• AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    How the fuck is Steam Deck a monopoly? Literally anyone could have made a great Linux based handheld. Anyone still can do it. Only Valve did.

    • platypus_plumba@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      And Valve would probably love for the new handheld to also use the Valve libraries, if that helps them penetrate the market even faster.

    • almost1337@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      They weren’t even the first, Ayn and Ayaneo were making handheld gaming computers well before Valve or the other major companies started to get involved.

      • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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        10 months ago

        Actually, there are a few different ones. If you look for pocket PCs or even specific for gaming. The mainstream just didn’t know about it because they don’t have marketing reach.

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s a niche market. Niche markets are always under served.

        As great as the steam deck may be, it’s only going to appeal to a small percentage of gamers. Generally more tech savvy players who frequently travel some distance with enough down time to justify that purchase. Whether that’s commuters or guys who travel for work. Or guys who just want a really expensive controller so they can play from their favorite chair.
        device to play the

          • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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            10 months ago

            Best part.

            Put it to sleep. Took a piss. Picked it up and immediately starting playing again.

            I’d love to see Windows do that. Until they can. It’s a non starter.

          • tjsauce@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            On a planet of 7 billion people, conservatively assuming that less than 1 billion game, yes, millions is a small percentage.

          • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            As of 2021, there were an estimated 3.24 billion people who played video games, a figure that includes PC, console, and mobile gaming.

            So yeah, the Steam Deck passing the 3 million mark is a small percentage.

        • ParsnipWitch@feddit.de
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          10 months ago

          It actually very likely brought a lot of women to Steam who predominantly played with handhelds because they were indoctrinated to believe PCs are only for “tech savvy men”.

          December 2021 less than 10 % of all Steam users were women. Between 2022, when the Steam Deck was released, and December 2023 the number shot up to 32 %.