Valve Handheld: Steam Deck

[method115]

Gabe is so devoted to the open source philosophy I don't think he understands that, or he genuinely believes (wrongly) that it produces superior products for a seminal launch like this. The problem is, even if it did produce superior product values, which definitely didn't happen with the Steam Machines, the general market isn't educated enough to decipher which of those products is the one with the strong value. They're overwhelmed, and so they're turned off. They see the bad press for the opportunistic cash grab products, and associate it with the whole category.

He really needs to commit to a single product made by Valve to build brand recognition and reputation for the "product category", as he calls it, before inviting competition from third-party manufacturers.

The cash grab is spot on and is exactly what will kill a product like this.

 

[rob mafia]

Interesting.

That means he hopes other PC manufacturers are going to get on board the Deck train, and release their own versions of the handheld PC, likely hoping they're running the bespoke mobile version of SteamOS Valve has created for it.

oddly enough, this makes it sound like steam OS is the real product they're trying to push.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

so fucking dumb, this what killed the steam machine. Flooding the market with horse shit.

Oh sure, we only want Steam to develop these portable PC decks.

We don't want serious advancements and improvements, we just want one company trusted to make these. Look at how Microsoft and Sony are doing an awesome job keeping the shelves stocked with PS5s and XBXs across the world.

Everyone is going to be fully satisfied with 1080P 60hz 7" screens, the CPU and GPU being as powerful as a PS4, and the battery lasting for 90 minutes (probably).

And we'll trust Valve to make an upgraded deck whenever they get around to it in a few years.


(Don't mean for this post to be disrespectful, making a point.)

 

[rob mafia]

Everyone is going to be fully satisfied with 1080P 60hz 7" screens, the CPU and GPU being as powerful as a PS4, and the battery lasting for 90 minutes (probably).

not sure if i'm missing sarcasm or etc, but the screens are 800p.

edit: oh, nm.

 

[Madmick]

Oh sure, we only want Steam to develop these portable PC decks.

We don't want serious advancements and improvements, we just want one company trusted to make these. Look at how Microsoft and Sony are doing an awesome job keeping the shelves stocked with PS5s and XBXs across the world.

Everyone is going to be fully satisfied with 1080P 60hz 7" screens, the CPU and GPU being as powerful as a PS4, and the battery lasting for 90 minutes (probably).

And we'll trust Valve to make an upgraded deck whenever they get around to it in a few years.


(Don't mean for this post to be disrespectful, making a point.)

No, you're missing the mark with this. The reason is you are errantly conflating the notion of Valve temporarily restricting Steam Decks to its own product-- until it gets the category going-- with a lack of competition, but that isn't true.

Valve doesn't make any of this crap. They don't make the APU (CPU/GPU). They don't make the RAM. They don't make the screen. They don't make the system board. They don't make the battery. Nothing. They don't even own the IP for these components to be manufactured externally. The native software itself is only partially of their doing just like the Playstation's (Linux-based). Hell, I doubt they're even the ones assembling the product as an OEM. They're just the ODM. I'm sure they're farming out the manufacturing to some other company.

So Valve restricting this doesn't kill competition. They could wall off the rest of the world in perpetuity and it wouldn't kill competition. All of that competition still exists to win the contract to put your components in the Valve product. Meanwhile, alternative portable gaming products still exist. The Nintendo Switch is dominant. Android tablets/phones and iPads/iPhones are also gaming devices.

Apple didn't build the market for smartphones by launching a "product category". They launched a product, one product, their product, a great product, and the rest of the world scrambled to answer. If they had done it the way Gabe is doing it, the iPhone "product category" would have been a mess just like all other attempts at smartphones back then, nobody would have cared, and ironically the product category that was created-- "smartphones"-- wouldn't have jumped off at that moment in history.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

No, you're missing the mark with this. The reason is you are errantly conflating the notion of Valve temporarily restricting Steam Decks to its own product-- until it gets the category going-- with a lack of competition, but that isn't true.

Valve doesn't make any of this crap. They don't make the APU (CPU/GPU). They don't make the RAM. They don't make the screen. They don't make the system board. They don't make the battery. Nothing. They don't even own the IP for these components to be manufactured externally. The native software itself is only partially of their doing just like the Playstation's (Linux-based). Hell, I doubt they've even the ones assembling the product as an OEM. They're just the ODM. I'm sure they're farming out the manufacturing to some other company.

