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[The Verge] Microsoft is now in a handheld gaming PC race

feynoob

Banned
Microsoft fanboys are.....something

If You Say So Shrug GIF
learning from the best
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Crayon

Member
Most people to this day haven't noticed that steam is a platform of it's own. Doesn't matter if it's on windows or linux. The games are built against the windows api, but that's nothing more than a slow-moving target for proton to keep up with.

I'm looking forward to arm translation integrated into steam. Then it's on like donkey kong.
 
I'm surprised they haven't announced some kind of additive front-end for Windows that can be turned on for these devices. If they allow another OS to get popular here, it might be something that spreads out to desktop gaming PCs etc.

Maybe this will give them the kick they need to get serious about that.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Well until steam os can natively launch those then it's not competing with windows.

How do you launch them on steam deck? Duel boot into windows?

When you say "natively" how do you work around it?

And why so abrasive lol calm down Topher Topher

Some of them can't be launched at all, I don't think, but some can using tools such as heroic launcher.


Steam Deck is already competing with Windows handheld such as Rog Ally so how can you say they cannot?

And there was nothing abrasive about my question DenchDeckard DenchDeckard . It was simply a question. Don't be so defensive.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Some of them can't be launched at all, I don't think, but some can using tools such as heroic launcher.


Steam Deck is already competing with Windows handheld such as Rog Ally so how can you say they cannot?

And there was nothing abrasive about my question DenchDeckard DenchDeckard . It was simply a question. Don't be so defensive.

If there is a legit way for me to launch stuff like the Xbox app then I'm all in. Not being defensive here. I love steam, I'm a 19 year vet day one Steam user, but I do use other launchers with My ROG Ally and sold my steam deck as I couldnt launch other launchers easily. If MS makes a gamepass launcher for steam that would be great.
 
Valve, once again on the way to save pc gaming, even if the marketshare is less than 5%.

Microsoft or Apple (lesser evil, but still closed market garbage that shouldn't exist as the ONLY pc space mainstream) shouldn't own the mainstream biggest market, for our own good. They can exist as options and it's going to take a while, even decades for Linux to catcup Windows/MacOS/iOS numbers, but every bit of % increase is worth the effort.

Always remember...

 

Topher

Identifies as young
If there is a legit way for me to launch stuff like the Xbox app then I'm all in. Not being defensive here. I love steam, I'm a 19 year vet day one Steam user, but I do use other launchers with My ROG Ally and sold my steam deck as I couldnt launch other launchers easily. If MS makes a gamepass launcher for steam that would be great.

I doubt we will ever see the Xbox app launch on Linux since it is using UWP, as are the games. But any normal Windows app can theoretically launch on Linux devices using the WINE based technology that makes any of this possible.

But as I said above, for the vast majority, Steam is all that is needed.
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I doubt we will ever see the Xbox app launch on Linux since it is using UWP, as are the games. But any normal Windows app can theoretically launch on Linux devices using the WINE based technology that makes any of this possible.

But as I said above, for the vast majority, Steam is all that is needed.

I think Steam is great and probably will work for most. But the beauty of PC is openness and choice. No walled gardens etc. I don't think I will be someone who reduces my options for an OS and I love steam. Each to their own though.

I don't want PC gaming to become like a console, so I will continue to use the OS that gives me the most options. Just my personal opinion.
 
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Fess

Member
Microsoft could and should have given us a "gaming/xbox" edition of the Windows OS by now.
Yeah what’s their problem? Can’t even start a Gamepass game without wishing I sat at a desktop PC. No wonder everybody just use Steam and skip every other launcher, it’s the only one with a controller UI.
And Microsoft already have a Xbox UI, so why not just tweak that into a Windows OS version focused on the TV experience and make it easy to flip through launchers like a 360 blades UI? Make it possible to boot into normal desktop mode for file access like how Valve does it on Steam Deck. It’s what everybody wants. But Microsoft just sit on their laurels counting money.
 

SHA

Member
It's about the games, I want support for this handheld as the switch, not a second chance hub for failed indies, this is unfortunate if this is going to be the case.
 
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rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
How do you launch them on steam deck? Duel boot into windows?
Heroic Launcher or Lutris, except Xbox app that doesn't work on those. Or dual boot windows with "Clover".


Windows has never worked on handhelds.
It works well enough on Deck.
 
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Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
I can tell you the Steam Deck is probably one of the greatest tech products of the last decade. It is god's gift to busy people with families or people that never would have touched PC gaming. My wife is right now playing Witcher 1 on the Deck, she would have never touched it otherwise. I just bought tons of Lego games from 15€ Humble Bundle, bought Steam key for MLP for my daughter for 4€.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
Hopefully this pushes Microsoft to create a good non-desktop experience for Windows. They really need a good non-kbm experience that allows for easy touch screen or controller navigation. And more easily allows you to turn off features you don't use. Something thing like profiles that configure the system based on whether you're doing gaming, productivity, development, etc. As more people move away from traditional laptops and desktops for computing tasks Microsoft risks Windows becoming something people just use at work.
 
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