The Steam Deck: A Beautiful Mess, even for Emulation.

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The Steam Deck is a portable powerhouse for Steam games, but EMULATION on the Steam Deck is a whole different story...
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[@OtakuSam96]

I was really surprised. I was at work and saw a guy playing a steam deck in real life literally the day after your stream. I didn’t think I was ever gonna see one out in the wild. He said he’s had it for about a month.

[@khaledm.1476]

I think I know how that person felt, back in 2016 when the switch first launched someone in macdonalds asked what I was holding. It was a pretty neat feeling

[@connor9568]

@@khaledm.1476 Switch released in 2017

[@khaledm.1476]

@@connor9568 You're right I was like the switch released 5 years ago that's 2016 right.. No it's 2017. I can't believe it's been 5 years since 2017

[@GrimlandCS]

@@khaledm.1476 it was revealed in late 2016 tho, so i don't blame you for the mistake either way lol

[@hcim1809]

you should’ve shoved him in a locker

[@RetroGameCorps]

Great video, and I am thrilled by the shoutout! I agree that the SD is a tinkerer's machine right now. I hope we get to the point where there is a plug-and-play solution for emulation that doesn't require a teeter-totter balance of configurations and workarounds, like what you experienced.

[@Sean-wv4jd]

Love your content btw surprised to see you get a shout-out on his channel tbh

[@ParanoidThalyyMVS]

@@Sean-wv4jd They have done a podcast together before, it's a really enjoyable listen, you should check it out!

[@Sean-wv4jd]

@@ParanoidThalyyMVS oh I didn't know that . I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

[@s31ACE1252]

I don't plan on getting a SD, but I do hope that it pushes Linux to be a mainstream gaming platform. I hate the forced data collection and commercialization direction of Windows 10/11. I've got only one Windows 10 box and it's my gaming rig. The rest of my PC's are Windows 7 and Linux.

[@steamdeckknights8978]

God can we get some plug and play solutions....I have a Onexplayer and q3 SD......I wanted to get the deck bc it seemed easy thx to this vid I'll keep my OXP and keep tinkering !!

[@VRChance]

Compared the ps5 and xbox series x the preorder was perfect. Everyone who wanted one has a spot in line. Unlike the bots and scalpers who still grab every console on the shelf. I got my steam deck a week ago and while I was ready at the moment the pre orders went up i missed the first hour and a half due to their servers dropping.

[@thedesucomplex4365]

I'd take Steam Deck's reservation rollout over the scalper-spoiled 'you'll get it when you can find it' roll out of the PS5/XSX. They made it pretty clear what you are getting into in advance of reservations even being opened, so I'm not sure where the complaints come from, especially from someone near the front of the line. I can get why it would be frustrating for someone who wants it now but has to put in a reservation for a nebulous 'After Q3' (probably 2023) date.

[@adriang3492]

This, I'd rather wait few extra months than pay 200% or 300% to scalplers on eBay. Fuck that.

[@mcfly824]

Definitely, I've got no problems waiting for mine. It gives me time to save up, and it should be a much smoother experience by the time I get around to it.

[@avavavocado]

Take a look at eBay. it's the same thing sadly

[@mr.mister311]

@@avavavocado It isn't really, because you couldn't bulk buy them and Valve made it so that new steam accounts couldn't even book them at first. They announced them in a way so you couldn't prepare a bunch of steam accounts just to book up them. Everyone had plenty of time to put in a 5 dollar booking before that. If you didn't, well it only makes sense you have to wait.

[@Ender275]

I had no issue getting my hands on consoles from retailers at msrp. I managed to snag an RTX 3080 founder’s edition, 2 PS5s (one for me, one for my brother), and a Nintendo switch oled. It was more about perseverance but once I started looking for those products it only took me like 2 weeks to be able to purchase them.

[@gamergrill9629]

With Gamecube, the performance seems to be a strange Dolphin issue - under the Quick Access menu, set your GPU clock manually to 1500/1600Mhz - this fixed it for me, and I can now run, for example, Mario Sunshine at 60fps, widescreen, 720p, and with an HD texture pack. :)

[@carlos2004]

ah, it has a fix already, good to know. hopefully all this will already have been implemented once i get mine

[@johnnymcgregor]

Just tried this, F-Zero GX still stutters and drops to 40-30 fps from time to time. I think the drops were worse without the underclocking on, but still.

[@travisschneider3011]

@@johnnymcgregor I heard that game is the hardest to game to emulate on the console. Hopefully they get it working a bit better, but I'm sure they already focused on that game already.

[@therunawaykid6523]

I have dolphin on my aya neo currently have : crash wrath of cortex, Donald Duck goin quackers, simpsons hit and run, simpsons road rage, prince of Persia sands of time, spyro a hero’s tale, ty, tak, wave race blue storm, Harry Porter and the philosophers stone

[@MetalJody1990]

Mario Sunshine at 60 fps can cause the music to break sometimes, therefore I've stopped using that hack.

[@crzyruskie86]

Even if only part of your library is playable, the fact you can play it in portable form is great. Also, supporting valve in this endeavor will help Linux development as a whole and that's a win for everyone. We need to get away from proprietary stuff where we can because they don't care about our privacy or experiences anymore.

[@KarosElite]

Privacy is a convenient, short-term trade-off for convenience and price to the general public, unfortunately.

[@Tripps_]

@@KarosElite ^ both valid arguments tbh

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Valve really wants to get away from Microsoft's control of the platform for pc gaming. DirectX is the default for the majority of games especially if also developing for the xbox, if they are able to deliver on it, it will benefit everyone potentially. But the anti cheating and other things cause headaches too.

[@marcusmorris5562]

@@bionicgeekgrrl No they just dont want to pay the fees to use the Windows OS theres a difference either way, My SteamDeck is running windows now and im much happier with it.

