Valve recently raised the price on the Steam Deck, making the handheld gaming PC cost up to $949 for the 1TB OLED model. While that’s a massive $300 increase over its original price, the Steam Deck is once again sold out.

  • ampersandrew@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    I mean…how big is that backlog and how much are you playing on the go? There’s been no better device for handheld gaming, IMO, though I can see why it isn’t tempting at that price.

    • sompreno@lemmy.zip
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      15 hours ago

      While the steam deck is a good device, it and every other modern handheld is designed like the switch which is more of a couch gaming experience rather theb a true portable for playing on the go

      • mesa@piefed.social
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        13 hours ago

        I think the difference is that in 10 years when the steam deck is on its final legs, we can still play our games unlike most other consoles.

        It might be a spare laptop, steam machine, or something else entirely. But we will presumibly be able to play.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          11 hours ago

          I can still play games on my 13 year old PS4, 20 year old Xbox 360, 30 year old N64, etc. What are you talking about? The PS5 is already 6 years old and shows no signs of not being able to play games.

          • kboos1@lemmy.world
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            10 hours ago

            At least until Sony and Microsoft shutdown the servers for the consoles and they can’t validate themselves anymore.

            If Valve ever stops supporting the SD and you still want to use it so some reason, then just install a new clean OS or just leave it in desktop mode and move on with life.

        • sompreno@lemmy.zip
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          11 hours ago

          True, but thats also true for every other modern gaming handheld other then the switch/switch 2 since they all run windows, linux or android

          Either way doesn’t invalidate my point

      • chisel@piefed.social
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        12 hours ago

        3DS, please come back!! The AYN Thor is trying. It would be cool if valve built something like it. Preferably with the autostereoscopic display. I know it’s a gimic and nobody uses it much, but damn is it a cool gimic.

        • amniotic druid@lemmy.world
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          15 hours ago

          You can very easily downgrade to Win10 and there’s a sizable community on r/LinuxOnAlly but it’s also Microsoft/XBox so what else do you expect? Still beats giving Valve 45% more money so GabeN can buy another yacht company and sell kids gamble boxes.

          • ampersandrew@lemmy.world
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            14 hours ago

            Set your expectations accordingly. ROG Ally is only cheaper until they have to build more with today’s component prices (if they choose to). And it’s not like Microsoft executives don’t have yachts or sell kids gambling boxes.

            • amniotic druid@lemmy.world
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              14 hours ago

              That’s all fair but it just seems weird to me to say “company X jacked their prices up $300 and company Y might, therefore they’re both the same.” Wait until the Ally gets a price bump and reasses. As it stands today, the Deck is now a substantially worse value

              • ampersandrew@lemmy.world
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                14 hours ago

                They will jack up their prices if they sell through their stock and decide that that demand will stick around long enough to justify another batch of them at higher prices. As it stands today, it is doing your fellow Lemming a solid to point out the current price discrepancy in favor of the Ally. When both of those devices are priced for stable market conditions, my recommendation leans heavily toward Steam Deck, but we are not currently in stable market conditions.

                • amniotic druid@lemmy.world
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                  14 hours ago

                  Tbh I can’t be bothered to confirm who exactly is managing the Ally but XBox’s new CEO is on a goodwill-gathering streak right now. Brought down the price of game pass and seems to want to bring people back to the brand proper. MS certainly has the capital to subsidize console costs to gain market.

                  Again, all this is conjecture and came from me saying that right now, because Valve raised the price of the Steam Deck and MS hasn’t done so for the Ally, the Ally is a better value. Today.

                  • ampersandrew@lemmy.world
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                    13 hours ago

                    XBox’s new CEO is on a goodwill-gathering streak right now. Brought down the price of game pass and seems to want to bring people back to the brand proper

                    Oh, you sweet summer child.

                    You do you. The Ally is a better value today. Good spot; pass it on until they sell out, because it currently looks like Best Buy is pricing it as a thing that’s in their inventory and not selling. I would recommend that you don’t trust that Xbox is going to right the wrongs of Game Pass price increases just because the removal of Call of Duty brought it down to still-higher-levels-than-it-was-in-the-very-recent-past. And definitely don’t trust lip service to things the new boss is “thinking about” and “treating seriously”. In a world where the next Xbox is definitely for sure just a PC that allows you to buy games from any store you like, and the Ally is that too, they’re not subsidizing hardware. Neither is Valve, hence the price hike.

          • Katana314@lemmy.world
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            11 hours ago

            Sounds neat; I just wish they made an SKU where you didn’t have to pay for Windows (before removing it)