Steam Deck Review: Buy One Or Wait? | Ars Technica

[@yogiturtleseraph8208]

We might have to agree to disagree on this, but I think you treat it too much as a tech demo. The fact that it can run FOTM AAA games fluidly in a 15W envelop is probably very impressive, but a bit anecdotal; those games are better suited for home theater anyway. The major advantage of this unit is its attractive price, already huge library and promise of forward and backward compatibility. There are no shortage of games that are perfectly fit for a small screen/(whatever control) in the steam library. In the end this is still a machine that has to make compromises. The value you can get out of it depend on your capacity to leverage its strengths and alleviate its weaknesses. Constantly trying to use it in the breaking point scenario is actually doing the opposite.

[@NattosoupStudio]

Steam Deck is what APUs were made for. They just didn't know it.

[@GRAv111]

Yeah 5 years ago I remember people complaining what the heck was the point of combining a gpu and cpu and getting less graphical power out of it. Fast forward to today and now people are praising the deck which uses that technology

[@JamieT1986]

5:30 PS Vita was pretty far ahead of its time. Sixaxis controls, front and rear touch, OLED screen...

[@Wildeheart79]

PS Vita was the right product wrong time sadly. Between the 3DS the Wii and the Xbox 360 a lot of people never even knew what it was. Sad really, it could have kicked off something amazing especially where portable PC's are concerned.

[@dentsells]

@@Wildeheart79 Sony killed the vita with expensive proprietary memory.

[@WakoDoodle]

Sounds like when the PSP came out. The first portable playstation but with those really brittle and bad discs.... which you could just download the game and stick it on an SD card and skip the load process. Although the later PSP games showed it's limits with long load times. But as a ps1 portable emulator + portable movie/music player it was amazing.

[@AninoNiKugi]

PS Vita looked great but I think mobile phone gaming kind of killed it.

[@AninoNiKugi]

I think people should just treat the Deck as a new console by a new company but with advantages. It has limited games that works well on it. Like a new console, devs don't target it yet. Like a new company entering a market, they have gaps and virtually no support from companies. But their main advantage is that they can have existing games that can work already flawlessly and if you already use Steam on your PC, you don't have to buy your games again.

[@blazingsaddle166]

Limited games? The steam deck already has well over 3000 verified games you can play on it out of the box.

[@rjcgy713]

Confused about your comments regarding gyro control. The very thing that would be the first comparison for this device, the Switch, has that. I can aim arrows in breath of the wild just by moving the device. Is this somehow different from the switch's version?

[@samred]

hi! I'm Sam Machkovech from Ars and am commenting from my personal account. my feature-length review at Ars Technica clarifies this comment about how gyro is differentiated on Deck compared to Switch. tl;dr: works on a base system level *and* includes a party trick based on putting your finger on Deck's joysticks.

[@rjcgy713]

@@samred thank you, apologies i missed that. Was making breakfast while listening to the review.

[@TackerTacker]

If you only just yet think about buying a Steam Deck than you don't have to worry about the software, by the time you will get one they probably already announced a Steam Deck 2. xD

[@obvious_giraffe8386]

Option 3 : buy one AND wait

[@imushavem7504]

How long do you think the wait will be to get v2? :)

[@xJayhawkFANx]

@@imushavem7504 I'd say a couple years at least. Just a guess though

[@Gingerlion777]

Q3 2022 is still beter than ps5 and xbox almost 3 years after launch still almost not available.

[@chekote]

Wait until game compatibility is ironed out?! There are literally hundreds of launch titles that work great on Deck right now! Show me any other gaming system that had that kind of library at launch. It’s pure insanity to me that reviewers are criticizing that. 🤦‍♂️

[@MicaelAzevedo]

The question is: who is this guy

[@imushavem7504]

I totally get what your saying, but in fairness to him, a lot of early streams covering the Steam Deck kept saying "take my entire steam library on the go." That will never be the case. Best to set realistic expectations. I see is so much value in the Steam Deck and I'm really looking forward to getting mine.

