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The Steam Deck Crushed It In 2023 (kotaku.com)

submitted 6 months ago by ylai@lemmy.ml to c/steamdeck@lemmy.ml

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[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 88 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

The Steam Deck is nearly everything that the Steam Machine and the Steam Controller wanted to be, somehow in a single package.

Valve's work into Proton and the Steam Deck are the best things to happen to spur Linux adoption in the gaming sphere and support from devs. It's made enough noise that putting intrusive DRM, anticheat and things that would make it incompatible with Linux would shut devs out of a sizeable demographic that will pay for good games that run well on Steam Deck. Previously Linux and their <1% share of users were an afterthought if anything. Honestly the main reason I preordered my Steam Deck was to support this, even though I've used mine just on and off and not much lately.

[-] JDubbleu@programming.dev 20 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

They're so user friendly we opted to get my brother's girlfriend's 10 year-old sister one instead of a Switch. So instead of having 2-3 $40-$70 Switch games she got access to my Steam library through Family Share (limited to ~60 age-appropriate games), and 20 Switch games emulated through Yuzu setup by EmuDeck.

We're also teaching her how to do all of this which will give her a huge advantage when it comes to using computers in the future, and allow her to emulate any games she would like going forward.

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 2 points 6 months ago

Also, I have a Steam Controller and now a Deck, and the touch pads and gyro on the Deck are better in every meaningful way. It's just a better experience all around.

And I felt better shelling out the money, because I knew at least some of that would wind up as a development investment in the Linux community.

[-] vanderbilt@beehaw.org 2 points 6 months ago

I'm excited for what comes out in a year or two. Maybe a Steam Box 2.0 with console-like qualities but tinker-friendly? A hardware refreshed Deck? Anti-cheat compatibility with more games?

[-] MDKAOD@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 months ago

If you pay attention to the Deckard rumors, the current guess is a console+wireless vr combo. A physical device that matches Valve's patent has been seen in "Half Life Alyx: Final Hours" on a shelf behind someone in a vr helmet.

[-] Vorthas@lemmy.ml 30 points 6 months ago

The Steam Deck was an amazing purchase for me. I put on EmuDeck and a bunch of ROMs and can play those from the Steam interface while also playing many of my Steam games and it's now a great all-arounder.

[-] pathief@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

What are your favorite emulated games? Need some inspiration :P

[-] Vorthas@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 months ago

Right now I'm mostly playing Pokemon Prismatic Moon (a difficulty ROMhack of Ultra Moon) but I got Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Xenogears, Xenosaga (all three), Xenoblade Chronicles, and a good number of other Nintendo games and games not on Steam.

[-] dustyData@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago

If only I could buy one.

[-] ekZepp@lemmy.world 15 points 6 months ago

Just give up on the oled and buy one of the thousand slightly used LCD. You can find true deals with 1 tb od storage under 300 $.

[-] Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago

I think they mean that they are in a country were steam decks aren’t sold.

[-] ekZepp@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

Sorry about that. 👐

[-] Wolf_359@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Where would I find this kind of deal??? I'd buy it now for that price.

[-] ekZepp@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Ebay or similar sites, just double check the seller and pay with Paypal.

[-] Wolf_359@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Will start checking daily! Thanks!

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 19 points 6 months ago

I'm shocked we haven't even seen rumors of an Xbox handheld.

Playstation at least did something.

[-] silentknyght@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

I heard a reliable rumor that the Asus handheld was supposed to be essentially that, but Microsoft dropped the ball with the OS support

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 7 points 6 months ago

Should've just called Valve

[-] smort@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Yeah I’ve used my Deck as an xcloud terminal quite a bit. If I was only interested in the Xbox ecosystem, I’d definitely go for something like PlayStation’s handheld terminal but for Xbox/xcloud

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

And I'm really enjoying the Portal, it's everything I could hope for in a simple remote play device.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 points 6 months ago

It's okay. I'm opposed to it only for it's forced anti-consumer linear capabilities.

There's absolutely no reason you shouldn't be able to run Xbox cloud or Steam Link or use Bluetooth headphones. And the inability to run it on public WiFi is absurd.

But for $200 I can only complain so much.

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Well it’s not made for those things, so I’m not upset it doesn’t do them.

And there actually is a reason it doesn’t use Bluetooth headphones, because Bluetooth adds latency and there would be a delay trying to use them for gaming.

You can see this happen now with a lot of VR headsets, the delay from Bluetooth is really noticeable enough to break immersion.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 2 points 6 months ago

Well it’s not made for those things

Yes that's the problem.

And there actually is a reason it doesn’t use Bluetooth headphones

Yes, because Sony wants more of your money.

because Bluetooth adds latency

My guy we have had low latency Bluetooth standards for a long time. You are being duped by corporate propaganda. Do a Google for "AptX LL". I use Bluetooth headphones on my SteamDeck all the time with no observable latency.

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Yes that's the problem.

Yes, I understand some people wanted it to do or be more, as I said I am not one of those people. I just wanted an awesome remote play device because I was tired of connecting my phone to various things just to get a weak facsimile of my PlayStation.

I won’t be mad if they update it to do more, but I’m certainly not knocking points off the thing simply because it isn’t a Swiss Army knife for gaming. I could use my SteamDeck for that.

