficiently good bots is better than online. You don’t have to worry about cheating, connection issues, can quit mid game without issue, etc.
- cortesoft 1y agoThat is fine if you feel that way, but I really don't. I get much more satisfaction playing against real people. It just doesn't get my competitive juices flowing in the same way when I play against bots. There is no psychological aspect when you play against bots. I know what I like.
- estimator7292 1y agoCounter: it's the publisher's fault, not Linux. As you said, the hardware is perfectly capable, and the OS is capable, publishers just refuse to allow it without installing kernel level malware. It's EA's fault that you're required to install a damn rootkit to play a game. It's not the fault of Linux for refusing to allow this. Microsoft shouldn't allow it either, and they will likely shut it down before too much longer. EA wants to intentionally compromise your computer. Linux says they can't do that. EA doesn't want you to play on Linux.
- cortesoft 1y agoI am choosing to let them install kernel level software because I want to be able to play multiplayer games without cheaters. There doesn't seem to be any other way that people have found to effectively block cheaters. A user is in full control of their Linux install, which is great... unless I want to play them in a game and they decide to cheat. It is a tradeoff, yes, but one I choose to make because being able to play cheater free multiplayer games is worth it to me.
- Gigachad 1y agoJust play with your actual friends. If they start cheating you can go over and kick them in the nuts. Match making was a horrible development for gaming.
- cortesoft 1y agoI play games at odd hours, when I get a chance between a busy life with being a father and working full time. I have a once a week game night with my friends, and we play games together online. However, most of the time I just want to play a few quick games. I don't want to try to organize with friends or do anything like that. I just want to play some people in fun competitive games. Online matchmaking is what lets that be possible. I used to dream of having something like that, all the way back when I first started playing online games when you had to call your friend, then tell your family not to pick up the phone because it was your friend calling your modem, then lose connection when your sister tried to make a call. I remember having to set up a code with my friend; if the phone rang twice and then hung up, that means the next call would be me on a voice call wanting to talk, otherwise let the modem answer it. I used to dream about being able to play people at any hour of the day, and now it is possible. It is an amazing invention.
- The_President 1y agoBought GTA IV only to find out the Rockstar Launcher got broken on Linux about a month before I purchased it. Downloaded all twenty gigs of the game, can’t use a penny’s worth due to the broken Rockstar Launcher.
- throwaway48476 1y agoRockstars DRM is so bad they sell Razor1911 cracks on steam.
- iknowstuff 1y agoNot even the legacy edition?
- The_President 1y agoAlthough it's compelling to ditch the Rockstar malware, any alternatives would need to be obtained from the high seas and that's off the table.
- port11 1y agoI wonder how League of Legends (LoL) manages, given it didn't rely on kernel-level anti-cheat when I was playing. Granted, you'd have to report one or two players per week; but that was quite a rare thing and mostly it was obvious levelling bots. Clearly they manage without root kit-level hacks.
- dlcarrier 1y agoValve wont's give anti-cheat tools root access, and Microsoft will, but after the CrowdStrike fiasco, there's rumors that Microsoft will limit root access to monitoring tools, so anti-cheat engines on Windows might lose their advantage.
- Uvix 1y agoSteam is doing the same thing as Microsoft, between DRM-locking everything so you don't own it, and gatekeeping what titles are actually allowed in their store. They're both locking you into their vision of the future.
- gjsman-1000 1y agoIf Gabe Newell gets hit by a bus, what happens when his estate sells majority control to pay the inheritance and estate taxes? With federal taxes of 40% over $15 million, there's no way his estate maintains majority control, no matter Gabe's good intentions. After that, we can look forward to Microsoft Steam. Or, if the FTC is annoyed, Amazon Steam.
- terribleperson 1y agoYou're assuming that Gabe Newell doesn't have massive non-steam assets that can be used to pay the estate tax.