[@gogereaver349]

@@bionicgeekgrrl eac is lazy devs not having good anti cheating backed into there code. its nothing more then a 3rd paty rootkit. its why the wine devs outright refused to support it. valve came along and finnly added the support but then all the game devs started refusing to flip the switch to support linux. a good example is destany 2. they outright hate linux and will ban anyone who gets it working. they also activly work to brake proton from running the game. the steam deck might acully be the thing to push these stubbern devs.

[@delecti]

They were pretty clear what the ordering process would look like. Nothing was really unexpected based on what they said before opening reservations.

[@FoxbatStargazer]

Not to mention everyone saw how the PS5/Series X launches went without any queue system.

[@cocozimme]

This is a bootlicker comment

[@wickersticks]

@@FoxbatStargazer It sucks that I don't get my product sooner. But not having to fight a bunch of scalpers for it and knowing mine is secure gives me peace of mind

[@Zorgot.]

@@cocozimme ??????

[@I_SuperHiro_I]

I was adding to cart exactly at launch, but the site claimed my account was too new despite it being 16 years old so I didn’t get my reservation in until 31 minutes later which cost me at least 3 months of waiting.

[@zublits]

The rollout was much better than the alternative with scalpers gobbling up all of the stock on day 1 like every other console. they can only make them so fast and I can't think of a more fair system.

[@stuartleckie]

100% !

[@leeartlee915]

I was curious about that. So do you know whether there has been much scalping of the Steam Deck? I haven’t seen many articles on it or anything… but I also haven’t gone looking. With the PS5, it was pretty much unavoidable to not hear people bitching about scalpers.

[@minarchisttrucker2775]

@@leeartlee915 there are resellers on ebay but you can only buy 1 steam deck per account and with how pre-orders are first come first serve scalpers couldn't really abuse bots

[@leeartlee915]

@@minarchisttrucker2775 Ohhh, that totally makes sense. Yeah, I like the idea of making things hard on scalpers… on the other hand, I was able to pick up a PS5 and Series X with a little elbow grease (i.e. fighting bots) but I don’t even have a shot at a Steam Deck until Fall 2022. So, personally, it’s made it harder to get the device. But hey, if that’s the cost of cutting out scalpers, guess that’s okay. I do think Steam could find a slightly better way of doing pre-orders.

[@minarchisttrucker2775]

@@leeartlee915 I don't think it really made it any harder because I think they're putting them out as fast as they can get them out. So the alternative would be you're unsure when you could get one and a bunch of bots would be hoarding yhem

[@FaultBat]

The only really frustrating part of the pre-order process to me was how their servers got overloaded and you couldn't actually place an order reliably. It kept replying with "try again" and after trying again enough, it locked my account from making any purchases for a couple of hours. And now considering they're going in order of reservations made (in different queues based on region and model), it sucks to have to keep waiting because Valve's servers weren't up to the task.

[@DeToxCommunity]

Yup, same. There millisecond 1 and couldn't place an order for hours...

[@nawab256]

No server is up to the task one millions of people attack your website at the same time. They don’t normally see that kind of traffic like that. Also some bots did attack their website so it did get over loaded. I barely managed to get my preorder in.

[@xenos_n.]

I ordered two days after the launch and had no problem. I have to wait until Q3 but that doesn't really bother me.

[@nicolascossio5961]

@@nawab256 yeah most people don't know how this stuff works. It's no easy task to prepare for a situation like that, and most likely not worth it

[@Matruchus]

@@nawab256 Well you shouldn't order like in first minute. I ordered later in the day and my Steam Deck is already on the way. Hopefully I will get it next week with all the holidays we have this and next week in Slovenia.

[@qlum]

As someone who daily drives Linux, I see a lot of these quirks as just the normal way of doing things, but I will have to see after I get my deck (probably somewhere next week) Using terminal is just the normal way of doing things, as most users are familiar with it, and it's just plain faster most of the time. I personally also don't think windows support will ever be good, it simply is not a priority for valve. Pushing Linux use is one of the core drives behind the deck in the first place. Again it is not for everyone.

[@no00ob]

Tbf Valve did say themselves that windows support will have some priority but the thing is that it'll never be as good as the linux one on the deck as that's what the deck was made to run.

[@mlrnagoraplaystop4555]

-(Probably somewhere next week) I’ve been telling myself that since the start of Q2 bro, hang in there, our time will come.

[@qlum]

@@mlrnagoraplaystop4555 I hope you get yours soon, in my case I was just talking about the shipping part, I already paid for mine on Thursday, and it already shipped. I should get it tomorrow (unless the postal service messes up)

[@mguymario]

Valve did the pre-orders this way to stop scalpers

[@alexi111]

Starting to realize it’s all about perspective when it comes to the SD. I am currently playing Tunic, FFIX & emulating Wind Waker. Zero issues, zero complaints. Absolutely love this this thing and grateful I have one.

[@pastqr]

Ff9 is amazing

[@Runslik3Wind]

VSD

[@lucascarracedo7421]

It's not about perspective, but having the wrong expectations. Considering this even remotely close to being a console is a big no. People expect this to be everything, when officially it's a device that plays compatible Steam games. The rest falls into the tinkering category.

[@alexi111]

@@lucascarracedo7421 agreed. I knew what I was getting my myself into for the most part.

[@lucascarracedo7421]

@@alexi111 yeah as long as that's the case it's a great device. It's just that this media push to call it a console won't really help it find success. It will always fail at being a console.

[@shred-ed303]

Still really excited to get hold of one. For emulation, I’m going to try Retroarch first. I’m most familiar with its GUI and settings, plus they seem to be actively working on improving the experience on steam deck.

[@tyrians]

Get EmuDeck, really nice and useful system.

[@Brain_pocketer]

Steam has Retroarch, try using that version of Retroarch

[@someryebread]

Emudeck actually uses RetroArch for a lot of the emulators (all the ones I've tried anyway) and by the time folks get a Deck I'd assume Emudeck will be even more streamlined.

