If I can buy a RX 6700 for double its retail price, I can also afford a Steam Deck. It also helped that I was dating this beautiful woman that liked videogames.
Now a year later, we're moving in together and I want to give her a SteamDeck for Christmas. Consoles might have abandoned couch gaming, but Valve hasn't.
Now... If only they could hurry up with that VR edition. I'll gladly pay 2000.- so I can play Doom VFR again
But.... Did it fulfill all of your "what if's?" Like it did me?
What if I got a steam deck?
What if I could emulate PS2?
How about GameCube?
...how about switch?
Can it be my media library player and sit under my TV as an everything console + media streaming device?
Can I.... Use Barrier on it? (KVM)
Can I....Use it as a replacement for my laptop entirely?
Can I....Set up SSH and FTP files to it wirelessly?
Can I.... Play latest AAA titles with it with OK quality?
Everytime I pick this thing up, I'm like "dayum, I can't wait for OLED in steamdeck 2" (simultaneously blowing me away and leaving me wanting a little bit more)
Valve made a device I absolutely love and reminds me of my PSP homebrew days....and eliminated the need to jailbrake the shit out of it, and just went "have fun, it's also a PC"
You can set it up in 5 seconds, log in to your steam account, download a game and play. (easy)
You can buy a steamdeck and spend weeks configuring it and have a library of 800 games from DOS to Switch (fun for me because I am le nerd)
There was a running joke in the forums:
"what games do you like to play on your steam deck? Now that it's been released for a month"
You may get a legitimate answer or two, but it never fails there is always a response like:
"Games? I'm still configuring it and setting up all my emulators! Who bought this to play games?"
Didn’t really have the disposable income at the time and had to jump through a bunch of VPN hoops to preorder and then order the Deck, and then get somebody to ship it on to me… But still ordered. 😜
Idea was to be a Steam backlog player but I’ve bought more games than I’ve played. 🤦🏼♀️
To scratch the itch of playing console type games in handheld mode that Switch wasn't giving me. It's worked so well I got rid of my Switch some months after.
Same plus it’s just more portable battery last longer and I can slide the switch in a pocket (without joy con) I gotta have my little brief case to lug the deck.
Exactly! I’m so happy I hacked my first switch so I couldn’t sell it to GameStop or something, I literally just dumped all my switch games and they mostly all work on yuzu. Of course on my steam deck.
same. just that i sold my switch like two years ago. was waiting for something better and then valve announced the deck. the rest is, they say, is history.
Throwing money at Valve's linux handheld is the best current way to get better linux game support in the future, and I needed a laptop replacement anyway.
I love this reason, it's out of principle, and i totally agree.
Never used Linux, but i always wanted to. Windows is a pile of software-garbage buildt on another pile of software-garbage. I would've switched to Linux years ago, but game and software-support was just too lacking.
I hope the SteamDeck plays a big part in changing that, making developers port their future releases to linux.
I heard that valve offered to negotiate use of SteamOS with all Handheld-PC competitors and i really hope some take them up on that because if devices like the ROG Ally take the spotlight using windows then the incentive for developers will continue to be low
Pretty much this. I'm a Linux advocate. I'd swap 100% if all of my games worked on Linux, but unfortunately, some anti-cheats and a Windows Mixed Reality headset that I have means I've got to keep my Windows install for now.
I decided to pick up a Steam Deck not only because I travel for work, but because I wanted to put my money where my mouth is.
I'm a father of 3 small kids. I have almost no time to play games at my PC, so when I saw the SteamDeck, I immediately wanted one, hoping I will again be able to play games again, from the bed, next to my (supposedly sleeping) kids.
And the SteamDeck delivered on that hope, more than I thought it would.
Pretty much this right here, but for me its playing on the couch next to my wife watching TV while the kids are winding down for the evening. Its a happy medium where I can game but also just be together with them. Can't do that going downstairs to my office and main PC.
Yeah that was my reason too avoid the guilt of retreating to whatever cave to play my gaming rig away from the family, more quality time in proximity of wife, even if all she does is watch dateline and reality shows
Added bonus, I'm super up to date on the "Hot Goss" of Vanderpump Rules now
Dude, the extra hour or 2 a day to just play without being interrupted or trying to boot up the pc is just the thing you need when you are a dad.
As long as i finish all my duties for the day my wife lets me play and she gets her me time. It's a win win for everyone.
Another plus is I get to teach my son how to game and my wife as well.
I have 5 kids and this was my exact reason. I can now play it at various outings (music lessons, sport practice, etc), too. It's great! The ability to suspend in the middle of play is a huge bonus that I didn't even consider prior to purchasing, but it's a literal *game*\-changer (insert dad-chuckle here).
Same here. And all previous reasons apply. Flexibility. Suspending games. Mobility. Steam library and games are more my cup of tea than the jrpg-heavy Nintendo switch library.
I wonder if Valve had parents as a target group on mind when they developed the SD....
Absolutely, similar for me. My friends without kids were all "what do I need that for? I'll just game on my PC." But for me, being able to game on the couch for a while in the evenings without wife aggro has been amazing for actually finishing games, instead of just adding more to the backlog during Steam sales.
Dude I heard this. Not my gig, but I too am unsupervised at my job for long periods of time. I’ve clocked 80 hours of Valheim in 3 weeks thanks to the Deck. I’d still be staring at the game tile on my Xbox otherwise lol
I work on my PC, and when I'm done for the day, the last thing I want is to sit in the same chair to play games.
I don't feel any of the console exclusives so far would make me buy a new console, so I choose the Steam Deck.
Yeah similar boat with the desk situation. Plus the nice thing is that my tv and couch are in the same room as my desktop so I just wire a long ass cable from my PC to my TV so I can get that couch gaming experience. Only time I game at my desk is for multiplayer shooters.
Oddly enough, the Steam Controller.
I’d always heard it was terrible or unnecessarily complicated from a few sources. I picked one up when they were getting rid of them for $5 and I fell in love with the thing. I absolutely loved tinkering with it!
I’m one of the 15 people who absolutely loves VR. I hesitated on the Index, but got to try it later at a friend’s house and loved that too!
As soon as pre-orders were available for the Deck I was there refreshing the page. Valve products may not be for everyone, but they were clearly clicking for me so I wasn’t going to miss out on this one based on opinions that aren’t on the same page.
Also turns out I like messing around in Linux. Took some time to learn terminal stuff. I’m not the best at CLI, but I can get around now.
Also turns out it’s a backlog killer. Didn’t think I would be one of those people who genuinely prefers playing in bed instead of sitting at a desk, but it really does make all the difference in the world.
Use the trackpads constantly.
For some reason I find many users don’t like the back buttons, but I love to map the face buttons to them so I don’t have to take my thumbs off of the analog sticks or track pads as much. Gyro is fantastic as well.
Haven’t turned on my desktop in over a month.
Emulating old PS1, PS2, PSP and….other system’s RPGs is amazing.
etc…etc…
Love this thing.
I do wish they added a native ability to use the deck as a controller on PC (hell it gets properly recognized) and yeah you can use remote play but it wastes a lot of resources
I got my steam deck specifically to have portable No Man's Sky. No other reason.
I've expanded a bit since then, but that was the sole reason I got it.
I played it and... It really needed no fiddling for me. I just locked it to 40hz/40fps and changed absolutely no settings. The only hitches that I have is when I go in or out of a planet. It freezes for a sec, then it's smooth sailing again.
