They can’t sell it at as loss as they end user is not restricted to buying games only from steam.
Edit: Off course it will take them a while to recoup development costs, but each unit will make a small profit.
Valve - Steam Deck
- Thread starter regulus
- Start date
They can’t sell it at as loss as they end user is not restricted to buying games only from steam.
Edit: Off course it will take them a while to recoup development costs, but each unit will make a small profit.
I still say the 32Gb variant is a bit of "taking the ****" option - ie not an option at all.
Given the weight I was thinking of holding in your lap , but with the battery life, it really becomes unusable (and Im not sure flights are the mode of transport most would use these for - L - to be fair how often to most of the target audience fly - once or twice a year?). Busses or trains make this a possibility but is quickly crossed out because it doesnt last long enough.
Im not convinced in the logic of planning for a portable system and immediately allowing for an additional portable storage (and the added expense of making it SSD, to facilitate gaming)
Too many on here are making excuses to make a badly thought out product work for them
Laughs - sounds to me like you are happy about having the worst of both worlds - bad battery performance in an already heavy device
- and dont get me started on "carrying loads of Micro sd cards" because of the already large cost of internal storage they are charging
Caporegime
It seems to me you expectation are set too high, and that the current tech just simply cannot fulfil your needs.
And why won't it last a bus commute? how long is your bus commute? like end to end without changing for an hour? I am sure there are plenty of people whose commute are less than an hour, so not sure why you said "Busses or trains make this a possibility but is quickly crossed out because it doesnt last long enough."
That makes no sense, you assume 100% of commuters who buys this have over an hour of commute each way? What about those with 30mins commute? or 40mins commute? or 20mins commute? Do they not exist? Are they not allowed to buy one?
Also what makes you think think full grown adult have problem holding a 700g console with both arms whilst sitting down resting on the lap for longer than 20mins or even an hour? You don't need to hold it up at face level to play. I simply don't hold my phone or Gameboy or Switch high up to my face when i am playing them, I sit comfortably with it near my lap. Or I lean forward with elbow resting on the table. These are not excuses, it's what I do and I would think most people do too.
Re the size of the memory.
Would you be happy if they delivery it with a 2TB SSD as the base but do an Apple move and remove the expandable SD card slot?
(and with a £700 price tag, considering a 80mm NVME alone is £250.)
I highly doubt it, I much rather them putting in the options for the storage now with a MicroSD card slot. You might have problems with your back carrying them, i don't, it's hardly heavy.
Fair enough this doesn't meet your needs but I am sure people who have a 30min commute that has a seat will be happy with this. Or me who simply want a cheap PC round the house that doesn't take up much space and can be used to play the odd game on the plane…and Rock Smith.
Last edited:
It seems to me you expectation are set too high, and that the current tech just simply cannot fulfil your needs.
And why won't it last a bus commute? how long is your bus commute? like end to end without changing for an hour? I am sure there are plenty of people whose commute are less than an hour, so not sure why you said "Busses or trains make this a possibility but is quickly crossed out because it doesnt last long enough."
That makes no sense, you assume 100% of commuters who buys this have over an hour of commute each way? What about those with 30mins commute? or 40mins commute? or 20mins commute? Do they not exist? Are they not allowed to buy one?
Also what makes you think think full grown adult have problem holding a 700g console with both arms whilst sitting down resting on the lap for longer than 20mins or even an hour? You don't need to hold it up at face level to play. I simply don't hold my phone or Gameboy or Switch high up to my face when i am playing them, I sit comfortably with it near my lap. Or I lean forward with elbow resting on the table. These are not excuses, it's what I do and I would think most people do too.
Re the size of the memory.
Would you be happy if they delivery it with a 2TB SSD as the base but do an Apple move and remove the expandable SD card slot?
(and with a £700 price tag, considering a 80mm NVME alone is £250.)
I highly doubt it, I much rather them putting in the options for the storage now with a MicroSD card slot. You might have problems with your back carrying them, i don't, it's hardly heavy.
Fair enough this doesn't meet your needs but I am sure people who have a 30min commute that has a seat will be happy with this. Or me who simply want a cheap PC round the house that doesn't take up much space and can be used to play the odd game on the plane…and Rock Smith.
In my original quote I even said "holding in the lap"
My expectations are not high, I just dont like being ripped off thats all.
My tube commute is over an hour - not that seats are available that often (not dis-similar to most bus routes before or after covid - generally crammed already)
Its also quite common for people to travel from outskirts of a city etc into the centre (for cheaper rent /mortgage and better wages) - thats why phones are so useful for mobile gaming - hold on with one hand and use the device with the 2nd and can generally be fully usable with one hand.
I never assumed anything about 100% of commuters (not that it would be that massive an audience given the price) - I was thinking of individual factors that would dissuade people from making a pretty big investment . As mentioned above - a huge amount of commuters who use public transport are not sitting down - they are standing (and pretty crowded at that).
