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

 

[Moon164]

To be honest I'm really excited about it, I doubt it's going to be the same success as the Nintendo Switch but I do think it has potential.

I know a lot of people who bought a Nintendo Switch just to play games like The Witcher 3, Doom Eternal, DarkSouls and etc... in the palm of their hand, anywhere and anytime, now imagine a portable capable of running the version of PC of these games ?, has a video of this ''console'' running Control while Switch had to resort to a Cloud version.

And the price isn't too bad either, $399 is a great price for what it offers and for comparison purposes the OLED Switch costs $350 and has the same hardware as the original 2017 Switch, for those who wanted something like a ''Switch Pro ''this move by Valve ends up drawing a lot of attention.

I hope this console is successful, competition is always good and that might make Nintendo step out of the comfort zone a bit.

 

[Bauti]

Nah, PC gaming laptops tend to be pushing for a much higher target in terms of performance and image quality. Not only are they typically aimed at pushing several times more pixels than just 800p, with much higher refresh rates, but they also have to provide power to a much bigger screen. Moreover, they have the majority of their chassis insulated by whatever surface they are rested on.

This thing has a much smaller screen with a relatively low resolution and native refresh rate, and hand grips meaning the majority of its chassis will be exposed to the air for better heat dissipation.

(Btw, Switch game installs can go higher than 16gb. The biggest install is something like 33gb, one of the NBA2K games).

Yep, that's a good point. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Raendor]

"I'm not interested in these games" =/= "Nobody's interested in these games". The hype for things like Splatoon 3, BOTW2 and SMT5 is pretty large so far, whether it's your cup of tea or not.

No matter how big the hype is, these games are a drop in the ocean of variety the steam library offers.

 

[jimbo13]

Steam/devs can optimize for this hardware or even push "Deck optimized" editions same as any other console, devs have a baseline to target. No reason steam wouldn't offer support in this regard so the games should look better than they would on a comparable PC. It may take a bit but that OS will have next to no overhead while gaming. It's not for me, I don't generally do portable enough to warrant this but I am impressed and will be surprised if it doesn't make a impact.

 

[Pipistrele]

No matter how big the hype is, these games are a drop in the ocean of variety the steam library offers.

Not sure if something like BOTW2, a sequel to literally one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, is merely "a drop in the bucket" - quality counts more than quantity here. Having varied library is cool (I like my Steam account!), but if people want to play specific exclusives, Steam will do nothing for them - hence Steam Deck won't be able to make Switch obsolete in any foreseeable future.

I don't have much to add to this, so I'll avoid further bickering to not break the site rules =)

 

[eyeliner]

Slap Retroarch on it!

 

[ertre]

Oh FUCK THEM.
The Euro price is even higher than the Dollar price.

 

[tech3475]

Oh FUCK THEM.
The Euro price is even higher than the Dollar price.

It looks like it's down to VAT.

 

[TotalSmart]

What are peoples thoughts of trying to run PC games from an SD card? assuming the fastest card easily available, anyone have experience tried this?

 

[ertaboy356b]

What are peoples thoughts of trying to run PC games from an SD card? assuming the fastest card easily available, anyone have experience tried this?

PC Gaming On an SD Card - How Does It Affect Performance? - YouTube
MicroSD Card vs PCIe SSD . Gaming Performance Compared. - YouTube

 

[FFTfanatic]

What are peoples thoughts of trying to run PC games from an SD card? assuming the fastest card easily available, anyone have experience tried this?

I have done this with one of the higher speed cards. It works fine in general. Until super fast SSDs become as integral to the experience as they are for the next gen consoles, I don't think you will have any serious complaints about microSD speed. That being said, I haven't tried anything in the way of modern open world AAAs that stream environmental assets in on the fly though.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Not sure if something like BOTW2, a sequel to literally one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, is merely "a drop in the bucket" - quality counts more than quantity here. Having varied library is cool (I like my Steam account!), but if people want to play specific exclusives, Steam will do nothing for them - hence Steam Deck won't be able to make Switch obsolete in any foreseeable future.

I don't have much to add to this, so I'll avoid further bickering to not break the site rules =)

There are games that are exclusive to PC, even if they tend to primarily be from more niche genres such as strategy and RPG.

Additionally, there are and will continue to be multiplat games that are not on Switch.

 

[Pipistrele]

There are games that are exclusive to PC, even if they tend to primarily be from more niche genres such as strategy and RPG.

Additionally, there are and will continue to be multiplat games that are not on Switch.

Which is kinda my point - that both platforms target different audiences, and one doesn't necessarily replace the other. My response was towards the notion that Steam Deck will somehow "kill Switch" and other weird stuff, while in reality, most fans of Ninty exclusives won't care about Deck in the same way as most PC gaming fans won't care about Switch (or alternatively, just getting base versions of both on a budget). Apples, oranges

 

[Veho]

Oh FUCK THEM.
The Euro price is even higher than the Dollar price.

It's always like that with electronics. Look at the Switch, it's $300 in the US, but €330 ($390) in Europe (MSRP for both).

 

[TotalSmart]

It's always like that with electronics. Look at the Switch, it's $300 in the US, but €330 ($390) in Europe (MSRP for both).

Still more expensive in EU but the quoted US prices never include sales tax which varies per state

 

[MagnesG]

16:10 aspect ratio though.

 

[tech3475]

Ok, here's some rough math.
US MSRP: 399
UK MSRP: 349
FR MSRP (used a proxy): 419

VAT for UK and France: 20%

US with 20%: 399*120%= 478.8
Converted to GBP (via Google): 346.67
Converted to EUR (via Google): 405.62

 

[pedro702]

Wat exclusives? Another lame mario or zelda with terrible graphics? Only die hard nintendoids will care about those while the valve library offers so much more and backed up by a far more powerful device. My switch’s been gathering dust around 2 years already and now will definitely will go to a second hand market while is still worth anything, because steam deck made switch now completely useless to anyone other than die-hard Nintendo fanboys.

lol lame exclusives? are you for real only die hard fans? you do realize the switch is becoming one oif the top 5 most sold consoles ever made right? how would that be made of only die hard fans?

does nintendo have 90 million die hard fans? lol nice for them i guess why would anyone need anything else when they have that many die hard fans?

switch has several things this thing wont ever have first its much cheaper since you dont get a dock with this price, second the joycons allow for multiplayer while taking the switch with you, third this thing is much heavier and even bigger than the switch itself, people already complained about the switch being too big and now this is even bigger heavier(almost twice the weight),third physical media that many console players like and 4th well exclusives which this device has none since any pc can play without needing this.


hit me up when this even makes 30 million units sold , heck i dont think they will even sell 10 million at best.

I remember people saying the steamboxes would crush playstation and xbox and look where that went, same for this, this will be a gimmicky that will sell around 4 or 5 million and be done with that.

 

[BlastedGuy9905]

really, the handheld is only going to be as good as the games it runs, so this can either be a huge success or a massive flop depending on how it can handle the steam library
minecraft java and tf2 handheld is... tempting to be honest. lets hope that its at least good.

It runs all Steam games according to Valve. Minecraft Java though? You'll need a controller support mod for that. (unless you wanna hook up a KB & M)

 

[Master X]

Assuming that Retroarch ever launches on Steam (Seriously, wasn't that supposed to be out in 2019?), it'll also have emulation out of the box.

 

[Pipistrele]

Assuming that Retroarch ever launches on Steam (Seriously, wasn't that supposed to be out in 2019?), it'll also have emulation out of the box.

Playtest version is already out btw, using it for months at this point.