Finally, the year of the Linux Desktop is upon us
Well the year of the Linux desktop will have to wait a few years considering Valve time.
I’ve waited so long
Related to the image, not the article: I find the asymmetrical thumbstick layout to be terrible, ergonomically - the layout on the Switch sometimes causes me physical pain. I’m very glad that Valve didn’t go that way.
Some like it, others don’t. It’s more important that consumers have options rather than absolutely everyone being forced to agree on one way being best.
this philosophy applies to many things, not just controller layout.
Absolutely. I’m happy that people have options.
Valve and Sony are the only ones that did symmetrical. Symmetrical was actually first with the DualShock for the PS1, but the 360 controller being popular and commonly used for PC apparently made googly sticks more common. The Switch at least has a justification in that the joycons can be removed and used by themselves, necessitating the stick placement.
Insert “God: what the hell is this??!” meme with n64 controller.
Nintendo switched from symmetrical to asymmetrical after the Wii U
Oh, good point, I forget about that! They actually went asymmetrical first with the Gamecube, then symmetrical with the Wii pro controller. The Switch is asymmetrical out of necessity, and the Switch pro controller probably is because the joycons are. So it really is only Microsoft always preferring asymmetrical.
Steam box v2 in a few years. PC gaming is cannibalizing the PC and handheld market damn
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The Steam Deck kicked off great however, I see people flocking to the Windows alternatives like the ASUS ROG Ally because they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell.
Edit; I don’t know why this is being downvoted, I haven’t touched SteamOS so I’m comparing it to Debian 12 where BASH knowledge is essential.
they don’t want to deal with Linux or the Bash shell
I’m a professional software developer that runs Linux on all on my devices. So I could “deal with the bash shell” if I needed to for sure. But im not interested in doing anything but running games I bought on steam.
Not once have I even opened desktop mode on my steam deck for anything other than checking it out.
It’s completely possible to stay 100% in the main SteamOS environment which is basically “Big picture mode”.
Normal users literally would have no idea they are using Linux. It operates exactly how you would expect a handheld game console to operate.
It’s a super polished and easy to use OS. I don’t think I’ve even touched command line or shell. It functions like Windows without any bs.
I’m one of the most bash shell persons who ever bashed a bash shell, just for the bash shell of it.
But I have never opened the bash shell on my SteamDeck.
I did once, for some reason. I think to install maguri mod for ff9.
Otherwise? Nah, this ain’t thinkin’ time.
More than half of PC handhelds sold are Steam Deck.
https://www.techspot.com/news/106921-handheld-gaming-pcs-surpass-6-million-sales-steam.html
People aren’t flock to Windows alternatives.
I’m not sure this is true. From a non-technical user perspective Linux is as visible on the steam deck as FreeBSD is on the PS5. Yah it’s there, but you don’t see it unless you try.
It’s still crazy to me how since PS3 Sony has been using FreeBSD as their basis for an OS.
In my mind it’s always been this network traffic or datacentre thing.
It really is a full desktop os. Not a bad one either.
The main limitations is hardware / driver support and proprietary software support.
Neither of those things are really a problem when you use it in an embedded system like a console though.
I bet they used freeBSD over Linux for licensing reasons.
My Steam Deck is by far my preferred PC now. I dread having to use my Windows laptop.
More likely the opposite because they don’t want to deal with Windows 11
For me it came down to affordability more than anything else. The cost of the other PC handhelds don’t make sense to me considering the battery life. Might as well get a laptop at that point. The fact that the Steam Deck doesn’t use Windows and has the best community support were bonuses.
What? You don’t have to deal with any of that if you don’t want to lol
That could be the reason why someone is going that direction though even if it’s not an informed decision.
Why is it not an informed decision?
Well, why don’t they use the z-shell then?
I’m quite worried that the quality of experiences with Linux gaming in the eyes of Joe public will go down the drain once every random crap by some Chinese factory will be seen as “a steam deck” because it runs SteamOS, just like how Samsung is dog shit and gives android a bad rep because of it’s weird bloatware.
The same fallacy of someone buying a $200 android, complaining it sucks, then getting a $700 IPhone, to confirm in their mind that all androids are cheap crap. Ignorant consumers are gonna ignorantly consume.
Yeah.
Ironically imho samsung provides better experience on smartphone compared to stock android. The bloarware tou are talking about is much better then stock alternatives such as Alarm app.
Lol now that’s a take. Do tell.
this is objectively untrue
Samsungs hardware is not crap, their locked down UI might be but apple and Samsung hardware are among the best. Also fuck Samsung and Apple.
-sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Bloatware = software. OP is not calling out their hardware. Just that Android gets a bad rep because Samsung keeps bloating their OS with useless software.
Yes I agree I wish they unlocked their bootloader
I don’t think that’ll be much of a problem. Nobody thinks Windows is shit because there are cheap low powered laptops.
