SteamOS 3.5.5 rolls out to all Steam Deck owners, plus new Steam Client update

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:49:13 +0100

sirsquid via Linux Gaming

sirsquid@lemmy.ml

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Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:38:29 +0100

heartfelthumburger

heartfelthumburger@sopuli.xyz

I’d love for valve to do to other markets, what they’ve done for the handhelds in terms of Linux. I could see the improvements they’ve made easily translate to something like a laptop or a set-top box.

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:16:11 +0100

cron

cron@feddit.de

I’m not sure if a steam laptop would be successful. You can install steam on most laptops on the market (with some exceptions like ARM-based laptops or chomebooks). Same applies to a “steam console”, just pick any small PC and put steam in autostart.

However, the deck features innovative controls and a rare form factor. There is just no device that has the same feature set as the steam deck.

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:30:33 +0100

ricecake

ricecake@sh.itjust.works

They did try that for a bit, but it didn’t take off as well.

www.polygon.com/a/pc-buying-guide/steam-box

The set of people who are interested in PC gaming but don’t have a gaming PC, or the people interested in couch/console gaming who don’t have one is pretty small.

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:48:13 +0100

mesamunefire

mesamunefire@lemmy.world

Yep you can put Manjaro onto a laptop and get just about the same experience.

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 17:44:37 +0100

usrtrv

usrtrv@lemmy.ml

I see a set-top box that uses the same SoC as a deck as a possibility if they can get it cheap enough. Maybe paired with a new Steam Controller.

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 17:52:57 +0100

Elektrobank

Elektrobank@lemmy.ml

I’m surprised there isnt more of a market for that stuff. Similarly, I could see a set top nintendo switch doing well, I haven’t undocked mine in ages. Kinda silly to have all that extra hardware going unused. And the price point could be very attractive to non handheld users… But yeah, the steam box flopped

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:06:48 +0100

sugar_in_your_tea

sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works

To be fair, Valve didn’t put a ton of resources toward Steam machines, they kind of expected other companies to take the risk for them.

But the real problem is that people will expect much better performance from a Steam machine vs a Switch because PC gaming is often more focused on performance and Nintendo demographics instead expect a unique gaming experience. So the Switch can get away with simpler games at a lower resolution, but I really don’t think Steam can.

Anything Steam releases would need to at least match XBox and PS5 in terms of performance, and probably beat it to be compelling (otherwise why not just buy an XBox/PS5?). The reason the Deck works is because it offers a new way to play games that just don’t exist elsewhere, so the competition is a lot lower than a set-top box would be. They have way better hardware than Nintendo, they can be cheaper than handheld PC products because they can expect a cut of digital sales, and they have the talent to tune such a device (they are a game studio, after all).

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:57:14 +0100 zuletzt bearbeitet: Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:57:40 +0100

DoucheBagMcSwag

DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Is this the update that improves performance that’s been taking so long to release?

Edit: this has the SMT fix. Awesome

Sat, 18 Nov 2023 00:23:07 +0100 zuletzt bearbeitet: Sat, 18 Nov 2023 00:24:12 +0100

Zangoose

Zangoose@lemmy.world

any small PC

This is a pretty small niche though. I feel like (except for dev boxes and single-board computers) there aren’t too many small PCs that would fit well near a TV. Even something like a steam deck SOC in a case around the size of a Mac mini would be great. Bonus points if they gave it a more powerful GPU