[@seabeeswebuildwefight9723]

I was debating on getting one, I travel for work alot & have been debating on getting a laptop but I didn't wanna spend $800-$1000 for God of War, Dying Light 1 & 2, FS19 & FS22 stuff like that, this may be exactly what I'm looking for.

[@emanuelcarmona9930]

If all you want to do is play games then yes get it. I have an expensive gaming laptop that I also use for work daily so it makes sense for me. This seems very cool for travel though.

[@seabeeswebuildwefight9723]

@@emanuelcarmona9930 I already have a desktop with a $7k gaming set up, the problem I have is the fact when I leave I have nothing. Just sitting in a hotel room for a week or longer. Waiting for the night to end, it'd be alot better if I could play some games. This device would be worth it for my needs.

[@Lestibournes]

Steam Deck uses an operating system called SteamOS. On SteamOS applications are installed using packages called Flatpak, which are equivalent to APK on Android. In desktop mode you can browse, search, install, or remove those applications using an app called Discover.

[@kevinbuchanan67]

Thanks for a good, fair review. I've got my $650 model on reserve and I can't frigging wait to get mine! I like it a bit more than you do, but everyone's different

[@randallb4972]

ya i agree, it was an ok review.. but it seems like he was looking at it as a console, and not a pc. and mabye was more accustomed to using consoles and not really experienced in linux or the pc side as much. you can do regular things with linux desktop for instance, and he failed to notice that. but anyhoo i have the 256gb model on reserve myself. another thing, switch still only gets 2-2 1/2 or 3 hours on a real intensive game. regardless of what nintendo would tell you. and im sure it isnt any better if not worse on the oled, in all seriousness. but he likes his switch let him stick with it lol.

[@wasdwasdwwasd]

I suspect very few people are going to use the PC features of the Steam Deck. Plus, the Switch can do around 4.5-5 hours with the 16nm version and due to the screen the OLED has slightly better battery life.

[@Freakazoid12345]

Did you get it and if so, how is it so far?

[@kevinbuchanan67]

@@Freakazoid12345 not yet, my number hasn't come up yet. I do have a Win 3 and Onexplayer. I love both of them

[@Freakazoid12345]

@@kevinbuchanan67 I might check those out. I never buy anything within 2 years of it coming it because things tend to be too expensive and I don't want to be the person complaining about things not working when I didn't have to make a purchase. edit: geez, those are expensive. I can't imagine paying that much money for a gaming console.

[@DiecastNewb]

Would have wanted to see a few benchmarks and more of that good stuff. Definitely thinking about getting one, especially at these prices compared to the Aya, and others out there

[@snowballeffect7812]

Yeah, for all its limitations, the price is still bonkers. This is the first real step of having full-fledged PCs being mobile and portable with apple coming at it from the other side with their new ARM platform.

[@randgrithr7387]

There are plenty of other channels that focus on benchmarks, just being real.

[@DiecastNewb]

@@randgrithr7387 yeah, just started looking at some other reviews and also went to the website linked. A pretty thorough review!

[@chekote]

This is the best benchmark video I’ve seen so far: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/amW3g617fLWVnKc

[@DiecastNewb]

@@chekote thank you. Saw it. Pretty good performance in my opinion. And most of the games I have don't really on super powerful hardware. (I.e. Horizon is probably the hardest to run in my collection.)

[@GraphicalRanger]

It's a consolised portable pc with an amazing starting lineup of games that already work, with a great chance many other games will work inthe future. Not to mention most of gaming history via emulation back to 8bit era. Compared to hardware launches it phenomenal...

[@Kobayashi704]

On ebay right now there's some selling for 1.5k FOR THE RESERVE PLACEMENT

[@GothicDragonX]

Those reseller are being removed from eBay for breaking website policy. Sure the resellers can post whatever they want, but if ebay moderators catch the seller, they can simply shutdown their sales and account before making any transactions.

[@Kobayashi704]

@@GothicDragonX honestly good, I get selling it once it's out but this is ridiculous

[@matthiasmartin4355]

Not even mentioning the recommended 30fps target setting being readily available to improve battery life and not even testing that core feature seems like a pretty blatant omission. This review is basically judging the Steamdeck negatively for giving optionality even though the 30fps mode is basically the default recommendation for people who expect games to work as they are.

