Two hours before pre-orders opened for the Nintendo Switch OLED model this fall, Valve took a break from not announcing Half-life 3 imagine your own handheld. The Steam deck, named for Valve’s digital game storefront that everyone uses, allows you to play your entire Steam library on one mobile device. Suffice it to say that everyone said together: “Wooaaahh. “
It’s a potentially paradigmatic shift for the gaming landscape. For the past half a decade or so, Nintendo has cornered the market for instantly playing console-quality games while PC and console makers take care of the living room. The ability to literally play these games anywhere is a big damn thing. Here’s everything we know about the Steam Deck.
First, what are the specs?
How KotakuNote from Mike Fahey and Ethan Gach, The Steam Deck runs on an iterative version of the technical courage that powers the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Valve has partnered with AMD to develop a custom chip that powers a Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 GPU under the hood. It will also boast 16 GB of RAM. Externally there is a 7-inch screen, but it is not output in 4K resolution. Instead, it has a 1200 x 800 pixel display – also known as an absolutely ugly 16:10 aspect ratio. According to Valve, the battery life is 7 or 8 hours on a full charge. (Compare the 4.5 to 9 hours advertised by Nintendos for the switch.)
Here’s the full rundown of all specifications.
Is there a dock?
Like the flagship Switch, the Steam Deck also has a dock that allows you to charge the thing and connect it to an external display. Unlike the Switch, the dock is not packaged with the console – and the pricing information remains TBA. (According to Valve, a USB-C hub with its own power supply is also sufficient.)
G / O Media can receive a commission
Does it support cloud storage?
According to Valve, the Steam Deck supports seamless cloud storage between PC and handheld tied to your account. The deck will also support other Steam account features such as Steam Chat and Remote Play.
How about a mouse and keyboard?
You bet. The Steam Deck itself comes with touchpads and a thumbstick, plus a typical four-sided button arrangement – albeit placed in an awkwardly high position – and shoulder buttons. Best of all, there is a built-in gyro control.
What if I prefer the Epic Games Store? Can I play EGS games on this thing?
Yes.
Continue reading: You can use Valve’s Steam Deck to shop on the Epic Games Store
Okay, how much does the Steam Deck cost me?
Steam Deck will be available in three different price tiers, sorted according to the available internal storage capacity of each model. The base tier, which offers 64GB of internal storage, costs $ 400. The middle tier for $ 530 comes with 256 GB of storage – on a faster solid state drive (SSD), no less. The most expensive tier costs $ 650 and has a 512 GB SSD.
Continue reading: Gabe Newell describes the price of Steam Deck as “painful” for Valve
Each model has a slot for compatible micro SD cards. So, no, you are not limited to a tenth of that. save one call of Duty. It is unclear how much space is reserved for the operating system and other system-relevant files.
When is the Steam Deck coming and how do I get my hands on one?
Steam Deck is slated for a broad rollout in December 2021. Given the current state of gaming hardware purchases – thank you, bots and scalpers – securing yours could be difficult. For this purpose, Valve initially makes the Steam Deck available via a reservation system.
It also costs you five dollars to pre-order. Steam will begin rolling out purchase invitations in December. At this point you can complete the transaction. The five dollars you lost make up the total cost. (If you cancel after 30 days of making the reservation, the fee will be refunded to your Steam wallet.)
There are some limitations. Reservations are currently limited to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union. The account you use to place the order must have purchased from Steam before June 2021.
Those restrictions, along with the $ 5 deposit, could fend off the bots that have plagued other console sales lately.
Rezies opens tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET on Steam; You just have to register in advance. Good luck! Or, hey, who knows? Maybe Sony will announce the Vita 2.0 two hours in advance and take the wind out of the sails of Valve.
.
Table of Contents
