Steam Deck = Full Frontal Assault on Nintendo Switch

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

The hardware underneath blows Switch completly out of the water. You can run Doom on it.

IGN hand on test:

It actually has good games compared to switch

RealGunner wrote:It actually has good games compared to switch

It's a PCP, a Personal Computer Portable. Steam doesn't to call the device a handheld. They used the distribution and desktop environment I use for linux (archlinux+KDE plasma) but you could install windows 10 and run with it. Everything works out of the box.

Hmm not sure about the title. I feel like they're giving a nintendo product but their target market is more adults gamers that are likelier to be on ps/xbox/PC.

And is there really a need for a handheld device in this market or do they prefer the immersive "docked" experience ?

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Hmm not sure about the title. I feel like they're giving a nintendo product but their target market is more adults gamers that are likelier to be on ps/xbox/PC.

And is there really a need for a handheld device in this market or do they prefer the immersive "docked" experience ?

it's a handheld gaming PC. you can just use it as a PC if you want which is the selling point. But the drawback is 720p gaming.

Not sure if streaming is possible in 1080p?

We've been through this before with people trying to attack Nintendo in the mobile/handheld space.

Most of the people who buy a Switch do not and will not give a fuck about this and thus it won't impact them in the slightest.

There's a reason they've dominated everyone who tries to compete with them in that space for 30+ years.

diff markets completely tbh, sure this thing shits on the switch spec wise but just look at how the new Switch OLED model is selling out of pre-orders everywhere...people are clamoring for a console with the switch specs...with a fucking OLED screen that costs $50 more and no real upgrades...5 years after release its getting a price rise not a discount. It's ridiculous. Skyward Sword a $60 port of a 10 year old game lmao.

Switch audience built different. Nintendo will dominate the handheld market due to their games and fanbase.

Firenze wrote:diff markets completely tbh, sure this thing shits on the switch spec wise but just look at how the new Switch OLED model is selling out of pre-orders everywhere...people are clamoring for a console with the switch specs...with a fucking OLED screen that costs $50 more and no real upgrades...5 years after release its getting a price rise not a discount. It's ridiculous. Skyward Sword a $60 port of a 10 year old game lmao.

Switch audience built different. Nintendo will dominate the handheld market due to their games and fanbase.

women and children

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Most of the people who buy a Switch do not and will not give a fuck about this and thus it won't impact them in the slightest.

Yup

RealGunner wrote:

Firenze wrote:diff markets completely tbh, sure this thing shits on the switch spec wise but just look at how the new Switch OLED model is selling out of pre-orders everywhere...people are clamoring for a console with the switch specs...with a fucking OLED screen that costs $50 more and no real upgrades...5 years after release its getting a price rise not a discount. It's ridiculous. Skyward Sword a $60 port of a 10 year old game lmao.

Switch audience built different. Nintendo will dominate the handheld market due to their games and fanbase.

women and children

People who don't pay themselves

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:We've been through this before with people trying to attack Nintendo in the mobile/handheld space.

Most of the people who buy a Switch do not and will not give a fuck about this and thus it won't impact them in the slightest.

There's a reason they've dominated everyone who tries to compete with them in that space for 30+ years.

This, I will occasionally own a nintendo console, and it'll be because of nintendo games.
Sometimes I don't want to skullfuck demons as the Doomslayer, sometimes I want to play with yarn balls as Yoshi or have child-friendly adventures with Link.

Most of the time, though, it's crushing skulls on the PC, let's be honest.
But you won't really scratch nintendo much as long as they got their exclusives.

The best thing about this is the development boost Linux Proton will get. It has come leaps and bounds for few years now, as you can play most Windows games in Linux already out of box. But this will probably make it a standard for developers. You can already play Skyrim in Linux, but I'm sure Todd will try to officially sell one for this device.

I tried to make a switch from Windows ransomware to Linux last year, but it still wasn't quite there yet. Hopefully next year...

Also Valve not going to pay any Windows licenses.