[@QwertyCaesar]

Hey, I know the Steam Deck has a broadcast function similar to the handheld/home console switch from which the Nintendo Switch derives its name. Was that feature tested out at all?

[@redscorpion9325]

Most of us have no options but to wait especially since a lot of Q1 Preorders got delayed to Q2

[@Huyndoan]

just ordered 1 today. This probably won't ship within the next 3-4 months if buy now anyway. By that time, many things will get fixed.

[@imushavem7504]

I order last July and ship date is currently sometime in Q3 (around a year after I ordered). You're at least Q4, but realistically probably next year. I hope you get it sooner (and before Christmas).

[@retroprogamer7009]

Cant wait to finally get mine

[@MobileDecay]

No command line? 🥺

[@jorelplay8738]

why is the whole review based on comparing the deck to the switch? a full fat PC hendheld vs an old ARM-based Nintendo device?

[@monochr0m]

Right?

[@Will_b83]

I’m playing Witcher right now on it and I cannot believe how good it is. My hands are huge so when I bought the switch back in 2017 I was so disappointed…I tried like hell to use it and it was just frustrating. This things layout is perfect, even the back paddles are perfectly placed. It definitely has its limitations but for the price it’s incredible.

[@obscurumopus]

Thanks man!

[@TheBuzzati]

Excellent review - this was really helpful

[@mick2d2]

It also has impressive control config options, same as the vastly underated and amazing Steam controller.

[@manic221]

Yep, in my opinion Valve really need to release a second Steam Controller. That way the community can help with the control configuration project without necessarily having to buy a Steam deck.

[@Lestibournes]

It seems like a good replacement for both a desktop PC and a handheld console, but if you use a gaming laptop for both work and play then it won't replace it. So one option would be to use a lightweight laptop with long battery life for work on the go and Deck for games and as a desktop replacement. Since Deck runs Linux, if you need Windows-only apps like MS Office or Adobe Creative Cloud then you can use them on the laptop, but use the Deck for other work or for leisure.

[@imushavem7504]

Probably not a good "gaming" desktop replacement (at this point). Even a low end gaming desktop (1060 6GB) would have much better comparability. I have about 300 steam games and only 44 are verified (20) or playable (24) as of today. 32 are not supported and over 200 are "not tested". Be sure to the end result is what you want if you're giving up a desktop.

[@dr.eldontyrell-rosen926]

For running emulators for retro games this seems like a killer!

[@cattigereyes1]

The more people to buy one means more in the future! Also software is being patched to work seamlessly for the future!

[@darren8453]

I have three kids, I commute to a full time job 2-3x a week, and I have a controller for my phone. Which currently sits unused because I don't have enough time to go through and debug the issues with the games I really want to play.

[@Tantive]

It's better to reserve now and wait anyway because of the amount of orders processing

[@Endrance88]

Can I play Microsoft exclusives on it like fallout New Vegas 2 and es6?

[@retroprogamer7009]

You can play almost every Game you want on this. Some Games may however need more or less fiddling with the settings to run well

[@dio8070]

They did say they would push updates to make battery life better and stuff like bugs too

[@JelaniWood]

Trick question: To buy one is to wait for one

[@SamuHell782]

Reserve one and wait since that is what will happen anyway. By the time you can buy it plenty of software kinks will be polished, games will be made to run properly and the community will have some more nice ways to enjoy the deck. If by any chance you don't want to buy it when you get the email, no harm done anyway. Its ok to cancel your order especially if you are ahead of me on the queue ;)

[@dznuts123]

You need to add steam has a lot of discounts and sales for games. This makes steam a much better option than Nintendo, lest you are after the Nintendo games.

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

I have to unfortunately wait for 5 months. Wished i ordered sooner

[@DogginsFroggins]

Why on earth was the review based on the Switch, they are basically polar opposites in terms of markets. It felt like this was a "how does it compare to the Switch" rather than an actual review.

