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[Zathalus]

I don't know that they've accomplished any of that.

I don't see this huge expansion of SteamOS.

Do they have copycats? Yeah, so did tiger electronics... Their copycats are more expensive with higher specs, but probably significantly higher margins.

It just looks like a nothing burger.

Before the Steam Deck launched PC handhelds were lucky to sell 5k units. The Steam Deck selling millions of units while being heavily store and region restricted is quite the success story. Especially if you recall how stock constrained it was for most of last year.

As for offering value that is simply self evident. Fully portable expansion to your current Steam library is a great addition.

As for SteamOS is has improved immensely since launch, especially now that 3.5 is out. But the impact it had had on Linux and Proton compatibility cannot be understated. Gaming on Linux is steadily (and increasingly) becoming a good gaming alternative to Windows. Not there yet, but getting there.

 

[64bitmodels]

Putting it in retail stores might increase sales, but it would decrease income. They have a close relationship with their community and they know they can do direct sales.

It would also more than anything give people direct hands on experience with the device and expose non Steam users to not just the deck but Steam as a whole. Which was onr if your gripes, that it didn't supposedly create a new market

Not saying that it is doing gangbusters over there but valve tried this exact approach in Japan where they sold the deck in retail stores, and supposedly its doing really well. And that also correlates with a major spike in pc gaming in Japan.

Distributing it to retailers also means it would be easier to sell the thing to other markets, including many of the markets valve has not opened direct sales to like South America and Australia.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

And here's me just waiting for the 16th in the vain hope I can pre order the new one

 

[Mibu no ookami]

My argument is action speak louder than words. They said Steam Deck sold millions and they are continuing to invest it in. Clearly they are happy with the result so far and/or they see a reason to continue.

Also one of the many perks for being a private company is they don't have to disclose anything to the public. So yeah, of course they aren't going to discuss loses or wins publicly. They have literally no reason to.

Again, what is your argument here? Do you even know?

My argument is that this is a nothing burger of a story and that the release of the OLED Steam Deck is a cash grab rather than releasing a Steam Deck 2.

 

[A.Romero]

Just little advantages of not being public, they don't need to be so transparent with their stuff.

Hard to believe but sometimes companies like this don't really have good data because nothing is pushing them to develop the mechanisms to track it.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

It would also more than anything give people direct hands on experience with the device and expose non Steam users to not just the deck but Steam as a whole. Which was onr if your gripes, that it didn't supposedly create a new market

Not saying that it is doing gangbusters over there but valve tried this exact approach in Japan where they sold the deck in retail stores, and supposedly its doing really well. And that also correlates with a major spike in pc gaming in Japan.

Distributing it to retailers also means it would be easier to sell the thing to other markets, including many of the markets valve has not opened direct sales to like South America and Australia.

Doing retail sales in Japan makes a lot of sense. I don't even think Sony does direct sales in Japan yet.

The handheld market is huge in Japan and people still buy at retail... kind of a no-brainer.

South America and Australia are both tough markets.

 

[Interfectum]

My argument is that this is a nothing burger of a story and that the release of the OLED Steam Deck is a cash grab rather than releasing a Steam Deck 2.

Point 1: I agree. We already knew it was selling millions. The vague quote was just for website clicks.

Point 2: Disagree. They don't need this kind of 'cash.' This is an organic upgrade that answers basically all of the faults of the original Deck. Now while we wait on Steam Deck 2, Valve will switch gears the next two years to VR, a new controller and a Steam Deck console. (Maybe?)

 

[SmokedMeat]

The use case for this thing is weird to me. It’s way too big to be an actual carry around portable and way too weak to be a desktop replacement.

So what’s the actual draw?

Buying a game on your PC like you normally would, and being able to play it on your portable Steam Deck.

I’ve brought it along during vacations, and to play at work. Even just sitting in another room to play while wife watches TV. All powered by the device itself, not an inferior streaming situation where my PC is running too.

Edit: On a side note people need to keep in mind that this is a handheld you can only buy through Steam. To sell what they have with no retail presences is pretty damn impressive.

