For transparency, I have a gaming PC. I have a Steam Deck. I love the Steam Deck to death and would never give it up. For many people, it is the closest thing they will see to PC gaming. I can say without a doubt that the Steam Deck is a PC in the same way a chicken is a wild bird. Can you do 90% of PC related tasks with the Steam Deck? Yes, but with a lot more work, and much more required knowledge. It’s not even because of the OS, which is great because it’s just Linux based. It’s because the Steam Deck does not put necessary parts that average PC users need as forward facing concepts.
The Steam Deck is a console first, and a PC in a pinch and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the reason I love the device, but also use it less. A good example is modding Elden Ring for Seamless Co-op. You can do it, and it’s not HARD per se, but you may have to find files in the OS to make sure Steam knows to open them, and because of how the file tree works in Linux vs Windows it isn’t really a simple case of “type the file name in search”.
Look, if they’re gonna use a device running Linux* instead of Windows to represent “PC,” I sure as Hell ain’t gonna complain about it even if it is a handheld!
(* legitimate Linux, as opposed to some bastardized and Tivoized thing like Android or what they put on TVs)
I just want to say I’m right there with you, and I was trying to make that clear while still explaining my thoughts on why the Steam Deck isn’t really a “gaming PC”. It could just be the old man in me, but the Deck PRESENTS itself as a console on startup, and to do anything beyond that you have to restart the device. For the general public restarting the device is a huge barrier. Again though, I’m happy the Steam Deck exists and hope that game companies in general will get their head out of their ass and start making more games run natively on Linux. Even with devices that have better performance and look like an upgrade I immediately discount them as an option the moment I see they are running Windows.
It seems to me like most PC gamers don’t touch mods unless there’s an easy automated way to install them, something like steam workshop or maybe a mod manager if they’re feeling adventurous. It’s true that mods are harder to do on linux/deck right now, but I’m hoping with the rise of official mod managers that support linux it won’t be any harder. Games that use steam workshop or have built in mod support (like BG3 and Deep Rock Galactic) are already just as easy to install mods on deck compared to windows.
I think the Deck is in a nice place where it streamlines the gaming experience for most people, but still gives you the option to do more advanced things if you want.
My post was not meant to take away your points, and honestly I tend to forget about the Steam workshop because, as you said, I and many other general PC gamers don’t mod games that much. I’m not trying to be negative about the Deck, just realistic. Unfortunately for me, my general lack of optimism can be seen as inherently negative. The Steam Deck has already succeeded in its goal as evidenced by the, inferior in my opinion, knockoffs from Asus and Lenovo. The main point I was trying to make is the very fact that if or when people try to install a mod they immediately run into the barrier of having to reboot the device. This isn’t a bad thing, but it does tell many people this is not the main way to use the device. Remember that for the general public defaults are the most powerful thing on their device.
I mean, I agree that the form factor isn’t what matters, that’s not what I was saying. When you boot the Steam Deck it actively hides that it is a computer. Let’s be real here, all consoles are basically just dumbed down PC’s at this point. They have slightly modified AMD chips with AMD GPUs. The only difference is that you can’t access the file system. You can on the Steam Deck if you want to, but Valve tries to simplify the experience by presenting it as a console. My argument has nothing to do with the form factor and everything to do with the default presentation.
I think it’s more so that it’s releasing on steam, Deck/GabeN is more a representation of that. In your case you can buy once and install on both. The image also has the added benefit to show its steam deck compatible.
The difference between the SteamDeck and the PlayStation that makes the Steam Deck a “personal computer” is that you can run whatever software you want on a Steam Deck. SteamOS even comes with “desktop mode” which works much like you’d expect a desktop Linux OS to work. If you don’t like SteamOS, you can simply install a different OS.
For transparency, I have a gaming PC. I have a Steam Deck. I love the Steam Deck to death and would never give it up. For many people, it is the closest thing they will see to PC gaming. I can say without a doubt that the Steam Deck is a PC in the same way a chicken is a wild bird. Can you do 90% of PC related tasks with the Steam Deck? Yes, but with a lot more work, and much more required knowledge. It’s not even because of the OS, which is great because it’s just Linux based. It’s because the Steam Deck does not put necessary parts that average PC users need as forward facing concepts.
The Steam Deck is a console first, and a PC in a pinch and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the reason I love the device, but also use it less. A good example is modding Elden Ring for Seamless Co-op. You can do it, and it’s not HARD per se, but you may have to find files in the OS to make sure Steam knows to open them, and because of how the file tree works in Linux vs Windows it isn’t really a simple case of “type the file name in search”.
Look, if they’re gonna use a device running Linux* instead of Windows to represent “PC,” I sure as Hell ain’t gonna complain about it even if it is a handheld!
(* legitimate Linux, as opposed to some bastardized and Tivoized thing like Android or what they put on TVs)
I just want to say I’m right there with you, and I was trying to make that clear while still explaining my thoughts on why the Steam Deck isn’t really a “gaming PC”. It could just be the old man in me, but the Deck PRESENTS itself as a console on startup, and to do anything beyond that you have to restart the device. For the general public restarting the device is a huge barrier. Again though, I’m happy the Steam Deck exists and hope that game companies in general will get their head out of their ass and start making more games run natively on Linux. Even with devices that have better performance and look like an upgrade I immediately discount them as an option the moment I see they are running Windows.
It seems to me like most PC gamers don’t touch mods unless there’s an easy automated way to install them, something like steam workshop or maybe a mod manager if they’re feeling adventurous. It’s true that mods are harder to do on linux/deck right now, but I’m hoping with the rise of official mod managers that support linux it won’t be any harder. Games that use steam workshop or have built in mod support (like BG3 and Deep Rock Galactic) are already just as easy to install mods on deck compared to windows.
I think the Deck is in a nice place where it streamlines the gaming experience for most people, but still gives you the option to do more advanced things if you want.
My post was not meant to take away your points, and honestly I tend to forget about the Steam workshop because, as you said, I and many other general PC gamers don’t mod games that much. I’m not trying to be negative about the Deck, just realistic. Unfortunately for me, my general lack of optimism can be seen as inherently negative. The Steam Deck has already succeeded in its goal as evidenced by the, inferior in my opinion, knockoffs from Asus and Lenovo. The main point I was trying to make is the very fact that if or when people try to install a mod they immediately run into the barrier of having to reboot the device. This isn’t a bad thing, but it does tell many people this is not the main way to use the device. Remember that for the general public defaults are the most powerful thing on their device.
It’s a personal computer. Being in a different form factor does not change that.
I mean, I agree that the form factor isn’t what matters, that’s not what I was saying. When you boot the Steam Deck it actively hides that it is a computer. Let’s be real here, all consoles are basically just dumbed down PC’s at this point. They have slightly modified AMD chips with AMD GPUs. The only difference is that you can’t access the file system. You can on the Steam Deck if you want to, but Valve tries to simplify the experience by presenting it as a console. My argument has nothing to do with the form factor and everything to do with the default presentation.
But you literally just hold a button and boot into desktop mode
I think it’s more so that it’s releasing on steam, Deck/GabeN is more a representation of that. In your case you can buy once and install on both. The image also has the added benefit to show its steam deck compatible.
You can plug a keyboard, mouse, and monitor into a Steam deck
You can do that with a PlayStation too. But it’s not a px
The difference between the SteamDeck and the PlayStation that makes the Steam Deck a “personal computer” is that you can run whatever software you want on a Steam Deck. SteamOS even comes with “desktop mode” which works much like you’d expect a desktop Linux OS to work. If you don’t like SteamOS, you can simply install a different OS.
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