Steam Deck, Valve’s hybrid PC portable gaming system, has been available in limited quantities since February, but has become more readily available in recent months. In December, the estimated delivery time was finally reduced to 1-2 weeks. I happened to have some extra cash punching a hole in my pocket, but you know the rest.
The Steam Deck is a nice “little” device. I say “little” in quotes because it’s huge for a portable game console. It reminds me of Sega’s infamous Game Gear, which once went head-to-head with Nintendo’s beloved Game Boy. But the similarities don’t end there. Game Gear was known to consume a lot of battery, and Steam Deck excels at that too.
I’ll admit I didn’t have much of a problem with it for two reasons: first, you can see how long your battery is estimated to last with the click of a button, and second, the Steam I’m not using decks to play hardware-intensive AAA games. Yes it is possible. There are many videos online of people playing photorealistic games such as Red Dead Redemption 2. It doesn’t perform as well as the latest Xbox or PlayStation, but it’s much better than the Nintendo Switch.
For me, it’s a key factor in the amazing success of the Steam Deck. It’s no secret that Nintendo has completely dominated the handheld market since his 1989. This is an amazing feat. Atari, Sega, Sony, and many others have tried and failed to compete with Nintendo. Their dominance over Nintendo is a much-needed move.
As strange as it sounds, buying a Steam Deck was a calculated brain teaser for me. On the one hand, buying a non-Nintendo handheld is historically risky. Abandoned. Steam Deck, on the other hand, is risk-free. This is another way to play your existing Steam library.
The importance of this seamless integration cannot be overemphasized. I don’t think Steam Deck would have been successful without it. Exact sales figures aren’t available, but 1.5 million devices were sold by May, and the hardware has remained at or near the top of Steam’s global top seller list since its release.
Most of the controls are fairly standard, but Valve also thought the four buttons on the back (with just the right amount of firmness to avoid accidental presses) and the two trackpads were good for hitting. The trackpad provides haptic feedback, and it’s shocking how accurate it feels under my thumb.
Valve released their official dock peripheral in October, but Steam Deck works with any USB-C dock. You can connect it to your TV or computer monitor, use an Ethernet cable for faster internet speeds, connect a mouse and keyboard, and more. It can be effectively used as a portable gaming PC. I haven’t worked that far yet, but I admire the versatility of this device.
A friend gave me a tip that as PC gaming becomes more popular, I need to buy the right gaming rig. However, I have been very hesitant to do this. Because I find personal computers to be cumbersome. Troubleshooting is always required and video game incompatibilities can be a common problem. With a small army of old and new consoles, there’s no doubt about it. Just load the game and it will run.
Steam Decks can be played to your heart’s content. I have installed Windows, used emulators to play classic games, and installed programs like Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop. But you don’t have to do that. Fully compatible with the ever-growing number of Steam games right out of the box.
In summary, I am very happy with my purchase. Steam Deck is an exciting little device that lets you play your favorite games on the go, in bed, wherever you want. This is exactly the kind of middle ground between PC and console games I’ve wanted for years, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
You can contact Riordan Zentler at riordanzentler@gmail.com.
