Steam Deck poll: Console cycle or yearly update?

Should the Steam Deck upgrade every 5-7 years or every year?

  • Total voters
    171
Every two years, it's a PC not a console.

Valve do not provide console exclusives like Nintendo or Sony to justify a long life cycle.

The thing is, it doesn't need to be a massive jump every 2 years, new CPU and GPU arc from AMD is enough of a jump each time in performance, but other things such as screen, SSD and other things can get upgraded as well.

A zen4+rdna3+OLED SD would be fucking BANGIN' right now(not interested in windows handhelds).
 
I picked every other year, but really it should be like 3–4 years.
Wait for APU advancements. It makes no sense to drop another device 2 years later when the performance gain is negligible, but you're cannibalizing the previous product.
People would be held back buying Steam Decks if they knew in around 2 years the next one is gonna drop.
3-4 year cadence should be enough to have an actual performance benefit from it and also give time to evaluate and work on weak spots of the previous hardware and software.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
Steam Deck users will also be getting poor ports and the short-end of the stick.
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The Steam Deck doesn't exactly recieve ports, it's a PC running on PC hardware.

performance is up to the hardware more than anything.

I'm starting to agree with many here that 2-3 years is the sweet spot for this kind of stuff. 5-7 years is ridiculous and lengthy, annual devalues the brand and makes it too difficult to really settle on a purchase
 
It's not a console. Games aren't designed to be specifically optimised for the Deck. It's just a low end PC in handheld form. Valve could turn it into a console with exclusive games built for it which would allow them to extend its life but as of now, it will need to be updated at least every 3 years or it will be reserved to just indie games.
 
Crayon said:
4 years. If there are better performing ones and more affordable ones in the market, I think valve likes that. It's more of a reference device for the handheld pc market. The more pc players there are, the more steam customers. So spurring that market is in their interest in the long term.

Besides being an industry reference, it's also a stepping stone towards deckard.

And of course the hidden movement is steamos.
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What is deckard?
 
64bitmodels said:
The Steam Deck doesn't exactly recieve ports, it's a PC running on PC hardware.

performance is up to the hardware more than anything.

I'm starting to agree with many here that 2-3 years is the sweet spot for this kind of stuff. 5-7 years is ridiculous and lengthy, annual devalues the brand and makes it too difficult to really settle on a purchase
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Yeah ports was the wrong word to use. I meant the 'Verified' titles and Deck optimized settings.
 
KiteGr said:
According to the Community Runned Compatibility Site for Proton (that also naturally covers the deck), it runs almost everything, if not directly, then by instally Protton-GE and perhaps making some tweeks.
Unless your problem is with it's firepower.
I want one strong enough to run Nintendo Switch 2.
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Must just be the ones I want to play then 🤷‍♂️

I know the list exists, but even some games listed as working have quirks.
 
I'd say at most 2-3 years, but really, just refresh it when you can significantly improve it. It's dated after what, a year? Imagine in another 6? Fuck that noise.

Gaming "generations" are stupid on console, don't try and crowbar them into PC as well. Steam Deck is already being left behind (I love it though) - don't make me move onto another brand.

That said, I've found myself mostly streaming on Xcloud and Geforce now, so I'd be most interested in screen, connectivity and battery updates at this point!
 
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Yearly is too often for developers to bother creating profiles for and things like that. The traditional console cycle is too long though. I'd go with updating the specs every 3 or 4 years.
 
I own the steamdeck since it launched but I never used it much until a few weeks ago when I finally set up everything I just needed. Turns out it is my favorite console out of all, it is the one platform that plays everything. Every classic console can be emulated (playing Killer7 on a handheld is just awesome) Gamepass and PS5 can be streamed and my entire steam library is on it as well. Although I hate configuring computers, when it's done the Steam Deck is awesome. The only thing I'd like to see in a new one is an OLED display as every other device I own already has an OLED.
 
ksdixon said:
What is deckard?
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like64bitmodels said, it's the upcoming vr headset. It is stand alone, and also a pc. So if should do everything steam deck does, including hooking it up to a monitor and keyboard and using it as a desktop. And I am dying to see it. :<
 
FearlessBelgian said:
The survey is bad... For me, a new Steam deck every 3-4 years max would be the best thing... 5 to 7 years is ridiculous...
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yeah I don't see how anyone could want to wait a full console gen for a new Deck with how it's already starting to really struggle to run new games now that the cross-gen period is ending 😕

4 years is probably a good sweet spot for tech to advance enough to justify a new model
 
Valve are just waiting for Nintendo's move now, then depending on what Nintendo has in its bag Valve will release a slimmer Stem Deck 2 OLED earlier (2024, 2025 at latest) with similar specs as of now. If Switch 2 is a real killer with 4K screen and DLSS, Valve might feel they have to release a much more premium device but I hope they avoid 4K displays, keep the price down and focus on supporting all unique indie games I'm wanting it for in the first place. AMD probably can't keep up with what NVIDIA and Nintendo are doing, for the same price and energy efficiency, but I hope they can… soon.

Just my guess
 
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Famipan said:
Valve are just waiting for Nintendo's move now, then depending on what Nintendo has in its bag Valve will release a slimmer Stem Deck 2 OLED earlier (2024, 2025 at latest) with similar specs as of now. If Switch 2 is a real killer with 4K screen and DLSS, Valve might feel they have to release a much more premium device but I hope they avoid 4K displays, keep the price down and focus on supporting all unique indie games I'm wanting it for in the first place. AMD probably can't keep up with what NVIDIA and Nintendo are doing, for the same price and energy efficiency, but I hope they can… soon.

Just my guess
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you know that kind of makes sense. The Original Steam Deck reveal already felt like sort of a "response" to the Switch OLED, with the timing and hype for a "pro" Switch model bursting up. I can see Valve doing a similar thing for the Switch 2 announcement or at least later after the Switch 2 has already come out. Technically the Steam Deck hardware design was finalized and intended to be released in 2021, and 2024 would have been 3 years since then... sooo
 
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Voted 2 years but I think 2.5-3 is a better actual range. If Valve were to release one sooner, the most significant thing they could do would be to add replaceable batteries in line with the EU ruling. Imagine being able to carry a few extra batteries with you as you go.

It'd make deaing with the TSA way more interesting, lmao
 
kvltus lvlzvs said:
If Valve were to release one sooner, the most significant thing they could do would be to add replaceable batteries in line with the EU ruling. Imagine being able to carry a few extra batteries with you as you go.
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solid state batteries > replaceable batteries. Not that the former is more realistic than the latter but it's the ultimate goal for PC handheld battery lives anyways.
 
The Ayaneo route seems to be the way to go...

FwSLk18.jpg
 
Don't know where else I could ask this, has anyone tried Geforce Now Ultimate with the Steam Deck on a 4k TV? Are BG3, CP2077 and other highly demanding games this way playable in 4k120 with high details?
 
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