So Valve restricting this doesn't kill competition. They could wall off the rest of the world in perpetuity and it wouldn't kill competition. All of that competition still exists to win the contract to put your components in the Valve product. Meanwhile, alternative portable gaming products still exist. The Nintendo Switch is dominant. Android tablets/phones and iPads/iPhones are also gaming devices.

Apple didn't build the market for smartphones by launching a "product category". They launched a product, one product, their product, a great product, and the rest of the world scrambled to answer. If they had done it the way Gabe is doing it, the iPhone "product category" would have been a mess just like all other attempts at smartphones back then, nobody would have cared, and ironically the product category that was created-- "smartphones"-- wouldn't have jumped off at that moment in history.

Mads, I'm your buddy, you do know I was being 100% sarcastic right?

My post to @GhostZ06 was supposed to communicate we DO want multiple companies creating their own portable decks compete on the marketplace to advance the hardware and lower the price.

Hell, in the same way we can completely customize out gaming rigs and laptops, it'd be awesome if we could customize our decks with bigger screens with higher resolution, faster CPU/GPU, and more efficient batteries.

"so fucking dumb, this what killed the steam machine. Flooding the market with horse shit."

Apple didn't build the market for smartphones by launching a "product category". They launched a product, one product, their product, a great product, and the rest of the world scrambled to answer. If they had done it the way Gabe is doing it, the iPhone "product category" would have been a mess just like all other attempts at smartphones back then, nobody would have cared, and ironically the product category that was created-- "smartphones"-- wouldn't have jumped off at that moment in history.

Speaking of which, lets hope Gabe has learned from the other Valve hardware failures. Time will tell.

 

[GhostZ06]

Mads, I'm your buddy, you do know I was being 100% sarcastic right?

My post to @GhostZ06 was supposed to communicate we DO want multiple companies creating their own portable decks compete on the marketplace to advance the hardware and lower the price.

Hell, in the same way we can completely customize out gaming rigs and laptops, it'd be awesome if we could customize our decks with bigger screens with higher resolution, faster CPU/GPU, and more efficient batteries.

"so fucking dumb, this what killed the steam machine. Flooding the market with horse shit."



Speaking of which, lets hope Gabe has learned from the other Valve hardware failures. Time will tell.

But still i don't think flooding the market is the right way to go about it. If this product is successful do a follow up 2.0 model

 

[Madmick]

Mads, I'm your buddy, you do know I was being 100% sarcastic right?

My post to @GhostZ06 was supposed to communicate we DO want multiple companies creating their own portable decks compete on the marketplace to advance the hardware and lower the price.

Hell, in the same way we can completely customize out gaming rigs and laptops, it'd be awesome if we could customize our decks with bigger screens with higher resolution, faster CPU/GPU, and more efficient batteries.

"so fucking dumb, this what killed the steam machine. Flooding the market with horse shit."

Speaking of which, lets hope Gabe has learned from the other Valve hardware failures. Time will tell.

That's what I'm arguing against. I don't think inviting multiple companies to manufacture their own Steam Decks is the right strategy at this juncture. Until it proves a success, I think there should only be one product made by Valve. Just one.

I also think they should restrict customization of these units even more than the relatively limited number of choices for customizing laptops. Right now they have the right strategy: storage. And even that is where they've already made a questionable decision. Like others, I'm scratching my head at the entry 64GB EMMC option. Who is that for? Guys who only play one game hardcore don't use joysticks to play. Cloud gamers? Steam doesn't have one, there isn't a good cloud gaming service on Linux, and even the good ones on Windows are still best played with a hardwired connection. If they were making that sacrifice to hit a price point of $299 or lower, I'd get it, but at $399, you're already in the price range where it makes more sense to get it right rather than to keep it cheap.

 

[Dizzy]

Oh sure, we only want Steam to develop these portable PC decks.

We don't want serious advancements and improvements, we just want one company trusted to make these. Look at how Microsoft and Sony are doing an awesome job keeping the shelves stocked with PS5s and XBXs across the world.

Everyone is going to be fully satisfied with 1080P 60hz 7" screens, the CPU and GPU being as powerful as a PS4, and the battery lasting for 90 minutes (probably).

And we'll trust Valve to make an upgraded deck whenever they get around to it in a few years.


(Don't mean for this post to be disrespectful, making a point.)

