Steam Deck ~ PC Switch

[Infinitron]

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/05/exclusive-valve-is-making-a-switch-like-portable-gaming-pc/

Exclusive: Valve is making a Switch-like portable gaming PC
We can confirm some, but not all, of what's in store for the codenamed "SteamPal."

Video game and hardware studio Valve has been secretly building a Switch-like portable PC designed to run a large number of games on the Steam PC platform via Linux—and it could launch, supply chain willing, by year's end.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that the hardware has been in development for some time, and this week, Valve itself pointed to the device by slipping new hardware-related code into the latest version of Steam, the company's popular PC gaming storefront and ecosystem.

On Tuesday, SteamDB operator Pavel Djundik spotted the change in Steam's code, which pointed to a new device named "SteamPal." The name is a derivative of a previously discovered code term, "Neptune," which began appearing in September of last year and came with a "Neptune Optimized Games" string. At the time, curious code crawlers thought this discovery referred to some type of controller.

Technically, that's true. The "SteamPal," whose name we're putting in scare quotes because we do not have confirmation of the device's final name, is an all-in-one PC with gamepad controls and a touchscreen. In other words, it looks and functions like a Nintendo Switch (albeit without removable "Joy-Con" controller functionality).

This device is very likely the subject of an announcement Valve co-founder Gabe Newell hinted to in a panel conversation at a New Zealand school earlier this month. There, he dodged a question about Valve's plans for future console video games with an indirect answer: "You will get a better idea of that by the end of this year... and it won't be the answer you expect. You'll say, 'Ah-ha! Now I get what he was talking about.'"

Width for the sake of touch
In recent years, the "Switch-like PC" category has exploded. In early 2020, Alienware revealed its first Switch-like gaming PC, but the "concept" device has not yet turned into a commercial product. If you want to buy a similar device today, you're largely looking at products from Chinese OEMs like GPD, One-Netbook, and Aya, who have slapped ultramobile PC processors and parts into a Switch-like chassis.

The SteamPal will go a similar route, with a system on a chip likely coming from either Intel or AMD, not Nvidia. (The aforementioned Switch-like PC manufacturers have leaned on both AMD and Intel for their products.) It's unclear whether Valve will release multiple SKUs to offer customers a choice of power level, battery life, and other specs, as other Switch-like PCs have offered over the past year.

At least one SteamPal prototype version is quite wide compared to the Nintendo Switch. This extra width accommodates a slew of control options. No, Valve is likely not slapping an entire QWERTY keyboard onto its system, but the company has packed in a standard array of gamepad buttons and triggers, along with a pair of joysticks and at least one thumb-sized touchpad (in addition to the device's touch-sensitive screen). The SteamPal's touchpad is likely smaller than the pair of touchpads that came standard on every Steam Controller.

The SteamPal is still in the prototype stage, and its features are subject to change, as we've seen with prototype hardware for other Valve initiatives like SteamVR and the Steam Controller. In other words, while I'm pretty confident that the SteamPal will include a d-pad, I can't say for sure. This also means I don't have details on crucial hardware aspects like battery size, screen size, pixel resolution, memory, and storage capacity.

The SteamPal's Switch-like properties will include the option to "dock" to larger monitors via its USB Type-C port, but I don't have firm details on exactly how that connection will work or whether Valve has any plans for an eventual SteamPal dock.

Lastly, the SteamPal was built with Linux as a likely target, an idea that aligns with Valve's continued push to make its entire catalog compatible with the open source OS, particularly through Steam Proton. That in no way means Valve's increasingly cozy relationship with Microsoft couldn't result in a deal to get Windows onto the SteamPal, though it would not be surprising to see Valve skip the per-device Windows license and tell users that the SteamPal is open enough for them to customize like any other PC.

A completely different proposition than Steam Machines
I have no idea how much this device will cost. Valve may very well be in a position to take a loss on every SteamPal sold in order to drive revenue through selling software on Steam, but it's unclear whether the turbulence of chip and other supply shortages could stop Valve from getting anywhere near the Nintendo Switch's $299 MSRP.