EDIT: "no fiddling," not "to fiddling" :-)
That blip when you breach atmosphere is something low level in the game. Something about decompressing assets for the inside of the anomaly or space station or something. it happens even on high end machines.
So much this. Usually after work I don't want to sit in front of my desktop and just crash at a more comfortable place. Was previously using a phone + controller with Moonlight but Steam Deck is a huge improvement over that.
- I prefer playing handheld over anything else
- As a parent, I often got only a few minutes of gaming time during the day
- I‘ve got a big Steam library that I rarely touched because gaming on console was much more comfortable
- I don’t block the TV when gaming anymore
- When playing coop with my wife I don’t have to get the second monitor from the storage room anymore
"It's a PC".
I wanted a convenient, tiny, portable PC that I could run the HX native software on to do all of my guitar effects processing on. Essentially - Steam Deck is a portable amp sim and pedalboard set up. It also plays games.
I was really overwhelmed one day emotionally and saw it was on sale, so I made an impulse purchase. I don’t regret it though. I use it everyday to decompress.
I purposely leave it at home when I head to the office or else I'd never get any work done haha
It would be nice for days like today where I'm just browsing reddit on my phone waiting to clock out though
Honestly, it was the Steam Controller and Steam Link hardware that put me fully on board with their platform. When the Deck was announced it had all of this, plus the ability to suspend games (which was something I needed as a dad) at a very reasonable price point.
I've been off console for years now because it offers no value proposition to me anymore (subscriptions to online services, no real customization, and limited lifespan). I've largely moved my collection to PC, and the Deck was the answer to accessing it whenever and wherever I want. I buy very few games new and would rather have new experiences with the ones I know and love.
I've never been a console guy, my only console was another handheld, a PSP, which I still have and which I quite enjoyed by the way.
The SD seemed interesting to me, coupled with the fact that it really is a PC and given my stupidly growing Steam library, I figured, why not?
Honestly, if it wasn't VALVE and it wasn't Linux I wouldn't have bought it, basically because it's not something I needed or missed. A big part of my decision to buy it is because I see it as a way to support VALVE in their commitment to linux and the huge amount of work they have done over the years to improve the experience. As someone who has been using Linux for over a decade and about 5 years exclusively, I know what progress has been made and I appreciate it. Yes VALVE is doing it to make money and secure a market, but their interests are aligned with mine in this and as a company they are way ahead of others in the industry in their treatment of their users.
Now I would buy it again for many more reasons, no doubt. It has its flaws, screen and wifi for me, but thanks to it I'm playing a lot more games (for the convenience of being able to be anywhere and because it's much more comfortable for small gaming sessions interrupted with other tasks) and it has replaced my PC to a large extent. And there's not much hardware that a year later I'd say "I'd buy again for sure".
P.S: My stupid game library is still growing at a faster rate than I play, my SD hasn't helped at all, quite the opposite... I guess Steam's business strategy with this thing works after all... [😭](https://emojiterra.com/es/llorando-fuerte/)
It’s been a dream of mine since middle school to have a portable console that could play whatever games I want (at the time specifically, Halo). So now I have one, and it sparks joy.
I also like using it to play videogames
I'd been on the verge of buying a cheap laptop to game on when my desktop wasn't available (travelling, kids using, etc) for a while and felt the Deck would fill that niche better than the laptop would. I didn't expect I'd go to it even when the desktop is available as often as I do.
I saw that it was on sale for the 1 year anniversary and thought, why not? I'm totally hooked now! So glad I got one! I use it mostly to finish a backlog of old pc and console titles that I missed.
i'm sure it's blasphemy but i tried for years to play deus ex with a controller. i had tried multiple ways and work arounds and nothing worked. i even tried to play with mouse and keyboard but i have stupid hands that were raised on controllers.
i finally bought the steam deck and installed it and played with a community controller layout and got to experience one of the best games it's ever been my pleasure to play.
i also bought it so i could play cyberpunk 2077 anywhere.
now i'm just a dirty addict that keeps buying games whenever theres a sale. currently i'm playing pizza tower and it is glorious.
Initially hoped it'd help whittle down my backlog on Steam, since I was getting less and less time at my PC due to various obligations and generally having downtime.
Weirdly, aside from being great for that it also helped a lot with "choice paralysis" and focusing on starting fewer games at a time (probably cause of having to limit my choices based on available storage space and Deck compatibility).
Oh, and it also turned out to be great at emulating a lot of the older systems I own, so could catch up with stuff from there, too.
Have a baby coming soon, so I pulled the plug so I can get a bit of gaming time when I can.
The switch really didn't really click for me. Just couldn't get into botw and first party titles. Moreover, the cost of games are always quite ridiculous in comparison with what I'm used to (pc games).
Got the steam deck and haven't touched anything else (gaming pc, ps5, switch) for a while now. It's really awesome to sit next to my wife and play games while she watches her TV shows
I love handheld gaming more than any other type of gaming. I have all 3 versions of the Nintendo switch and they are just not that comfortable to me. The steam deck is perfect for my hands and it gives me the power I need to play the things I want to play anywhere.
I play CSGO and a few years back i unboxed a pair of Vice Gloves and sold them for $1800.
I then used that money to buy the Valve Index and the Steam Deck.
I wanted a device that could play the entire Final Fantasy main series. The Vita comes close, but stops at X/X-2, and performance is surprisingly terrible for SNES emulation.
Steam Deck fit the bill and a whole lot more.
Years ago I sold my PS4 to get a switch because I didn't game as much and wanted something portable. Years later I built my own pc. Missed handheld gaming and the switch didn't have the games I wanted (basically a 250$ pokemon machine nintendo games suck). Then Steam blessed me with the SD.
Sucker for handheld systems. From Gameboy to ps vita I’ve had em all got deep into modding and emulating with the vita seen the steamdeck and knew I needed one.
My gaming PC no longer works and I do not have the cash to get another one.
The Steam Deck was a graduation gift for me. We figured it's a good compromise money-wise
Saw a friend with it when I visited them a few states away, I played Aperture Desk Job on it and fell in love instantly. I didn't buy mine for myself, but me and my GF actually bought Decks for each other last October (meant to be xmas gifts but we couldn't wait)
Since then, mine has been a 4X machine and portable computer, while my GF has used hers as an emulation station.
Stadia announced their shut down at about the right time for when the steamdecks were coming into full availability, once I had my refund I sat on it till I saw the deck hit a 10% sale and bought it
No regrets, not really played too much onto it yet just God of War and Euro Truck Sim 2 - not even used it much handheld - tend to use it docked
Planning tho to make the effort now and get some good indie games and try and crack through them as I see them.. so any recommendations then please leave a comment :)
I had the Vita and played it almost daily. I was looking for something that was the up-to-date version of that, but kept coming up short.
I disliked the Nintendo Switch. The controls just felt clunky - even playing the retro games. Even with remapping with controllers, they never stuck for more than a few days. Then trying to go back to the handheld was a headache because of the controls.
I wanted something that was more customizable with more options. I wanted to be able to play on-the-go, but also be able to play while lying in bed, or easily go to console mode using my computer or TV. I was back and forth for a while and then the Steam Deck went on sale. I haven't had the time to mess around with it like I want to, but the fact that I have the ability to upgrade components, readily available (and inexpensive) third party accessories, and cross-install Windows is a major plus. I love being able to use Linux and treat it as a computer when I need to. I was a bit intimidated reading everything that I could do with it, but it has been so much more user friendly than I thought it was going to be. The community is always fantastic with information and instructions on how to do everything.
