Is the steam deck a success?

[Sho SxNTANA]

I would just like to know your collective thoughts on the steam deck and its place in gaming and the industry.

It’s been really interesting to see this niche device come out and actually rival Nintendo in the portable space without overtly trying, it’s opened up a cool little niche for portable PCs and allowed PC gaming to be more accessible to the masses.

And with both PlayStation and Xbox games being available widely through various stores,the deck is literally the best of both worlds

What do you think of the steam deck and its place in the current gaming landscape

 

[Systemshock2023]

I'd say it is due to how many imitators it has right now. But I don't see it as anything more than an experiment for valve. If they were to release a steam deck 2, distribution has to be WAY better for it to be a success in terms of units. They really need to sell it worldwide and in stores.

It is certainly way better than the steam machines initiative.

 

[JAHGamer]

Relatively speaking, yes. It was never gonna be a big seller, so doing 3m ~ is not bad. I’d say it’s a success.

 

[Sho SxNTANA]

I'd say it is due to how many imitators it has right now. But I don't see it as anything more than an experiment for valve. If they were to release a steam deck 2, distribution has to be WAY better for it to be a success in terms of units. They really need to sell it worldwide and in stores.

It is certainly way better than the steam machines initiative.

Totally agree & I kind of hope that the steam deck will have a long life (fingers crossed as certain games are already stressing the hardware).

The fact it started it’s own “industry trend” with ASUS and other manufacturers releasing portable PCs alludes to it being some from of a success

 

[anonpuffs]

Yes. It's not a success on the level of other consoles but it really proved that Windows is not the only PC OS that can run games well. I think anything that weakens the grip of Microsoft in the PC gaming landscape is a massive win.

 

[Vertigo]

Moderate success for sure. All they have to do is iterate. It’s sorta a safe purchase for consumers too considering the available catalog.

I hope they stick to it.

 

[Nhomnhom]

It is and it's just the start. It never seemed like they were trying to scale it as much as they could.

They proven that it's viable to release dedicated gaming hardware running just Linux. The software front was the biggest obstacle.

Next step is trying other form factors, like consoles or pre-built PCs coming with SteamOS instead of Windows.

 

[flaccidsnake]

The first big success is that more name brand PC OEMs are making handhelds so soon after the Deck. It's likely that other gaming brands like Alienware and (HP) Omen will make their own. Hell, it's possible Xbox will make their own. I don't think Valve set out to sell 100M Steam Decks. They set out to make handheld PC gaming a thing. I'd say they have succeeded.

The next big marker of success will be SteamOS support. Will PC developers make sure to support anticheat on linux? Will PC developers go the extra mile to be "Great on Deck"? Again they've done well in a short time. I'm impressed that Helldivers and The Finals both work on Deck. But there's still issues out there. EA has a new anticheat that doesn't currently work on SteamOS. Bungie stubbornly refuse to fix Destiny. Probably the biggest knock I can make against SteamOS is it can't play Call of Duty Warzone.

Other than that, Steam Deck is by far my favorite gaming hardware. Even if nobody else buys one, I can still use it to play new games for years to come.

 

[xollowsob]

No.

Anything to the contrary is pure cope.