Wat? Why would you need a higher resolution on a screen that small? 60 FPS is fine, anything higher and you’re just killing battery life.

The CPU is not even close to the PS4’s, it’s based off the next gen console architecture. Battery life has been cited as 2-6 hours.

It’s a quality little machine.

 

[Gabriel201]

This is something i always dreamed about lol
I will buy one for sure, but i may have to wait for a price cut, as i live in Brazil.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

That's what I'm arguing against. I don't think inviting multiple companies to manufacture their own Steam Decks is the right strategy at this juncture. Until it proves a success, I think there should only be one product made by Valve. Just one.

Multiple companies are already developing their own 'decks' (looks like Valve just coined that term).

At CES 2020 Dell unveiled this, a concept, but no word if it would go into full development and manufacturing.

I'm seriously scratching my head over your opinion that only Valve should be ONLY company making decks. There's been numerous attempts before to make a successful portable gaming PC and they failed because they were half-assed, overpriced, and lacked Steam integration.

Valve has now set a standard for the hardware and price for a deck, as opposed to Dell who may have had the exact same specs for their unit but have initially charged $1000.

I also think they should restrict customization of these units even more than the relatively limited number of choices for customizing laptops.

Due to the small size of the deck in comparison to a laptop they're not going to have much of a choice.

Only so much size to put in so much hardware.

Like others, I'm scratching my head at the entry 64GB EMMC option.

Everyone is scratching their head over that. Even with the MicroSD slot for expandable storage, 64GB is insulting.

By the way, I did see an ad for a 1TB MicroSD card for $170 the other day.

If they were making that sacrifice to hit a price point of $299 or lower, I'd get it, but at $399, you're already in the price range where it makes more sense to get it right rather than to keep it cheap.

And that's why multiple companies making multiple models of decks is an overall GOOD thing.

Want to pay $800 for a deck with 1TB storage, 1440P 90hz screen, and better specs? Well, _________ is developing that!

 

[JohnSAFTAHess]

This is something i always dreamed about lol
I will buy one for sure, but i may have to wait for a price cut, as i live in Brazil.

Yeah it's a bit of a dream product for me. I'm going to load it with every system it can handle and use it as a portable emulation station/indy game machine.

Kinda makes me regret not having a better steam library.

 

[Madmick]

Multiple companies are already developing their own 'decks' (looks like Valve just coined that term).

At CES 2020 Dell unveiled this, a concept, but no word if it would go into full development and manufacturing.

I'm seriously scratching my head over your opinion that only Valve should be ONLY company making decks. There's been numerous attempts before to make a successful portable gaming PC and they failed because they were half-assed, overpriced, and lacked Steam integration.

Valve has now set a standard for the hardware and price for a deck, as opposed to Dell who may have had the exact same specs for their unit but have initially charged $1000.

Yes, companies have been making these little handheld x86 devices for years-- not as "Steam Decks". For example, GPD has specialized in these devices.
The World’s First 5.5-Inch Handheld PC Puts CAD in Your Pocket (May-2016)

That isn't what makes them a "Steam Deck". What makes them a Steam Deck is that distinctive OS, even if all of us want the option to install Windows itself, and more importantly, the branding itself. Don't let these other companies call them "Steam Decks". That's what they did with the Steam Boxes. Then every major PC manufacturer jumped in with a shitty, absurdly overpriced piece of pre-assembled garbage, and slapped that label on it as its selling point. In addition to the simple fact Linux simply isn't a legitimate operating system for PC gaming, this is exactly what killed the brand. This is what killed the "product category" before it became a product category.

I don't mind other companies creating handheld PCs, and you can't stop that. But it's critical to protect what makes this product distinctive: that OS and that name. No, multiple companies making these decks is NOT a good thing. It's terrible. They need to first establish a cohesive, viable user experience that meets a baseline.

If Valve allow competitions, then suddenly the aforementioned Dell will throw a million darts at the wall, including a shitty little "Steam Deck" with garbage specs in a reckless pursuit of the cheapskate consumer dollar. It will be a piece of crap that just frustrates people because it was a cash grab, and never intended to offer a good gaming experience. This is ingrained in the electronics market. That's fine for laptops, caveat emptor and all that, because laptops are an established product category, and the bad ones don't threaten the category-- just the reputation and future profitability of the company that puts them out.

That isn't the situation, here. "Steam Decks" are not an established "product category". They haven't yet accrued a widescale demand. They haven't established a reputation. They don't yet drive an ecosystem with other markets feeding into it with mutually inclusive interests for success.