My guy we have had low latency Bluetooth standards for a long time. You are being duped by corporate propaganda. Do a Google for "AptX LL". I use Bluetooth headphones on my SteamDeck all the time with no observable latency.

And yet when I use it I do notice a tiny bit of latency, which is fine for the most part in nearly everything I play, but I’m not sure I’d want to play a rhythm based game on it.

I’m not alone in this either: Steam Desk - Bluetooth audio latency issues

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 6 months ago

I’m not alone in this either: Steam Desk - Bluetooth audio latency issues

You can see the solution in the first reply. The Steam Deck is not a ground-up gaming device, it's a handheld X86 PC, and that's great but also makes it harder to do a lot of the things people have come to expect from something like a Nintendo Switch, PlayStation or Xbox.

In short, this is not a limitation of Bluetooth itself, but rather of configuration, which should not be an issue on a single-purpose game streaming device.

Again I would encourage you to look up aptX LL, it's only 40ms of latency.

[-] vanderbilt@beehaw.org 2 points 6 months ago

The logic over at Xbox might be that Xbox games already come to PC, and their OEM partners are already shipping devices. Unfortunately the fact is that the problem is Windows itself. The thumb controls on them sucks to use in Windows. Go try an Ally or a Legion. As soon as you leave Armor Crate or Steam Big Picture the experience falls apart. Windows also insists on doing Windows things like updating and rebooting when it feels like it, and on a few occasions I've been kicked out of big picture mode because something stole focus.

[-] meliaesc@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

You can already play Xbox games on PC, and even VR now, with their game pass. Microsoft and plenty of companies already sell windows hardware.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 points 6 months ago

Yes but you can't play on a PC with the Xbox OS, which is actually what is desperately needed because Windows currently blows on a handheld.

[-] fri@beehaw.org 11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I got my Deck around May, and yesterday I've finished 18th game this year, played exclusively on Valve's handheld. 2 games last week, since it was a holiday break.

I've finished Wall World + DLC, Spyro 1 (and started 2), Tunic, Contrast, A Short Hike, Cloudpunk, Assemble With Care, Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, Vampire Survivors, Webbed, The Last Campfire, and Sable. Replayed older games like Linelight, Expand, Scrapland, MDK 2, and Gift. Started Obra Dinn, Grim Fandango, Dome Keeper, Gunpoint, Ctrl Alt Ego, and Zelda BOTW.

This device is such a delight. It plays overwhelming majority of titles out of the box, while older titles like Gift and MDK 2 only require a few minutes of tinkering to get right, plus maybe adjust the control scheme for gyro aiming the sniper mode in MDK.

I wouldn't get even close to this number of titles on a classic PC. My gaming computer is at the same desk where I work from home, creating this unpleasant mental image that I'm still "at work" when gaming - so having an external device that handles AAA games like Hogwarts Legacy with ease is a godsend.

My desktop PC was down for two weeks due to fried motherboard. I connected the Deck via a simple JSAUX cable that has HDMI out and USB-C for charging, paired a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and it worked perfectly as a replacement. I could play Soldat 2, design in Figma, and watch movies - because it's a regular PC, just in an unusual form factor.

I'm definitely getting a SD2 when it comes out in a few years.

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 1 points 6 months ago

I've noticed I've been playing more frequently but in shorter sessions. I will still play "more involved" games on my desktop, but a lot of the games I would have avoided on desktop, because I didn't want to hunker down at the desk for a few hours, are getting played.

[-] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 months ago

Got two friends to buy one after I got mine. Love it so much. I didn't think I would use it much when I first bought it, but I have played on it more in the last several months than my actual gaming PC.

Such a fantastic device, I stream movies and shows with it, listen to music while I game, go to LAN parties, use it with my family for couch co-op, play all my old GBA games on it, it's just awesome.

[-] lorty@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 6 months ago

Now sell me one cowards

[-] books@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Mad props to those that have it and use it.i just can't find a use case

We play lethal company as a group and one of us plays on a steam deck. He can't use the monitor or figure out the walkie talkies, but he can at least play with us, so it's a win.

[-] Daxtron2@startrek.website 5 points 6 months ago

Sounds like he needs to use a different control scheme for LC

[-] Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net 2 points 6 months ago

Is this going to rival the Switch? Or will it end up like the PSP? They seem like a perfect balance to get all the games that aren't available on the Switch.

[-] callouscomic@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

It can emulate switch. And basically everything else.

[-] numberfour002@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

The Steam Deck was probably my favorite tech purchases in the past few years, and I'm looking forward to checking out the linked article to see where it goes with things.

I had been mulling over the idea of getting a portable for awhile, and truthfully Asus and Lenovo's offerings are pretty nice. I felt like they were all good enough, performance-wise, for the types of games I play, but battery life was a big enough concern for me that it held me back from actually buying one of these systems. After the OLED Deck was announced and specs on battery life were released, it eased my concerns enough that I felt like now was the time.

I do wish they had handled the launch a bit more gracefully, particularly as far as the limited edition goes. At this point it doesn't really matter, but it did etch away at some of the "magic" initially and undermined my confidence slightly when they couldn't keep the store operating, then said the special edition was out of stock, only for it to magically come back into stock after I'd already purchased the regular/standard Deck. Oh well.