Harmonica wrote:The best thing about this is the development boost Linux Proton will get. It has come leaps and bounds for few years now, as you can play most Windows games in Linux already out of box. But this will probably make it a standard for developers. You can already play Skyrim in Linux, but I'm sure Todd will try to officially sell one for this device.

I tried to make a switch from Windows ransomware to Linux last year, but it still wasn't quite there yet. Hopefully next year...

Also Valve not going to pay any Windows licenses.

Does Linux Proton run Windows games through an emulator?
If so what % performance hit should we expect?

danyjr wrote:

Harmonica wrote:The best thing about this is the development boost Linux Proton will get. It has come leaps and bounds for few years now, as you can play most Windows games in Linux already out of box. But this will probably make it a standard for developers. You can already play Skyrim in Linux, but I'm sure Todd will try to officially sell one for this device.

I tried to make a switch from Windows ransomware to Linux last year, but it still wasn't quite there yet. Hopefully next year...

Also Valve not going to pay any Windows licenses.

Does Linux Proton run Windows games through an emulator?
If so what % performance hit should we expect?

Proton is a compability layer between Windows games and Linux, not an emulator. It works as easily, as selecting beta-version of the game in Steam, although in some cases you'll need some additional tweaking.

There's some performance hit because of the additional layer, but Linux itself runs faster which balances it little. I haven't done any testing, there's probably benchmarks available.
But because it's highly evolving, the benchmarks probably evolve also.

Biggest problem currently in it are anticheat softwares, which weren't working in Linux, at least last time I tried it. Which affects multiplayer games.

Here's Proton game database: https://www.protondb.com/

Harmonica wrote:

danyjr wrote:

Harmonica wrote:The best thing about this is the development boost Linux Proton will get. It has come leaps and bounds for few years now, as you can play most Windows games in Linux already out of box. But this will probably make it a standard for developers. You can already play Skyrim in Linux, but I'm sure Todd will try to officially sell one for this device.

I tried to make a switch from Windows ransomware to Linux last year, but it still wasn't quite there yet. Hopefully next year...

Also Valve not going to pay any Windows licenses.

Does Linux Proton run Windows games through an emulator?
If so what % performance hit should we expect?

Proton is a compability layer between Windows games and Linux, not an emulator. It works as easily, as selecting beta-version of the game in Steam, although in some cases you'll need some additional tweaking.

There's some performance hit because of the additional layer, but Linux itself runs faster which balances it little. I haven't done any testing, there's probably benchmarks available.
But because it's highly evolving, the benchmarks probably evolve also.

Biggest problem currently in it are anticheat softwares, which weren't working in Linux, at least last time I tried it. Which affects multiplayer games.

Here's Proton game database: https://www.protondb.com/

Who would've thought Archlinux and KDE Plasma would pave the way?
Me
Steam Deck can build by 3rd party so expect versions with more power, looks and customasations.

Babun wrote:

Harmonica wrote:

danyjr wrote:
Does Linux Proton run Windows games through an emulator?
If so what % performance hit should we expect?

Proton is a compability layer between Windows games and Linux, not an emulator. It works as easily, as selecting beta-version of the game in Steam, although in some cases you'll need some additional tweaking.

There's some performance hit because of the additional layer, but Linux itself runs faster which balances it little. I haven't done any testing, there's probably benchmarks available.
But because it's highly evolving, the benchmarks probably evolve also.

Biggest problem currently in it are anticheat softwares, which weren't working in Linux, at least last time I tried it. Which affects multiplayer games.

Here's Proton game database: https://www.protondb.com/

Who would've thought Archlinux and KDE Plasma would pave the way?
Me
Steam Deck can build by 3rd party so expect versions with more power, looks and customasations.

Yeah Windows like experience is the key of making the transition to Linux more popular. I tried KDE Neon which probably is the most Windows like. When all of my games work on Linux I'll make transition to it. I'll still have few programs which will only work on Windows, but I can just have it on USB-stick by then.

Harmonica wrote:

Babun wrote:

Harmonica wrote:
Proton is a compability layer between Windows games and Linux, not an emulator. It works as easily, as selecting beta-version of the game in Steam, although in some cases you'll need some additional tweaking.