 

[Sycho Sid]

People sure are willing to spend a lot of money for what they are describing as a portable emulator.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Companies have been making these little handheld x86 devices for years. For example, GPD has specialized in these devices.
The World’s First 5.5-Inch Handheld PC Puts CAD in Your Pocket (May-2016)

Yes, as well as Invidia's Shield series.

That's what I meant by 'half-assed, over-priced, and lacked Steam integration.'

That isn't what makes them a "Steam Deck". What makes them a Steam Deck is that distinctive OS, even if all of us want the option to install Windows itself, and more importantly, the branding itself. Don't let these other companies call them "Steam Decks".

I'm not calling them 'Steam Decks,' I am calling them 'Decks' because there's not an industry term for them yet, as you noted.

Desktops
Laptops
Decks

I thinks a name that could catch on to set them apart from everything that has come before it and the Switch.

I don't mind other companies creating handheld PCs, and you can't stop that. But it's critical to protect what makes this product distinctive: that OS and that name. No, multiple companies making these decks is NOT a good thing. It's terrible. They need to first establish a cohesive, viable user experience that meets a baseline. You allow competition, and suddenly the aforementioned Dell will put out a shitty little "Steam Deck" with garbage specs in a reckless pursuit of the cheapskate consumer dollar. It will be a piece of crap that just frustrates people because it was a cash grab, and never intended to offer a good gaming experience. This is ingrained in the electronics market. That's fine for laptops, caveat emptor, because laptops are an established product category, and the bad ones don't threaten the category-- just the reputation and future profitability of the company that puts them out.

I think we're coming to an understanding. Different companies should develop different handheld PCs and compete on the marketplace.

As for the 'some companies will develop faulty decks' part, of course. Every new type of product category has their share of shifty companies trying to cash in by releasing shitty products at a lower price. That's happened to practically every product category, ever.

There's no stopping it, so its up to consumers to do their research into what they're buying. Period.

And by 'research' I mean sending a DM to you, Madmick.

That isn't the situation, here. "Steam Decks" are not an established "product category".

Yet.

They haven't established a reputation. They don't yet drive an ecosystem with other markets feeding into it with mutually inclusive interests for success.

Even if Steam Deck isn't as good as promised another company will eventually get it right.

There's been a demand for a product that merges portable and console gaming for a while, and that demand has been partially satisfied by the Switch but not fully satisfied. Steam, Dell, or whomever will eventually get it right.

 

[GtehMVP]

People sure are willing to spend a lot of money for what they are describing as a portable emulator.

That's a big selling point for sure. I've used a Vita, PSP and phone before, but emulating on pc/Windows is so much easier. Just think how many games you can stick on a 1TB SD card.

Other big ones for me

-mini pc on the go
-always wanted a windows tablet
-steam library on the go (biggest selling point). There are so many JRPG's I prefer handheld, especially the older PS1/PS2 games that look better on a small screen. I'm playing wargroove on my switch right now, far better on the toilet lol


I see myself also using this a lot to portably stream movies/series while keeping my phone free for phone stuff/web browsing.

I hope the battery is easily replaceable/upgradable.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

-steam library on the go (biggest selling point).

This needs to have more discussion.

I've played games on my 19" laptop and my 65" Samsung, and there's no question there's some types of games that are better on one than the other, but would be unplayable on a 1080P screen under 8 inches.

Like FPS games in which you need to see targets that are hundreds of yards away. I can't freakin imagine playing those on a small-as-hell screen.

How about racing games in which your car is going over a hundred miles an hour and you can't see things beyond three seconds ahead of you.

Not to mention the HUD on most, if not all, games are going to be too small. Are the HUDs on Switch games larger when the console is docked and played on a TV in comparison to when its played mobily?

My point being is 'being able to play entire steam library on mobile' may be a selling point, but in most cases it may not be the best choice to make for the most enjoyable gaming experience.

I wonder if there'll be a category on Steam for 'Best games to play on Steam Deck.'

 

[Madmick]

Yes, as well as Invidia's Shield series.

That's what I meant by 'half-assed, over-priced, and lacked Steam integration.'

