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[rm082e]

IMO, the question is not how it competes with Steam Deck. The question is will it bring more people into the PC handheld eco system?

Maybe a handful of Xbots who like new toys, but otherwise no. PC players just see a more expensive handheld that lacks an OLED screen. The OLED Steam Deck is getting old, but it's still perfectly fine for indies and smaller titles.

 

[MisterXDTV]

Sony demolished these PC Handhelds with an Accessory for streaming (PS Portal)

The moment they release an actual handheld that can natively play all games, even Valve won't have a market anymore

 

[Senua]

Sony demolished these PC Handhelds with an Accessory for streaming (PS Portal)

The moment they release an actual handheld that can natively play all games, even Valve won't have a market anymore

 

[Fess]

What?

You can install games from everywhere but the windows store on the deck, and that's with the default linux OS.

Is this from your own experience?
Maybe it's easier if you're some dedicated Linux wizard idk but even just moving files and do modding is a hurdle and a half for me. Can't see people in general do any of that, people will use a Steam Deck for a handheld Steam experience and an Ally and Lenovo etc for a handheld Windows experience.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Sony demolished these PC Handhelds with an Accessory for streaming (PS Portal)

The moment they release an actual handheld that can natively play all games, even Valve won't have a market anymore

Most steam deck owners probably know about steam key sites. So there will always be a market. You can blow up your library and backlog for the handheld really easily on gg . deals which is an aggregator for Steam Key sites.

 

[GHG]

Is this from your own experience?
Maybe it's easier if you're some dedicated Linux wizard idk but even just moving files and do modding is a hurdle and a half for me. Can't see people in general do any of that, people will use a Steam Deck for a handheld Steam experience and an Ally and Lenovo etc for a handheld Windows experience.

Yes. You just set up heroic launcher and you're done.

Unless you're going to tell me you don't know how to navigate a desktop OS in order to get it done, in which case the windows handhelds certainly wouldn't be for you.

 

[MisterXDTV]

Most steam deck owners probably know about steam key sites. So there will always be a market. You can blow up your library and backlog for the handheld really easily on gg . deals which is an aggregator for Steam Key sites.

Yeah, but you are not really gaining more users: at most they keep the same that have Steam Deck right now

But Sony can afford to make the perceived value of the hardware/software combination basically unbeatable

And how many people have already a Playstation library ready if you consider that since PS4, games are bought from PS Store?

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Yeah, but you are not really gaining more users: at most they keep the same that have Steam Deck right now

But Sony can afford to make the perceived value of the hardware/software combination basically unbeatable

And how many people have already a Playstation library ready if you consider that since PS4, games are bought from PS Store?

I have a huge playstation library but I have almost zero interest in a dedicated native handheld. The Portal works just fine for me. I don't really see a need to buy a more expensive device just to play the same library of games as my Portal. However the cheap steam keys combined with steam family sharing has been ridiculous. My steam library went from around 20 games to close to 1000 in about a year. They're pretty lax about who is in your "family".

 

[MisterXDTV]

I have a huge playstation library but I have almost zero interest in a dedicated native handheld. The Portal works just fine for me. I don't really see a need to buy a more expensive device just to play the same library of games as my Portal. However the cheap steam keys combined with steam family sharing has been ridiculous. My steam library went from around 20 games to close to 1000 in about a year. They're pretty lax about who is in your "family".

If I have to speak for myself I actually agree with you: my dream scenario would be an OLED PS Portal with working media apps, like the Logitech G Cloud in a way

But I don't think my case is actually that common.

In the end as my dream scenario is still a dream, I settled for an iPad Mini instead. But even that one doesn't have an OLED screen yet

 

[Tobimacoss]

Sony demolished these PC Handhelds with an Accessory for streaming (PS Portal)

The moment they release an actual handheld that can natively play all games, even Valve won't have a market anymore

No one is demolishing anyone, everyone will carve out their niche. Nintendo will not be dethroned in handhelds.

It's an ecosystem battle from now on. Steam users will go for a Deck. PlayStation users will go for a PS6 handheld. Xbox and windows PC users will go for the Windows/Xbox handhelds.

 

[Fess]

Yes. You just set up heroic launcher and you're done.

Unless you're going to tell me you don't know how to navigate a desktop OS in order to get it done, in which case the windows handhelds certainly wouldn't be for you.

I already know Windows, been using that since the start and even before that, 80s computer nerd. But with Steam Deck I'm admittedly lost, whenever I want to do something out of the ordinary I just end up googling for guides. And I assume that's how it is for the general public as well.

 

[Minsc]

I have some bad news for you about the Steam Deck 2 price vs the Steam Deck 1...

 

[Sorcerer]

I have a huge playstation library but I have almost zero interest in a dedicated native handheld. The Portal works just fine for me. I don't really see a need to buy a more expensive device just to play the same library of games as my Portal. However the cheap steam keys combined with steam family sharing has been ridiculous. My steam library went from around 20 games to close to 1000 in about a year. They're pretty lax about who is in your "family".

I thought I was way overdoing it acquiring about 1500 games over a decade. Now I don't feel so bad. Welcome to the club!!! There is quite nothing like loading your cart with 10-15 games in a sale and staying just under a hundred bucks (at other times 20 for 200). Still when I see AAA games at 80 a pop I know I can never go back to console.

