Valve's latest hardware endeavor comes in the form of a PC gaming handheld console called the Steam Deck. It sounds like a great idea since PC gaming has the greatest selection of games along with near-infinite backwards compatibility, and a portable console is easier to play on the go than an unwieldy gaming laptop. However, PC gaming is always evolving in terms of quality and advances in hardware -- and that's the problem with the Steam Deck. It isn't future-proof.

While it's an affordable option for those without a powerful desktop or laptop, it's not that great for those who do have these or already own newer consoles or even a Switch. When in handheld mode, it should be able to run many games with no problem on high settings unless you're looking at future releases and even some current ones. Steam Deck's low resolution allows most games to run great, supposedly even games like Control, but if you plan on docking it like you would the Switch, you may find yourself playing at much lower settings because of hardware limitations.

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Steam Deck ready to play Death Stranding

Like any console or PC, Steam Deck has its own internals that will inevitably age out, resulting in the need for a new model Steam Deck. This works for consoles because they have their own library of games and specific toolkits. They last for a few years before the next upgrade comes along. However, this doesn't work for PCs so well. Sure, you can run Windows 95 or play older games on today's PCs; backwards compatibility isn't a problem. It's going forward that is.

PCs tend to evolve a lot faster than consoles, so having a handheld gaming PC that can't be upgraded is an issue. The smaller resolution may let it last more than a couple of years for double-A or even triple-A gaming, but it's going to fall behind quickly with no way to catch up. Sure, there are some reports that the Steam Deck contains an M.2 SSD that could possibly be replaced by the user (at the risk of violating the warranty, that is), but on-board graphics and processors will be stock; the only way to replace those would be to buy a newer model. At the rate PC gaming improves, the life span would be much shorter than a normal console, which isn't feasible when considering Steam Deck prices. Eventually, the Steam Deck will end up as a high-end emulator or indie game machine, and that doesn't seem to be Valve's intention given the type of games they've been advertising for it.

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A custom PC with water cooling and blue lights

If we're going to jump into a portable future for PC gaming, it needs to follow what makes it good in the first place. We already have access to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of games, but what determines how well a game runs is the hardware and that parts can be upgraded, which is a major component of PC gaming the Steam Deck is missing. If instead of being a single piece of hardware it had easy customization, it would increase longevity. Rather than being complex with tons of screws, cables and more, it could have had easily swappable parts for owners to upgrade over time and keep up to date as gaming hardware standards change. It may never be as powerful as a desktop, but it would keep up longer. Inevitably there would need to be a new version of the Steam Deck, but it wouldn't need to come nearly as soon.

The Steam Deck is a good idea in theory and will definitely find an audience. Especially with the potential as a portable means of emulation, playing less demanding games on the go and even Lan parties. However, it's a high price to pay if you're looking for something for long-term gaming and really seems like a missed innovation. Hopefully, future Steam Deck's will be better future-proofed, but if you're interested in purchasing one now, pre-orders or reservations are open to Steam accounts that made purchases prior to June with three models available, with the least expensive at $399USD/$499CDN/£349 and only 64GB of storage.

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