That's not the same product category. Entirely different OS. Otherwise, the 3DS is the same category. The NVIDIA Shield also didn't have built-in joysticks. It was just another Android tablet. All Android tablets can pair with a controller. Despite coming out in 2015, and not getting an update when the desktop variant did (i.e. the NVIDIA Shield TV), it does still get updates, at least. They added DualSense and XSX/XSS controller support in the last update.

I'm not calling them 'Steam Decks,' I am calling them 'Decks' because there's not an industry term for them yet, as you noted.

Desktops
Laptops
Decks

I thinks a name that could catch on to set them apart from everything that has come before it and the Switch.

Handheld PCs have existed for half a decade-- even longer, really, if you count the failed window tablets. They've never been anything but a niche afterthought with no impact on the world of gaming. Ergo, if you want that to change, you have to change the strategy. You have to change the branding and marketing. You need a vanguard product to establish this, and you need for this product not to be confused with opportunistic wannabes. All of this strengthens my argument to clearly segregate products not made by Valve so as to not confuse the consumer.

I think we're coming to an understanding. Different companies should develop different handheld PCs and compete on the marketplace.

I don't care if other companies make handheld PCs. Those aren't "Steam Decks". By virtue of running Windows any of them may access Steam. That isn't the same as running this latest, specific version of SteamOS, which Valve absolutely could maintain as proprietary as they see fit until a later date. It isn't the same as being marketed as a "Steam Deck" which they can trademark.

As for the 'some companies will develop faulty decks' part, of course. Every new type of product category has their share of shifty companies trying to cash in by releasing shitty products at a lower price. That's happened to practically every product category, ever.

You don't seem to be grasping the argument, because no, they don't. While "smartphones" have a million competitors, most of them bad, there is only one iPhone. They didn't allow competitors to call themselves iPhones, or to run iOS, and they aggressively policed this. That product's reputation is what launched the product category.

There's no stopping it, so its up to consumers to do their research into what they're buying. Period.

Yes, you absolutely can stop it. Patents and trademarks exist for a reason. Proprietary software is legal, and effective at excluding competitors.

Even if Steam Deck isn't as good as promised another company will eventually get it right.

That isn't inevitable at all. Why would you assume that? That irrefutably did NOT come to fruition with the Steambox. Allowing all the shit competitors to dilute and taint the brand before it became a success is what killed it altogether.

There's been a demand for a product that merges portable and console gaming for a while, and that demand has been partially satisfied by the Switch but not fully satisfied. Steam, Dell, or whomever will eventually get it right.

Yes, the Switch is why Steam is making this thing. They're hoping this appetite is that much greater. We'll see. That appetite obviously existed for desktop and laptop PCs when the Steambox launched, as we can see how massively that market has grown, and yet the Steambox was a humiliating failure.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is pursuing the backdoor into the largest market, mobile phones, through cloud gaming. That will put console games on every smartphone and tablet in existence.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

That's not the same product category. Entirely different OS. Otherwise, the 3DS is the same category. The NVIDIA Shield also didn't have built-in joysticks. It was just another Android tablet. All Android tablets can pair with a controller. Despite coming out in 2015, and not getting an update when the desktop variant did (i.e. the NVIDIA Shield TV), it does still get updates, at least. They added DualSense and XSX/XSS controller support in the last update.

Handheld PCs have existed for half a decade-- even longer, really, if you count the failed window tablets. They've never been anything but a niche afterthought with no impact on the world of gaming. Ergo, if you want that to change, you have to change the strategy. You have to change the branding and marketing. You need a vanguard product to establish this, and you need for this product not to be confused with opportunistic wannabes. All of this strengthens my argument to clearly segregate products not made by Valve so as to not confuse the consumer.

How many qualifiers need to be checkboxed for two products to be in the same product category?

For this discussion (not argument), lets classify all mobile PC gaming products to be in the same category, regardless of IOS.

They've all failed to achieve mass-market success because they were over-priced and half-assed.

I don't care if other companies make handheld PCs. Those aren't "Steam Decks". By virtue of running Windows any of them may access Steam. That isn't the same as running this latest, specific version of SteamOS, which Valve absolutely could maintain as proprietary as they see fit until a later date. It isn't the same as being marketed as a "Steam Deck" which they can trademark.

I am not calling 'decks' not made by Valve 'Steam Decks' and I highly doubt Gabe Newell is giving other multi-billion dollar corporations permission to infringe on his copyright, despite how literal the title of this PC Gamer article title is.

