Nintendo!
It may be time to keep an eye out. Valve is ready to swap things up with its forthcoming handheld device, the Steam Deck. Emphasizing powerful technology and the oh-so-massive library from Valve’s distribution platform, the Steam Deck can transform handheld gaming forever.
We’ve taken a glance at all the details available right now for Valve’s handheld PC and picked out five of the most exciting features of the Steam Deck.
1. The Enormous Game Library
One of the most notable selling points for the Steam Deck is the library of games. According to Valve, the whole Steam library can be able to be played on the Steam Deck on release. If you already don’t know, Steam is the primary way PC players enjoy their games. Before 2019, it was the only way to play titles that EA or Blizzard didn’t publish. Steam’s store has over 50,000 plus games, varying from free-to-play games like Smite to the newest Call of Duty. In addition, some games have been brought to the Steam store from older consoles, like Persona 4 Golden. Many of these PC games have never leaped to console or much less a handheld device. Fortunately, that much less is enough to turn over the $5 reservation price for several gamers.
2. The Forthcoming Dock
While the Steam Deck will be wholly handheld when it first releases, and a dock will come out after that. The dock allows people to use a mouse and keyboard for controls while displaying the game on a screen. So it makes the Steam Deck a portable computer that you can especially game on.
Although it’s not advertising itself as a console, The Steam Deck could eventually compete with PlayStation and Xbox because of this. Recently, Valve has had controversy regarding its revenue split with developers, but Steam remains a more leisurely route for smaller developers to publish on.
This will make the Steam Deck a versatile option for a lot of players. In addition, most of the games besides console exclusives — are presently published on Steam, so gamers will be able to make a one-time purchase and use it on the go, attached to the TV, or even still on their PC through the usual Steam store. The Steam Deck dock will allow external devices like mice and keyboards to be connected.
3. The Built-to-Last Hardware
The main thing that worries some players is the hardware inside the Steam Deck. Will it be able to play most of the games that get released in the next few years?
In a few words, the answer seems to be yes.
While some have their questions over whether the Deck will be able to play every game, the specifications seem to be saying yes with 16 GB of RAM and which looks to be a pretty capable CPU and GPU. So the Steam Deck shall be able to run most games for years to come by.
However, this doesn’t mean that all the games will be able to run at maximum graphics settings, particularly not when docked. For now, most gamers expect many of the games to run quite well on medium to high settings based on the game title.
4. The Size of the Screen
The display size of Steam Deck is seven inches diagonally, which is somewhat bigger than the 6.6-inch screen on the standard Nintendo Switch. It should come in handy in accordance to comfort. Games are often pointed because of text size. If too small, subtitles and menu selections can be especially difficult to read in some video games. Sadly, there’s not much that Steam can do about adjusting the size of the text within games, but the larger screen the Steam Deck has, the better. Probably, seven inches at a resolution of 1280×800 will be sufficient for most titles. The Steam Deck should be accessible to the eyes and hands with an intelligent design and a big screen.
5. The Controllers
If you have a Nintendo Switch, then you know the never-ending efforts of the straight-backed controllers. In addition, playing the Switch in handheld mode can be difficult because there’s no natural way to hold the controller. This leaves many gamers, including ourselves, with sweaty hands and aching fingers.
This problem is fixed by Steam Deck by attaching handholds on both ends, which looks like your regular controller. Plus, the button arrangement is supposed to feel natural, with both analog sticks placed at the top-side of the controller to lessen cramping.
All-in-all, there are lots of reasons to be eager about the Steam Deck’s release date. The first consoles will start shipping in December 2021, but due to high demand, it means anyone pre-ordering now may need to wait till later next year.
