Steam fees are their money maker, hardware is just a way to get more people buying stuff on Steam

And it absolutely worked on me.

Prior to having a Steam Deck, my overall video game time was fairly low since it took time to boot the PC and start everything up. With the SD, it's much easier to grab it and get a small session in, and I've purchased a number of games (and will even buy games on Steam at a higher price than elsewhere) because of the Deck. It's the price of convenience, but well worth it in my opinion.

Nothing managed to get me back into gaming as much as the "on" button on the Steam Deck plopping me right back where I left.

It's not just about trying to get more people to buy stuff on Steam but also safeguard their own future, while carving out their own experience and a niche.

Back when the whole Steam on Linux started, they saw Windows 8/10 as a real threat to their existence. (Windows S?)

It's just that the way they went about to solve this in an open way is what's nice.

They improved the graphics drivers situation, invested in Wine and other open source projects, put in a lot of effort to create a user experience they wanted on a handheld device.

Ultimately this gave them a real edge over their competitors. Was surprised to see random youtubers making videos on how to install steam OS on their more powerful Rog Ally/Gpd/Home theater PC etc ..

And it's absolutely working! So far I've spent 566€ directly on Steam this year and my willingness to spend money on GOG or EGS has dropped dramatically considering what a seamless experience I get with Steam and the Steam Deck.

Me as well. I've on Linux for years, but there was a time where I was preferring GoG for their DRM-free policy. However, Valve went all in on Linux support while GoG refused to even make a Linux version of their launcher. I still occasionally buy things from them, but Steam gained my business.

Yeah, the cdprojekt/Linux story is a weird one. They even released witcher 2 on Linux. But after all the hate they got , for it being a bad port, using some translation layer, it seems like they dropped the Linux use cases.

At least they don't go out of their way to block heroic games launcher/Linux and I'm happy with that.

It’s much easier and safer for a company to officially not support Linux, but keep an eye on issues and not block it, than to officially release a port.

Sure, but it doesn't change the fact that no public traded company would ever do this, or spend this much resources in things such as repairability or Linux layer improvements. It's nice that Valve is still a private company and can decide to focus on things that actually good for the space and consumers, even if it's not the most optimal use of their time.

> Sure, but it doesn't change the fact that no public traded company would ever do this, or spend this much resources in things such as repairability or Linux layer improvements.

Google used to be like this once upon a time, long long ago... (That blocks phone, unlocked bootloader on all their Nexus devices, Linux improvements for Chrome/Android etc...). Not sure if things really changed or it's just in my head, but they no longer seem that way.

Well, Pixel is still with unlocked bootloader and is the only phone on the market with which you can bake in your own signing keys, lock the bootloader and have an actually secure boot chain controlled by yourself.

It's not impossible, and large companies do regularly contribute or create their own FOSS.

But yes, there has always been a big dose of NIH from corporate. Sometimes it is warranted, but many times it's extra work on this hope that they hoard valuable tech to themselves.

Same goes for XBox and PlayStation, but you don't see them using anything other than a closed environment.

Given that PC gaming thrives on modding, it's only right that the most PC-like console gets it right.

If that were the natural outcome Xbox would’ve “gotten it right” since it was the most PC-like console before the Steam Deck.

The moddability is a deliberate strategy by Valve, and I don’t see it as an inevitable move for every PC-centered company, Microsoft being the prime counterexample.

I think it's pretty clear that "PC-like" also means you need an open platform, with the possibility to install any software and operating system you wish, which the xbox nor any console from the major brands allows for.

Yeah PC means "personal computer", not x64 CPU with an AMD or Nvidia GPU. I don't see how the Xbox is PC-like at all.

It’s running Windows, and if you put it in dev mode, which is not much harder than putting a laptop off S mode, you can install anything. It works with a mouse and keyboard. Pretty close to a PC.

You can't install anything, only UWP apps that run in an extremely restrictive sandbox. You can get root on Steam Deck by switching to Desktop mode, opening the terminal and inputting a couple commands and you have full access to the hardware's bootloader.

The first Xbox was hacked wide open, but that was in spite of Microsoft.