You don't seem to be grasping the argument, because no, they don't. While "smartphones" have a million competitors, most of them bad, there is only one iPhone. They didn't allow competitors to call themselves iPhones, or to run iOS, and they aggressively policed this. That product's reputation is what launched the product category.

You don't seem to be grasping the argument, because no, they don't. While "smartphones" have a million competitors, most of them bad, there is only one iPhone. They didn't allow competitors to call themselves iPhones, or to run iOS, and they aggressively policed this. That product's reputation is what launched the product category.

Yes, you absolutely can stop it. Patents and trademarks exist for a reason. Proprietary software is legal, and effective at excluding competitors.

*Sigh*

Ok, I think you're misinterpreting me.

We agreed on more mobile PC platforms being good, right? I don't mean several different companies making Steam Decks, I mean several different companies making several different mobile PC platforms with the product category called 'deck.'

Hell, how was the name 'desktop' or 'laptop' agreed to across the industry? Did someone try to copyright it?

For now, for the lack of a proper name for the product category, lets just call them 'decks.'

That isn't inevitable at all. Why would you assume that? That irrefutably did NOT come to fruition with the Steambox. Allowing all the shit competitors to dilute and taint the brand before it became a success is what killed it altogether.

'Inevitable' is a strong word, and that word has lost alot of its credibility after Thantos used the word to describe himself, and then he died.

But judging on the online reaction to Steam Deck, it seems overwhelmingly positive, and as I previously showed Dell already has a prototype shown at CES2020.

Yes, the Switch is why Steam is making this thing. They're hoping this appetite is that much greater. We'll see. That appetite obviously existed for desktop and laptop PCs when the Steambox launched, as we can see how massively that market has grown, and yet the Steambox was a humiliating failure.

Steambox had its issues, obviously, and its biggest issue was that practically everyone that wanted to play PC games on their flat screen TVs already were doing that with the desktops or laptops with HDMI cables.

And whoever designed that Steam controller should be dragged out to the street and shot.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is pursuing the backdoor into the largest market, mobile phones, through cloud gaming. That will put console games on every smartphone and tablet in existence.

A while ago you said GamePass was a 'game changer' and I was skeptical. Even without Microsoft's buyout of Bethesda you were probably right anyway about it being a 'game changer.'

You were right, I was wrong.

So, that being said, I am very skeptical about cloud-gaming being legit because of internet speeds, connectivity, and latency issues still being a large issue across the world.

Stadia was a failure on its release day because basically no one believed Google would fix these issues, and they were right.

So, if you're right about this and I'm wrong, again, I'll paypal you enough to buy a six-pack of your favorite craft beers, ok Mads?

 

[GtehMVP]

This needs to have more discussion.

I've played games on my 19" laptop and my 65" Samsung, and there's no question there's some types of games that are better on one than the other, but would be unplayable on a 1080P screen under 8 inches.

Like FPS games in which you need to see targets that are hundreds of yards away. I can't freakin imagine playing those on a small-as-hell screen.

How about racing games in which your car is going over a hundred miles an hour and you can't see things beyond three seconds ahead of you.

Not to mention the HUD on most, if not all, games are going to be too small. Are the HUDs on Switch games larger when the console is docked and played on a TV in comparison to when its played mobily?

My point being is 'being able to play entire steam library on mobile' may be a selling point, but in most cases it may not be the best choice to make for the most enjoyable gaming experience.

I wonder if there'll be a category on Steam for 'Best games to play on Steam Deck.'

There are numerous games on PC I'd rather play handheld, and have bought twice.

Trails of Cold Steel is awesome. I started it on Vita and preferred it there, but I lost the damn thing, so I bought it and the first sequel on Steam. I almost bought it again just to have it on my Switch, but now I won't have to worry about that, or starting it over again.

I think I'd enjoy most TBS RPG's handheld too, or Metroidvanias. Hell, I have tons of classic games on GOG I'd prefer on a smaller screen/handheld

Wargroove is basically a modern Advance Wars, the latter I still play on my DS. WG is perfect for the Switch/handheld/toilet lol. I bought it on Steam initially, but it's just better in smaller doses on the go.

I wouldn't want to play Battlefield 2042, or other big AAA/graphical showcase games on a Handheld though, but the option is nice, if the system can run it decently enough.

Even being able to have some key work programs like photoshop, or illustrator is nice to have on a small device in a pinch, when I don't have my laptop with me, or am away from my office. This thing really ticks a lot of boxes for me