this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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It's pretty awesome that the steamdeck is now basically a viable and far less limited alternative to consoles for around the same price as one.
It's about the only affordable gaming PC right now.
As an added bonus, maybe devs will keep targeting lower end hardware because of it.
This was already true for x86 handhelds, companies like Ayaneo and GPD have been around for quite some time. However, removing Windows from the equation and the huge resource overhead it causes, and making Linux a viable alternative with their work on Proton, has absolutely shaken the industry up. It looks like Microsoft is going to try and release a hybrid Windows/Xbox OS for OEMs. I did try out Win11 on my Lenovo Legion Go for an hour or so and it was just awful compared to Bazzite (that uses the Steam Deck UI). So all up it's a pretty exciting time for handheld and low power gaming!
Ayaneo and GPD are too expensive for to be compared to consoles imo. They've been above a grand and in general similarly priced as a laptop with the same internal hardware. Edit: The Steam Deck basically halved the price for an powerful x86 handheld, and made it comparable to a Switch. This is imo the only reason it sells so well.
Having steam as a platform to advertise the steamdeck probably helps. Tens of millions of people being told about your product, people that are already using your platform as well.
But if it gets more people using Linux I am alright with that. Kinda want a steamdeck but also don't really want to spend steamdeck money right.
After the Switch 2 reveal I saw the writing on the wall that console gaming was going to be too expensive for me, but I still wanted a way to easily play on the TV with a controller. The Steam Deck has been awesome for that. I'm fine with playing older games on it and reserving the rare new demanding games I actually want to play for the PS5. Next gen I might just move to PC for demanding games the way things are going.
Hoo boy. If you think consoles are getting too expensive, it might not be the best time to consider PC gaming.
Oh, I know everything will be affected by the coming price increases. But the thing is, on PC you have a lot of options as far as getting games to play compared to consoles where you're locked into their ecosystem and have to pay whatever price they want you to. So it's a higher up front cost for less cost later. And you can choose to pay less for tech that's older and will run things at lower settings. With consoles you have no choice.
With the exception of fortnite (fuck you, it's fun in no build mode) I do almost all of my gaming for the past few years on my steam deck. The control making and gyro is insanely customizable and the instant suspend/resume is a massive boon to my lifestyle as an adult that often has limited time windows.
Found out about no build mode when I was asked to play recently and the game is, to my surprise, fun without the building.
The people who have mastered building and can create a fort around me in 0.32 seconds are cringe in my book. Not sure how that was ever deemed a fun game mechanic, it's frustrating (to me, someone who only plays with their hands).
Fortnite was originally a different game, in which the build mechanic played a much more important role. The Battle Royale bit was just an add-on that became so popular they dropped the original game.
No one could do that shit the first few years. Then they added hotkeys and sped it all up. Ruined the game for a filthy casual like me. No build is a lot of fun, though.
I'm hoping that the next gen Steam Deck gets a coprocessor that will allow it to use less power in sleep mode, and also download games and updates in the background while the screen is off or in sleep mode.
Would be a nice perk. I'm guessing summer 2026 or 2027.