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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.
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.
Valve says a Deck Verified game will only ever have a SteamOS compatibility rating that is the same or better
What about point and click games? It can’t be the same or better without trackpads?
It's only about whether the game runs on SteamOS, handhelds and screen size, input and performance thereof don't matter for the rating like it does for Deck Verified.
It already show if controller are fully/partially/not supported
And they also show which controllers are supported or if you need the steam input to translate the commands
Touchscreen is about same
Steaminput means they all work, even when they don't.
You can make pretty much anything control the mouse.
I’ve seen how well that works😬. But I guess different people have different definitions of playable. Someone else said touchscreen is just as good as mouse🙄.
Steam input has worked flawlessly for my on both Steam Deck, and on PC with XBone controller and mouse/kb. It has literally made previously unplayable games playable (and in many other cases, just made bizarre control schemes more usable).
Why does it get so much hate? It's an amazing tool, and unless I'm an outlier, it does the exact thing it's meant to do with no issue.
I don’t know what you’re talking about now. The point being made was that using steam input to make a joystick emulate mouse is not a good experience for point and click adventure games compared to trackpads.
Steam controller made these games fun to play from the couch again, and steam deck made them fun to play handheld.
“Getting along” with joystick to mouse emulation might work to move a cursor, but it’s not good. That’s why many games types that were traditionally PC exclusives have new control schemes when there is a console port. Because mousing with a joystick is not a good time, it is just “making it work”.
That’s a great point! Maybe they expect a consumer to connect their own mouse if their handheld doesn’t have touch screen or trackpads.
Good point.
The SteamDeck has two (surprisingly good) trackpads, so I've had surprisingly few issues there.
I also play some point and click games with one of the joysticks mapped to the mouse. It that can be fine for some games.
But it feels like folks could have a worse experience if they don't bring the necessary controllers. I guess maybe Valve's rating will just assume bring-your-own-controller?
Yeah. I got a steam controller when it launched, and I was all in on finally being able to do adventure games on the couch.
It’s a genre I didn’t think of be able to play unless it was a modern game with console design in mind, except I play mostly 90s games. For me the trackpads are essential.
Steam box v2 in a few years. PC gaming is cannibalizing the PC and handheld market damn
Honestly I thought the Steam Machine V2 would drop this summer. It would really be a great time for it. Definitely take some pressure off Valve to release a Steam Deck 2. I'm holding off not building my own console just in case.
Related to the image, not the article: I find the asymmetrical thumbstick layout to be terrible, ergonomically - the layout on the Switch sometimes causes me physical pain. I'm very glad that Valve didn't go that way.
Some like it, others don't. It's more important that consumers have options rather than absolutely everyone being forced to agree on one way being best.
this philosophy applies to many things, not just controller layout.
Absolutely. I'm happy that people have options.
Give me the desktop version! I’ve got an old SFF pc ready to become my home console, since I never got an Xbox Series or PS5
The Steam Deck kicked off great however, I see people flocking to the Windows alternatives like the ASUS ROG Ally because they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell.
Edit; I don’t know why this is being downvoted, I haven’t touched SteamOS so I’m comparing it to Debian 12 where BASH knowledge is essential.
I'm one of the most bash shell persons who ever bashed a bash shell, just for the bash shell of it.
But I have never opened the bash shell on my SteamDeck.
I did once, for some reason. I think to install maguri mod for ff9.
Otherwise? Nah, this ain't thinkin' time.
I’m not sure this is true. From a non-technical user perspective Linux is as visible on the steam deck as FreeBSD is on the PS5. Yah it’s there, but you don’t see it unless you try.
It's a super polished and easy to use OS. I don't think I've even touched command line or shell. It functions like Windows without any bs.
What? You don't have to deal with any of that if you don't want to lol
That could be the reason why someone is going that direction though even if it's not an informed decision.
Why is it not an informed decision?
Because they might think they need to use the terminal a bunch when in reality they don't. They might have the wrong impression about how much terminal work they need to do and use that incorrect information to make a decision. I'm saying they could have wrong information to make a decision which would be an uninformed decision.
More likely the opposite because they don't want to deal with Windows 11
I don't know why I'm being downvoted; I literally have no idea what I'm talking about
I literally have no idea what I'm talking about
Care to at all elaborate then?
Last time I checked Windows still dominates the market on personal desktop/laptop computers, most people don’t want to sit and read documentation on how to get specific software to work with their device, they just want it to work without hassle.
You just said you've never used a Steam Deck. Multiple people have told you why what you're saying is ridiculous.
What more elaboration are you looking for?
You just said you've never used a Steam Deck.
Correct, have yet to touch SteamOS.
Multiple people have told you why what you're saying is ridiculous.
How is what I said ridiculous? Is the market all of a sudden no longer Windows dominated?
I get it, SteamOS is essentially Steams Big Picture mode locked down however, the minute someone wants to mod one of their games using software made for Windows that they find on Nexus mods or Se7enSins they’ll run into issues or a novel of documentation for a workaround.
The vast majority of people don’t want to sit and troubleshoot for hours on end for a single mod, they want it to work out of the gate and that’s where SteamOS/Linux currently falls flat.
As someone else pointed out, you're basically calling a PS5 difficult because it runs BSD and that must mean people need to tinker and use the terminal to make things work.
I haven't ever touched a steam deck either, but I would assume that games on the steam deck just work without any tinkering with the shell.
My Steam Deck is by far my preferred PC now. I dread having to use my Windows laptop.
I opted for the ROG Ally X. A couple of things swayed me. My ability to hold it in store and the tech specs for future proofing were both reasons. But I never planned for this device to be a Windows only handheld. I specifically bought it for the few games I own that can't run Linux and I run everything else in Bazzite. If it had come with Steam OS I likely still would have bought it and done a dual boot. I don't think it's fair to assume that people are buying non-steam handhelds just because they don't want to deal with Linux. They likely have no idea what Linux has to offer and are going with what they can buy in store.
Well, why don't they use the z-shell then?
I don’t know why this is being downvoted
Oh quit your whining. Stop making excuses.
I am waiting for Arch SteamOS desktop to be released before trying Linux again. Hopefully sooner than later, since I want to cleanly migrate before DOGE starts to wander the halls of Microsoft.
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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