[@shred-ed303]

@@someryebread thanks for the heads up on that. I’ll give EmuDeck a try when I finally get my system. Unfortunately I’m in the after Q3 queue so I’ve got a long wait 😭

[@JustCliff]

I don't get the gripe over the reservation system. You put your $5 for your place in the Queue. Valve specifically tells you what Quarter you are in. And once that Quarter has started, you check your email/Steam every week on 1 or 2 VERY specific days.

[@brandon_nope]

I literally check my email everyday involuntary

[@adelin081]

Yes, much better than constantly checking stores for next-gen consoles stock. At least you know for sure you're getting it and when you're getting it and not having to rely on luck.

[@JustCliff]

@@adelin081 that was the one thing I hated doing when it came to graphic cards. I rather pay a portion now and you tell me when it's available to pay for. Helps with rapid scalping as well.

[@JustCliff]

@@brandon_nope Oh, me as well. It's a healthy habit to have in general.

[@Glocktopus03]

I can't wait to get mine Q2 not for emulation only but I have a huge backlog of games I'd rather play on the go or breaks from work than sit on my pc to finish em. Great review on your views and concerns 👍🏼

[@alexstixx]

I missed the email and contacted support. They straightened it out and I was able to order my deck. Support is really good in my experience.

[@stuartleckie]

I’ve got a pretty big Steam library that I hardly use because it’s a bit of a pain (and time consuming) to get my pc up and gaming. And I enjoy the portability of handheld gaming. So I’m still pretty confident this is for me.

[@InitialDL84]

Exactly the main reason why I want to get one

[@technologyaddict1857]

I would buy this if I hadn’t already invested like 800 dollars into the Nintendo Switch Ecosystem

[@steamedyam]

Might as well wait 6 months and see how you feel, this fucking thing plays elden ring

[@zacholiver9212]

@@steamedyam I can assure you that eldin ring isn't going to be the game that makes me sad what my switch can't do *spelling error*

[@1350abraham]

@@zacholiver9212 what about literally every other game that the switch can't handle/run well or just will never go to it?

[@khaledm.1476]

It depends whether it's mostly games or accessories too, if it's games you could probably get all those games for like 5 dollars in the next summer sale

[@ddot4516]

Damn 800$ into switch. Do you need a friend?! lol ill come over every weekend with a bottle some weed and my one switch game smash bros lol

[@jupitersky]

Hasn't changed my mind as it's pretty much what I expected. I am a linux tinkerer so most of the stuff you mentioned is stuff I'm used to fixing, and optimizing emulator settings is also something I find great joy in. I got it for emulation, and I'm sure I won't regret it... but I'm glad you put this out, because I would rather someone hold off and wait until it works better than to have a bad experience and give up.

[@ganganthefatman1382]

Metal Gear Solid 4 is at a near fully playable state and this is without optimization from the community so far. Can you fucking believe that?

[@lptimey]

1:20 guilty strive should work flawlessly, except a missing transparent background in the characterselct (which doesn’t matter)

[@Kaikyou519]

8:58 The desktop mode controls are made a lot better if you customize them under Steam settings > Controller > Desktop Configuration. Personally I set mine up so that the right touchpad controls mouse, left touchpad does scrolling, then the R4 and L4 back paddles do left and right click respectively. This improved the desktop navigation experience by quite a bit for me. Now, I would totally agree that this isn't ideal, and it should definitely work better out of the box (also probably shouldn't be buried in settings like that). I think this is a great example of the point made in the video that you'll need to tinker with settings all over the place to get the best experience with the Steam Deck. If you're not afraid to get your hands dirty and do some troubleshooting like I am, then totally get this device. Otherwise, it might not be the best choice if you prefer things to "just work". Also 16:52 is something I completely overlooked. No doubt that moving files over a USB drive is a pain in the ass. In my case, I just put all the files I wanted to move onto my NAS and then connected to it through the file explorer on the Deck.

[@Terreos]

I’ve only installed one verified game and one unknown title. And so far they both work great. I’m genuinely surprised. It’s a pretty solid device. I do want to get emulators running on this device. So hopefully thanks to your warning I’ll have a more straight forward experience. 👍

[@YouAreBreathing]

Fedex is shipping my Steam Deck to me right now, and I should receive it tomorrow. I ordered it on July 16, 2021. I can't wait to get it!

[@ryanbrother2617]

here in south america buy steam deck is nearly impossible . Even the switch lite cost 1 month of work. For you guys its same switch lite cost $2000 dollars and steam deck is about 4 months of work . Yes thinking about pay $8000 dollars for steam deck. Same things with other consoles like ps5 . Series X . But dont tell mothing guys. I give one other price for you . Iphone 13 pro max cost same as 1 year of working yes 1 year . Thinking you guys give About 20.000 dollars for one new iphone 13 pro max. I never touch in one iphone . Its my dream buy one but its impossible. Here androids phones sells much more.... triplo A games cost about 30% your month gains. Its same you guys paid 600 dollars for one Big launch game. HOW one gamer live with this prices ?????? 😑😑😑

[@Zordiak]

Keep in mind, developers will probably optimize their emulators FOR the steam deck which means it's probably going to run everything flawlessly eventually

[@marcusmorris5562]

Most i know of are just focusing on Linux on the whole not steamdeck specifically, Just install a better Linux Distro or Windows OS anything is better than SteamOS is a failure and the only reason they continue to use it is its branded by them and its free cuz its based off linux.

[@jamirvillarosa7924]

ste@@marcusmorris5562 I was hoping that Steam Deck's OS is the similar bleeding edge Arch has. But nah, it's actually an outdated version of Arch... what a shame.

[@gogereaver349]

ps3 relly needs alot of threds to emulate well. the deck only has 8. many games run fine but some whont.

[@gogereaver349]

@@jamirvillarosa7924 its updated almost every day. you can install normal arch on it if you whanted to.

[@gogereaver349]

@@marcusmorris5562 windows drivers for the deck are epic fail and even the controles work half ass. you can still they mean it when they say they dont support windows.

[@christphern]

How was the preorder system unbeknownst to us at the time? They made it very well known that the $5 was to reserve your spot in line, you’d get an email, and then have 3 days to order it.

