Valve unveils PC Steam Deck
A new system is about to hit the market and could forever change the gaming landscape as Valve launches Steam Deck, a handheld PC (personal computer) capable of running AAA titles from Steam.
The Steam Deck brandishes an AMD processor, a seven-inch screen with 1280x800 resolution, 16 gigabytes of RAM, and a battery life that could last gamers up to eight hours.
Although the hardware design is not yet final, Valve claims that it is ready to ship the product by December.
“It defers to these kinds of platforms mainly because you can just customize the experience and use all the options at your disposal that is typically associated with PC gaming,” Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN.
It is a PC. We do not think people should be locked in a certain direction or a certain set of software that they can install.
“There will be a pre-approachable entry point where you can see the games that work really well by default and get a seamless gaming experience.
“If you want to go one step further and use all these options, you can customize your controls, level of performance, battery life and use the Steam workshop and even mods. All these options that are dear to PC gamers are fully supported by the deck.”
Like the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck can be played on television and can even be connected to a gaming monitor along with other peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard.
According to Valve, it runs on a Linux-based operating system, so it cannot be said that it is merely a gaming console.
“It is a PC. We do not think people should be locked in a certain direction or a certain set of software that they can install,” another Valve designer Lawrence Yang said.
“If you buy a Steam Deck it is a PC, you can install whatever you want on it, you can attach any peripherals you want to it. Maybe a better way to think about it is that it is a small PC with a controller attached as opposed to a gaming console.