Short story about my Steam Deck

I don't feel like owning a gaming rig anymore and that caused my sizeable Steam library to be locked away from me. Until I got the Steam Deck... The killer feature for me is the portability. I can take it with me on vacations and that's exactly when I have time to play games.

Something that appeals to me about this device is its potential durability. New versions of the Steam Deck will come out, but the supply of new games for older versions such as the first-gen won't stop coming out in the Steam store. This is not really the case with other devices like the Switch, which is eventually going to be out-phased.

My Steam Deck should arrive in the next few weeks and once I use it a little I'm planning on selling (or donating, it's 7+ years old) my gaming PC. It's a tower case that takes up a lot of room under my desk, only serves one purpose and gets used a few hours a week. I've got a list of 20+ games I've been wanting to play but just didn't want to be stuck in front of the same monitors I use for work (I'm remote). I wonder if the Steam Deck and devices like it will change how (or more specifically where) people play PC games in the next few years.

This should be the product for me, someone who used to be super into PC and console gaming but is losing interest over time so the portability is appealing. However, it’s a tough sell for me without Nintendo games. A lot of the value I get out of my Switch is Mario Kart at family gatherings.

Mine just died with a faulty Left Bumper switch. I&#x27;m hoping Steam will RMA it or send me a replacement board.<p>Cause like the poster, it&#x27;s the best way to play my PS2 game collection.

I like my Steam Deck, but I&#x27;ve found it only works for games that were designed for controller input. Controlling the cursor with the capacitative pad never clicked with me. Unfortunately that rules out most of the games I like to play most.<p>E.g. I tried Rimworld, which even makes special affordances for the Deck, and it was just painful compared to keyboard and mouse.<p>I guess I&#x27;ll try connecting a mouse, but that kind of defeats the purpose.

I ordered the deck last year, then they told me it would get even more delayed, then I got a notification it&#x27;s ready three days ago while on a vacation, I didn&#x27;t respond in time and they just refunded me. I&#x27;d say they first couldn&#x27;t get manufacturing capacity for it and once they got it, the market cooled down. Bad timing on their part.

Man the ads on that site really take away from the ambiance&#x2F;feel of an otherwise very pleasant site.

My steam deck almost arrived before the delivery person marked it to return for damage inspection. It’s still there, but I’m almost certain I’ll never receive it. Steam support has been silent and not responded since Friday.

Now I see why the Steam Deck have sold less despite the hype and boosting of the product in many tech circles compared to the Nintendo Switch.