- gjsman-1000 1y agoA. What assets matter at this scale? B. They are also taxed at 40% C. And the estate may just want to sell more Steam shares to keep whatever they are intact D. Even if by some miracle Gabe Newell still owns the required ~85% of Steam to barely squeak by on federal estate taxes ($16B presumed valuation = ~$5.5 billion tax bill if he owned 85%, leaving him with ~51% after payment), who is taking the reins? - edits - additional points - E. I forgot Gabe Newell lives in Seattle. If Washington is his actual residence, then Washington has an additional 35% tax rate on high-value estates. Which makes it completely impossible even with 100% ownership. F. Why would his estate even bother trying to salvage Gabe's vision at this point, when they're left with an illiquid minority stake? A very possible scenario is to sell all shares they possess, in one transaction. The possibility of majority control could inflate the share price dramatically over a piecemeal sale. G. In which case, within 9 months of Gabe's death (IRS deadline), there is a high likelihood there will be an estate auction of all shares to any willing purchaser (highest value per share extracted + tax bill paid). And that purchaser will then have immediate intent to cash in. H. Betting on Steam then, promoting them as better than other companies, is completely dependent on Gabe's actuarial tables. Not to be harsh but just honest, considering Gabe's decades of obesity before getting to a healthier place now, they're probably worse than average, as long-term obesity has persistent irrevocable effects. (This sounds harsh, but actuarial analysis is directly used in insurance and estate planning; you can be assured every major company's CEO has been assessed.)
- heavyset_go 1y ago> The long-term end goal for Microsoft is to lock down Windows and force signed code Defender already forces binaries to be signed by developers that spent money on certs from Microsoft-certified CAs. Pull those certs, or don't use them at all, and 99.999% of users will not figure out how to run what they want, because the OS will trick them into thinking they're about to get owned by Russian hackers for just thinking about running something that wasn't blessed by Microsoft.
- lawlessone 1y agoIf they switch to steamos doesn't that ameliorate the harm?
- pjmlp 1y agoI keep telling folks that Proton was a mistake and SteamDeck will suffer the same fate as netbooks. FOSS folks don't get that the gammer culture does not overlap with FOSS, everyone is cool with NDAs and IP, it is all about the experience in that realm. The call to migrate in droves to Linux has been happening since a unpopular Windows version comes out, since Windows XP, and still Valve had to come up with Proton, as even the game studios targeting Android/Linux with the NDK don't care about GNU/Linux. XBox console is in a mess currently, however lets not forget XBox the business unit is part of Microsoft Games Studios, and Microsoft is one of the major publishers due to the amount of game studios that they own, beyond XBox.
- d3Xt3r 1y agoI hear you, but at the same time, you can't deny the amount of improvements the Linux ecosystem has seen due to Valve's involvement: tons of AMD-related improvements in the kernel, tons of mesa/radeon improvements, massive improvements in KDE, improvements to Arch etc. Not to mention lots of other contributors riding the wave and contributing things like drivers for gamepads and other bits, making power user tools like LACT/OCCT etc. Linux hardware compatibility has never been as good, and I suspect a lot of it is due to so many gamers trying Linux on a myriad of systems and submitting bug reports. I've also seen some folks in some communities go from complete Linux noobs to actually making FOSS software. We've also seen some very innovative distros being born as a result of all this hype (Bazzite, the uBlue family, CachyOS etc). So you can't deny the massive impact Valve has had on the overall ecosystem, and personally I think that's a good thing - even if Proton doesn't exactly sit well with FOSS ideals.
- thefz 1y ago> It's time that the PC gaming ecosystem breaks free from its dependency on Windows. Proton and SteamOS, combined with the unpopular mess that is Windows 11 is the perfect opportunity to do so. Looking at the Deck's popularity, the PC gaming ecosystem alreadyd did break free.
- TiredOfLife 1y agoSteam Deck is Zen 2. Rog Xbox Ally X is Zen 5.