[@ZeroOne130]

I agree. Such a disappointing review.

[@Justin-Trammell]

Informative review, thanks~

[@reggaerock]

Fix the battery issue and I'm in. It drains the battery even while it's plugged in!

[@ToTouchAnEmu]

Loved this review, lots of good information. I do think yall should invest in a pop filter for that mic tho.

[@fakeshemp9599]

This was a very good review. Good info and to the point

[@CarChrisMC]

What I am actually waiting for for a long time, is a VR headset with steamdeck technology.... Playing Half Life VR without having to buy a 2500€ setup!

[@v1d300]

So at $500+ its better to save up for a GPU for your gaming PC than getting a steamdeck for at least 6 months?

[@krux02]

If that helps you play video games on the train, yes absolutely.

[@ruekurei88]

@@krux02 He could buy a second-hand gaming laptop that can play games on the train. But I mean, if you want raw power and don't want portability, then buy the GPU. Only look into Steam Deck if you want portable PC games without using a laptop, not as an actual replacement for a gaming PC.

[@__aceofspades]

@@krux02 $500 buys you an entry level gaming laptop that would stomp the Steam Deck's performance, battery, and game compatibility/

[@csl110]

@@__aceofspades which model laptop?

[@dirtfriend]

@@csl110 The Imaginatron 5000, obviously.

[@moayadhasson1828]

Your eyes are hypnotizing

[@AvidStressEnjoyer]

My dude looking like he wants talk to the manager.

[@ANKNOK4]

Oh, The war beggins in my country, I think that a good moment to buy a steam deck before net will be shutted.

[@hstechnicalsolution8102]

Helping Others In Their Tough Of Need Is The Best Gift Of Humanity So Your One Click Can Change Whole Life ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

[@drifter4training]

Its a PC, valve will release the steam OS and windows software, drivers etc for steam deck in time, the battery life is to be expected depending on the games and day to day use (that's normal)... The only thing is the CPU, the current custom CPU in the steam deck is sufficient but will struggle for some AAA games, software and other uses depending on user... If AMD's next or future gen rdna 2 igpu graphics have the performance of desktop 1650 or at high settings, 1080p 30-60 FPS in both handheld & desktop mode while keeping up to 40w ... and also keeping the manufacturing costs less than or up to a thousand USD, Its more than enough for any pc handheld device.. good thing ifixit will have replacement parts for steam deck later this year.. it's easier for valve this way despite may affect the service warranty for valve hardware products... their hardware support and service center is not like pc OEMs e.g. Asus, Acer..

[@HunterKiotori]

I'm buying one just in case they don't make another. Look at the steam controller.

[@MondoMurderface]

Look.. I can be a paid comment too! "Good review! To the point and well said!" Ars is a joke, The language alone.. "Tech Culture Editor" lmao Then comparing it to the Switch. oof..

[@atipsy69]

General woke up today bursting with positivity eh 😂

[@xionkuriyama5697]

The fact that a twin stick shooter of all things doesn't work concerns me--it was advertised as basically just being a PC with a built-in game controller. Maybe my hopes of playing stupidly compicated strategy games in public was overambitious, but a twin-stick?

[@krux02]

I guess you can Warhammer Total War 3 on the steam deck, it has Linux support. Nex Machina is probably exploiting the Windows API's too much to run it through proton.

[@blazingsaddle166]

Buy one or wait? LOL. If you place an order now via Steam, you'll be lucky to see delivery in late 2023, so...............plenty of time to think about it.

[@ReGo001]

Interested, but there is no way I’m touching this until it’s had some of its kinks worked out

[@blazingsaddle166]

What 'kinks. are you talking about?

[@travisnorman]

Great review, Sam. That was succinct and helpful!

[@koalabear9967]

The deck is not a specific competitor to the switch, why would you base the review around that?

[@Jaydogg222]

You are absolutely right in that people are buying the switch to plat the first party titles more than anything else. Titles that won't ever be on Steam. I think maybe the review was more comparing the portable tech of both systems

[@Jonno8825]

Will it run Tarkov? :P

[@phreak761]

No.

