Valve just recently announced they weren’t planning a refresh “any time soon” but that doesn’t mean they are ignorant about Nintendo apparently trying to close the gap with a new switch, that’s supposed to be at least as powerful a PS5/XBS. Competition is good for the consumer.
It's not going to be, it's (from what I've seen) simply the same architecture. It'll probably be what's essentially a very cut down and underpowered (as in literally uses less power) version of it. Still a massive step up from the switch, which was already well outdated when it launched, but it's not going to touch PS5 performance
Exactly, same architecture means nothing if it only draws a fraction of the power, eg from a battery and not mains. Not only that, but size and cooling constraints mean with our current tech, it’s impossible to have a small handheld as powerful as current gen consoles
Honestly the biggest barrier is nintendo's policy of making profit on hardware. Microsoft loses $100-$200 per console and the XSX still costs $500. Is nintendo really ready to charge $600 or even $700 for a console that matches what was released 3 years ago? 4 probably by launch?
The biggest barrier is that Nvidia has shown no capability to make a CPU that isn't unconditional dogshit for gaming, and the CPU is the Switch's problem.
The only company that's made an ARM CPU remotely interesting is Apple.
They're proud of "withered technology" as a philosophy.
My point is that even if they changed, it doesn't matter. The fact that it's nvidia means that it can't get close on real world performance with anything that uses the CPU meaningfully. Even if they did match graphics benchmarks for some reason, it would be way off from actually playing most current gen games at a reasonable level.
There are supposedly two new hardware devices coming from Valve, earlier leaks had two different product code names. So possibly we’re getting both a revised deck and a new VR something.
@Fubarberry@Lord_Wunderfrog dang, people just got a deck. Oh well, time to upgrade. I really want a better screen. Playing games on the SD and seeing that same game on other consoles makes me feel like I’m missing details.
God, what I wouldn't give for a standalone VR headset with the Steam Deck's internals...mostly because I just want them to shove a whole bunch of support behind getting VR to work right on Linux.
I highly doubt Nintendo is attempting any kind of gap closure with the deck, because how could they and why?
The only thing they share is a form factor. Nintendo is well aware that the reason they sell consoles is as a dedicated platform for their own games. I truly believe that is their bread and butter and all they really care about. If the system gets popular enough, then it will get some third party support which means it will have some very limited library crossover with PC/PS/Xbox, but I think we are past the point where Nintendo intends to rely on that as a selling point for this or any future generation of consoles. Ports of games that come to switch are pretty uniformly the worst version of the game to play, and it’s pretty clear that doesn’t bother Nintendo at all.
Which is all to say, I don’t think Nintendo and Valve think of each other as direct competitors, because they serve entirely different markets. I have both a switch and a deck. I love them both. I use my switch to play Nintendo games, I use my deck to play pretty much anything else. I don’t think I’m unique at all in that regard, and frankly it never would occur to me that these devices have anything to do with one another.
I don’t want oled, I don’t want 4k. I would like better wifi, lighter, and better graphics capabilities. I can feel the blood returning to my hands when I set the deck down.
I don’t really mind the weight. It’s the shape that I can’t stand. Whereas the steam controller is shaped like /0’0\ the deck is shaped like \°| |°/ . Keeping the wrists in such a sharp angle can’t be healthy.
Better wifi is basically confirmed, the certification is for a better wifi chip. The APU is the same, so same power, but maybe it could be smaller and lighter.
That said, I think how hard you grip the deck has a bigger impact on your hand circulation. I used to have issues with my hands getting numb, but I was holding the deck too tightly. After adjusting my grip I don’t have issues anymore and find it very comfy.
I’d really like to see the deck more internationally available, Valve’s limited experience as a hardware vendor really shows when it comes to the limited availability of the deck.
Phone screens aren't 16:9 anymore though, so they'd probably end up having to cut down a really big phone screen (like 9" or so) or just make it custom.
I just listened to Hitchhikers Guide for the first time. And as narrated by Douglas Adams, which I didn’t realize at the time is a super rare version. I’m sorry I didn’t read it sooner.
*edit: I don’t mean to say the deck needs a refresh. Just stating that its been 18 months. Phones get refreshed every year but most people cycle every 2.
Not sure what they're counting as the release date. For some people, it was a good 6 months after the first set of Decks were sent before they saw their own. By December, Valve had gotten through so many orders, they had surplus.
The release date is the release date, the hardware was set and orders were being shipped. It doesn’t matter when people got hands on the device, that doesn’t change or shift the date the product was finished and officially for sale. It’s been 18 months since the deck released.
because it is, a new model they said wouldn’t come out until 2025 or later. these bullshit articles just take the most vague information and try sensationalise it as much as possible
I hope so. I was looking to get an Index but then saw rumors online about a possible new version, so I figured I’d wait a little longer for the new tech. That was two years ago 💀
Yeah, I haven’t had an issue with this but it sounds scary. The case I use (Spiggan) does have a part of the case that sticks above the bumpers, so I’m hoping that will protect me if I drop it.
I do not believe that Valve would say they were not going to do it then do it.
I just bought a SteamDeck as they said they were not going to release any upgrades. I do not care if it is just minor stuff, but if they release SteamDeck2 with a new CPU, I would be a little frustrated with Valve.
Yes but it would be BS to use one with a power-contrained CPU like the Deck’s.
You could bump up the resolution and graphical settings at least, even if you’re constrained in framerate and in CPU limited games. Although I believe the eGPU support on Linux isn’t great at this point either.
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