this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2025
581 points (98.3% liked)

Games

39360 readers
1093 users here now

Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.

Rules

1. Submissions have to be related to games

Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.

This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.

2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil

No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.

We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.

3. No excessive self-promotion

Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.

This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.

4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts

This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.

We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.

5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW

Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.

No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.

6. No linking to piracy

Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.

We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.

Authorized Regular Threads

Related communities

PM a mod to add your own

Video games

Generic

Help and suggestions

By platform

By type

By games

Language specific

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

There’s a reason for that, and it’s more than the usual Valve fanboyism. The Deck is objectively a better user experience than the alternatives, Steam Input is a masterpiece, Linux runs games better than Windows now (thanks, Gabe), and the community around it is friendly and super helpful to everyone.

Even a device with better specs will have trouble surpassing the Deck if they can’t cover these areas as well.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago

Steam deck is awesome.

With the Desktop mode, a monitor, mouse, and keyboard it's also just a computer.

Its been awesome playing games on it then flipping on my VPN and downloading movies and stuff that I can then watch on it.

The future is now

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Now that it has been three years, while I'd like to have one, I feel like I'll just wait until whatever the next version is - even if that means waiting another year or so.

I don't need one, particularly, and I don't want to be caught at the tail end of this hardware.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I was on the fence of asking for one for my birthday late last year for exactly this reason.

What tipped me over was that I took a look at my Steam library and realized I literally have hundreds of indie and AA games that I've never played or have less than 4 hours in that I always meant to go back to. And that was it, I decided the Steam Deck was going to be my indie gaming experince platform. It has been amazing at doing this, and I've been chewing through my indie game library like crazy, and have picked up so many more that I'm loving gaming again! I can see myself keeping the current steam deck around and will be used regularly for at least the next 5 years.

If you're looking for a portable machine that'll tackle most modern & higher end games, either look at the alternative SteamOS portables or wait for the next Steam Deck (the touch screen, D-Pad, Sticks, and dual touch pad make it the best choice for best I out options for game compatibility).

However, if you want a great machine for indies, AA, older AAA titles, and console EMU, the current hardware is amazing and worth the price

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

I almost always plug mine into my dock and run it with a controller lol, rarely use it as an actual handheld

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They got the formula right on this space:

  • Linux, not Windows--Windows provides little that can't be done on Linux in this space
  • AMD, not Intel--AMD just has better products at this level (any level at this point, really)
  • 720p--going higher doesn't provide much at this size except suck battery life and requiring a more powerful GPU
  • Price

Now, price is partially because Valve can afford to subsidize the cost and expect to make it up on Steam sales. I'd be remiss to ignore how they're making their money. Still, they're also able to have a good price because they didn't try to make it as powerful as it could be, but as powerful as it needed to be.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

I wonder how many people, like me, who really use their Steam Deck as a Pirate Deck.

If I see a game I like on Steam Store I simply go to STEAMRlP and grab it pre-installed. Then I run it through Wine/Proton. Installing dependencies is very easy, thanks to steamdb.info + Wine-/Protontricks.

Now, some games I do buy afterwards. KCD2 is one example. The Last Flame another. When I know that I enjoy it, I know what I get for my money, then I can make the decision to buy it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Is there a guide you'd recommend following?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I am currently editing the guide, will finish tomorrow. but you might have luck following it already. Check out https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/38810596

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I'll reply tomorrow with a guide. Gotta create a Lemmy community for it and then I'll make a post-guide on how to!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Well, while probably not universally true, but I'm guessing that if you can afford to buy a steam deck, you can probably afford to buy games

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I’d guess not many. We’re a bit more Linux/tech savvy here but most users would hear “Wine/Proton” alone and freak out. I bring up my terminal and people somehow think I’m “hacking”. With all the convenience with buying and playing games on Steam, their model works (even on PC, with competing platforms and unlimited piracy potential).

Edit: They also have a really great refund policy.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It’s easy to dominate when you were only one in the market for so long time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Handheld PCs have been on the market for 20 years. Comparable to steam deck (x86_64) at least since 2016 GPD Win

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Basically just read and write emails handheld pc’s but they were not made for gaming.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago

Dingdingding, right answer here!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They're not, though. There's quite a few other offerings in this space, and the Steam Deck appears to outsell all of them combined.

[–] HappyStarDiaz 14 points 3 months ago

Use a competitor like the ASUS ROG for 30 minutes and you’ll understand why the SteamDeck is king.

load more comments
view more: next ›