 

[existensmaximum]

I thought I was way overdoing it acquiring about 1500 games over a decade. Now I don't feel so bad. Welcome to the club!!! There is quite nothing like loading your cart with 10-15 games in a sale and staying just under a hundred bucks (at other times 20 for 200). Still when I see AAA games at 80 a pop I know I can never go back to console.

Do you have time to play all these games? Have you played all 1500?

 

[Tobimacoss]

Do you have time to play all these games? Have you played all 1500?

It's just a dopamine fix for their hoarding issues.

 

[Sorcerer]

Do you have time to play all these games? Have you played all 1500?

No. But one day I plan to retire and kind of treat it as a Net flix type of thing. Except no sub. LOL!!! I don't feel too bad about it, because I have pretty much stopped investing in consoles. I tried Gamepass during the pandemic but wasn't for me. I enjoyed the games I played but the fact that games disappear means you can't get to everything. I bought a used Switch last X-mas thinking I was missing something, but I found I wasn't, just going to finish whatever games are on there that I have that can't be played elsewhere and that will be the end of that. Paying for online kind of sucks. I hope that never happens on PC.
For all those games there are people that have much more than I have. I have seen that some accounts have 30,000-40,000 games. I will never reach that cause I am too old and not that rich. LOL!!! Even I think that is lunacy.
I hear stories about working at Valve and having an unlocked Steam account with access to everything. That would be kind of mind-blowing and amazing.

 

[Gamezone]

They can't compete, but if you don't want the Deck's weak hardware and smaller battery, there sure should be options out there.

 

[Yoboman]

Why would Valve care about any of that? They make royalties without needing to lift a finger on hardware, they have zero incentive to pursue an aggressive strategy of hardware subsidisation. If anything it only harms them having more users buying a subsidised hardware instead of them just getting those users no effort. The last thing they want is PC users becoming handheld users. And above all that, all of the handheld PCs support steam

Steam deck only exists because the employees at Valve have such an easy job with next to no competition that they are bored

 

[UltimaKilo]

Maybe a handful of Xbots who like new toys, but otherwise no. PC players just see a more expensive handheld that lacks an OLED screen. The OLED Steam Deck is getting old, but it's still perfectly fine for indies and smaller titles.

Not releasing it with OLED on the high-end model, for that price, is criminal.

Nonetheless, its a cool product and I'm excited to see what a PC handheld will look like by 2027/2028 designed with a N2P or N2E node.

 

[Crayon]

A $1000 handheld is a tough pill sto swallow. I want the new Legion Go, but I can get a drastically more powerful laptop for the same price.

That fact alone makes these handhelds tought to justify.

I'm legit wondering if I should have just gone with a cheap LCD steamdeck and call it a day.

At this price I'm much more interested in a laptop. Just need to find a place to set it down. If I'm going to be playing in a subway or something like that, I'm going to bring a much more portable handheld. If I'm at home or visiting somewhere, I'd rather set down a laptop or tablet and pair a controllers and earbuds. Way more comfortable. And if course the performance is so much better.

 

[PlayStaytion]

Valve did it this way to sell more units, Microsoft can't compete at that level at least for now.

 

[Bernkastel]

Microsoft lost the handheld race, soon they will loose the home console race.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

Sony demolished these PC Handhelds with an Accessory for streaming (PS Portal)

The moment they release an actual handheld that can natively play all games, even Valve won't have a market anymore

I have been very public about not believing PS6 would be a handheld. And I still insist that it is just not physically possible.

However, there is definitely a business case for there to be a PS5 handheld. A big part would require that the screen be smaller than full resolution so as to save power and processing power.

The idea being if you are going to have extended life for the previous gen, you might as well have new hardware to run it on.

Either way, one thing is for sure. Sony will not be making games exclusively for the handheld. They learned the lesson last time. Whatever they make will just run existing libraries.

PS4 can already work as a handheld, people have made it work in custom mods. PS5 might have to be nerfed to do the same unless there are tech we don't know about.

 

[Tobimacoss]

I have been very public about not believing PS6 would be a handheld. And I still insist that it is just not physically possible.

However, there is definitely a business case for there to be a PS5 handheld. A big part would require that the screen be smaller than full resolution so as to save power and processing power.

The idea being if you are going to have extended life for the previous gen, you might as well have new hardware to run it on.

Either way, one thing is for sure. Sony will not be making games exclusively for the handheld. They learned the lesson last time. Whatever they make will just run existing libraries.

PS4 can already work as a handheld, people have made it work in custom mods. PS5 might have to be nerfed to do the same unless there are tech we don't know about.

PS6 Orion home Console is not a handheld but PS6 Canis IS a PS6 handheld. So still counts as part of the PS6 family.

16 CU RDNA5, basically Series S level but in handheld form. One thing to see is if Sony mandates support and parity with the PS6 home console.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

16 CU RDNA5, basically Series S level but in handheld form. One thing to see is if Sony mandates support and parity with the PS6 home console.

I see it as another SonyTOO. It is a bad idea and who was going to copy Xbox failures?

PS5 handheld is good enough. Parity rule = death.