[@consciouscode8150]

As an avid linux user I would like to point out, the SD card not mounting automatically is a problem with whatever distro/configuration Valve is using, not Linux itself. With distros like Ubuntu, automounting is built into the file manager.

[@kannoramirez2288]

Some distros do,some don't.

[@ped7g]

in KDE distros usually card mounts-on-use (in GUI) or when inserted, there's notification popup offering to mount+open it. So from POV regular user, you insert card, open Dolphin (file manager), click on the (unmounted) card in left panel, and it mounts+open automagically... when done with the card, you use properties menu of the card in left panel to "eject" to make sure all writes sync correctly (although I think for last ~10 years the linux distros use instant sync on removable devices, as so many users were losing data when the buffered way was used as default)? (I'm not sure about it, I always "eject" my removable drives, so I can't tell difference).

[@jergarmar]

It's funny, before I got a Switch, I put in some effort -- and a bit of cash -- to try and set up an older laptop as a controller-only, Steam-based (e.g. with Big Picture), family gaming station. I had great initial success... but had annoyances that just never went away. And those annoyances are exactly the kind that you mention here with the Steam Deck. A lot of stuff worked great, but then some of the games my kids really liked to play just didn't work right. Or lost controller sync. Or locked up at weird times. At some point I realized that everything I wanted out of this setup, Switch had done it in an incredibly polished way. Obviously it's not Steam's fault that the games don't work exactly right. But they are the ones promoting and selling the Steam Deck, so I think it's still fair to point the issues out. As Bob mentioned, whether then or now, there always seems like there's a "better option". Depending on your needs, maybe it's a Switch, or a portable emulator deck, or even a PC. Unless you're a hobbyist, in which case the Steam Deck is right up your alley... but that is niche for sure. I'm way late to say this but... thanks for the overview!

[@skateecho]

Im glad Vavle is at least fairly transparent about the preorders and while the launch day was frustrating at least we all got to get in line, and not have to pay up front, like the analogue pocket….plus if you cancel the preorder you get your bucks back into your steam wallet. No harm no foul.

[@khaledm.1476]

I am really excited for what the future of the steam deck and the handheld pc market holds. I think if we look back to the switch's first year it was also extremely rough, like botw basically carried the switch for a few months the library was barren as hell. I think it's only after the 2nd year that publishers saw that the switch was a proven success that they really started to support it. We can already see emblems of what that could like with elden ring running the best on steam deck, I can't wait to see what happens when devs making steam deck optimized titles

[@gogereaver349]

3rd party and nintendo bascily havent been a thing sense the snes. it took the swicth massive sales to bring them back.

[@khaledm.1476]

@@gogereaver349 WII did have good 3rd party though, but I guess my point is things change based on your perspective. You could look at it and say oh it plays less than 50% of ALL steam games or say it has over 2000 games verified at its launch window the largest of any new console release and has AAA games ported to it day 1. This is steam deck's first year of course it was going be kinda rough but I am hopeful for the future of this segment

[@gogereaver349]

@@khaledm.1476 wii had alot of 3rd party shovel ware not alot of aaa 3rd party. i would call it about the same as gamecube.

[@SaintMorselGrand]

I would 100% recommend doing another video on the deck right now, its alot different than it was 4 months ago

[@holopengin]

One hint for transferring files: You can use Warpinator to transfer files to and from your Steam Deck and computer. If you want to syncrhonize folders between your computer and Deck in the background (say, an emulator's save file folder), you can use Syncthing

[@luigimaster111]

From what I can gather this essentially has the gaming compatibility of a mid to high specLinux desktop, with the limitation of not having access to keyboard and mouse. In my experience, maybe somewhere around 80% of my Steam library functions under the Proton compatibility layer, though needing the occasional tweaking. From the perspective of a PC user wanting to make his PC gaming a tad more mobile, this device is very appealing, for someone wanting a seamless out-of-the-box experience to replace their nintendo switch... well they'll probably have to wait for Nintendo's next handheld, I can't imagine the Steam Deck will ever quite become that.

[@doublinx2]

I think in comparison to recent Gen 9 console and product releases, the reservation system is a breath of fresh air. Scalpers have decimated the Series and PS5 rollouts, miners have stolen the 6000 and 30 series cards, and the supply chain has squeezed them all from both ends. It's only after nearly 2 years that the situation seems to be slowly getting better. Meanwhile Valve says that I'm definitely guaranteed to get it sometime in 6 months, for MSRP and not a penny more. I think I can live with that.

[@greenprotag]

My preorder came up today for the 64GB EMMC version. I have a 1TB 2230 SSD in a drawer waiting for this system as an upgrade after my initial "Tinkering" is complete. I may rough it on an SD card until Steam OS 3.0 and "Dual boot" functionality arrives.

[@WulffDen]

I think people downplay the microSD speeds. You can probably play most games just fine off the microSD card

[@logicalfundy]

Also . . . love that the editor used a bunch of Half-Life sound effects when you swore. 😆 I suppose it's fitting, a piece of Valve history when talking about a Valve product.

[@Fiveward]

A lot of people who have only used Windows are gonna have a mildly hard time doing stuff outside of playing verified games. The fact that it's using Linux actually makes it much more exciting to me as an enthusiast with lots of GNU/Linux experience. I look forward to messing around with stuff under the hood. If people are willing to take the time to learn they will likely find that software compatibility is the ONLY thing Windows has over GNU/Linux. I understand that is precisely why it's not for everyone however.

[@BGRecon]

I'm a windows stan but it's fine for me messing around. I guess because I've watched a lot of people mess around with Linux that I have enough surface level knowledge.