No because the 2TB would be exceptionally expensive even bought in the 100s or 1000s like manufacturers would buy every component - and dont be silly no 256GB are not that expensive to the manufacturers anymore even in the size required for this device. But a 1Tb without an SD slot wouldnt be a bad choice to have
Personally a mini pc with an old monitor makes a lot more sense than this does if your using it at home (and would probably come in at less than £700 and with better expandability)
It's a novelty, which is why it's popular, but the poor battery life and low spec will be a detriment in the long-term. The Switch is different because Nintendo games aren't graphically intensive, but the Steam Deck is supposed to play AAA games! I suspect there will be future iterations of the hardware, because the current model won't keep up with demanding titles for long, as it's considerably less powerful than the Series S. Have you seen the requirements for games like Stalker 2? I doubt the Steam Deck will cope, even with a hefty reduction in graphical finery.
Caporegime
Since the release will be very staggered and only a handful are getting it in the first wave. I suspect lots of people might change their mind a year from now if reports comes in that it last only 40mins playing Fortnight for example.
I think that there will definitely be a learning curve with this thing with regards battery life. Likely get quite a lot out of tweaking settings, people would have to work out for them selves if they want 60 fps medium settings for an hour or low setting locked to 30 FPS and closer to 2 hours play time. And will be different from game to game. something that taxes the system will get a lot less life than something simple.
I can see this being a big talking point when the thing comes out. Some reviews will be trying to get the most power out of it, and likely complain about the battery life. While others may just be testing with lower settings and getting very different numbers for the battery life. So will need to really be mindful of what setting people are using to test.
I can see this being a big talking point when the thing comes out. Some reviews will be trying to get the most power out of it, and likely complain about the battery life. While others may just be testing with lower settings and getting very different numbers for the battery life. So will need to really be mindful of what setting people are using to test.
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Jul 2009
- Posts
- 1,003
It has a 40Wh battery and a TDP range of 4-15W. Even if total power draw of the device hits 20W, we can assume 2 hours play time. If you're running something less demanding you can expect more.
If we can increase the default TDP and push more juice through it then sure it's going to drop.
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Jul 2009
- Posts
- 1,003
Double post
Precisely, and 2 hours is plenty for one sitting. Between sessions you can charge it via a battery pack or wall plug.
Associate
The 30fps is going to be god awful though tbh. If it were just 60 it would absolutely playable.
Soldato
That depends entirely on the game
Well, i'm not a fan of 30 fps in general, but some games are perfectly playable.
I understand people's concerns about the Steam Deck though, and I think if people are expecting it to play all the latest AAA games at 60 fps, they have too high expectations. I do believe it will play many games at 60 fps though, just not all of the newer releases, bearing in mind this won't be realistically released until next year and newer titles may be more demanding. But, there are far too many older titles that people haven't even heard of, yet alone played, so there is no reason why most people can't get a good period of enjoyment out of it. I still have older 8 and 16 bit computers and consoles that I play to this day, and I often get more enjoyment out of those games than newer titles.
Should also add that there may well be a TDP control panel built in which would be great news for us, as i'm sure we can get maximum efficiency out of older games that don't require as much horsepower and hence saving battery.
I understand people's concerns about the Steam Deck though, and I think if people are expecting it to play all the latest AAA games at 60 fps, they have too high expectations. I do believe it will play many games at 60 fps though, just not all of the newer releases, bearing in mind this won't be realistically released until next year and newer titles may be more demanding. But, there are far too many older titles that people haven't even heard of, yet alone played, so there is no reason why most people can't get a good period of enjoyment out of it. I still have older 8 and 16 bit computers and consoles that I play to this day, and I often get more enjoyment out of those games than newer titles.
Should also add that there may well be a TDP control panel built in which would be great news for us, as i'm sure we can get maximum efficiency out of older games that don't require as much horsepower and hence saving battery.
Associate
To be honest, for me it will be all about the older games. Like most I have a huge library of games on Steam. So the ability to just pick the Steam deck up and play wherever I want is great. I have preordered the 512gb version.
I put an order in for the 256gb version and will decide nearer the time once reviews are out if I go through with the order.
Given how cheap the games can be, it’s definitely worth considering getting for top end games on the go.
But given most people saying that it’s not worth docking it to a TV might be the deciding factor for me as that’s how I’d probably end up playing.
Given how cheap the games can be, it’s definitely worth considering getting for top end games on the go.
But given most people saying that it’s not worth docking it to a TV might be the deciding factor for me as that’s how I’d probably end up playing.
Caporegime
I went for the 256G because it has the NVME. Don't care for the anti-glare screen because i will no doubt put a screen protector on it.
The difference in the cost can get me like 1TB worth of MicroSD card with change to spare probably for another 512G, brand depending. I am happy to wait for any potential load times for the price difference. Knowing me I will use the internal for OS and apps only like how I run a PC, with all games and docs on external storage.
The difference in the cost can get me like 1TB worth of MicroSD card with change to spare probably for another 512G, brand depending. I am happy to wait for any potential load times for the price difference. Knowing me I will use the internal for OS and apps only like how I run a PC, with all games and docs on external storage.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,707
L4d2 has been out for years