[@hadhad69]

We calling GUIs gooeys now? Must have missed the memo on that one

[@smacksalad]

Why has this been filmed in a 12 year old's bedroom?

[@PatrykPonichtera]

I bet the fan noise if nowhere near to that of a PS4

[@Artesian_mirage]

Why didn't they call it the "Steam Engine"?

[@nathanielneufeld9077]

Editorializing a direct comparison to the Switch was a poor approach for this review.

[@bunkymag]

I don't really think this is in competition with the switch at all..?

[@a9udn9u]

Buy one or wait? Either way you have to wait

[@Unknown_Ooh]

Comparing a portable N64 to the portable gaming PC shouldn't even be a thing! I can play any switch game with my $130 smartphone I can't play any real full PC games on my phone.

[@VaviVove]

Feels like a psvita successor

[@kevinbuchanan67]

The win 3 and Onexplayer, with tdp up to 50 watt (Steam Deck is 15 watt) and thunderbolt support, probably have more power

[@ThatShyGuyMatt]

Eh. Not surprised. Handhelds will never be amazing. Especially when it comes to battery life, speakers....etc. I'll stick with my Quest 2, its not perfect but the virtual gimmick is fun.

[@drunkpaulocosta]

See mobile/portsble gaming needs a boost IMO. Its such a wasted space and besides the ports of KOTOR and i guess the GTA games there isnt many decent single player games on mobile even. Or even FPS games ect. All of the ones you find are like COD mobile or PUBG where its 10 real players and 90 bots in a "battle royale" or they are pay to play idle trash games. Or just .io clone games. So while phones keep getting better and better and new gaming phones drop. There is just nothing in the gaming space for actual games and true gaming experiences it seems. Lets hope the strong backbone of games Steam already has can give portable gaming a much needed boost that shows devs games don't have to be souless ad farms.

[@JJSaturday]

This ginger is the gingerest ginger to ever ginger as a ginger

[@NeroVingian40]

So, it’s a portable gaming handheld, that isn’t really that portable and needs to be tethered to a power source most of the time? That’s kinda expected tbh, just what I thought it would be, which is a shame, since this isn’t as portable as the hype makes it to be. This is like the first model of the Switch, constantly needed to be charged.

[@cube2fox]

Does anyone also think the Editor Sam Machkovech looks like an android with those white circles in his pupils? 😐 Anyway, interesting video. The main advantage (over a Switch) seems to be the massive amount of supported games, even if we assume that half of the Steam library won't work properly. The short battery life can perhaps be improved by forcing a 30 FPS cap.

[@samirm9097]

I painfully modded my toshiba satellite into console form factor to make it portable gaming buddy. Gt525m is a big pain. 12 fps on gta V with upgraded fan (300% larger) Steam deck would be my saver. Unfortunately its not available in Asia. So im getting Aya Neo

[@pr.dr.nachtigaller5154]

I an surprised it doesn't have an OLED screen, most phones have those since 2018

[@zackmyers6552]

1 hour battery

[@banks3388]

This video is misleading, Valve has literally told it's consumers that tinkering with the Steam Deck will not only void your warranty but make the device a fire hazard due to voltage regulations on parts that they use... that's not openness that's hostile design.

[@MissyMalaprop]

no... its wait and buy one... even if you want it today, you are waiting anyways.

[@christiankettlewell]

+$200 for some memory? Can’t I just get a Micro SD for like $40.

[@jasonblalock4429]

SD cards have a much slower transfer rate than an actual SSD. I don't know the exact speed of the Deck's SSD offhand, but it's absolutely guaranteed to be multiple times faster than the SD slot. Besides longer load times, this would heavily affect any games that need to constantly stream in new data, like open-world games. You'd be more likely to get stuttering, pop-in, etc.

[@christiankettlewell]

@@jasonblalock4429 oh ok. I’m mostly a console gamer. There’s always more about PC that I’ve never heard about

[@samred]

the Ars article talks about how Steam Deck loading times generally run the same whether loaded via microSD or faster on-board storage. and loading times don't seem to differ wildly between "slower" and "faster" microSD cards. that may help you budget for Deck!

