![]() ![]() The new hybrid machine will launch with three configurations at three price points, with the amount of on-board storage (64GB, 256GB, and 512GB) the chief difference between them. ![]() As of earlier this year (via Tech Radar), the Steam Store was averaging more than 120 million active users per month - fresh off setting a February all-time record for concurrently logged-in players (more than 26 million). The Steam Deck won’t go on sale until December, but at first blush it feels like a device that's ripe for a warm reception. There’s wifi (of course) the 7’’ screen is fully touch-sensitive a gyroscope comes built in for precision aiming and motion control a 40Wh battery that Valve rates at 2-8 hours of use (depending on load) expandable microSD card storage, and - well, a whole lot more. What about the tech specs? Valve shares all the geeky details here, but the Steam Deck essentially crams bespoke modern PC hardware into a form factor that’s meant to be treated like a gaming station. You could even wipe Steam OS entirely and install a fresh version of Windows if you want – but the default Steam OS is smooth and efficient at getting you into your games…The point is, you can if you’d like to.” Load third-party programs or even other game stores like Origin, uPlay, or Epic Games Store? No problem. Alt-Tab out of your games to a browser or video? Sure. “ou can do pretty much anything on the Steam Deck that you can do with a regular PC,” IGN reports, adding that the Steam Deck accepts any USB-compatible peripherals (including game controllers, keyboard & mouse, and even VR gear). But, as IGN summarized in a deep hands-on dive, the ceiling for tinkering is nearly infinite. Think of that as an out-of-the-box starting point for anyone who wants to treat the Steam Deck just like a Switch or Vita: turn it on, log on to Steam, and start playing from a streamlined menu interface. The Steam Deck runs on SteamOS, a dedicated operating system “built with Steam Deck in mind and optimized for a handheld gaming experience,” according to Valve. From a distance, it looks a lot like the Switch, with a left-right controller setup and the ability to function in home mode with a (separately purchased) dock or store a battery charge for gaming on the go.īut the rest of its similarities veer toward the PC side, with a generously customizable control setup (including four assignable grip buttons on the back), a pair of touch pads that can mimic the function of a desktop mouse control setup, and a Linux-based platform that comes out of the box with a tailor-made operating system built specifically to make dialing up your Steam library feel as easy as booting up any gaming console. The Steam Deck certainly looks like a portable gaming console, incorporating some of the design savvy that Valve already has under its belt with previous hardware like the Index VR headset and the now-defunct Steam controller. There’s a lot of significance in that seemingly all-encompassing description, though: The Steam Deck may be built to make playing Steam games easy and seamless, but unlike a closed-ecosystem device like the Switch or Vita, owners will be free to use it just as they would any other PC - even if that means playing games from the Epic Store (Steam’s big PC gaming competitor). Half-Life maker Valve, better known these days as the corporate brains behind the Steam store, unveiled the Steam Deck this week as a Steam-optimized handheld console that just so happens to double as a full-featured PC. The Steam Deck is coming, and, like the Switch, it’s a hybrid all-in-one device that’s just as happy operating in handheld mode as it is casting games to a big screen from its drop-in docking station. The Nintendo Switch is about to get some company in the portable gaming console space it’s had all to itself since the demise of the PlayStation Vita. We'll even throw in a good old-fashioned board game every now and then! Check in each Friday for news (and occasionally even views) on everything from sprawling RPGs to Metroidvania platformers to the latest in VR and free-to-play. Welcome to The Week in Gaming, the place where we pause each week to take a look at the video game news beats both big and small that you might be missing - while also taking a peek around the corner at what's ahead.
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