 

[Zathalus]

My argument is that this is a nothing burger of a story and that the release of the OLED Steam Deck is a cash grab rather than releasing a Steam Deck 2.

There is no point in a Steam Deck 2 at this point in time. 32GB LPDDR6x would cost way to much and the Z1 extreme offers only a tiny bump in performance over the current APU (both at the same TDP). 30w TDP is of course doable but then you run into having 60min battery life on AAA games instead of the 160min the new OLED models offer.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

There is no point in a Steam Deck 2 at this point in time. 32GB LPDDR6x would cost way to much and the Z1 extreme offers only a tiny bump in performance over the current APU (both at the same TDP). 30w TDP is of course doable but then you run into having 60min battery life on AAA games instead of the 160min the new OLED models offer.

I didn't say they need to release a Steam Deck 2 today.

I'm just saying this release doesn't make much sense and I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it.

In reality, it sucks that it is releasing so close to christmas without any news leading up to it. Hope people can return their unopened steamdecks that they already bought for people.

 

[64bitmodels]

I didn't say they need to release a Steam Deck 2 today.

I'm just saying this release doesn't make much sense and I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it.

In reality, it sucks that it is releasing so close to christmas without any news leading up to it. Hope people can return their unopened steamdecks that they already bought for people.

I mean I agree they could have announced earlier and did a trade in program at select retailers, so people who recently bought a deck can get a better upgrade... but I just don't think its a scam. It's a superior model that at most costs 20 bucks more. There are 64gbs for super cheap prices already.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I believe it! It's a great device that kicked off a new trend, so that says quite a bit. I just wish they had some kind of trade-in program or something, but of course that's too good to be true, lol.

 

[SmokedMeat]

My argument is that this is a nothing burger of a story and that the release of the OLED Steam Deck is a cash grab rather than releasing a Steam Deck 2.

Tell us which AMD graphics APU they should be using for a significant jump in performance, while keeping the same affordability - that makes it worthy of the “2” at the end of it?

Less than two years on the market and it’s a “cash grab” for not being Steam Deck 2??! So going by your logic where’s your PS6? We should be getting PS7.

And a PS5 Pro will likely have fewer upgrades than the Steam Deck OLED. Guess that’s a cash grab to right?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I mean I agree they could have announced earlier and did a trade in program at select retailers, so people who recently bought a deck can get a better upgrade... but I just don't think its a scam. It's a superior model that at most costs 20 bucks more. There are 64gbs for super cheap prices already.

I never said it was a scam. I said it was a cash grab.

What they think is that people will buy this who already have a deck and they'll sell their current decks on ebay or give it to a nephew or something and they will have more steam users as a result.

But I don't expect this model to sell all that well, it's a seriously under powered device and needs a replacement more so than a silly cash grab.

Sony will probably try something similar with the PS Portal and the oled model will do game streaming while the original model will only do remote play.

They know that the best way to sell these niche products are back to the original people who bought them.

 

[TheStam]

I like GAF but it's like Gamespot System wars over here, people are rooting for their team and since this is a PC product, they will want to talk shit. It's ridiculous. Objectively Valve is the closest thing to a good guy you will find in this space.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Tell us which AMD graphics APU they should be using for a significant jump in performance, while keeping the same affordability - that makes it worthy of the “2” at the end of it?

Less than two years on the market and it’s a “cash grab” for not being Steam Deck 2??! So going by your logic where’s your PS6? We should be getting PS7.

And a PS5 Pro will likely have fewer upgrades than the Steam Deck OLED. Guess that’s a cash grab to right?

Again, not saying that

• Steam Deck 2 needs to come out today
• Steam Deck 2 needs to be the same price at launch

And PS5 Pro isn't going to have the same specs as the PS5... so I would hardly call it a cash grab, though it could still be at the end of the day.

 

[Zathalus]

I'm just saying this release doesn't make much sense and I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it.

Why though? It's no worse then the Switch OLED. Better in quite a number of ways. Sure if you currently have a Steam Deck then you don't need to upgrade but newer users would certainly appreciate the option. Steam Deck 2 is likely 2+ years away anyway.

