Nintendo Switch has new competition, and the future of gaming seems to be in our hands. Thanks to Nintendo Switches, iPads, phones, VR headsets, and many new gaming handhelds, I no longer play games on my TV. In fact, the game looks everywhere different from the big panels hanging on the walls. Before 2022, of course, it was. But with the advent of the Steam Deck and other handheld hardware, it feels like what we've been waiting for for years has finally come true.
Gaming technology is increasingly switched. I dreamed of this happening in 2017. Valve's Steam Deck is the biggest addition to handhelds this year, and its popularity stands out in several ways.
As a gaming PC, it shows how software can finally be flexible and mobile, moving between screens in a long-awaited way. But even as an alternative to streaming game services, it shows that gaming technology is starting to decouple in many strange ways.
The Nintendo Switch remains an aging but powerful console. Mobile gaming seems to be picking up speed thanks to cloud-streaming apps and better game controller cases, as well as developments from mobile chip makers like Qualcomm and new gaming tablets like the Razer Edge. Similarly, Logitech's recently released G Cloud handheld is another type of mobile his device.
A kind of Android-based mobile device, but dependent on game streaming.And I didn't even mention my favorite quirky indie handhelds, the Analogue Pocket and Panic Playdate. Do VR headsets count as handhelds too? No, but future devices like the Pimax Portal show how handhelds and VR can come together in ways you never thought possible.
Steam deck: PC becomes handheld . Valve's Steam Deck did just that. A handheld Steam-compatible gaming system seemed like an impossible dream before launch, but the hardware actually played a number of PC games just fine, one of the biggest gaming surprises of the year. has been proven.
Valve shows how other manufacturers might try.
In fact, companies like Dell and Razer are already experimenting with prototypes, in a way. But the Steam Deck lives on and there's no excuse not to take advantage of it.
The Steam Deck's easy sleep/wake functionality and TV docking make it feel as modular as the Switch without having to unplug the controller. The flexibility of the Steam Deck's operating system means more possibilities. The ability to run a variety of games and apps and stream games is a feature that the Nintendo Switch has hoped to one day win. The Switch's older processor limits its capabilities, but Steam Deck pushes those ideas forward by five years. Really, we already knew that phones in our pockets were just as powerful as laptops, but since gaming handhelds are also the perfect machines to connect to a more cross-platform world , and much more.
I can't wait to see where Valve goes next.
Especially in VR. Valve has been in the VR space for years and plans to produce its own standalone "Deckard" VR headset in the near future. Will the new Steam decks be compatible? It seems likely.
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