Reply To: New Handheld Steam Deck Games Console Valve has revealed a first in the form of a handheld Steam Deck PC games console Gaming giant Valve, which runs the Steam store, has announced a portable console that…

[UK Sentinel]

Following on from above thread:

Valve’s new Steam Deck will inevitably draw comparisons with Nintendo’s updated Switch OLED console.

Both are handheld gaming machines with 7″ touchscreens – and if you want a big screen gaming experience, both can plug into full-size TVs or displays.

But that’s really where the comparisons end.

While the Switch eco-system is a walled garden, carefully controlled by Nintendo, the Steam Deck is a more powerful machine and a more open proposition.

It is essentially a handheld PC with access to Valve’s digital Steam store and its gigantic catalogue of games.

The pricing is competitive too – £349 for the entry-level machine compared with £309 for the newer Switch OLED. This pricing strategy points to Valve committing itself seriously to this new handheld.

Nintendo is unlikely to be overly concerned by this new competitor. The Nintendo experience and many of its games are unique to its platform and the company has sold an enormous number of Switch consoles.

Meanwhile, Valve knows its audience and is acutely aware of the kind of content and experiences long-time users of the Steam platform are used to.

Ultimately, as these machines will provide different kinds of handheld gaming, it’s probable there is room for both to co-exist, with neither machine really cannibalising the audience for the other.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57862944

In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).

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