 

[Tams]

Not saying that it is doing gangbusters over there but valve tried this exact approach in Japan where they sold the deck in retail stores, and supposedly its doing really well. And that also correlates with a major spike in pc gaming in Japan.

It may well be doing relatively well, but it hasn't caught on in the mainstream.

I heard nary a word from the kids I worked with and nothing on TV, not anything in the retail stores there.

 

[Deerock71]

That is oddly vague.

 

[Zathalus]

That is oddly vague.

My theory is that it is at 3 million sold but since Gaben is allergic to the number 3 they have kept it vague for now.

 

[64bitmodels]

It may well be doing relatively well, but it hasn't caught on in the mainstream.

I heard nary a word from the kids I worked with and nothing on TV, not anything in the retail stores there.

Not saying that it is doing gangbusters over there

either way the fact they are pointing out Japan as a special case to begin with, and that Japan is the only one doing retail sales of new units proves my point. They'd do well to put the Deck in retail stores. It's one area the ally and the other handhelds have a leg up on.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Again, not saying that

• Steam Deck 2 needs to come out today
• Steam Deck 2 needs to be the same price at launch

And PS5 Pro isn't going to have the same specs as the PS5... so I would hardly call it a cash grab, though it could still be at the end of the day.

Steam Deck OLED is much more than just an OLED screen slapped on the device.

And you did say they should’ve just released a Steam Deck 2 instead of an OLED model. That’s not justifiable at this time. An improved model is.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Steam Deck OLED is much more than just an OLED screen slapped on the device.

And you did say they should’ve just released a Steam Deck 2 instead of an OLED model. That’s not justifiable at this time. An improved model is.

I didn't say that production needed to be released today.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Why though? It's no worse then the Switch OLED. Better in quite a number of ways. Sure if you currently have a Steam Deck then you don't need to upgrade but newer users would certainly appreciate the option. Steam Deck 2 is likely 2+ years away anyway.

The Switch OLED was also a cash grab.

 

[Esppiral]

They are releasing new models so it may be profitable

 

[lughnasadh123]

Steam Deck, Steam Deck OLED, and a possible Steam Deck 2. Must be racking up some success somewhere.

 

[WitchHunter]

Valve is a private company, free from investors who owns the most popular digital gaming storefront in the world. They should have turned into monsters years ago.

We'll see...

 

[CrustyBritches]

That's also 3 million people beta testing their OS and proton... their major get out of jail gambit should something happen to Windows in the next 5-10 years.

This is the true purpose of the Deck. It’s about decoupling PC gaming from Windows. Last I saw there were over 6000 Verified and Playable games.

 

[Reallink]

how about you tell us the actual numbers? multiple millions can mean 50 million but it can also mean 3 million, which is how much the deck is estimated to sell this year.

Just tell us how many units have been sold already. No one is going to blame a newcomer in the space for selling under 20m.

It means single digit millions. 10 million or more would be described as "over 10 million" or "10s of millions". Iirc earning resports or investment analysts had ROG Ally near 1 million.

 

[MacReady13]

What in the ever living FUCK are they waiting for to release this officially in Australia???

 

[Shake Your Rump]

What an odd think to say for a company that isn't even publicly traded.

Basically, the Steam Deck hasn't sold well at all

1) This is the Verge. I doubt Valve just fired off an unsolicited email to the Verge. It was probably part of an interview or longer response. We don't know because the Verge isn't providing the actual source, just "soandso told us".

2) You believe that Asus, Logitech, Sony, and Lenovo rushed handheld products to market to compete because the Steam Deck hasn't sold well?

 

[Crayon]

I wonder if the general so3 distro is waiting for technical reasons or strategic reasons.

 

[Gamezone]

And they would sell even more if they released it worldwide.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

If they won’t say the number of millions, it must be 3.

 

[Red5]

Just little advantages of not being public, they don't need to be so transparent with their stuff.

Hard to believe but sometimes companies like this don't really have good data because nothing is pushing them to develop the mechanisms to track it.

