Millions of Steam Decks and their ilk have been sold, and run games significantly better on SteamOS than their Windows counterparts, to the point that Microsoft is reportedly cancelling their own gaming handheld plans. Not a massive challenger to the Switch 2 for most ordinary people, but things are definitely changing.
Microsoft are likely going to keep on trying anyway, Deck is too big of a threat to their Windows gaming monopoly for them to ignore it. Just look at how they managed to get so many Windows handheld models out of the door seemingly minutes after the Deck released with its Linux based SteamOS. Their worst nightmare is people having a viable alternative to their platforms.
The special sauce of the Deck isn’t really what it’s running (it’s just Arch with some extra Steam stuff on top), it’s more that it’s something you can just buy and use without even thinking twice about anything - a more console like experience. To get a Linux handheld with that kind of performance before, you would have to go through all kinds of hoops and trouble to get it working (a lot of people aren’t ready to reinstall the OS on a device they just bought), plus a lot of games just would not work well. Deck gave pressure on game makers to ensure Proton compatibility at launch, as it gives them an established market who would appreciate it.
PC gaming and console gaming are two very different markets, due to the open nature of PCs. Until recently, Microsoft has had a monopoly on all of it and the ability to control the environment it happens in, if not what happens in said environment. They do not want to lose that. That’s actually kinda the reason Valve started making steam machines in the first place, because they realized that their cash cow was dependent entirely on an operating system that might figure out a way to cut them out and they’d have no recourse.
Millions of Steam Decks and their ilk have been sold, and run games significantly better on SteamOS than their Windows counterparts, to the point that Microsoft is reportedly cancelling their own gaming handheld plans. Not a massive challenger to the Switch 2 for most ordinary people, but things are definitely changing.
Microsoft are likely going to keep on trying anyway, Deck is too big of a threat to their Windows gaming monopoly for them to ignore it. Just look at how they managed to get so many Windows handheld models out of the door seemingly minutes after the Deck released with its Linux based SteamOS. Their worst nightmare is people having a viable alternative to their platforms.
Kinda agree, but the consoles already are alternatives to Windows. Don’t really see what’s super special about the Steam Deck, tbh.
Surprised Microsoft hasn’t made some sort of DRM to prevent Xbox studio games from being played on Proton, though.
The special sauce of the Deck isn’t really what it’s running (it’s just Arch with some extra Steam stuff on top), it’s more that it’s something you can just buy and use without even thinking twice about anything - a more console like experience. To get a Linux handheld with that kind of performance before, you would have to go through all kinds of hoops and trouble to get it working (a lot of people aren’t ready to reinstall the OS on a device they just bought), plus a lot of games just would not work well. Deck gave pressure on game makers to ensure Proton compatibility at launch, as it gives them an established market who would appreciate it.
PC gaming and console gaming are two very different markets, due to the open nature of PCs. Until recently, Microsoft has had a monopoly on all of it and the ability to control the environment it happens in, if not what happens in said environment. They do not want to lose that. That’s actually kinda the reason Valve started making steam machines in the first place, because they realized that their cash cow was dependent entirely on an operating system that might figure out a way to cut them out and they’d have no recourse.