The Nintendo Switch (OLED model) wasn't the "Pro" upgrade many expected it to be with 4K support and new internals but before its announcement, other handhelds aimed to take the role of the "Switch Pro". The AYA NEO and GPD Win 3 are among those devices shooting for that nickname since they are able to run recent AAA PC games on the go, given that they are handheld gaming PCs. Their efforts and popularity, although niche, enticed companies like Lenovo and Tencent to make similar concepts or patents; indicating that these indie companies might have more serious competition in the future.

It seems like this will indeed be the case and these handheld gaming PC manufacturers will need to brace themselves as Valve is itself entering this market with a Valve-branded handheld gaming PC. This news was actually reported back in May and today we have the official confirmation. In a Steam post today, Valve revealed the Steam Deck, an AMD-based handheld gaming PC that is expected to begin shipping in December 2021 in select regions.

The software giant partnered with AMD to create a custom APU for the handheld that is said to be "optimized for handheld gaming". "It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope," reads the announcement.

It will run on SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based) and there will be several models of the Steam Deck, which differ on the storage capacity, with the base model starting at $399. However, every model will include a microSD slot for additional storage capacity. For more details about the models available and their price, refer to the image below:

You can find additional specs details in the images below (click/tap to enlarge):

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And just like the AYA NEO and GPD Win 3, the Steam Deck will also have a dock which will be sold separately. This accessory will provide ports for external displays, wired networking, USB peripherals, and power. More details about the dock's pricing will be announced at a later date but you can find some specs details in the thumbnail below:

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Valve says that the Steam Deck will start shipping this December to the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, with more regions coming in 2022. However, to be able to purchase one, you will need to book a paid reservation which will let you pre-order when the time comes. This reservation fee will also count towards the Steam Deck purchase price.

"The main reason for reservations is to ensure an orderly and fair ordering process for customers when Steam Deck inventory becomes available," writes Valve in the announcement FAQ. "The additional fee gives us a clearer signal of intent to purchase, which gives us better data to balance supply chain, inventory, and regional distribution leading up to launch."

Reservations for the Steam Deck will open Friday July 16th, 10am PDT. For more details about the new handheld gaming PC, head to the source link and official Steam Deck website linked below.

Are you interested in getting one?

SOURCE
Steam Deck Official Website

 

[Jiehfeng]

Well, Nintendo doesnt really care much about third parties, thats why the Switch has its specs.

They do, especially after the Wii U failed because of it being one of the reasons. There's a big player base who prefer the Switch because of the portable third party titles. To think Nintendo would not respond to this at all would be pretty rare, then again it's Nintendo... But I still wouldn't be so certain they're not going to.

 

[Danker301090]

dependant on the apu will make me consider this fully.

 

[Deleted member 546149]

It looks like my joycons if my joycons gained weight, got hit by a car and did plastic surgery

 

[linkchidori]

They do, especially after the Wii U failed because of it being one of the reasons. There's a big player base who prefer the Switch because of the portable third party titles. To think Nintendo would not respond to this at all would be pretty rare, then again it's Nintendo... But I still wouldn't be so certain they're not going to.

The thing here is that i dont see Nintendo nowadays doing something so risky as launching a more powerful console. If they cant produce at a cheap price, i dont see them selling it.

 

[cvskid]

Install windows on this thing, download the nintendo switch emulator yuzu and you are good to go.

 

[Jiehfeng]

The thing here is that i dont see Nintendo nowadays doing something so risky as launching a more powerful console. If they cant produce at a cheap price, i dont see them selling it.

At the same time they're known for Switching things up. If Steam can do it for $400, by the time Nintendo does, it would be very likely they could pull it off. But this is all speculation anyway, I'm just happy there's something that could possibly influence Nintendo to go in a more powerful direction at least.

 

[Alato]

I knew this reminded me of something-

Beat me to it.

 

[Seriel]

Arch is a more "bare bones" OS that they can build up from, so it makes perfect sense to use it as the base for a gaming OS.

I understood that after thinking about it, I just found it interesting since the old SteamOS was based on Debian and they were very proud of it. I suppose even Valve can change with the flowing trends of the Linux community.

 

[Hanafuda]

Screen res is a bit disappointing, but wow it's a damned bargain, innit?

 

[Jiehfeng]

Screen res is a bit disappointing, but wow it's a damned bargain, innit?

If only it had OLED it would be perfect.

 

[BitMasterPlus]

Yeesh man, more storage always costs more, huh? Either way, I'd like to see a review for this when it comes out since I'm kinda interested in it.

 

[Jayro]

I love how Valve waited until mere hours before the Switch OLED model's preorders go up before dropping their announcement. Absolute savages, lol.

 

[Pickle_Rick]

• Switch-like design.
• Can drop out of the Steam UI into bog standard Arch Linux KDE.
• Dock-able as a desktop PC.
• Better than base PS4/XB1 performance GPU wise with a waaaaay better CPU. (RDNA 2 does more per flop then GCN due to architecture improvements.)
• Starts at $400.

I cum. Actually take my money. I'm getting the second tier model. Also I see a lot of people saying this might not run 9th gen AAA games. I'd say if it can run 8th gen AAA games at medium to high settings (like we've seen it can). It'll at least be able to run most 9th gen AAA games at low settings.

 

[GCS]

Install windows on this thing, download the nintendo switch emulator yuzu and you are good to go.

installing windows on thi would do nothing more than decreasing the performance most probably

 

[ZeroFX]

nice, ill consider it

 

[FFTfanatic]

Screen res is a bit disappointing, but wow it's a damned bargain, innit?

1080p would have been nice but when it comes to more demanding modern games, 800p better suits the relatively weak spec (weak as in compared to a gaming rig with discrete GPU). With 800p you won't have to lower settings and / or upscale from sub-native resolutions quite so much, plus you can always downsample from a higher resolution if there's resource headroom.
In that context, I'd sooner 800p than a 1080p screen where I would more often need to compromise on settings and/or upscale from sub-native resolutions.

 

[ganons]

Is there any point on having user submitted news anymore? https://gbatemp.net/threads/steam-deck.591359/

 

[MiiJack]

Wonder if the KFConsole will still be a thing after this.

 

[chrisrlink]

a reservation system might nip the scalper problem in the bud

 

[djpannda]

NO1 Preorder it until I say so... That Way I have a chance to preorder one before they are soldout