Yeah and they're also not in the stock market since they're not publicly traded so lying about this doesn't really serve any financial purpose like say share price manipulation.

 

[ZiggyPop1991]

Play in bed or on the couch.

I don't take gaming devices in public.

This thing actually got me back into gaming heavily. I work two jobs and there's so much time in between I used to get mad I couldn't play anything other than my switch. Then I copped this thing and I can't put it down. I legit only started back on my ps5 which I love for Spiderman 2. I also went on vacation with the family and I work overnight so I'm always up when everyone is asleep. Grabbed a drink and stayed in the bed with some headphones and finally got to play Hades.

For me at least. I live in NYC and since we all carry bags for work, gym, school, etc. This isn't an issue at all, lol. I can't wait to grab an OLED model legit my only complaint was the color gamut on the LCD.

 

[SScorpio]

And here's me just waiting for the 16th in the vain hope I can pre order the new one

Why wouldn't you be able to pre order one? This is Valve, not Analogue.

 

[poppabk]

Again, not saying that

• Steam Deck 2 needs to come out today
• Steam Deck 2 needs to be the same price at launch

And PS5 Pro isn't going to have the same specs as the PS5... so I would hardly call it a cash grab, though it could still be at the end of the day.

So you would rather they continue selling an inferior product rather than releasing an upgraded model for basically the same price? That sounds both bad for Valve and bad for customers - a worst of both worlds approach.

 

[rofif]

Multple. So more than 2, less than 5.
Probably 3.5

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Why wouldn't you be able to pre order one? This is Valve, not Analogue.

I had a pain in the arse ordering with the original, it took six weeks to sort it out. But yes, I know. I just want one

 

[Crayon]

I wouldn't be judging the success of deck based on metrics like userbase or profits. I'd consider it a form of market research. It's strategic.

 

[March Climber]

The release of the OLED Steam Deck is a cash grab

The Switch OLED was also a cash grab.

OLED models benefit the enthusiast crowd that wants the small upgrade and new casual users who buy late. The overall casual audience won't care as much either way and will usually keep the first model they buy. Each company gets a little extra money towards R&D for the next model by doing this and each company will give you a much better model next generation by testing the waters this gen, especially Steam/Valve since they simply removed the lower end model and lowered the prices of the original higher ends.

This 'cash grab' sounds like a successful business plan to me.

 

[Katatonic]

Not a fan of the deck but at least it has a d-pad and in a prominent position.

Edit: Actually its too close to the edge.

 

[TaroYamada]

Hilarious thread filled with haters. Valve has never had an issue dropping a poor performing piece of hardware, in fact it was one of the main concerns some had about Deck. Link, controller, machines? All dropped and quickly due to under performance. Clearly Deck is meeting/probably exceeding their expectations.

It's the best piece of hardware in the past decade and its haters cannot handle it.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

OLED models benefit the enthusiast crowd that wants the small upgrade and new casual users who buy late. The overall casual audience won't care as much either way and will usually keep the first model they buy. Each company gets a little extra money towards R&D for the next model by doing this and each company will give you a much better model next generation by testing the waters this gen, especially Steam/Valve since they simply removed the lower end model and lowered the prices of the original higher ends.

This 'cash grab' sounds like a successful business plan to me.

I didn't say it wouldn't make any money. I just said it was a cash grab.

 

[mckmas8808]

So two million

Basically! Weird thing for Valve to "announce"

 

[Red5]

I didn't say it wouldn't make any money. I just said it was a cash grab.

What's a cash grab and how is it different from a product refresh?

 

[Kerotan]

Anyone over the age of 18 who buys a portable console should be put on the watch list. I hope Gabe has handed all receipts over to the NSA.

 

[MrA]

Multple. So more than 2, less than 5.
Probably 3.5

Sold 1.6 million in 2022 , estimates put it at another 2 million this year, so yeah around middle of the 3 million range

 

[Reallink]

Anyone over the age of 18 who buys a portable console should be put on the watch list. I hope Gabe has handed all receipts over to the NSA.

What about the sad dads who hide in their hallway for some sneaky Switch?