Lots of good stuff there, too. XBMC for life!

XBMC and all the wacky homebrew software extended the life of my original Xbox by more than a decade. I still think the linksbox browser did alphabet input better than any other controller software I've seen. And it was always fun in college to host a Mario Kart 64 night (emulated on Xbox) in the dorms and see the expressions on people's faces when they looked from the controllers to the screen, and then back and forth again. :)

And I still use 2 original Xboxs at LAN parties here and there. Even with a softmod and Linux, it's still possible to system link Halo, Halo 2, Battlefront (2004), Battlefront 2 (2005), Crimson Skies, Metal Arms, and other games across at least three generations of console (Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One) with 16-to-32 people. Microsoft does backward compatibility like almost no one else, even on console.

It's getting harder to find replacement controllers, but I've found a local hardware guy in my city who can help find the right replacement parts as little pieces on the board start to fail. I plan on keeping both of mine running as long as possible!

Project Stellar lets you use Xbox One controllers https://makemhz.com/products/stellar

The XBox One and PS4 are very PC-like as well. (Continuing with the PS5 and XBox Series).

But yes, Valve does seem to get what gamers want (other than games made by them)

Valve isn’t taking some moral high ground here, they are just trying to commoditize hardware and OS platforms. It isn’t a new idea: https://gwern.net/complement

That's an interesting take. Reminds me of when Android came out as free and open alternative to whatever we had back then.

I hope Steam OS doesn't end up the same locked down mess that Android has become these days ...

Pixels have unlocked bootloaders so you can install whatever you want, including completely open source versions of android.

You won’t be able to do mobile payment and some other things because the companies behind those other things will only allow their apps to run on locked down devices.

But once you do that, you lose Google Play Safety net attestation no?

Happened when i rooted my last phone. And after that no banking/payment apps worked.

Here is a community-maintained list of banking apps that can work without SafetyNet: https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compa...

Last time I was looking for a new bank, I picked one from this list based on the reports available. Thankfully my bank app is not so locked down.

Hope you can find something that works for you.

> And they provide you parts and schematics in case you need to repair/mod your device.

Where are the schematics? I was trying to do a repair on an unusually common failure and couldn't find anything.

I am not sure if schematics is the right word, but I meant things like: https://gitlab.steamos.cloud/SteamDeck/hardware and whatever they provide to likes of https://www.amazon.com/Joystick-Steam-Deck-Hall-Effect-Senso... to and steamdeck HD, to make hall effect joysticks and high resolution display mods for steamdeck.

Understandable, I was hoping there was some sort of board schematics or even block diagrams to aid in fixing blown up chips and other faults. I most often see failures on the main board and of course that's the part they don't sell you.

While no board schematic there is quite good selection of guides hosted iFixit (Valve links you there from their website so it is the "official" source)

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Steam_Game_Console

Out of curiosity, what chips do you see get blown out typically?

And are there any specific usage patterns that lead to more of these issues?

It most often seems to be the power management/charge/USB-C chip, with no particular pattern other than "playing a demanding game". Doesn't seem to matter whether plugged in or on battery, official charger or other USB-C charger or dock. I even had it happen to my own Steam Deck (while playing Minecraft of all things) which I sent into Valve and they replaced.

I haven't been able to investigate it too much but last I looked at the data sheet for that chip it seems like there's no way it should have a hole blown in it unless something was designed wrong.

Sorry, where are these schematics? I was not aware.

The already have most of online PC games sales through their platform and take a very healthy chunky cut off it, they don't have any financial incentive to close their platform. I also doubt they sell Steam deck at a loss like console companies do.

>I also doubt they sell Steam deck at a loss like console companies do.

They (GabeN I believe) mentioned early on that it was "painful" to hit the Deck's price point. Unsure if this means sold at a loss or just a smaller-than-ideal profit.

albeit in software, but valve got a lot of success built on top of video game mods (see counter-strike and dota series).

they are far from saints if you zoom out (from lootboxes and fostering an official means to trade virtual items for money), but being an independent company still driven by gaming helps.