Why Steam Deck will be better than Steam Machines

Source: Valve

Valve's upcoming Switch-sized gaming PC, the Steam Deck, is one of the most exciting pieces of hardware that the company has created in years. It's easy to empathize why people are so hyped for information technology, of course — the power to access your Steam library with a handheld device will likely exist revolutionary for the industry.

Yet, many fans are skeptical of the Steam Deck, with many believing that it will be a failure but like Valve's Steam Machines. I've been giving the comparison between the Steam Machines and the Steam Deck a lot of thought ever since the Steam Deck's announcement, though, and ultimately I believe that the Steam Deck will be different and better than Steam Machines for a few key reasons. Here'due south an overview on what the Steam Machines were, why they never became pop, and why I believe the Steam Deck volition succeed where Steam Machines failed.

A brief overview of Steam Machines

Source: Valve

If you've never heard of Valve'south Steam Machines that were introduced in 2022, I don't blame you — the systems were virtually dead on inflow, with fewer than 500,000 units sold in the first 7 months post-launch. But what were these systems, anyhow? What was Valve trying to accomplish with them?

Valve wanted to bring a quality PC-gaming experience to the living room.

Valve had two main goals with the Steam Machines. The first goal was to bring a quality PC-gaming experience to the living room by partnering with manufacturers similar Alienware to offer consumers a game panel-style system that ran on SteamOS, a special version of the Steam software that utilizes Linux as a foundation. Unlike the standard Steam customer that only really works well for desktop gaming, the SteamOS UI featured a simplified structure and larger icons and options that fabricated it ideal for couch gaming. Valve also developed a special gamepad for the Steam Machines (and all other PCs) called the Steam Controller that swapped out the usual D-Pad and right analog stick for trackpads that provided haptic feedback and emulated the precision and speed of a mouse, which was useful for games that were never designed to be played with a controller. The controller's gyroscopic tech was as well helpful for making fine adjustments to aim in shooters.

The 2nd goal of the Steam Machines was to try to bear witness that PC gaming could succeed without being chained to Windows. This was a move that a fair corporeality of gamers appreciated, every bit many users lost faith in Microsoft because of the extremely controversial Windows 8 OS. With SteamOS, Valve wanted to show that gaming on Linux was a viable culling to Windows.

Why Steam Machines failed

Source: Valve

The main reason the Steam Machines never became popular is because in 2022-16, Linux and Linux-based operating systems were nevertheless incompatible with a huge number of PC games. This meant that if you bought a Steam Machine, there was a adept chance that nigh of the games in your Steam library wouldn't accept been available to play through the Steam Machine'south SteamOS. Afterward Steam Machines came with Windows installations instead, but it wasn't enough to become people interested in Valve's living room gaming PCs. This is no longer the case for the near office (more on that later), simply at the time, Linux merely wasn't ready to support a high-quality gaming feel.

Secondly, the Steam Machines weren't very innovative or interesting beyond the Linux-based SteamOS. They were basically but pre-built Mini-ITX gaming PCs, and PC gamers who wanted a living room PC gaming experience could just build their own small gaming PCs for a lower cost than what Valve and its partners were request. The Steam Controller itself was innovative and many PC gamers swear past it to this day, but information technology was available separately and thus, there was never anything exclusive to the Steam Machines that fabricated purchasing i worth information technology.

Lastly, many of the Steam Machines were overpriced and featured lackluster specs, with some of the entry-level models merely featuring dual-core processors, weak GPUs, and a meager 4GB of RAM. Some of the stronger Steam Machines were more capable than other pre-built mini gaming PCs and both the Xbox 1 and PS4, but they weren't potent enough to justify the significantly higher price.

Why the Steam Deck will exist dissimilar

Source: Valve

With its improved SteamOS, innovative form factor, and great hardware, the Steam Deck is poised to succeed.

It'southward understandable that some think the Steam Deck will neglect just like the Steam Machines did, but I firmly believe that things volition be a lot dissimilar this time around. The main reason is considering over the final few years, the Proton compatibility layer that allows games designed for Windows to run on Linux has become significantly more than compatible with virtually of the titles available on Steam. This means that compared to the version of SteamOS used in the Steam Machines, the Steam Deck's SteamOS 3.0 will allow you play the vast majority of your existing Steam library. Currently, games with anti-crook software yet can't be played on Linux, but Valve indicates that information technology's improving Proton'southward support for anti-cheat solutions. Hopefully, these improvements are deployed earlier Steam Deck'southward launch, but if they're not, the fact that you lot tin can install Windows on your Steam Deck if y'all desire to gives the system excellent versatility.

Another reason I believe the Steam Deck will exist more successful is because dissimilar the Steam Machines, the Steam Deck has an innovative form factor. The Steam Machines' console-like designs weren't really that dissimilar from Mini-ITX gaming PCs, and every bit a result, Valve and its partners struggled to proceeds market share. The Steam Deck, though, brings the PC gaming feel to handhelds, which is something that hasn't been done well before. The ability to take your Steam library with y'all on the go is massive, and I wait that volition interest gamers a lot more than a mediocre pre-built gaming PC will.

Finally, the specs of the Steam Deck are first-class for a handheld. With a 1.half dozen TFLOPS GPU, an AMD Zen 2 4-cadre eight-thread CPU, and 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, the Steam Deck is on par with an Xbox One or PS4 and is considerably more capable than a Switch (Valve is arguably chirapsia Nintendo at its own game because of this). Since the Steam Deck'southward 7-inch 1280x800 display will require fewer arrangement resources to render on than typical 1080p HD brandish, the performance of the specs volition as well most probable be higher than what they would exist when a standard screen. Valve claims that the Steam Deck will exist fully capable of AAA gaming, and I don't dubiousness it at all.

Final thoughts

While I empathize why some think that the Steam Deck is doomed to neglect like the Steam Machines did, I retrieve that Steam Deck's SteamOS iii.0, form gene, and hardware specs will help it succeed where the Steam Machines vicious short. What practise you think about the Steam Deck? Do you think it will be one of the all-time systems to play some of the best PC games on? Permit me know in the comments.

Steam Deck prices beginning at $399, and reservations have begun on the official preorder page. The Steam Deck is expected to showtime shipping in December 2022.

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