https://store.steampowered.com/news/...31641634388284

What are your thoughts on the newly announced Steam Deck, handheld gaming PC?

Compared to other handheld gaming PC coming out of China the Steam Deck is a a very good price, however there is currently limited information on the actual hardware processing power. However the screen is only 720p, the same as the Switch, which might explain the price point because you won't need such a powerful system for a lower resolution, but on a handheld its not so important. The controls look interesting, with Xbox style controls, plus touch thumb controls and a touch screen.

The OS will be Linux based, meaning natively it will only run Linux versions of games available on Steam. But it apparently will be able to run Windows emulaton to make the majority of games run, and they are quoted as saying at full speed. But that is to be seen. Some are saying you will be able to install Windows instead if you wish, but I've not read that myself. Linux will obviously be far more lightweight.

Linux also means it could be very good for retro gaming too. It will be far more powerful than the cheaper retro handhelds from companies such as Anbernic, so I bet it won't take look before we see dedicated distros for retro emulsion.. retroarch and maybe frontends like EmuElec could quickly appear.

To preorder one you have to pay £4 to secure a slot, for an expected first quarter 2022 release. The different versions vary a lot in price, but the only real difference is the storage size and type. Yes the storage types should make a big difference in access speed, but we dunt really know for such by how much, so is it worth paying £200+ more without any realworld previews and reviews?

Are you tempted? Will you be ordering one?
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