Speaker 1: The valve steam deck. Is it a PC? Is it a console? We've got the details. Let's go
Speaker 1: Valve just surprised pretty much everyone by announcing steam deck, a powerful handheld device that has access to your entire steam library almost immediately, the internet erupted and heated discussions. It's a switch competitor. It's a PC it's dumb. It's brilliant. [00:00:30] Just, just a lot. It's a lot. The Internet's a lot. Sometimes let's break it down by specs and features and then put it into a larger context. The steam deck is pretty neat. It's got a large seven inch capacitive, touchscreen display standard controller buttons, analog sticks, a DPAD two bumpers, two triggers, four grip buttons on the back, sort of like the Xbox elite controller or a scuff controller. It also has something [00:01:00] new to the hand space, two square shaped precision track pads, one on each side of the screen. So you've got a lot of ways to control this thing. And steam input means you can customize your layout to pretty much whatever suits you.
Speaker 1: Pretty nice. I am slightly bummed out that the seven inch screen isn't OED LCD, and it outputs at 1200 by 800. So you're looking at a similar screen and resolution as a base Nintendo switch. [00:01:30] It also has a few other noteworthy features, a dedicated headphone Jack, a microSD slot for expandable storage and a dedicated steam button, which I'm guessing gets you back to your steam library ASAP. Uh, you'll be able to set the steam deck onto a dock sold separately, of course, and use it on a monitor like a normal PC. And you won't even need a proprietary dock. Valve is working on one, but it's compatible with any USBC powered dock. The insides of [00:02:00] the steam deck are almost identical across models. Valve partnered with AMD to create a custom Zen two APU processor, 16 gigs of Ram and an R DNA two GPU.
Speaker 1: This isn't the same. Our DNA two GPU you'd find in say a next gen console, but it's based on the same architecture. So it will support newer technologies like Ray tracing wise is where the three models really kind of diverge the base. 64 gig model uses [00:02:30] E MMC storage while the two upgraded models, the 256 and 512 gig models, respectively use NVMe, which is faster and generally capable of higher storage capacities. So now, you know what steam deck is all about on paper. Let's talk about what it means in the broader sense of the gaming community. First off, this thing is a PC. It's not a game console. You can literally wipe it and install windows on it. If you wanted to valve isn't locking [00:03:00] things down or putting limitations on it, which might feel really exciting for parts of the gaming community that love modding and emulation.
Speaker 1: Not to mention it can install software on it, the way you would install software on any other desktop PC. So there's certainly an opportunity for someone to get good use out of a device like this, if they really want a mobile PC gaming solution, but don't wanna spend a lot on a gaming laptop, especially if they already have a decently specked desktop PC. So [00:03:30] maybe you have a few steam library games installed on the deck itself, and then you use something like stadia or GForce now to stream AAA games on a whim. Admittedly, you could of course buy a cheap Android tablet and use their game streaming services. But would that be as cool looking as a steam deck? No, I say no.
Speaker 1: The 64 gig model of the steam deck will cost $399. Then you got the 2 56 [00:04:00] gig at 5 29 and the 512 gig at $649. Personally, I think this is a pretty decent deal for about the price of a console. You're buying a fully operational PC that is dockable supports keyboard and mouse, and is also totally portable. We've seen other concept devices pop up here and there most recently with Alienware's handheld UFO at CES 2020. So I'm guessing if the steam deck [00:04:30] is super popular, you're gonna see a lot of these types of devices start popping up. Could we see a relaunch of the Invidia shield? Portable stranger things have happened, I suppose, but I wouldn't hold my breath. On the other hand, valve doesn't have the best track record on devices. So you've got steam machines, steam link, steam controller, they've all flopped. So I don't think anyone can guarantee [00:05:00] the, of the steam deck or even know how long valve might support it.
Speaker 1: But the fact remains steam has very, very deep roots in the PC gaming community. And many, many people have large established steam libraries ripe for a device like this from valve. I don't think this is a competitor to the Nintendo switch at all. Nintendo's first party games won't be available on steam deck. So there is still an incentive to have a switch. Oh, I think [00:05:30] it's probably the most competitive with lower end pre-built gaming PCs, particularly because we are smack in the middle of a major chip shortage, which makes new Jeep PEs pretty tough to come by. So what do you think of the valve's theme deck and what games would you wanna play the most on it? Drop all that down in the comments. We'll be sure to get our hands on a steam deck as soon as we can to give you our first impressions until then be good humans.