[@Fiveward]

@@BGRecon Windows power users won't struggle at all imo. It's not gonna be a problem for anyone who is "tech savvy". Anybody can do it. I hate when Linux enthusiasts are elitist and brag about doing something difficult. It's as difficult as reading and following directions, so they just look like clowns to anyone in the know. I'm glad to hear that even self proclaimed Windows stans are willing to work with SteamOS lol

[@mechanicalmonk2020]

"this is probably for the people who want to play AAA games" Me who's largely going to play indie sidescrollers: 👀

[@Jad042]

Hey, I wouldn't say you're completely out of luck when missing the 3 days purchase window, support was kind enough to give me a second chance when I first missed it, and other people received similar treatment!

[@tatratrading]

Just to straight things out: the estimated order time did not change for anybody apart from the December delay, this were the people not knowing what Q1,Q2 etc mean. And there is an indication on when the e-mails are sent out, it’s always Mondays 10 PST and recently Thursdays as well.

[@EndLess1UP]

Nice video and Love that you are honest with the goofs!

[@dylan_00]

Yeah I'm really not getting the complaint with their preorder system. You get an email, a popup window if you have Steam running, and an "Account Notification" banner in the Steam client. There's very little chance you'd miss it, and even if so I've heard of people contacting support and getting their slot back. Moreover, it means you are guaranteed to get one, unlike hours spent fighting millions of people online just hoping you can snatch one, and it has severely hindered attempts at mass scalping.

[@adelin081]

I don't understand how the Ayn Odin can do gamecube emulation better than the steam deck. Is the gamecube build of dolphin better on android than on linux? Or is it just that dolphin isn't utilizing the CPU or GPU of the steam deck properly?

[@CyberDruga]

It most likely is using the dolphin core from retro arch. The issue is that dolphin core is not the same as dolphin emulator, the core is a fork of the dolphin project, removing the interface and enabling it to be used on retro arch, witch in turn, enables it to be used by any application. TL;DR: dolphin core is shit, and that might be the reason. Dolphin emulator might work better.

[@markmystery3536]

He doesn't do any tweaking on the SD, this entire review is an insult tbh, there are so much better reviews out there on KZbin

[@stealthysaucepan2016]

Ayn Odin is much more power efficient and compact too

[@markmystery3536]

@@stealthysaucepan2016 lmao with 50$ you will get a much versatile and much more powerful device like Steam Deck

[@UrBoiPika]

1:17 man I had that exact same reaction when I heard Strive wasn't supported, considering they showed the console running it. I ain't buying the deck until GG gets supported, since that's all I play.

[@Wesmoen]

I've been playing random unreal engine 4 games on steam deck. My selection all work, a big chance that GG strive will work as well. Street fighter V was fun on the steam deck.

[@Vomzent]

At 12:57 you said that valve would be working on actively supporting windows, however this is not true. They are providing the drivers and allowing you to install windows yes, but in their words: "We are providing these resources as is and are unfortunately unable to offer 'Windows on Deck' support. If you get stuck and need a way back to the default Steam Deck OS, please follow these recovery instructions."

[@WickedGamerCollector]

LOL, i still wait for my pre-order so I went to the scalper jungle to get myself one. And yeah ... i realised waiting for it is not a bad idea in the end 🙄 Agreed with him it feel like a unfinished product for gaming or emulation. Awesome video 👍 Love your perspective on the Steam Deck 😁

[@BroskiPlays]

Yo whatsup fellow dutch/english youtuber ;) how's your day

[@AntonBagin]

The formatting thing is not a Linux problem btw. It's a steamOS thing.

[@Level1Sword]

The Steam Deck reviews are remarkably consistent in their summations. Glad you guys are being honest, since this was a device I was considering. Now I know better to at least wait until it's improved.

[@JeskidoYT]

and wait you said. here we are july 2023 and wii emulation is finally capable on steamdeck

[@markmystery3536]

Lmao, Wuff is not a PC gamer and in the review you can clearly see that he doesn't know half a things he is talking about

[@BogusLettuce]

"wait until it's improved" it's already pretty great as it is, your loss

[@Level1Sword]

@@BogusLettuce Not for what I'll be using it for. I've been waiting for a decent enough handheld that can fully emulate console games up to the 6th generation, and I think the Ayn Odin may just be the one I've been waiting for. The Steam Deck will get better as time goes on, but the Odin is probably the better option for me, especially when you consider the price difference. Maybe if I were more into PC games, the Deck would be better.

[@treyaranza1839]

I had a kink in my right thumb stick that caused drift and some deadzones. I ended up contacting support after a week, I hoped it would wear in. They ended up having me send it in and sent me a new one that feels fantastic.

[@alexisesparza8683]

Pretty cool to see you make a review on this and be honest, i remember the backlash when you first saw and talked about it especially with the controls but looks like you gave it a fair shot. Btw use winpinator on pc and warpinator on steam deck to transfer stuff its alot easier and pretty damn fast

[@cheezyfriez12]

About gamecube, you should try switching from opengl to vulkan in the settings

[@DarkWestern]

I called in sick the day preorders began. The glitched out launch prohibited me from completing my order for 39 minutes after they began due to the frenzy. At minute 39 of trying, I did it. Because of this delay, my preorder is not expected till Q3 (July-September) 2022.

[@ZackGeragosian]

Plus one for Ayn Odin. I’ve been so impressed by it. My favorite gaming device right now.

[@icampos89]

I don't like to tinker and got one solely because I prefer to play handheld. I have been enjoying it so far and have played more in the last couple weeks than I did all last year. Such great ergonomics. I just don't like that the fan is just a tad too loud.

[@Teddy_Bear312]

Got mine about 2 weeks ago, it's amazing. I mainly curse at it but knowing most issues will be solved in the coming months i am suprised at how much gaming i do on it. I went from an average 4-5 hours per 2 weeks (desktop pc) to 60-70 hours per 2 weeks (steamdeck)

[@ParanoidThalyyMVS]

Biggest thing about the Deck to me is the fact it will probably popularize handheld console PCs, I'm excited to see what the future holds but personally, I'd go with a GPD Win 3 just because of how much better (and less bulky) it looks.

