Steam Deck: Year one

#54: All hands on Deck

March 03, 2023

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Hands up if you own a Steam Machine.

A Steam Controller?

Anybody?

Didn’t think so.

Valve’s track record when it comes to hardware is a bit sketchy, to say the least. But I’m willing to bet quite a few people reading this own a Steam Deck. And for good reason too; although Valve’s handheld is far from a household name, it’s managed to carve out quite a nice little niche for itself thanks to its extensive customisation options and consistently surprising performance.

And just this week, the Steam Deck turned one!

Like most electronic products over the last few years, the launch wasn’t exactly smooth. Manufacturing issues meant pre-orders were placed in a long queue, and the device was delayed from its targeted date of December 2021 to February 2022 - when Valve head Gabe Newell hit the streets to deliver the first few units himself. Even then, many people were left waiting months for theirs to arrive.

Of course, the main draw of the Steam Deck is right there in the name. Linking to your Steam account means that when most people buy one they already have a library of hundreds - maybe even thousands - of games ready to go. A compelling selling point indeed. Especially for a handheld.

You can access all your Steam games, of course (which now offers most of PlayStation’s first-party library), Xbox Cloud Streaming works, and if you have a bit of patience and some light hacking skills pretty much anything else too. It’s an everything machine. And Valve is happy for you to do whatever the hell you want with it.

Yep, unlike Nintendo’s tightly controlled walled garden around the Switch, Steam Deck is open-source, meaning you can use it as a normal PC, install completely different operating systems on it, and even load up emulators to play old (and if you’re extra naughty, new) games from other systems. It’s a tinkerer’s dream.

Although Valve has a chequered history when it comes to hardware, Steam Deck has proven the console works and that there’s a market for it. It may not give the Switch much cause for concern – Steam Deck is always likely to be a niche device, and it sells in tiny numbers compared to Nintendo’s all-conquering hybrid - but a second edition now seems like an inevitability.

A sleeker, more powerful Steam Deck 2 with a better screen and fewer early software quirks? Well, that could be something really special.

Congratulations on a successful first year, Steam Deck. Here’s to many more.

As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest of the issue.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jeff

THE WEEK IN GAMES

The best news, deals and gaming content of the week!

NEWS

DEALS

  • PlayStation's Games Under £15 Sale is back. As is the Level Up Sale, which features up to 60% off DLC and add-ons. They are joined by the new Mega March Sale, which features up to 70% off a pretty huge selection of games.

  • PlayStation's Deal of the Week is up to 70% off Far Cry 5 and 6, plus various add-ons.

  • Over on Xbox there's a Super Saver Sale, offering up to 80% off a large selection of games new and old, and a Bundles Sale, which has up to 80% off some pretty cool multi-game bundles.

  • Over on Nintendo's eShop there's no themed sale at the moment, but there's a large selection of games on General Sale.

  • On the Epic Games Store, Rise of Industry is currently free to download.

  • Finally, over on Steam there are plenty of games on special offer, including NBA2K23 for £14.99, Civilisation VI for £4.99, Portal 2 for 85p(!), and more.

MORE!

  • The State of Switch 2023

Brilliant newsletter and long-time friend of The Week in Games, Switch Weekly is currently running its sixth State of Switch Survey. If you have a bit of spare time please head on over there and check it out. The results will be shared in a few weeks.

  • Double Fine: PsychOdyssey

This documentary series by 2 Players Productions goes behind the scenes at Double Fine and is described as "a deep dive into the creativity and chaos that birthed Psychonauts 2."

  • Boss Fight Books: Season 6 - Book 3

The crowdfunding campaign for season 6 of the brilliant Boss Fight Books enters its final few days, with all four books now revealed as PaRappa the Rapper, Animal Crossing, Minesweeper and Day of the Tentacle. The campaign ends on Wednesday, March 8th. Check out the campaign here.

NEW RELEASES

All the major releases arriving this week and next!

THIS WEEK:

NEXT WEEK:

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…and that’s it for this week!

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Thanks again, and see you next week!

Jeff