Valve has already released hardware, but nothing as big and ambitious as the Steam Deck before. And releasing the right hardware means Valve had to come up with something that a software-first company didn’t have to think about often: what should its box look like?
While the Steam Controller looked like this a Logitech headset that you would get on sale and the Index VR headset came in an almost general black box, the packaging of the Steam Deck has given a little more thought. And, in a rarity, in a world obsessed with looking grown-up and engaging in consumer technology as possible, even some humor.
Valve revealed the box in a blog post today, And that’s it. Just a brown box with absolutely nothing on it. I’m 100% here for that kind of minimalism in packaging that I know is a luxury never to sit on a shelf courting attention, but which I enjoy nonetheless. It clearly means Valve knows this is an early-software company, and so the box is getting out of the way ASAP so you can focus on that Games. After all, that’s the whole point of the Steam Deck.
On the side there are some big security warnings that look like they came straight from the Portal Universe, jokes mixed with actual warnings in a way that is likely to result in someone trying to pop the box open and use it as an umbrella .
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Inside the box is a nice sleeve for the Steam Deck tote bag (this looks more like what you would expect from the actual box art) and on top of what looks like more warnings and / or legal notices, but it is really just examples of the kinds of places you can take your handheld and play games. Like a Ferris wheel, the subway, on the couch or, at least you know that beforehand, on the toilet.
The tote bag itself looks like something I’d buy on Amazon for $ 10 if I lost / broken the official one – I think it’s the Steam Deck logo, which I don’t love – but you can they don’t all win i guess.
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