[@MorrisseyMuse]

Handheld PC's are niche, they're never gonna be mainstream. You either get a laptop for portable PC or a Switch for portable gaming. There's no place in the market for the Steam Deck

[@steamedyam]

Isn’t it twice as much?

[@ParanoidThalyyMVS]

@@MorrisseyMuse Never say never

[@ParanoidThalyyMVS]

@@steamedyam In price? Yes, unfortunately :(

[@CrystallineLore]

@@MorrisseyMuse Funny, considering how multiple chinese companies have been so successful with only emulation, enough so that they can afford to release multiple cosmetic iterations per year. Aya Neo is doing well too. There is definitely a market for this, especially at this price point. There's no laptop you can get that matches the Deck's price per performance atm, and the form factor is a big deal for many as it changes how you engage with it away from the desk. It's sold out for the rest of the year basically, and every single reviewer--most of them who actually have experience with similar tech or PC gaming, unlike Wulff--have been very positive about the Deck. This isn't Valve trying to see if the market catches on, it's Valve jumping on and adding mainstream support to a market that already has a solid foundation. If there was no place for the Steam Deck, then no one would be buying it, and that's definitely not the case. People are scalping it already for tidy sums. There's defintiely a demand. The Switch is also a piece of garbage and is saved only by Nintendo's mainstream offering. However, the Switch itself proves that people care about portable gaming, and Nintendo's console is hardly going to be the only one going forward. Pretty much every game the Switch shares with the Deck runs way better on the Deck (like Hades, which runs horribly on the Switch, lmao) and doesn't force you to buy it again if you already own it on your desktop, and many that aren't share emulate just fine. 13 Sentinels on my Deck has been fantastic.

[@drinks_menu]

I'm getting this so i can have a 1-for-all type of thing. I want to be able to play steam games and emulations on one "console" I don't buy 3rd party games on consoles since consoles get outdated and you have to re-buy games for every gen, which is why i have all my games on stream (mostly) So it still feels like this is the right choice for me.

[@mercster]

Haha, I NEVER watch ads on KZbin, I always skip them... but for some reason your Hello Fresh ad kept me watching. Well done.

[@HiCZoK]

I've got one and it's so huge, I am not bringing it anywhere. It's also very loud and heavy. hard to paly without putting your hands on something. But it is a BEAST when it comes to power. Everything runs on it.... that said... I am looking into miyoo mini just because it would be easier to carry around and simple games are better for portable use I think

[@diegonoy7445]

0:28 Every portable emulator in a nutshell

[@d1mustaine]

Feels like this is the most honest Steam Deck review I've run into on KZbin, so far. Thanks for the info and great job.

[@markmystery3536]

You must be joking, Wuff is not the best people to review this product at all. He is not a PC gamer.

[@luiss.5266]

This is one of the better reviews I’ve seen for this. Many of the other ones seem tinged with the hype and only mine ply focus on some of these quirks

[@flameshana9]

21:39 Thank you for saying that. So many other people just endlessly praise it. It's much more useful to know what the real experience is like instead of seeing someone who's already worked all the bugs out act like there aren't many.

[@BogusLettuce]

It's way better than the switch in every way though, so instant buy for me lol. Garbage console the switch is.

[@stan110]

I think the preorder proces for the steam deck was one of the better ones. I dont had to fight bots like with my GPU (I only got it by accident). And while I knew I would get my steam deck some friends of mine still did not know if they ever will get a ps5 while I knew I would get my deck. I actually got my deck before my friend got a ps 5 ,1.5 years after launch.

[@Codewriter53]

I don’t understand what the issue what the reservation system is? It was the best they could do to ensure that the people getting them were actually gamers and not bots trying to scalp them. It’s a very fair system. Yeah, the website had some issues, but it’s still only gamers that were able to purchase, not bots.

[@AwkwaBear]

I got mine about a week ago and set up emulation on it a couple days ago. I totally agree with most of the criticisms you had. I have a computer engineering degree and there was still a good amount of looking stuff up I had to do to get it set up. The thing is if you’re willing to tinker this thing is really the best device around, you can almost replace your switch with it as most games are also available on steam or through emulation. But this device is really meant for the PC gamer with a giant backlog that they’ve been procrastinating to play. The steam deck allows you to travel and procrastinate on that same backlog on the go.

[@McVerdict]

you can install most non steam games on here

[@rassular]

Except most of them won't work lol

[@McVerdict]

@@rassular yeah if you're technically inept

[@rassular]

@@McVerdict yea, let me just write up a script that let's me play games with anticheat freely. Also a huge amount of steam games even don't work, not much you can do about that other than to wait for Valve to do something maybe.

[@Droogie128]

@@rassular yes they will. You add them to your library as a non steam game and launch it through steam using proton.

[@rassular]

@@Droogie128 yes, adding a game adds it, I know lol. read what I said above, not everything works, not even close to it.

[@EzraM5]

The thing about stuff like the Steam Deck is that if you really wanna make the most of it, you gotta be willing to be patient and tweak everything to your liking. It's something that you gotta break in, so to speak. Perfect for people like me who love these kinds of experimental tinker toys, but not so much for the average person who wants something that just does its job. Reminds me a lot of the difference between the DS and PSP back then.

[@werpu12]

Re Sales process, unless the PS5 for a year you had a chance to get the hardware.. I got mine 4 weeks ago! People are so fed up with scalpers and bots that this is the option which is less worse because you actually have a chance to get the device for normal retail price at some fixed point in time. Btw I am 4 weeks into the device, and given that you start with tinkering, most of the problems basically go psychologically away once you start to use the device as intended for gaming instead of trying out random stuff, then most of the stuff does not matter anymore. Its really an interesting psychological effect. The deck wors pretty much as well as a console as long as you stick to the verified titles if you go beyound that 90% works fine for steam titles if you add proton-ge then you get another few percent, outside of that things become messy, but if you have a big steam library you wont go that much outside of your steam library with it. The device has become my main gaming machine leaving both my pc and my ps5 in the dust.