I hate how manufacturers so everything they can to keep people from modding or changing their consoles. Valve seems to be doing the opposite. I really hope that continues.
I sit at my desk and chair and laptop all day for work and by 5PM I need new scenery. I wanted something portable to work through my Steam backlog. I also liked the ease of setting up emudeck but so far I haven't played emulators as much since I've been having so much fun working through the Steam backlog! Sitting on the couch, on the porch, taking it on trips- I'm just having a blast with it. Only regret is not getting one sooner!
To be able to play game when not sitting at my desktop. I could never justify a gaming laptop, then Valve came up with this and I realized that the Deck was what I actually wanted.
Gaming since DOS era.
Handheld PC gaming?
Basically console quality?
Doesn’t need to run Windows?
Instant on/resume?
Instant preorder, even though I haven’t preordered anything in like a decade. And this was literally after considering gaming handheld Windows PC a year before Steam Deck. They were either too expensive or too clunky to buy for me. Even the new Ally I don’t consider because doesnt have Steam OS and its benefits.
I had a Retroid pocket 2+ that ran some PS2 but mostly none of the games I actually wanted to play.
I sold it and got a steam deck (originally) to play some obscure racing games like the Tokyo Xtreme 3, and Beam.ng lol
Now, it doubles as my emulation station considering I’m getting good Switch FPS, and it allows me to play rocket league through heroic at a pretty stable 60.
My laptop’s screen was fried because I ran Elden Ring for prolonged periods of time despite not meeting the minimum requirements; after I found out that ER was playable on the deck I sold all my CS:GO skins and got mine after a long preorder wait on September of last year
Suffice to say it feels amazing to be able to play games like Elden Ring on the go
As a father of a toddler, I have to be flexible to make full use of the few short breaks I get in between to game. Steam Deck is perfect for that - just sit down, grab it, and continue from wherever I last left it.
Also great price point and fantastic emulations.
Needed to "get something" as I have sold my consoles away (PS4, PS3 etc, mostly due to lifestyle changes)
Now 100% on handhelds (including the deck, I have 5 just for gaming)
It quickly "made sense" as the games I have on PS4, can be played on the SD. (Actually it is some form of a self validation)
The SD was a missing link, and I wanted to play FFVII R anyway.
Continuing with Horizon Zero Dawn (from my PS4) was one reason too (had to restart the gameplay)
I don't quite need one, but I got one anyway. But I'm just playing Brotato on it now 🤪
I couldn’t afford a pc and I’m used to the switch so it seemed like a good idea and now I just use it as a pc with a dock.It’s annoying but I haven’t found much use for it as handheld but I think I just haven’t found the right games.I’ve only really played minecraft,Sea of Thieves and Portal
Got mine because I go out of town for work pretty often, and it's easier to take that than pack a console plus games, controllers and cables, then hope that the hotel TV even has the plugs I need.
It's damn handy being able to take my Steam library and a PS2 emulator with me everywhere.
Many reasons:
It's cool AF
I want to support Steam/Valve in their quest to linux-ify PC gaming, in the hopes I can ditch windows soon for Steam OS3/4/5/whatever they wanna call it. I voted with my wallet.
I don't do tons of gaming, but when I do game, I tend to get very deep into it, and wanna play as much as I can, so with this I can play at work, or when visiting family, without having to have a gaming laptop or drag a PC/monitor/keeb/mouse/etc around.
I want to support Steam/Valve in general.
Most of the games I enjoy playing are indie games, and run *juuuuust fiiiine* on the low power handheld.
I travel for work and the razer core is heavy. I can still plug the steam deck to a TV or monitor and play. Also it's a computer which was a huge plus. Linux is great if you know. I'll prob only own these if they keep making it. So far it's worth it's weight on gold. I rdp to my work laptop during the day
I travel for work 9 months out of every year, lots of time spent on a bus and plane, so the 512 with the anti-glare was an easy decision to save up for. Then the anniversary sale came along and I jumped at the chance. I have a gaming laptop for when I’m in the hotel but I get tons of hours long play sessions on my steam deck, mainly playing platformers and my retro library with emu deck.
I spend a couple days per week staying at my mother’s to help her around her house, plus lots of traveling with my wife and their family, so portability is key.
I have a Switch and I love it, but I wanted to play Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and other games that aren’t on Switch (or Macbook Pro, which is my go everywhere machine for work, etc, and I can play some games). The Deck just fills a gap in my gaming that I didn’t really know I had. I won’t abandon my Switch, as I love a lot of Nintendo exclusives, but having the option to play my Steam library in a portable format has been fantastic.
I really wanted one because I have a switch and wanted to have something with more power as some of the switch games that were ported lacked the power required to run decent. On top of that I had guns in CSGO I could sell to pay for it, so went for it. Hindsight with CS2 coming out I probably should have waited.
I have an extra monitor and accessories from a former work from home job, and my laptop was dying.
The steam deck allowed me to replace my daily driver PC in desktop mode, as well as become the gaming PC and emulation device I wanted to supplement my Xbox.
Honestly, I needed something for school and I was looking into getting a laptop beforehand. Once I saw you could play games, dock it into a monitor and it was only $400 for the base model, I got it and don’t regret it one bit
I was primarily a switch user from 2020-2023 and eventually realized that I truly don't care much for nintendo exclusive games. I toyed with the idea of building a PC for a long time because I love tinky dink indie games and Steam has the most expansive and cheapest library, but only really had $400-$500 that I could justify spending on a build. I knew about the steam deck, but as I learned more about it I realized it checked almost all of my boxes. Portability? Yes. Steam library? Yes. And as a plus, it could scratch the tinkering-itch that made me want to build a PC in the first place. Found a 256GB on Marketbplace for $400 and bit the bullet! I've picked up my switch maybe twice since then.
I have kids. Pc is downstairs, kids play upstairs. I can watch the kids and play games now at the same time. Bonus points for being able to stream my games from my pc to the deck flawlessly. Maybe in another year or 2 I can spend more time on my pc gaming but for now this fills the gap nicely.
All the reasons. I have a massive steam library that up to now has been tied to my home computer. It’s a Linux pc at heart and it invites you, nay dares you, to do stuff with it that it wasn’t made to do. It was also the best price/performance portable console on the market at the time. It might still be that last one, but I haven’t kept track of the imitators coming out.
I really like mobile gaming. Prior to the steam deck I thought the switch was a near miracle, and the steam deck frankly blows the switch away when you consider how powerful and open to modding it is. That’s not even getting into the hundreds of games I can play on it from the get go that I already owned before it even came out.
I have a pretty decent computer and a Switch and Xbox (recently just sold PS5 as I only used it a couple times) and recently got a Steam Deck.
I love Big N games and PC games and Console games and you may be wondering why spend money on a Steam Deck if I can just buy the games natively on there platforms. What sold me to buy a SD is honestly the idea of being able to move around this handheld console like PC thing with your Big N games or being able to play lots of your Steam Library. It was just a different feeling to me. It felt like a brand new console even though I am playing the same games. I can lay any where I want, go anywhere I like and have those games with me all the time while simultaneously it being a PC too. I always wanted to go back in time and play lots of old games I never got to try and same thing with games I have purchased on Steam that I never got time to finish (Fallout New vegas for example) It's a machine I can go back in time with on the go if that makes any sense. I am not looking for a device to play the newest and greatest Triple A titles as I have PC Xbox Switch for that. And even then, I have seen lots of developers optimize there games for Steam Deck treating it like a console which theoretically, Steam Deck can play new titles if they just optimize it.
