We're also very curious to see if Valve will actually show some kind of "optimized for Steam Deck" label. They've said they want pretty much everything to work on it, either through Linux native titles or Proton but how will users know what to buy without going to external and unofficial websites that often have dubious user reports? We think they're going to need something to show it at least officially. This has yet to be mentioned by Valve.

On the other hand, the thing that kicked off the rumours about this device was the discovery of the GameList_View_NeptuneGames string, so it seems like something they're going to track and likely display in some way. Possibly just by additionally adding the Steam icon to games that don't otherwise have Linux support, though, like the current whitelist does, rather than a separate category.

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Quoting: SalvatosI wish I had any idea what those specs mean in Intel/Nvidia terms.

The CPU is about the level of a Kaby Lake i7. The GPU is architecturally competitive with Ampere, but sliced really thin: no comparable product has been released yet for actual numbers on that part. We don't know how good Valve's chassis design is at keeping it from thermal throttling. The power budget for the whole thing is 15 W.

At its resolution you can likely expect it to be a competent gaming machine, but not a monster. You'll have to turn off the most exuberant and expensive effects. We'll know more when Valve send Liam one to try.

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyBy the way--Steam Deck, huh? Not a terrible name. Sure better than "Steam Pal".

I wonder if they'll release different coloured models? I'm hoping for "The Colour Of Television, Tuned To A Dead Channel."

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Quoting: g000hI'm waiting for Microsoft to offer Valve a free Windows licence for each Steam Deck, or even better - Pay Valve to put Windows onto the device. I'm just jesting, but if this thing skyrockets, I wouldn't put it past Microsoft.

Windows is already free for devices with small screens. A hangover from them suffocating netbook competitors, I think.

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Quoting: slaapliedjeI think the real question is how many new games will we get as Linux native when developers want to make games for this new 'console' and can finally convince publishers there is enough interest?

It's hard to say. There was a big uptick in native titles with the Steam Machines coverage, but that died out when they didn't take off. I can see it flipping indies using Unity from "probably no" to "probably yes," but the big studios might feel burned from last time and wait-and-see, or just lean on Proton. More "officially support Proton" is something, but it's not full support.

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Quoting: scaineFor a device like this though? Who cares if it's Arch?

ChromeOS is based on Gentoo, but the user experience of using a Chromebook is nothing like the user experience of using Gentoo on the desktop.

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Quoting: dubigrasuWait, I see underneath paddles, 4 of them. Wasn't a big lawsuit about this?

The patent was for having a rocker across the width of the controller; Valve had also tried buttons on the back, but didn't feel they'd be as good. This device is way too wide for a rocker so it wouldn't have infringed even if they hadn't recently had the case loss to sharpen their attention on the issue.

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Quoting: ShmerlI want to load ScummVM on it.

Quoting: GuestAnother thought: DOSBox.

Steam already has the ability to use miscellaneous compatibility tools (and other versions of Proton) by just putting the relevant files in the compatibilitytools.d directory. There are already projects that set things up ready to go for those two: Roberta and Boxtron, respectively.

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Quoting: GuestOn a different note, what games would people think to play on this? It's not like most of the games in people's existing Steam library are designed for this form factor.

It's funny you should ask. I gave some broad strokes in the last article, but just the other day I was having a look at my Steam wishlist and thought to myself, "those Supergiant Games [External Link] games would be just perfect for playing on a Steam Pal, if Valve release one. "

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I've just had a horrible thought: am I going to be compelled to say, "I use Arch, btw," everywhere I go?

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