I ditched my Steam Deck after 7 months — here’s why

[admin]

The Steam Deck is an innovative piece of hardware that lets you play PC games anywhere, but short battery life, the game selection and my own circumstances have limited its appeal.

I ditched my Steam Deck after 7 months — here’s why : Read more

 

[capt NiMo]

The thing that I learned to appreciate about the Steam Deck isn't that it is some "Switch killer" or rival console/PC but more like a niche hardware tool that if you put your mind to it, really lets you do anything. No doubt thanks to its easy modding and ability to streamline ROM's it has stomped all over the emulator market making systems like the RG350 look underpowered and a hassle to use. But even when I first unboxed my Deck, it wasn't like I thought this was the end-all system to end all debates. I will note that I don't think I'll ever fly/travel without my deck again - literally every plane seat and airport has a power outlet, so you'll never run out of power. Since I travel on business, I just need to bring the dock for my deck and I can just connect it to any hotel tv and bam, like I never left home at all. Remember how I said it can be really used for anything? Heck, it worked great for sampling old NES songs - just hooked up a 3.5mm to 1/4 cable to a loop pedal and we're live. I'm not sure how long I'll really use it, but it has become the go to rather than lugging around a big and heavy laptop.

 

[Raichiori]

Not the greatest take.

I take my steam deck with me everywhere. Whip it out in the drive thru if the line is too long, on any plane or car ride, start gaming at a friend's house while I wait for everyone to wake up and get breakfast after a night of partying.

To claim it isn't portable because you can't fit a power bank in the default case is a little short sighted. There are plenty of travel cases like MVRPDXC that are small enough to reasonably by carried around anywhere and everywhere, sort of like a purse for gaming.

I've taken my deck with my on hikes, out of the country, literally everywhere. This article is reminiscent of a lot of similar posts I've seen on Reddit.

And in my opinion, it seems like the only people who are disappointed in the steam deck are people who never take it anywhere (hence defeating the purpose of owning a portable PC). And it makes sense that you would be disappointed, though it doesn't make as much sense that you wouldn't, you know, start traveling more with it.

 

[Warfyste]

Wildly dishonest criticism. When you complain about screen size, for example - so you're going to ditch the deck to go back to a large device, maybe a fixed-in-place console - you are completely ignoring that your can dock the deck and play on a big screen, which I do all the time. Connect any controller you want. And your can't complain about lack of games, or genes unverified, because ALL systems are missing some games.

Battery life can be an issue... So... Plus it in life a console or PC. Sheesh.

This article is just crap the more I think about it. It has the functionally of a console/PC that is ALSO portable, so what's the problem again? Too cheap to buy a docking station? Come on ... Wish I could follow the money trail and see who's paying you to publish such false criticism... Either that or you are truly ignorant and should have your editor title stripped

 

[capt NiMo]

And in my opinion, it seems like the only people who are disappointed in the steam deck are people who never take it anywhere (hence defeating the purpose of owning a portable PC). And it makes sense that you would be disappointed, though it doesn't make as much sense that you wouldn't, you know, start traveling more with it.

lols this. I do think with regards to the discussion about the Deck and mobility, a big hiccup for Steam was not selling the dock at the same time it released the system, so if you didn't get one, some may honestly not have a great experience or even realize docking to a screen was a thing(some people are honestly not tech savvy). I found myself finding the lack of Steam authorized accessories a bit frustrating, ended up causing me to default to JSAUX for nearly all of the Deck accessories which isn't a bad thing, they make great products, but those who have no clue what they're doing, they may find they bought a dock that lacks enough ports or only does HD at 30K rather than 60K.

Side note; there is also a fundamental flaw with the Steam Deck - it can't do most online games because the OS screws with anticheat mechanics. With games like Fallout4 which require signing into a Bethesda account, it usually doesn't work, so that means you won't be able to access mods, which for some, ruins the mood. Again, this is why I consider the Deck "niche", as it doesn't fit in with consoles or PC's so some experiences are going to be completely different. However, that doesn't mean all the experiences will be bad, just different.