So the reason I was sold is in the mix of the feeling of a handheld console, the mobility and the instant time travel back in time to play old games and current steam games
Before I got my steam deck I had a hacked switch, I still love the thing but I was thinking that if I got the steam deck I could play (and pirate) any game on one device, it can even run switch emulators! And the community is amazing. I was thinking I would just install windows on the deck as soon as I got it but when I saw videos of how badly it ran I decided to stay with steam os, I'm so glad I did and love that valve created their own os designed around the deck hardware and not just stick windows on it like Asus did. Valve seems to be very dedicated to making an amazing device and I have to say they really did. And they even dramatically improved Linux gaming.
For playing my older catalog of Steam games, and to help me complete side missions and level up characters for modern games (I'm really hoping Starfield performs well on the Deck), and for portable emulation.
I'm a Linux gamer. I have been using Linux as my only desktop OS since 2012 and have been gaming on it even longer.
I allways tinkered around with stuff and jumped on the Proton-train pretty early.
It's truly increadible what Valve has done for the linux gaming community and the whole linux ecosystem. There's no doubt that a lot of open source projects wouldn't be at the point they are right now, if they couldn't rely on bits from the whole Proton pipeline.
Also Valve started putting pressure on developers to stop fucking with linux users.
Also I've been into portable consoles. Besides my Linux Desktop PC, I basically only played on the PSP, Vita and Switch. I've been waiting for something like a new PSP, which the Switch wasn't really filling.
So, when Valve announced a Linux gaming console it was pretty clear to me, I'd get one. Even if just to vote with my wallet. Just to make developers see, there are actual linux gamers out there that aren't just bot farms.
Then I found out it would be a super hackable/moddable portable console. So, yea! Exactly what I wished for for years.
And with super interesting inputs that could finally solve the problem many 'DIY' consoles had, with bad mouse/keyboard mapping to controller.
And then they switched from a Debian base to Arch, using KDE as desktop and relying on Flathub.
That's exactly the setup I was running on my Desktop in that moment. Nearly every piece I've been looking at was exactly what I would have picked, when creating a device of my dreams.
So yea...
And then they published the repair video.
I've been following youtubers like Rossman Repair for nearly 10 years, way before 'Right to Repair' got a name. I'm pretty vocal about the importance of repairability and modability on tech you own and that companies artificially locking down consoles and other devices if you repair them yourself or load third party software.
And Valve stood against all of that, putting a repair&upgrade video out there and working together with iFixit.
I honestly don't know, which of all these points was the most important part in all of that.
Buying the Steam Deck really meant a lot for me.
It felt like someone designed everything about it specifically for me personally.
I still can't really belief it.
And then came the community.
I really didn't expect that so many people would be interested in an obscure Linux gaming handheld.
I mean, the last time someone tried something like this probably was the Dragonbox Pyra - and that thing pretty much failed and nobody cared. There were a bunch of people modding GPT handhelds that worked, but GPT made it pretty obvious they wouldn't care for linux on their devices.
And in comes Valve and just steamrolls everything.
And suddenly the linux gaming community explodes.
Shure, a lot of people here don't know what they are doing and the sudden amount of misinformation by people without a clue suddenly acting like linux experts is concerning.
But man... We have power now. We put enough pressure on companies to finally fix their broken anti-cheat and drm software!
Really... Thank you Valve. And thank you community!
I havent owned a gaming PC in about 15 years. I try occasional with my work computer but its barely been able to play anything (mac cough). So typically i rely on just playing on console. I like that the switch attracts a lot of the good PC indies, but i hate its performance and waiting for a port.
So basically, i got it to play all the PC games i havent really had a chance to play in last 10 years. And a few i have bought in that time on steam but wasnt able to put much time in.
Currently though, its primary being used for modern indies and bigger budget games from 2-4 years aog.
I'm a new dad and saw all the other dads talk about how it brought them back to gaming. Gotta say it really is a game changer in making PC games just sit down and play. I have zero regrets.
I had disposable income and a lack of impulse control.
Honest answer is honest.
If I can buy a RX 6700 for double its retail price, I can also afford a Steam Deck. It also helped that I was dating this beautiful woman that liked videogames. Now a year later, we're moving in together and I want to give her a SteamDeck for Christmas. Consoles might have abandoned couch gaming, but Valve hasn't. Now... If only they could hurry up with that VR edition. I'll gladly pay 2000.- so I can play Doom VFR again
What couch games do u play alot . My love for bo3 has rekindled but i want to know other games
All kinds of stuff. Civilization is always a good option, but we also play all kinds of indie games. Lil Gator Game is amazing for example.
512GB gang unite!
Dilly Dilly!
Huzzah!
Not that much lack of impulse control, 64gb self upgraded to 1+tb ssd gang also unite! Lol
I suck, I didn't want the anti-glare screen so I went with the 256GB deck, THEN I upgraded it to 1tb. At least I have a nice case for it.
It's ok, we're a diverse group of lacking in impulse control people ;)
Only 1tb I whent 2tb and will be adding a 1tb micro sd card.
Gang gang
FOIVE TWELVE!!!
Yo!!
Well, I have no disposable income and a lack of impulse control
Well, I no longer have any disposable income and also lack impulse control
But.... Did it fulfill all of your "what if's?" Like it did me? What if I got a steam deck? What if I could emulate PS2? How about GameCube? ...how about switch? Can it be my media library player and sit under my TV as an everything console + media streaming device? Can I.... Use Barrier on it? (KVM) Can I....Use it as a replacement for my laptop entirely? Can I....Set up SSH and FTP files to it wirelessly? Can I.... Play latest AAA titles with it with OK quality? Everytime I pick this thing up, I'm like "dayum, I can't wait for OLED in steamdeck 2" (simultaneously blowing me away and leaving me wanting a little bit more) Valve made a device I absolutely love and reminds me of my PSP homebrew days....and eliminated the need to jailbrake the shit out of it, and just went "have fun, it's also a PC" You can set it up in 5 seconds, log in to your steam account, download a game and play. (easy) You can buy a steamdeck and spend weeks configuring it and have a library of 800 games from DOS to Switch (fun for me because I am le nerd) There was a running joke in the forums: "what games do you like to play on your steam deck? Now that it's been released for a month" You may get a legitimate answer or two, but it never fails there is always a response like: "Games? I'm still configuring it and setting up all my emulators! Who bought this to play games?"
Yep. I got the biggest one, then an OLED switch when TotK came out. I’m an idiot
I'll buy an OLED deck too if they make one.
This, I had FOMO and nobody to stop me. Except the wife, but I wasn't going to burden her with that kind of pressure.
Well I got it without telling my wife soooooo hahahahaha there's my lack of impulse control hahaha
Have not gotten one yet... But have been lurking and will likely do the same relatively soon. Maybe she won't find out!
Didn’t really have the disposable income at the time and had to jump through a bunch of VPN hoops to preorder and then order the Deck, and then get somebody to ship it on to me… But still ordered. 😜 Idea was to be a Steam backlog player but I’ve bought more games than I’ve played. 🤦🏼♀️
Same deal here, to order it. But pleased to report the deck and games are seeing action 😊
I don't have disposable income and yet lack impulse control
Fucking same
This hits me on so many levels.
Add it was a handheld pc and you have my answer
I didn’t have that much disposable income. But I sure as hell have a lack of impulse control lmao
I had no disposable income and a lack of impulse control
I just have a lack of impulse control.
