With the announcement of the new handheld system called the Steam Deck, Valve has gamers salivating as they ponder the new possibilities the system could offer.
Built outside of traditionally locked game access, the Steam Deck appears to be the most open mainstream handheld to ever exist, if it lives up to the hype.
This raises some important questions about how it could relate to the hardcore and casual gaming divide, and who might be the biggest potential audience. From our point of view, the device could easily become one of the best casual gaming systems to ever exist, and we want to explore why.
Power Isn’t Everything
The Steam Deck specs, as noted at steamdeck.com, firmly place it as the most powerful handheld ever created. While this puts it leagues ahead of Nintendo’s Switch, the device is still far from being able to handle the most demanding cutting-edge AAA games on the market. This means that the dream of Cyberpunk or Assassins Creed: Valhalla on the go is likely a non-starter, though there are some exceptions. Doom Eternal, for example, is one of the best-optimised games ever released, with early tests on the Steam Deck indicating it can meet the all-important 60 FPS mark, double the frame rate of the still impressive Switch version.
Of course, it could also be argued that the only people who put a premium on top-tier performance are the most hardcore of the hardcore, which excludes the vast majority of players. For both casual players, and those who fall somewhere on the spectrum in-between, the Steam Deck could be the perfect mobile system.
As an ideal, the Steam Deck is built around access to a player’s Steam library. Since many of us have Steam accounts dating back more than a decade, with over a hundred titles on our digital shelves, the amount of gameplay we have access to is immense. Even better, the Steam Deck looks to be able to handle other game launchers too, such as the Epic Game Store and Uplay, while also being able to manage older and launcher-less titles like emulated games.
For the first time on mobile devices, the Steam Deck also looks to include the potential to utilise a browser, which means players can support other aspects of the entertainment industry, not just gaming. For example, avid sports fans may enjoy breaking up a marathon gaming session with a quick peruse of the latest odds on upcoming matches or eSports tournaments on directories such as winners.net. This is a platform that lists betting sites and provides a comprehensive breakdown of their ratings and the competitive bonuses on offer.
By inclusively supporting other aspects of the entertainment industry, Steam Deck are set to win over more fans and will hopefully distinguish itself as a notch above competitors.
Taking a Measured Step
Though the Steam Deck does hold immense promise, it’s worth remembering that developer Valve’s track record with hardware isn’t great. As explained by newsdirectory3.com, Valve has come out with several promising products over the years, only to promptly drop support as soon as the systems begin to underperform. For this reason, we’d hesitate to suggest that readers run out to preorder Steam Deck systems. Instead, waiting to see reviews and Valve’s continued level of interest is likely a much safer option. As for whether you’ll be able to get one if they turn out great anyway, that much depends on how Valve addresses the growing hardware scalping