[@Linkman247]

I don't know I kind of liked the way Valve handled preorders for Steam Deck. It does I think cut down on the ability for people to scalp them. If you have $5 you at least have a spot in line and are likely able to get one even if it means you have to wait a few months. I can't do that for PS5. Hell you can't find PS5's in store. You could only reserve one. You couldn't buy them in bulk. I am still pretty excited for this thing.

[@kreamkid275]

well the big difference is ps5 dropped during the prime of the whole pandemic and japan was flooding which reduced production of hardware by ALOT, now there getting there shit together and we can tell by more stock in stores but steam had no problems??? whats there excuse

[@Linkman247]

@@kreamkid275 Valve did push back due to chip shortages. But they also did a $5 reservation and one per customer. I have yet to see a PS5 or Xbox Series X in store for that matter. Still. You can't find it online either. Well you can if your willing to pay $700-$1000. And the thing launched Nov. 2020. It will have been 2 years since the PS5 released this Nov. my dude. We don't know how the Steam Deck will shape up over time. But People couldn't even get a preorder in for PS5, etc. because of bots run by scalpers. Sony had planned to end production of the PS4. But then they realized...oops. We can't actually sell PS5 games if people can't buy a PS5. And we are still seeing PS games hitting the PS4 which in turn kind of negates a need to upgrade to PS5. Currently I see no real reason to try and deal with the headaches when I have a PS4 that can play horizon, that can play Ragnarok, etc. I'll wait and see if they are more available by the time Spider-Man 2 or Wolverine come out.

[@kreamkid275]

@@Linkman247 bro ps5 has been having in store only drops since april 10 more people than ever are getting the console more than bots scalper are still online and you don’t think the deck is getting scalped too?

[@pikkyuukyuun4741]

A good argument I saw was in response to someone asking why would you play games that are already on other consoles or playing 2d sidescrollers with the answer being "because I bought the games on Steam". Which is exactly what I am. I dont have any new console or any playstation higher than the number 2. All my games are on steam and I aint about to waste money on rebuying games on other platforms

[@EricasTouch]

It’s an interesting device for sure. I just like to be able to go into a physical store and get something that expensive. I have been playing video games for years and I have never had to order any console or handheld. If the Deck ever shows up in a store then I will show more interest.

[@csdgay]

slight misinformation about the order process: it was communicated to the public, on the website, how the reservation system would work well before orders went live. i can understand why you dont like it, but with how scalping is these days, i really like it aside from the delay that pushed EVERYONE back the same amount, no order windows have been changed, just clarified. the people complaining dont know what "some time after Q3" means its not "at any time" during your order window, it was explicitly on mondays, with thursdays added starting Q2 and you cant really blame them for the website crashing when orders went live, they didnt expect this much hype

[@Matruchus]

My Deck is already on the way. Can't wait to start gaming. I'm really hyped that I can emulate my old original Gameboy games on it next to Steam/Ubisoft/Gog/Origin/Epic games.

[@Schloopytoober]

8:27 you still can left click without steam running just press r2 for left click and l2 for right click

[@hugojmaia]

Considering it's using KDE for the desktop, you could try using KDE connect to check if that is a less painful process to move stuff around.

[@EricAllerton]

Living in japan, I am jonesing for the SD! It looks like I need to wait until at least the end of 2022 for the orders to open up here and I am eagerly consuming any new video about it explaining what is changing. As my favorite channel, alongside RetroGameCorps, I am excited to hear about your progression with it all the way up until I get mine.

[@LS-td4yf]

Lemme guess, this another 20 minute video of bob not know how to tweak the settings

[@troopzaftv0]

Just accept that this bohemoth of a PSP is in dire state when it comes to software development no need to defend steam

[@LS-td4yf]

@Troopzaftv nah I’m not trying to defend steam, it’s just that it’s so annoying how in his reviews for emulators and stuff he doesn’t try to tweak the settings a little like with the odin pro and the aya neo reviews. He could’ve easily got them running with a quick Google search or something

[@markmystery3536]

@@troopzaftv0 this guy is salty lmao

[@markmystery3536]

@@LS-td4yf this review is a joke

[@TheDeathwhish]

@@LS-td4yf to be fair he does represent the experience most people will get with the console. But to some of us, the steam deck is a godsend. I really hope I can get one this year :'(

[@thomasverslycken2563]

When i installed emudeck & got it set up & for me it was kinda tough, a bit of a challenge which might be because i'm a windows user so i wasn't really used to using linux but after a couple of hours of learning & figure out what to do since it was a bit of a challenge for me but nothing to difficult i was pretty satisfied about it

[@HUYI1]

it will be the same for me so i guess i will have to be patient, i've never used Linux before

[@soliddrake7575]

I agree the controller layout is awesome. It feels more natural and easier to move between the sticks and d-pad/buttons.

[@TheoHiggins]

I think the pre-order system was perfectly good. I suppose the mechanical keyboard enthusiast in me is incredibly used to large lead-times and additional delays, but at the end of it all this is pretty much when I expected to get mine in the first place. My order email is due to come in the next few weeks, and then I'm expecting to have it in my hands not long after. Compared to a traditional console launch, yeah it's a bit more complicated and takes longer. But for Valve's first attempt at making a handheld, manufacturing is a big part of the puzzle, and for a traditional launch they'd have to keep stockpiling these things for months in order to have enough stock to last 10 minutes on launch day. And then would be dropping stock weekly anyway. The main difference would be that you'd have to watch the store page like a hawk, or set up notification services or something. After the last 2 years, I think we're all tired of having to do things like that. I wouldn't trade Valve's rollout of the SD for any other company's attempt. It inhibits scalping and helps get these things into the hands of real users the moment theirs is ready.

[@ethanwright2444]

The ETA on my place in the queue went from March to October…

[@EremittV]

Using the terminal is something that's quite normal in Linux. A lot of things can be done using the gui, but the terminal is in a lot of cases easier to use and, once you get the hang of it, you get to understand what's going on a little bit better. You can force things that get stuck, you can read out error messages and get help online and a bunch of other stuff. It takes getting used to for sure. But if you're interested in learning more about it, the terminal will be the handiest tool you'll ever have for your system.