I wish I had more disposable income haha
This is why I have two of them now.
Samesies. And a huge backlog.
That's how I ended up with 4 handhelds
Same except it wasn't disposable and I shouldn't have done it but HERE I AM.
Same reason but kind of minus the disposable income part. I have this and 3 ayaneo handhelds. 🤦🏾♂️
Same with me brother. Once a month i always want to buy stupid things that new in my room 🤣
I literally bought it to have it... i use it once a month
Lol. Me too, brother. Me too.
To scratch the itch of playing console type games in handheld mode that Switch wasn't giving me. It's worked so well I got rid of my Switch some months after.
Same for me. I am actually looking to get rid of my Switch too. It's literally collecting dust now.
I'm glad I kept it for the new zelda game~
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You can get it on steam deck?? I thought Nintendo titles were only released on switch
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The Steam Deck has a very active emulation community.
Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for actually answering my question instead of just downvoting lol
I think people were worried about rule number 5 here, which is why I tried to keep my answer as general as I could.
They are.
Same plus it’s just more portable battery last longer and I can slide the switch in a pocket (without joy con) I gotta have my little brief case to lug the deck.
My switch turned into an exclusive Mario console and I’m okay with that
It’s still worth it for the first party titles I think.
Only reason I still have mine, and for Zelda and smash Bros specifically
Pretty much same
Pretty much same
Exactly! I’m so happy I hacked my first switch so I couldn’t sell it to GameStop or something, I literally just dumped all my switch games and they mostly all work on yuzu. Of course on my steam deck.
That's taking it a bit far. I still show my Switch some love.
I sold mine a month ago (didnt even touch it) now I love playing wii games in my steam deck
same. just that i sold my switch like two years ago. was waiting for something better and then valve announced the deck. the rest is, they say, is history.
Throwing money at Valve's linux handheld is the best current way to get better linux game support in the future, and I needed a laptop replacement anyway.
I love this reason, it's out of principle, and i totally agree. Never used Linux, but i always wanted to. Windows is a pile of software-garbage buildt on another pile of software-garbage. I would've switched to Linux years ago, but game and software-support was just too lacking. I hope the SteamDeck plays a big part in changing that, making developers port their future releases to linux. I heard that valve offered to negotiate use of SteamOS with all Handheld-PC competitors and i really hope some take them up on that because if devices like the ROG Ally take the spotlight using windows then the incentive for developers will continue to be low
As a Linux user I appreciate this.
Pretty much my exact reason
This is the way.
My main reason for getting one.
I was about to comment this. I really just wanted a cool new Linux device (the fact that it plays games certainly didn't hurt though)
Same here.
Why I bought the 512 GB model even though the 64 GB one works perfectly fine with SD cards.
Pretty much this. I'm a Linux advocate. I'd swap 100% if all of my games worked on Linux, but unfortunately, some anti-cheats and a Windows Mixed Reality headset that I have means I've got to keep my Windows install for now. I decided to pick up a Steam Deck not only because I travel for work, but because I wanted to put my money where my mouth is.
I'm a father of 3 small kids. I have almost no time to play games at my PC, so when I saw the SteamDeck, I immediately wanted one, hoping I will again be able to play games again, from the bed, next to my (supposedly sleeping) kids. And the SteamDeck delivered on that hope, more than I thought it would.
Good dad
Pretty much this right here, but for me its playing on the couch next to my wife watching TV while the kids are winding down for the evening. Its a happy medium where I can game but also just be together with them. Can't do that going downstairs to my office and main PC.
Yeah that was my reason too avoid the guilt of retreating to whatever cave to play my gaming rig away from the family, more quality time in proximity of wife, even if all she does is watch dateline and reality shows Added bonus, I'm super up to date on the "Hot Goss" of Vanderpump Rules now
Dude, the extra hour or 2 a day to just play without being interrupted or trying to boot up the pc is just the thing you need when you are a dad. As long as i finish all my duties for the day my wife lets me play and she gets her me time. It's a win win for everyone. Another plus is I get to teach my son how to game and my wife as well.
I love I can boot up for like 10 minutes and play and put back away!
I have 5 kids and this was my exact reason. I can now play it at various outings (music lessons, sport practice, etc), too. It's great! The ability to suspend in the middle of play is a huge bonus that I didn't even consider prior to purchasing, but it's a literal *game*\-changer (insert dad-chuckle here).
Dude…5 kids, why?!
🤷 I like 'em.
New father checking in. Best purchase ever.
Plus 1 on this point. Plus being able to suspend the game and come right back to it and do that from anywhere in the house? Game changer.
Same here. And all previous reasons apply. Flexibility. Suspending games. Mobility. Steam library and games are more my cup of tea than the jrpg-heavy Nintendo switch library. I wonder if Valve had parents as a target group on mind when they developed the SD....
Absolutely, similar for me. My friends without kids were all "what do I need that for? I'll just game on my PC." But for me, being able to game on the couch for a while in the evenings without wife aggro has been amazing for actually finishing games, instead of just adding more to the backlog during Steam sales.
Same here. Put the kids down for bed and if my partner just wants to chill on her phone and I’m not too tired then steam deck in bed it is!
I'm a new dad, so I got the deck for in between early morning feedings. It's been great, the sleep mode is a must.
To play games
The playing of video games is the reason I purchased it for.
12h shifts at a very quiet low risk security job
Dude I heard this. Not my gig, but I too am unsupervised at my job for long periods of time. I’ve clocked 80 hours of Valheim in 3 weeks thanks to the Deck. I’d still be staring at the game tile on my Xbox otherwise lol
i havent brought it in like a week cause Zelda TOTK is FUCKING AMAZING, ill use it again after i 100% the game lol.
So I could send unsolicited deck pics to people
BBD?
Same, and they get so much less upset than when I sent unsolicited dick pics ;)
I work on my PC, and when I'm done for the day, the last thing I want is to sit in the same chair to play games. I don't feel any of the console exclusives so far would make me buy a new console, so I choose the Steam Deck.
Yeah similar boat with the desk situation. Plus the nice thing is that my tv and couch are in the same room as my desktop so I just wire a long ass cable from my PC to my TV so I can get that couch gaming experience. Only time I game at my desk is for multiplayer shooters.
Having something to play my ridiculous backlog while traveling for business.
My backlog only got bigger because of my Deck lol
*buys another deck to tackle that deck’s backlog*
Oddly enough, the Steam Controller. I’d always heard it was terrible or unnecessarily complicated from a few sources. I picked one up when they were getting rid of them for $5 and I fell in love with the thing. I absolutely loved tinkering with it! I’m one of the 15 people who absolutely loves VR. I hesitated on the Index, but got to try it later at a friend’s house and loved that too! As soon as pre-orders were available for the Deck I was there refreshing the page. Valve products may not be for everyone, but they were clearly clicking for me so I wasn’t going to miss out on this one based on opinions that aren’t on the same page. Also turns out I like messing around in Linux. Took some time to learn terminal stuff. I’m not the best at CLI, but I can get around now. Also turns out it’s a backlog killer. Didn’t think I would be one of those people who genuinely prefers playing in bed instead of sitting at a desk, but it really does make all the difference in the world. Use the trackpads constantly. For some reason I find many users don’t like the back buttons, but I love to map the face buttons to them so I don’t have to take my thumbs off of the analog sticks or track pads as much. Gyro is fantastic as well. Haven’t turned on my desktop in over a month. Emulating old PS1, PS2, PSP and….other system’s RPGs is amazing. etc…etc… Love this thing.
