The original Steam Controller has become my go-to HTPC controller any time I have a PC hooked up to a TV. It’s great.
This is a straight-up improvement. As long as the D-pad is good, it’s going to become my #1 way to interact with any computer that I’m not sitting at a keyboard for.
Even if the D-pad isn’t good, I might just hack it apart and put microswitches in it.
I have four of them, and I agree completely.
Then it’s not actually running games at 4K, now, is it?
SteamOS, the trackpads that drastically increase the breadth of games that are reasonable to play on it, AND the price-to-performance ratio that blows nearly everything else out of the water.
You’re not wrong; it’s possible that the SM will see a longer lifespan than its specs suggest. I do think it’s more likely to get bumped in less time than the SD though.
FYI the way to get around updates deleting everything is to build a flatpak with the things you want, and then install that.
With 8GB of VRAM, 4K gaming will suffer some.
The difference is in the form factor. The Steam Deck is a purpose-built device for handheld gaming, with the expectation that it won’t be useful for AAA games that push current PC hardware. It’s found that niche and serves very, very well there. For that reason, it will likely outlive its tech specs - it will continue to work for many lower-spec indie games, because expectations will be reasonable.
The Steam Machine, on the other hand, is positioned as something that can play all current games (that aren’t kernel-level DRMed to hell and back, at least). These become outdated the moment new games start coming out that run poorly on it. Since it’s not upgradeable, the whole device becomes outdated and will need to be replaced if you want to play the next new hotness at a good FPS.
Those are the only officially supported devices. They do also provide instructions on how to install SteamOS on other devices, and even encourage feedback on the experience.
Except Valve never said the Steam Deck 2 was Coming Soon™.
AND it’ll be a self-contained headset. Want to play Beat Saber? Just put it on and hit the power button, no computer needed.
Want to play Alyx with an actually decent framerate? Just power on your main gaming computer and plug in the wireless dongle, and you can leverage the beefier GPU.
I’m excited for it.