Platform warriors have always and will always exist and it's not unique to console either as we also have the PCMR folks that pull the same shit as the console fanboys.
Good point though on the gen crossover. It just seems weird to position such a low power GPU in a device that is meant more for living rooms where the majority of people have 4K tvs now.
Well FWIW, I went to a Steam subreddit and people were pointing out how Steam Deck's prototype was weaker than the final version. I.e the prototype had an RDNA 1 GPU but the final Steam Deck used RDNA 2. So it could be a very similar pattern here with Fremont.
Also, some are saying Valve won't announce this until they announce Deckard (I don't even know what that is) and Steam Deck 2, and that Steam Deck 2 would likely be releasing before Fremont. Steam Deck 2 is probably still at least a year away, maybe a bit more, so Fremont's likely to be a 2027 device. That gives a lot of room for spec bumps in various areas; for all we know that may have already happened but there's no listing for another variant that can be cribbed for leaks ATM.
As I said above unfortunately platform warriors exist on every platform. On the PC side we just happen to have two groups: General PCMR, and Steam Fanboys.
The amount that pc handhelds in general get overplayed is ridiculous though. All together they have sold between 6 and 7 million with over 4 of that being Steam Deck. Hell besides the Steam Deck the PlayStation Portal has outsold every single PC gaming handheld (most of them combined) and sold faster then the Steam Deck has and it's literally just a controller with streaming display on it.
It is worth stressing that none of those PC handhelds have done anywhere near the type of advertising mainstream consoles like PlayStation, Nintendo, or even Xbox have done. A lot of those PC handhelds aren't even sold in physical retail outlets.
Those two things alone would put a major limit on number of manufactured devices, and thus sales.
I'll get one for sure.
Don't think these devices are much of a threat to consoles though.
Well, when they aren't being produced in volumes of 5-10 million/year with big traditional advertising, and normalized distribution in physical retail chains, then yeah they aren't going to be much a threat to consoles.
But I think the growth of this market segment is a given, and it'll be a matter of when, not if, they start truly encroaching on traditional console sales markets. With the pricing pattern of consoles this gen, combined with 2 of the 3 platform holders either going fully multiplat or increasingly treading into that direction, those types of things just make consolized PC devices more appealing IMHO.
There have finally been breakthroughs in UI & QOL with these devices to mimic a traditional console experience, alongside various resource optimizations and software library compatibility. And right now, Steam Deck & Steam OS are the pinnacle on this front. That's why I think they're in the driver's seat in terms of being the best chance this emerging market can see big growth.
That's in spite of what Microsoft's attempting to do because honestly, MS's poor track record as a console platform holder is still there, and there's no reason to assume they'll get it right with these Xbox PC devices. If their size was to an advantage, Series S & X would be a lot better off today, and Microsoft Store would be the premier place for PC gaming instead of storefronts like Steam (and even ones like EGS & GOG dwarf Microsoft Store for PC gaming). So they have a
LOT to prove still IMHO.