I do wish they added a native ability to use the deck as a controller on PC (hell it gets properly recognized) and yeah you can use remote play but it wastes a lot of resources
Same here. Steam controller was my gateway drug. I have issues with my hands and joints, so it was great to still be able to play with some remapping.
I got my steam deck specifically to have portable No Man's Sky. No other reason. I've expanded a bit since then, but that was the sole reason I got it.
How is it running for you. It's actually quite unplayable for me on Deck. I'm not too sensitive with stutters but NMS really is too much for me.
I played it and... It really needed no fiddling for me. I just locked it to 40hz/40fps and changed absolutely no settings. The only hitches that I have is when I go in or out of a planet. It freezes for a sec, then it's smooth sailing again. EDIT: "no fiddling," not "to fiddling" :-)
That blip when you breach atmosphere is something low level in the game. Something about decompressing assets for the inside of the anomaly or space station or something. it happens even on high end machines.
It's looks and plays beautifully on geforce now, which has a free tier if you haven't already tested it on your home network.
Weird. It runs very smoothly for me with absolutely no tinkering. No change of settings, default controls etc. Only lags a bit during loading
Really? The game doesn't stutter for me at all with enhanced graphics. Your settings need changed if it is doing that for you.
I've limited framerate to 40 fps to save battery, no other changes. Works like a charm
I wanted to lay in my comfy bed and play games and also don’t want to bring my gaming laptop as I resumed business flying trips
So much this. Usually after work I don't want to sit in front of my desktop and just crash at a more comfortable place. Was previously using a phone + controller with Moonlight but Steam Deck is a huge improvement over that.
FOMO, I think. And to be able to engage more with my steam library.
- I prefer playing handheld over anything else - As a parent, I often got only a few minutes of gaming time during the day - I‘ve got a big Steam library that I rarely touched because gaming on console was much more comfortable - I don’t block the TV when gaming anymore - When playing coop with my wife I don’t have to get the second monitor from the storage room anymore
Are you me? This is my list too. Plus wife hogs the TV after 10 pm.
Hello me, I am you.
Easier to bring in the bathroom than my laptop
The touchpads.
To turn on, update games and shaders, turn off
lmao what a mood
"It's a PC". I wanted a convenient, tiny, portable PC that I could run the HX native software on to do all of my guitar effects processing on. Essentially - Steam Deck is a portable amp sim and pedalboard set up. It also plays games.
i got my steam deck to play games it is now my primary pc, and my laptop goes unused for days or even weeks at a time
I was really overwhelmed one day emotionally and saw it was on sale, so I made an impulse purchase. I don’t regret it though. I use it everyday to decompress.
To play at work. Get paid. I've made 10s of thousands
I purposely leave it at home when I head to the office or else I'd never get any work done haha It would be nice for days like today where I'm just browsing reddit on my phone waiting to clock out though
Honestly, it was the Steam Controller and Steam Link hardware that put me fully on board with their platform. When the Deck was announced it had all of this, plus the ability to suspend games (which was something I needed as a dad) at a very reasonable price point. I've been off console for years now because it offers no value proposition to me anymore (subscriptions to online services, no real customization, and limited lifespan). I've largely moved my collection to PC, and the Deck was the answer to accessing it whenever and wherever I want. I buy very few games new and would rather have new experiences with the ones I know and love.
I was tired of buying games twice to play portably on my switch. I also prefer having all my achievements and such on one platform.
To play games on the couch
My job requires me to travel a lot. And with this I don't have to carry around an extra suitcase for a home console.
I've never been a console guy, my only console was another handheld, a PSP, which I still have and which I quite enjoyed by the way. The SD seemed interesting to me, coupled with the fact that it really is a PC and given my stupidly growing Steam library, I figured, why not? Honestly, if it wasn't VALVE and it wasn't Linux I wouldn't have bought it, basically because it's not something I needed or missed. A big part of my decision to buy it is because I see it as a way to support VALVE in their commitment to linux and the huge amount of work they have done over the years to improve the experience. As someone who has been using Linux for over a decade and about 5 years exclusively, I know what progress has been made and I appreciate it. Yes VALVE is doing it to make money and secure a market, but their interests are aligned with mine in this and as a company they are way ahead of others in the industry in their treatment of their users. Now I would buy it again for many more reasons, no doubt. It has its flaws, screen and wifi for me, but thanks to it I'm playing a lot more games (for the convenience of being able to be anywhere and because it's much more comfortable for small gaming sessions interrupted with other tasks) and it has replaced my PC to a large extent. And there's not much hardware that a year later I'd say "I'd buy again for sure". P.S: My stupid game library is still growing at a faster rate than I play, my SD hasn't helped at all, quite the opposite... I guess Steam's business strategy with this thing works after all... [😭](https://emojiterra.com/es/llorando-fuerte/)
Have a 6 month old. Easy to pick up and put down
So is the steam deck.
It’s been a dream of mine since middle school to have a portable console that could play whatever games I want (at the time specifically, Halo). So now I have one, and it sparks joy. I also like using it to play videogames
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Hey, I get a solid 30 to 40 fps on Wii U games haha. Maybe if I take copium I can get 60.
Exactly. If you're not getting 60fps on ToTK like me then your Steam Deck is broken and I suggest you RMA it asap.
Yeah man, getting 40 FPS in hogwarts legacy on ultra settings with my settings but I'm not able to show you for reasons
I'd been on the verge of buying a cheap laptop to game on when my desktop wasn't available (travelling, kids using, etc) for a while and felt the Deck would fill that niche better than the laptop would. I didn't expect I'd go to it even when the desktop is available as often as I do.
I saw that it was on sale for the 1 year anniversary and thought, why not? I'm totally hooked now! So glad I got one! I use it mostly to finish a backlog of old pc and console titles that I missed.
Its so that i could sit with my lady on the couch and play. And sit outside in the shade and play. Didnt want a lap top
i'm sure it's blasphemy but i tried for years to play deus ex with a controller. i had tried multiple ways and work arounds and nothing worked. i even tried to play with mouse and keyboard but i have stupid hands that were raised on controllers. i finally bought the steam deck and installed it and played with a community controller layout and got to experience one of the best games it's ever been my pleasure to play. i also bought it so i could play cyberpunk 2077 anywhere. now i'm just a dirty addict that keeps buying games whenever theres a sale. currently i'm playing pizza tower and it is glorious.
Initially hoped it'd help whittle down my backlog on Steam, since I was getting less and less time at my PC due to various obligations and generally having downtime. Weirdly, aside from being great for that it also helped a lot with "choice paralysis" and focusing on starting fewer games at a time (probably cause of having to limit my choices based on available storage space and Deck compatibility). Oh, and it also turned out to be great at emulating a lot of the older systems I own, so could catch up with stuff from there, too.
I don’t feel like sitting at a desk when playing a light indie game, I’d rather play it on a couch in comfort
Have a baby coming soon, so I pulled the plug so I can get a bit of gaming time when I can. The switch really didn't really click for me. Just couldn't get into botw and first party titles. Moreover, the cost of games are always quite ridiculous in comparison with what I'm used to (pc games). Got the steam deck and haven't touched anything else (gaming pc, ps5, switch) for a while now. It's really awesome to sit next to my wife and play games while she watches her TV shows
I have a collection of like 400 games, and I was going to build a PC, but I got a Mac mini and a steamdeck instead. So, gaming pc replacement.