There's some performance hit because of the additional layer, but Linux itself runs faster which balances it little. I haven't done any testing, there's probably benchmarks available.
But because it's highly evolving, the benchmarks probably evolve also.

Biggest problem currently in it are anticheat softwares, which weren't working in Linux, at least last time I tried it. Which affects multiplayer games.

Here's Proton game database: https://www.protondb.com/

Who would've thought Archlinux and KDE Plasma would pave the way?
Me
Steam Deck can build by 3rd party so expect versions with more power, looks and customasations.

Yeah Windows like experience is the key of making the transition to Linux more popular. I tried KDE Neon which probably is the most Windows like. When all of my games work on Linux I'll make transition to it. I'll still have few programs which will only work on Windows, but I can just have it on USB-stick by then.

KDE Neon uses Ubuntu -> Debian deriviate as backbone. Archlinux is a much better backbone. If you've got problems installing clean Archlinux you could try Manjaro KDE Plasma edition. Give it a try you'll notice soon Ubuntu has always been garbage. Linux Mint tried to work around Ubuntu's flaws all the time.

A game changer? It virtually is a pocket gaming PC.

danyjr wrote:A game changer? It virtually is a pocket gaming PC.

It's the final push for Linux gaming in general I think, which excites me. Personally I'm not that interested in pocket gaming PC factor, although it looks a well made device.

Already bearing fruit: https://www.techspot.com/news/90634-amd-valve-developing-improved-linux-cpu-driver-benefit.html

I really hope Steam Deck is successful on a commercial level and sets a new trend.

Everything looks surprisingly promising so far. My big worry is not so much the FPS or the resolution but battery. Can it last 3 hours while playing an intensive game? I hope so.

Here's good explanation how Proton works.



Those Windows game that run on Vulkan natively should work better on Linux, example RDR2:

Multiplayer Easy Anti-Cheat and Battle Eye coming on Linux Proton confirmed. That's be the last big step up for Linux gaming, and now that promised 100% Steam library support wont be that far off.

64GB is the best model now at 419€, then throw in 1TB 175€ SSD, 85€ cheaper than the 512GB model

https://geizhals.eu/?cat=hdssd&xf=4832_3%7E4836_4

Some Q&A

How Much VRAM does Steam Deck have?

   Steam Deck has 16 gigabyte of unified memory. One gigabyte that's dedicated for the GPU, but depending on workload the GPU can access up to 8 GB.

Does Deck only support full screen mode?

   The Steam Deck will automatically run games in full-screen by default.  However, if you drop to desktop, you can run games in windowed mode.

Do you plan to release SteamOS as a standalone, general-purpose operating system?

   We definitely plan on releasing SteamOS as a separate operating system. We don't have exact timing on that. We're really focused on making sure that Steam Deck is a great experience, and we'll release it for other hardware soon.

Does Deck support installing software from outside of Steam and can you use it with Proton?

   Yes. You can install and add any game like you would on the Steam desktop. Just install the application and then add it to Steam from desktop mode and it'll show up just like it would on any PC.

Is Steam working closely with leading game engine developers, like Epic Games and Unity on Steam Deck?

   Yes, we're working with both Unity and Epic on making sure Unreal and Unity engines have integrations that make the development experience for Deck as smooth as possible. And going forward we expect there will be improvements rolling into those engines over time to further integrate with our development tools and to make those engines a great target for Steam Deck. Already there's a pretty good experience for Unity and Unreal developers from the start.

You mentioned that you're talking with Unity and Epic, are you also talking to Godot?

   Yes, we're talking to Godot as well and are actively supporting them and want their engine to work well with Steam Deck.

How many sound channels does Steam Deck support?

   We support two when using the onboard speakers, but we support multi-channel when using HDMI or Bluetooth.

Will there be a way to install external apps on Deck without going into dev mode?

   Yes. You'll be able to install external apps via Flatpak or other software without going into developer mode.