[@patricioart4301]

I wasn't expecting to see a 20 minute ad for Ayn Odin 😗

[@theboone3848]

I have a pre-order but I am temped to wait for the Steamdeck 2. Still debating what to do.

[@TheJayy53]

Same

[@whitecanid8938]

Great video, fyi I successfully triple boot Ubuntu 22.04, Windows 10, and vanilla Steam Deck OS, on the same 1 TB internal SSD drive I swapped into my cheap 64 GB deck. So all that pain of running Windows/other OSes via booting with external USB keys is now finally gone! I do like the Deck way more now that this hurdle is finally solved! Hopefully Valve will solve the audio driver issue on the non Steam OSes and it will finally be prime time for it

[@Arcade1983]

So glad to watch an honest review of this device. I pre-ordered a long time ago, my e-mail hasn't come yet, but honestly I don't think I'm gonna get one even if it does. The only thing I'd want to do is put windows on it so I can run whatever I want.

[@j2dlyc]

My 512GB version has shipped and is on it's way to me now. Very excited to play my Steam games on it.

[@thederpysage]

ive got the same model now and ive been very pleased with it. but it deff requires a bit of tech/linux savvy to navigate some of its quirks and really tap into it

[@mirokyu]

Still patiently waiting for mine, going to use it as a budget gaming PC. Though the community is often toxic which is crazy in this day and age

[@anderssorenson9998]

Like his honesty. I'm old and not very technical, and I hate when tech experts downplay the learning curve involved in a particular subject.

[@Dan89201]

I love my steam deck, got it after going from purely console gaming, I wanna try emulation but I don’t really know what im doing and I don’t wanna break my deck

[@KuittheGeek]

0:54 Hmm.... I am one of *those* people... But I still like seeing other peoples takes on things. That, and I won't have my Steam Deck for a while, so I binge the content that is available to vicariously live through you. I think you make a lot of valid points, and it doesn't seem like the Steam Deck has that "console" off the shelf feel yet. Hopefully it will get there one day, but that will probably be when you can pick these up in a store, which won't happen for a while. While I do understand where you are coming from, these issues aren't problems for me, personally. I am definitely in the target market for the Steam Deck. I have a huge library of games on Steam and through Epic. I am a Linux user already, and I have been playing with this stuff for a while, so I know what I am getting myself into. I spent a lot of time when I was younger hacking the PSP to play all sorts of games, plus I am an Embedded Systems Engineer, so I like the tinkering side of things. I think a lot of PC players, that do tweak their games for the best performance, are going to be familiar with a lot of the concepts, but there will be new things to learn. I think it is important for designers to listen to their users and see how they break things, which Valve does seem to be doing. There have been a lot of fixes over the last month and a half that have been pushed out for the OS. I think the slow roll out is actually a good idea, and the biggest complaints I have seen about the Steam Deck are software related, and that can always be updated. I have heard of some people having issues with the B button, and others with fan issues, so hopefully those will be fixed out by the time all of us "after Q3" people get our units. And those affected should be able to warranty them through Valve, though I might wait until I knew there was a fix in place. I don't think it is going to be the perfect system for everyone, nor is it going to be right for everyone. I am not a console gamer anymore for several reasons, but I could never justify buying the Switch since there weren't enough exclusives for me to care about it. If I had been able to even stream my games to it, that would be a very interesting device. But with the Steam Deck being able to play games locally, stream games through Steam's Remote Play and Remote Play Anywhere, plus Cloud gaming being easy enough to set up, with emulation, and Playstation remote play through Chiaki, I am really excited. I will have more than enough to play for a while. I think it has a ton of potential, and a lot of the big name games will probably implement Proton functionality with their anti-cheat systems, once they see how many units are out there. But that would be a big risk to support them without a full community like a console would have. There has to be money to be made. And I think we will see some of those games get there in time, but some might never bring support. For that, I would stream to the system from my desktop PC, if I wanted to play those games at all. And I really wouldn't hold my breath for full Windows support on the Deck, I think a custom OS is the right answer since there is more they can do under the hood when they can control the full system. They will probably get those drivers out to the point of functional, but everyone I have heard of that has tried Windows on the Steam Deck says it is not worth it. This won't be a problem for me though, since I despise Windows and find it only gets in my way.

[@wormwood102789]

Great video, Bob. Thanks for keeping it real and telling those folks that aren’t as into the tech side of things to think hard before slapping out the greenbacks. I got my deck a week ago. I’ve definitely experienced all the things you brought up, but I still love the device. I’m into tinkering and this hits all the right chords for me.

[@Chris-cf1hs]

I'll probably still get mine. I order the most expensive one and by the time I'll be able to buy it I can sink $600 for some niche scenarios and it not feel like a waste

[@ethel72]

That one comment you made at the end about the Steam Deck 2 made me think, wow, people might still be waiting for their preorders for the first one by the time they start releasing info about the second one.

[@StatsLG]

Was Bob really wearing a Blue Apron while doing an ad for Hello Fresh?

[@wiljramos2451]

Hey I hope you make a video of the Steam Deck vs the AYN Odin. I would love a video on it plus it'll help me out so much on which I should get because I'm having a hard time deciding.

[@vailathi]

No one ever really shows their Switch comparison with the Satisfye grip on, and I refuse to play a Switch without one. I'm curious how bad the size comparison looks with that on there. I realize it would still be smaller but I can't imagine it would be that much different overall.

[@acwbit2368]

keep in mind the deck is actually stronger than the Aya neo next esp at 15 watts the only thing that it sucks at is its Cpu

[@yakumorisuke9403]

I've never had the budget for PC gaming and have wanted a bunch of Steam games for years, so I'm really excited about this. I also really liked the preorder process because, as others have pointed out, it completely gutted the scalpers. I'll quite happily wait for my place in the queue to come up if it means they lose out.