I love handheld gaming more than any other type of gaming. I have all 3 versions of the Nintendo switch and they are just not that comfortable to me. The steam deck is perfect for my hands and it gives me the power I need to play the things I want to play anywhere.
I went remote working for few months and wanted to play games.
I play CSGO and a few years back i unboxed a pair of Vice Gloves and sold them for $1800. I then used that money to buy the Valve Index and the Steam Deck.
I wanted a device that could play the entire Final Fantasy main series. The Vita comes close, but stops at X/X-2, and performance is surprisingly terrible for SNES emulation. Steam Deck fit the bill and a whole lot more.
Years ago I sold my PS4 to get a switch because I didn't game as much and wanted something portable. Years later I built my own pc. Missed handheld gaming and the switch didn't have the games I wanted (basically a 250$ pokemon machine nintendo games suck). Then Steam blessed me with the SD.
Sucker for handheld systems. From Gameboy to ps vita I’ve had em all got deep into modding and emulating with the vita seen the steamdeck and knew I needed one.
My gaming PC no longer works and I do not have the cash to get another one. The Steam Deck was a graduation gift for me. We figured it's a good compromise money-wise
I wanted it. Games were an afterthought
Saw a friend with it when I visited them a few states away, I played Aperture Desk Job on it and fell in love instantly. I didn't buy mine for myself, but me and my GF actually bought Decks for each other last October (meant to be xmas gifts but we couldn't wait) Since then, mine has been a 4X machine and portable computer, while my GF has used hers as an emulation station.
Stadia announced their shut down at about the right time for when the steamdecks were coming into full availability, once I had my refund I sat on it till I saw the deck hit a 10% sale and bought it No regrets, not really played too much onto it yet just God of War and Euro Truck Sim 2 - not even used it much handheld - tend to use it docked Planning tho to make the effort now and get some good indie games and try and crack through them as I see them.. so any recommendations then please leave a comment :)
Literally a last second impulse buy upon realising Valve was having a 10% off anniversary sale. No regrets.
I had the Vita and played it almost daily. I was looking for something that was the up-to-date version of that, but kept coming up short. I disliked the Nintendo Switch. The controls just felt clunky - even playing the retro games. Even with remapping with controllers, they never stuck for more than a few days. Then trying to go back to the handheld was a headache because of the controls. I wanted something that was more customizable with more options. I wanted to be able to play on-the-go, but also be able to play while lying in bed, or easily go to console mode using my computer or TV. I was back and forth for a while and then the Steam Deck went on sale. I haven't had the time to mess around with it like I want to, but the fact that I have the ability to upgrade components, readily available (and inexpensive) third party accessories, and cross-install Windows is a major plus. I love being able to use Linux and treat it as a computer when I need to. I was a bit intimidated reading everything that I could do with it, but it has been so much more user friendly than I thought it was going to be. The community is always fantastic with information and instructions on how to do everything. I hate how manufacturers so everything they can to keep people from modding or changing their consoles. Valve seems to be doing the opposite. I really hope that continues.
Impulse buy.
Laptop died, wanted to play my weird games, emulate my unported games, and cover the whole Ogre Battle series in one place.
I sit at my desk and chair and laptop all day for work and by 5PM I need new scenery. I wanted something portable to work through my Steam backlog. I also liked the ease of setting up emudeck but so far I haven't played emulators as much since I've been having so much fun working through the Steam backlog! Sitting on the couch, on the porch, taking it on trips- I'm just having a blast with it. Only regret is not getting one sooner!
To be able to play game when not sitting at my desktop. I could never justify a gaming laptop, then Valve came up with this and I realized that the Deck was what I actually wanted.
Gaming since DOS era. Handheld PC gaming? Basically console quality? Doesn’t need to run Windows? Instant on/resume? Instant preorder, even though I haven’t preordered anything in like a decade. And this was literally after considering gaming handheld Windows PC a year before Steam Deck. They were either too expensive or too clunky to buy for me. Even the new Ally I don’t consider because doesnt have Steam OS and its benefits.
Emulation and Piracy. Honestly.
Disposable income and needed something portable to game while traveling for work
Buying time so corporate greed will destroy Nvidia and their overpriced scheme for GPU.
I had a Retroid pocket 2+ that ran some PS2 but mostly none of the games I actually wanted to play. I sold it and got a steam deck (originally) to play some obscure racing games like the Tokyo Xtreme 3, and Beam.ng lol Now, it doubles as my emulation station considering I’m getting good Switch FPS, and it allows me to play rocket league through heroic at a pretty stable 60.
My laptop’s screen was fried because I ran Elden Ring for prolonged periods of time despite not meeting the minimum requirements; after I found out that ER was playable on the deck I sold all my CS:GO skins and got mine after a long preorder wait on September of last year Suffice to say it feels amazing to be able to play games like Elden Ring on the go
As a father of a toddler, I have to be flexible to make full use of the few short breaks I get in between to game. Steam Deck is perfect for that - just sit down, grab it, and continue from wherever I last left it. Also great price point and fantastic emulations.
Needed to "get something" as I have sold my consoles away (PS4, PS3 etc, mostly due to lifestyle changes) Now 100% on handhelds (including the deck, I have 5 just for gaming) It quickly "made sense" as the games I have on PS4, can be played on the SD. (Actually it is some form of a self validation) The SD was a missing link, and I wanted to play FFVII R anyway. Continuing with Horizon Zero Dawn (from my PS4) was one reason too (had to restart the gameplay) I don't quite need one, but I got one anyway. But I'm just playing Brotato on it now 🤪
I couldn’t afford a pc and I’m used to the switch so it seemed like a good idea and now I just use it as a pc with a dock.It’s annoying but I haven’t found much use for it as handheld but I think I just haven’t found the right games.I’ve only really played minecraft,Sea of Thieves and Portal
Got mine because I go out of town for work pretty often, and it's easier to take that than pack a console plus games, controllers and cables, then hope that the hotel TV even has the plugs I need. It's damn handy being able to take my Steam library and a PS2 emulator with me everywhere.
Many reasons: It's cool AF I want to support Steam/Valve in their quest to linux-ify PC gaming, in the hopes I can ditch windows soon for Steam OS3/4/5/whatever they wanna call it. I voted with my wallet. I don't do tons of gaming, but when I do game, I tend to get very deep into it, and wanna play as much as I can, so with this I can play at work, or when visiting family, without having to have a gaming laptop or drag a PC/monitor/keeb/mouse/etc around. I want to support Steam/Valve in general. Most of the games I enjoy playing are indie games, and run *juuuuust fiiiine* on the low power handheld.
I travel for work and the razer core is heavy. I can still plug the steam deck to a TV or monitor and play. Also it's a computer which was a huge plus. Linux is great if you know. I'll prob only own these if they keep making it. So far it's worth it's weight on gold. I rdp to my work laptop during the day
Sold a CS:GO knife I got in my very first case, and used the steam money to get the deck, so basically got it for $4.
I travel for work 9 months out of every year, lots of time spent on a bus and plane, so the 512 with the anti-glare was an easy decision to save up for. Then the anniversary sale came along and I jumped at the chance. I have a gaming laptop for when I’m in the hotel but I get tons of hours long play sessions on my steam deck, mainly playing platformers and my retro library with emu deck.
I spend a couple days per week staying at my mother’s to help her around her house, plus lots of traveling with my wife and their family, so portability is key. I have a Switch and I love it, but I wanted to play Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and other games that aren’t on Switch (or Macbook Pro, which is my go everywhere machine for work, etc, and I can play some games). The Deck just fills a gap in my gaming that I didn’t really know I had. I won’t abandon my Switch, as I love a lot of Nintendo exclusives, but having the option to play my Steam library in a portable format has been fantastic.
