Valve Wants To Make More Handhelds Like the Steam Deck

Valve seems like they really believe in the business potential of the Steam Deck. 

So much so, that they stated they want to make more handhelds of the same nature, writes PCGamer. According to Greg Coomer, one of the Deck's designers, they want to "continue making devices in this product line." He also added that Valve isn't counting on competing companies to make their own versions. 

This is more or less in line with what Valve's big boss Gabe Newell said last month. According to him, the company hopes that the Steam Deck will create a brand new so-called "handheld PC ecosystem," writes EssentiallySports. This ecosystem, of course, will be targeting PC gamers specifically. 

Coomer also reiterates that they want the Deck to start a new product line which "offers different choices within it." This is very much in line with the choice-centric nature of PC gaming as a whole. For years, PC gamers have always chosen the hardware they want, though this choice is mainly focused on desktops. 

As such, Valve bringing choices to the handheld gaming market can be a trend for the future. 

The Steam Deck is fast shaping into a great product, based on early hands-on impressions alone. Should the new handheld succeed, then it could achieve what Valve wants long-term: to create its own portable gaming niche that's not impeding on actual consoles like the Nintendo Switch. 

Read also: Valve Says the Steam Deck Can Save On Battery Power By Limiting Frame Rates

Valve's PC-Centric Niche: A Refreshing Take on Handhelds 

When you say "handheld gaming console," that device is a gaming console similar to a PlayStation or an Xbox. And the one thing that separates a gaming console from a PC is that the hardware stays the same for its entire life cycle. There's no way for users to upgrade their systems on their own. 

On the other hand, the Steam Deck is basically a full-fledged gaming PC that you can hold in your hand. There's not a lot of promises on full upgradeability yet, but it is something that Valve is likely thinking about. However, Gabe Newell confirmed that the Deck will have a slot for an m.2 2230 SSD, which users can likely upgrade. 

The slot is also present in the cheapest available model (the one with only 64 GB of storage), which will make that one a very viable option for most gamers, reports HotHardware. This means that you won't have to get the models with higher storage options since an m.2 2230 SSD often costs between $40-$100, depending on storage capacity. 

Steam Machines Paved The Way

Remember how Steam Machines bombed right out of the gate? So far, it looks like Valve has learned its lessons. Those so-called "console killers" which were released back in 2015 were critical and commercial failures. The main reason was the now non-existent trouble of running games well on a Linux-based machine. The Steam Deck does run the Linux-based SteamOS, but early performance numbers suggest games run well enough on the handheld. 

Related: Steam Deck vs. Nintendo Switch: Valve's Handheld Isn't a Direct Competitor, Says Gabe Newell

This article is owned by Tech Times 

Written by RJ Pierce