Seems like lots of people agree, Valve has a swing and a miss on its hands with the Steam Deck. I'm sure it'll have a big launch and sell decently overall but won't be a major hit given the bad design.
The whole problem with the design is that to make something portable you can't have it be really powerful. In a few years they could make a smaller version of this that would be a much better product, but by then it wouldn't play the latest AAA games anymore. And for playing less resource-intensive games like most indies the Steam Deck's specs are entirely unnecessary. I think they'd been better off going with a two-tiered system, one designed more in line with the Switch that's much smaller and cheaper and can play all but the latest AAA games, and then release this ugly behemoth for those few people who are looking for that specific kind of product.
For all the many people who harp on about the Switch being "underpowered" (ignoring the obvious fact that it is 5 years old), now hopefully it is obvious why Nintendo didn't try to go with a portable system that can play the highest level of modern graphical games: because what you end up with is the Steam Deck, a massively oversized, overweight non-portable. Imagine if the Switch had been a product like the Steam Deck...it may not have failed as badly as the Wii U but it certainly wouldn't have been tearing up the sales charts.
On a plus side, some people have noted it probably has terrible battery life, from what I see it sounds like it has a little worse battery life than the original model of the Switch (which people tended to complain about but isn't super terrible), but luckily for Steam Deck users it's so large it's not very portable so you're not going to be taking it places to play anyway lol, so you'll always be near a plug in your home.
Existing User Log In
New User Registration
Register for a free account to gain full access to the VGChartz Network and join our thriving community.
