Steam Deck

[rampantjesus]

I've had my hands on the Steam Deck for a few months now, and figured I'd post my brief opinion on it, and would be very interested in hearing some other thoughts on it.

 

I purchased it primarily for my wife who has a back disease that makes long periods of sitting at a computer chair not very viable. Because she doesn't play anything super demanding, the Deck has been working great. It's great to use on the couch or while laying in bed.

 

It's also basically a portable computer. Plug in a USB-C dongle and you can connect a mouse and keyboard, as well as plug in an HDMI cable to hook up to a TV. You can connect whatever bluetooth controller you want to it as Steam will recognize it, and BAM, you're using it like a console.

 

Some games run really well, but others might need some graphical tweaks. Luckily, my wife and I hardly play anything that's come out in the last few years. You're also not restricted to Steam, you can download and run whatever game you want if it's compatible. If it's NOT compatible, it might be with a few tweaks you make to your system. That's the beauty of Linux, you can really do whatever you want with the thing.

 

Where the Deck really shines is with emulation. EmuDeck is an all-in-one type program that downloads, installs, and manages whatever emulator you want. You just need to provide the ROMs and maybe some BIOS files for whichever system you're playing, and you're good to go. It even has a built-in manager that will detect the games you have in your folder, and create shortcuts on Steam for them. It'll even tell your friend what game you're playing.

 

Honestly I think the thing is FANTASTIC considering the price. The cheapest version runs for $399, with only 64GB of internal storage. That kind of sucks, but you can pick up a MicroSD card for an extra $50 to significantly expand that storage. $399 is not a small sum, but when you remember that the Switch launched at $299, that extra $100 really goes a long way. Hell, you can even emulate the Switch on the Deck.

 

I wanted to know what you guys thought about it, if you have it, and what direction you think Valve will be moving forward with it.