[@retroprogamer7009]

It all depends on what Games you play. If you only play older Games or Games with less demanding Graphics then you will be totally fine with a cheaper SD Card. Newer and more demanding Games will load a bit slower however. But in the end it wont be that extremely different since you have to turn down some settings anyway which makes loading faster.

[@samred]

@@retroprogamer7009 inaccurate. see my reply to the above question.

[@rievaulxlucienne1176]

The controller design is probably the most ugly thing that has arrived since Atari Jaguar.

[@Kallan007]

This guy is a clown. Waiting for the best gaming device on the planet says a guy that has one. Yes please listen to him and don't order one, that gives the rest of us a chance of getting one quicker. 🤣🤣🤣

[@MukiMuki688]

It's crazy there's a handheld with nearly the same graphical fidelity as the PS5 Street Fighter 6 - Ryu Theme Guitar MV - EX Plus Alpha kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpTSmmWPpdickMk King of Fighters 15 Nameless theme Guitar MV kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2qam4anra6aZtk Gundam Hathaway Main Theme Guitar MV (Senkou) kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZCUaYabecSmj6s

[@__aceofspades]

Software looks half baked and game compatibility seems bad. Pair that with an anemic battery life of 87 minutes under full load, and the Steam Deck just doesnt seem worth it right now. Cancelling my preorder and will wait for software improvements or 2nd gen.

[@unibu1534]

The battery life is a lie, tests show that the 87 minutes is what you get when you purposefully change settings to drain the Deck battery as fast as possible, otherwise it can easily match the battery life of Switch.

[@csl110]

@@unibu1534 shhhhhhhhhh. Need less people in queue

[@TheOOKed]

Yes. Please cancel, free your queue slot for someone else.

[@cad2057]

Yes you should absolutely cancel and free up space in the queue. Thank You

[@bishopinskipp2113]

Your lighting setup is too severe and distracting buddy. I had to stop watching after a minute.

[@blazingsaddle166]

It's kinda crazy that people still don't get how unbelievable this device is and are still sat on a fence deliberating over stupid things. Make no mistake, the steam deck has pretty much revolutionized portable PC gaming and runs AAA games flawlessly. No other portable device comes anywhere close to what the steam deck does at the price range it's at, literally nothing competes. Laptop gaming? that's a thing of the past as far as I'm concerned.

[@derekbinelli9691]

#ItIsSoWorthItInTheLongRun!

[@xxinevitablexx5914]

Why does people continue to compare the Steam Deck to the switch… saying it’s the “switch killer”. The purpose and the objective for the switch is to be able to play Nintendo branded games. Yes the Deck can be an awesome emulator but that’s not the point lol.

[@giomjava]

Less face footage, more device you're REVIEWING footage please.

[@andrebrynkus2055]

Impressive; a new, expensive, and hard to find small PC runs games better than a much less expensive five old machine. Maybe don't compare it to the Switch so heavily because it's not a Switch. Oh wow, it runs Control better. I can do that comparison too - Switch runs Breath of the Wild better.

[@The_Mariner]

The screen on the steam deck looks like total trash.

[@MN_-]

what the hell is that can i see ur manager haircut

[@samred]

Sam here. I get my hairs did at Coven Salon in Seattle, WA. It's a wonderful, witchy, and hella gay spot for cuts and color. Tell 'em Sam sentcha.

[@MN_-]

@@samred lol!!

[@MobileDecay]

@@samred Do they have a manager I can speak to? 🤔

[@rahul875]

I think Nintendo oled model is the best than steam deck

[@OriginEnjoyer]

first?

[@wayneyadams]

I would not buy it just because it is a Steam Product. I have had a long running problem with Steam and their dictatorial game site, so no thanks, i don't care how good a gaming console it is!

[@ZeroOne130]

dictatorial game site?... woot.

[@DeviantDork]

Your comb-over isn't hiding that you're going bald. You can do better.

[@atipsy69]

Cringe

[@clockworklegionaire2135]

Interesting comments I see...