Mine doesn't fit into any of my pockets without it sticking out like a sore thumb, and even then, sitting down with it in a stuffed pocket isn't an option for me, not without breaking the joycons.

Well we do, yes we know it's a mini PC, but the device still needs to go through the process like every other product out there.

I can see you and some others here struggle to see who it's aimed at, but I don't really have that kind of issue, because I know it's the sort of device I've been wanting for quite some time now, so I know it's aimed at me. Someone who wants to use the device around my house, along with the ability to plug it into a monitor/TV and use it like I would my PC, but I have no desire to shift my desktop around the house, and I'd love to be able to take the Deck with me on trips and be able to plug it into another tv/monitor and use it as I wish (gaming or non gaming). 

I say we give it time, a few years at best to see where the device goes. 

After the Wii U failures the doubters of the Switch were justified.  I buy every Nintendo console so I would have bought it even if it failed but I don't have a problem with anyone that doubted the Switch.  Valve failed with the steam machines so having some doubt for the Steamdeck is fine as well.  Lets hope the machine rocks and does well.

I don't need to see hands on previews to know that the battery life would be an issue to me and even more so the weight.

It might sell one or two million units, maybe even more, but regardless there's still a ceiling to a product like this. It's not a console, it's a PC.

Having doubts is fine. But criticizing a product without doing research is not.

But how do you know what it's battery life would be without watching any reviews/previews?

You do know PCs sell a ton of units right? Have you ever looked at how many PCs get sold by vendors each year? While I agree it won't sell all that much, (I'd be surprised if it gets above 10 million units before revision 2 comes out), saying that it won't sell because it's a PC is nonsense.

https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-pc-market-Q4-2021

Power requires size, pointless thread.

I'm not saying literally zero people would want it, but I can't see more than a niche market. A gaming laptop does pretty much everything you want out of this better, and is especially more versatile if you're going to do much non gaming stuff on it. The only real advantage I see of the Steamdeck is that it's less expensive. Personally, if I intended to do PC gaming, I'd just add the 400 dollars or so I'd spend on a steamdeck to the price of the next laptop I buy (the steamdeck is not a viable replacement) and I'd wind up with something that does pretty much everything the Steam Deck does, except better in most cases. I think for most people doing so would be a better option. The amount of people that would be better served by a Steam Deck seems pretty narrow. 

Obviously it's speculation, but the forum would be pretty boring if we took a wait and see approach to every product. 

As for the Switch's portability, people are really overselling the difficulty of putting in your pocket.

If you're a man, you can likely fit it into a pocket without much issue. Maybe Shaq can fit a Steamdeck into his pockets. Maybe...

I think you calling it "the Wii U tablet" is pretty telling. The product isn't for you, unfortunately.

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.

It's that 4-15 Watt that's going to add weight and reduce battery life (and I assume that doesn't include the screen or cooling fan)

Much faster than the Switch anyway, but not that much faster than base PS4 if at all. Consoles and Switch relatively still pack a lot more performance due to games being designed for the hardware and the hardware being designed for gaming.

Anyway my gaming laptop hardly lasts an hour off grid when gaming, at least Steam Deck is designed for gaming on the go. Gaming laptops are more to save on space at home.

I really don't see this as problem, and most of my gaming these days is done on portable platforms. Handheld devices come in a few form-factors. 

Pocketable: DS/3DS, PSP, VITA, Switch Lite (borderline pocketable), the smaller form-factors of GPD Win, etc

Baggable: Switch, Steam Deck, larger more powerful portable PCs, etc 

The Steam Deck isn't too big that it doesn't fit in the second category. 

Most of the time I am on the go I have a bag/backpack. If I am visiting my partner's house, on my way to work via public transportation, etc. I have a bag with me. So I really don't care if the Steam deck is somewhat larger than a Switch or even Wii U Tablet. As long as it, within its case, fits in my backpack and isn't as heavy as a gaming laptop that works great. 

Furthermore, the Steam Deck acts as a fully functional mini-PC. When I go to work, I don't often use my laptop, but rather a NUC (due to better cooling for CPU-intensive tasks) instead. I can easily see myself using the Steam Deck for that purpose and leaving my NUC home while getting some of the advantages of a laptop and being able to play games on my commute. 

Sure, the Steam Deck is a niche device, but if you're in the niche (as I am) it is a pretty interesting device. And I really don't see how it will fail given that reservations sold out very fast.