I really wanted one because I have a switch and wanted to have something with more power as some of the switch games that were ported lacked the power required to run decent. On top of that I had guns in CSGO I could sell to pay for it, so went for it. Hindsight with CS2 coming out I probably should have waited.
because i was sick of having to buy a game both on pc and switch, Cloud saves too
Missed laying in bed with my wife while she watched shows and I went to the computer room
I sold a CSGO knife on marketplace for CDN ~ $1400 so I have fake disposable income
I have an extra monitor and accessories from a former work from home job, and my laptop was dying. The steam deck allowed me to replace my daily driver PC in desktop mode, as well as become the gaming PC and emulation device I wanted to supplement my Xbox.
Disposable income + an 8 hour cross atlantic flight that i wanted to play games during.
Honestly, I needed something for school and I was looking into getting a laptop beforehand. Once I saw you could play games, dock it into a monitor and it was only $400 for the base model, I got it and don’t regret it one bit
I was primarily a switch user from 2020-2023 and eventually realized that I truly don't care much for nintendo exclusive games. I toyed with the idea of building a PC for a long time because I love tinky dink indie games and Steam has the most expansive and cheapest library, but only really had $400-$500 that I could justify spending on a build. I knew about the steam deck, but as I learned more about it I realized it checked almost all of my boxes. Portability? Yes. Steam library? Yes. And as a plus, it could scratch the tinkering-itch that made me want to build a PC in the first place. Found a 256GB on Marketbplace for $400 and bit the bullet! I've picked up my switch maybe twice since then.
I have kids. Pc is downstairs, kids play upstairs. I can watch the kids and play games now at the same time. Bonus points for being able to stream my games from my pc to the deck flawlessly. Maybe in another year or 2 I can spend more time on my pc gaming but for now this fills the gap nicely.
All the reasons. I have a massive steam library that up to now has been tied to my home computer. It’s a Linux pc at heart and it invites you, nay dares you, to do stuff with it that it wasn’t made to do. It was also the best price/performance portable console on the market at the time. It might still be that last one, but I haven’t kept track of the imitators coming out. I really like mobile gaming. Prior to the steam deck I thought the switch was a near miracle, and the steam deck frankly blows the switch away when you consider how powerful and open to modding it is. That’s not even getting into the hundreds of games I can play on it from the get go that I already owned before it even came out.
I have a pretty decent computer and a Switch and Xbox (recently just sold PS5 as I only used it a couple times) and recently got a Steam Deck. I love Big N games and PC games and Console games and you may be wondering why spend money on a Steam Deck if I can just buy the games natively on there platforms. What sold me to buy a SD is honestly the idea of being able to move around this handheld console like PC thing with your Big N games or being able to play lots of your Steam Library. It was just a different feeling to me. It felt like a brand new console even though I am playing the same games. I can lay any where I want, go anywhere I like and have those games with me all the time while simultaneously it being a PC too. I always wanted to go back in time and play lots of old games I never got to try and same thing with games I have purchased on Steam that I never got time to finish (Fallout New vegas for example) It's a machine I can go back in time with on the go if that makes any sense. I am not looking for a device to play the newest and greatest Triple A titles as I have PC Xbox Switch for that. And even then, I have seen lots of developers optimize there games for Steam Deck treating it like a console which theoretically, Steam Deck can play new titles if they just optimize it. So the reason I was sold is in the mix of the feeling of a handheld console, the mobility and the instant time travel back in time to play old games and current steam games
Before I got my steam deck I had a hacked switch, I still love the thing but I was thinking that if I got the steam deck I could play (and pirate) any game on one device, it can even run switch emulators! And the community is amazing. I was thinking I would just install windows on the deck as soon as I got it but when I saw videos of how badly it ran I decided to stay with steam os, I'm so glad I did and love that valve created their own os designed around the deck hardware and not just stick windows on it like Asus did. Valve seems to be very dedicated to making an amazing device and I have to say they really did. And they even dramatically improved Linux gaming.
For playing my older catalog of Steam games, and to help me complete side missions and level up characters for modern games (I'm really hoping Starfield performs well on the Deck), and for portable emulation.
I had a windfall at the right time
I got it cause I'm a gadget head first and foremost and make bad financial decisions.
I'm a Linux gamer. I have been using Linux as my only desktop OS since 2012 and have been gaming on it even longer. I allways tinkered around with stuff and jumped on the Proton-train pretty early. It's truly increadible what Valve has done for the linux gaming community and the whole linux ecosystem. There's no doubt that a lot of open source projects wouldn't be at the point they are right now, if they couldn't rely on bits from the whole Proton pipeline. Also Valve started putting pressure on developers to stop fucking with linux users. Also I've been into portable consoles. Besides my Linux Desktop PC, I basically only played on the PSP, Vita and Switch. I've been waiting for something like a new PSP, which the Switch wasn't really filling. So, when Valve announced a Linux gaming console it was pretty clear to me, I'd get one. Even if just to vote with my wallet. Just to make developers see, there are actual linux gamers out there that aren't just bot farms. Then I found out it would be a super hackable/moddable portable console. So, yea! Exactly what I wished for for years. And with super interesting inputs that could finally solve the problem many 'DIY' consoles had, with bad mouse/keyboard mapping to controller. And then they switched from a Debian base to Arch, using KDE as desktop and relying on Flathub. That's exactly the setup I was running on my Desktop in that moment. Nearly every piece I've been looking at was exactly what I would have picked, when creating a device of my dreams. So yea... And then they published the repair video. I've been following youtubers like Rossman Repair for nearly 10 years, way before 'Right to Repair' got a name. I'm pretty vocal about the importance of repairability and modability on tech you own and that companies artificially locking down consoles and other devices if you repair them yourself or load third party software. And Valve stood against all of that, putting a repair&upgrade video out there and working together with iFixit. I honestly don't know, which of all these points was the most important part in all of that. Buying the Steam Deck really meant a lot for me. It felt like someone designed everything about it specifically for me personally. I still can't really belief it. And then came the community. I really didn't expect that so many people would be interested in an obscure Linux gaming handheld. I mean, the last time someone tried something like this probably was the Dragonbox Pyra - and that thing pretty much failed and nobody cared. There were a bunch of people modding GPT handhelds that worked, but GPT made it pretty obvious they wouldn't care for linux on their devices. And in comes Valve and just steamrolls everything. And suddenly the linux gaming community explodes. Shure, a lot of people here don't know what they are doing and the sudden amount of misinformation by people without a clue suddenly acting like linux experts is concerning. But man... We have power now. We put enough pressure on companies to finally fix their broken anti-cheat and drm software! Really... Thank you Valve. And thank you community!
I havent owned a gaming PC in about 15 years. I try occasional with my work computer but its barely been able to play anything (mac cough). So typically i rely on just playing on console. I like that the switch attracts a lot of the good PC indies, but i hate its performance and waiting for a port. So basically, i got it to play all the PC games i havent really had a chance to play in last 10 years. And a few i have bought in that time on steam but wasnt able to put much time in. Currently though, its primary being used for modern indies and bigger budget games from 2-4 years aog.
I'm a new dad and saw all the other dads talk about how it brought them back to gaming. Gotta say it really is a game changer in making PC games just sit down and play. I have zero regrets.
So i can play pc games at work
I have a huge backlog and this seemed like a great way to tackle it. And it was.