You’d be surprised. The amount of times I saw people go from 600€ hp laptops to 1800€ MacBooks only to think that Macs are amazing and windows is terrible is quite high. At least double digit.
They absolutely do.
No they don’t.
Not even in the 2000s were people blaming “windows” for their computer being slow. Most of them thought “windows” was synonymous with “computer” and wouldn’t even be able to make a criticism of an ‘operating system.’
They do. Windows = computer. They want the cheapest computer they can get so they get the £199 one. Oh its incredibly slow. Oh but macs are supposed to be faster, but it costs more. So these people end up thinking that windows = cheap and slow, mac = expensive and fast.
Of course the reality is both are shit and they should use Linux. I have installed Linux for a few people and generally they love it. I think mostly because its saved them money.
I would be hopeful that competitors bring the price down or even bring a much better experience with a higher price tag, which I think will only help cater to a larger audience (the budgeteers & the ballers).
Nothing will stop actual crap (e-waste level) from coming out, but I’m sure ppl match the experience to a brand name rather than a form factor.
It’s pretty awesome that the steamdeck is now basically a viable and far less limited alternative to consoles for around the same price as one.
After the Switch 2 reveal I saw the writing on the wall that console gaming was going to be too expensive for me, but I still wanted a way to easily play on the TV with a controller. The Steam Deck has been awesome for that. I’m fine with playing older games on it and reserving the rare new demanding games I actually want to play for the PS5. Next gen I might just move to PC for demanding games the way things are going.
This was already true for x86 handhelds, companies like Ayaneo and GPD have been around for quite some time. However, removing Windows from the equation and the huge resource overhead it causes, and making Linux a viable alternative with their work on Proton, has absolutely shaken the industry up. It looks like Microsoft is going to try and release a hybrid Windows/Xbox OS for OEMs. I did try out Win11 on my Lenovo Legion Go for an hour or so and it was just awful compared to Bazzite (that uses the Steam Deck UI). So all up it’s a pretty exciting time for handheld and low power gaming!
Ayaneo and GPD are too expensive for to be compared to consoles imo. They’ve been above a grand and in general similarly priced as a laptop with the same internal hardware. Edit: The Steam Deck basically halved the price for an powerful x86 handheld, and made it comparable to a Switch. This is imo the only reason it sells so well.
Having steam as a platform to advertise the steamdeck probably helps. Tens of millions of people being told about your product, people that are already using your platform as well.
But if it gets more people using Linux I am alright with that. Kinda want a steamdeck but also don’t really want to spend steamdeck money right.
With the exception of fortnite (fuck you, it’s fun in no build mode) I do almost all of my gaming for the past few years on my steam deck. The control making and gyro is insanely customizable and the instant suspend/resume is a massive boon to my lifestyle as an adult that often has limited time windows.
Found out about no build mode when I was asked to play recently and the game is, to my surprise, fun without the building.
The people who have mastered building and can create a fort around me in 0.32 seconds are cringe in my book. Not sure how that was ever deemed a fun game mechanic, it’s frustrating (to me, someone who only plays with their hands).
Fortnite was originally a different game, in which the build mechanic played a much more important role. The Battle Royale bit was just an add-on that became so popular they dropped the original game.
No one could do that shit the first few years. Then they added hotkeys and sped it all up. Ruined the game for a filthy casual like me. No build is a lot of fun, though.
I’m hoping that the next gen Steam Deck gets a coprocessor that will allow it to use less power in sleep mode, and also download games and updates in the background while the screen is off or in sleep mode.
Would be a nice perk. I’m guessing summer 2026 or 2027.
Valve says a Deck Verified game will only ever have a SteamOS compatibility rating that is the same or better
What about point and click games? It can’t be the same or better without trackpads?
Steaminput means they all work, even when they don’t.
You can make pretty much anything control the mouse.
I’ve seen how well that works😬. But I guess different people have different definitions of playable. Someone else said touchscreen is just as good as mouse🙄.
Touchscreen is about same
The rating is only about whether SteamOS will run the game and its middleware. Its not about how well the game runs on the hardware or with the inputs for the device.
Its basically like saying its compatible with Windows or MacOS - it will work with SteamOS if its SteamOS verified. It is an OS compatibility rating; slightly more than it just working with proton or linux to include “game functionality, launcher functionality and anto-cheat support” according to the steam announcement.
Whereas Deck Verified means it specifically works with the Deck hardware too, including satisfactory performance and inputs.
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/532097310616717411
I thought it’s like where it gives you a few lines of reasoning like “text is too small”, “doesn’t show universal prompts” or whatever.
It’s only about whether the game runs on SteamOS, handhelds and screen size, input and performance thereof don’t matter for the rating like it does for Deck Verified.
It already show if controller are fully/partially/not supported
And they also show which controllers are supported or if you need the steam input to translate the commands
That’s a great point! Maybe they expect a consumer to connect their own mouse if their handheld doesn’t have touch screen or trackpads.