While Valve has had its share of rocky hardware launches (particularly with its Steam Machine partnerships with other OEMs), the Valve Index saw the company streamline its manufacturing process with something resembling significant quality control. And taking the lead on its own VR hardware meant not getting into bed with other OEMs, which is arguably one reason that Steam Machines didn't work out as a platform. But where Steam Machines tried to sell desktop systems in a marketplace already saturated with them, Switch-like PCs are still an entirely new sector—and one where Valve might very well succeed based on getting in earlier than other major Western manufacturers.

I can confirm the device's existence and development, and I can point to Newell's very loud hints that something console-related will be announced later this year, but Valve is still in a position to change gears (pun intended) at a moment's notice. The company could either delay or outright cancel this portable gaming PC project for any number of reasons. As we learned from a massive 2020 report on the development of Half-Life: Alyx, Valve loves to create, incubate, and then cancel things.

Valve did not immediately respond to Ars Technica's requests for comment.

 

[OSK]

LinuxSupport++

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I can confirm the device's existence and development, and I can point to Newell's very loud hints that something console-related will be announced later this year, but Valve is still in a position to change gears (pun intended)

wait what's the pun

 

[cosmicray]

Valve to change gears?

 

[Caim]

I can confirm the device's existence and development, and I can point to Newell's very loud hints that something console-related will be announced later this year, but Valve is still in a position to change gears (pun intended)

wait what's the pun

Gearbox made Opposing Force and Blue Shift, expansions to Valve's debut game Half-Life.

 

[Jenkem]

Steam Machine Jr.

I doubt it's even beyond just brainstorming phases now, people are always jumping to conclusions about Valve when they are known to come up with an idea, iterate on it for years and then trash it. Not sure why this one is sticking. And even if it does come out it will be so badly done and miss the point like steam machines did.

 

[Morgoth]

What's even the point of this gadget? Steam Machines failed, Steam Controller was abandoned, but this somehow is going to succeed because...?

 

[Sentinel]

Valve has fuck you money. They've already shown they're slightly suicidal. They made a triple A game for VR for fuck sake. I don't think they're thinking "what mass market appeal product can we release next".

 

[OSK]

What's even the point of this gadget? Steam Machines failed, Steam Controller was abandoned, but this somehow is going to succeed because...?

There's a bunch of these "switch-like" mobile gaming PCs (https://www.gpd.hk/gpdwin3 and https://www.ayaneo.com/aya-neo and https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/onexplayer-best-performing-handheld-game-console#/ etc.) which means there's probably a market for it. Presumably Valve would create the hardware this time rather than leaving it wide open for a bunch of third parties to do whatever they want and make things confusing.

 

[TemplarGR]

A Steam portable console, if made well, will make a killing in the market, will destroy the Nintendo shit, and possibly even destroy the next gen consoles in terms of sales.

I am eager to hold the finished product in my hands.

 

[Dexter]

Steam Machine Jr.

Steam Machines were a partnership program between Valve and hardware vendors, where they had nothing to lose and got to advertise for/push out their Linux-based SteamOS and Steam as a brand. They didn't R&D or produce any of the hardware.

will destroy the Nintendo shit

 

[Latelistener]

Switch is the king of handheld currently and it's a fucking gold mine especially for indie. People buy games there that already came out on Steam just to play it in the handheld mode.

So yeah, there is a market for it, but I'm still not sure about Linux. DXVK is great, but it's not native DX11/DX12 or Vulkan. Valve will have to make the process easy and streamlined so people will have no idea they're using Linux.

 

[OSK]

So yeah, there is a market for it, but I'm still not sure about Linux. DXVK is great, but it's not native DX11/DX12 or Vulkan. Valve will have to make the process easy and streamlined so people will have no idea they're using Linux.

No one will know it's running Linux, just like no one knows Sony and Nintendo consoles are both running FreeBSD. The UI will probably be similar to their "Big picture" mode.

For the games themselves, I'm guessing the "Neptune Optimized Games" is going to be a whitelist of games that work flawlessly. Valve already maintains such a whitelist for Windows games that they've confirmed work on Linux. On Linux, we're not restricted to that whitelist, but I'm not sure if that would be the case for the console.

 

[TemplarGR]

No one will know it's running Linux, just like no one knows Sony and Nintendo consoles are both running FreeBSD. The UI will probably be similar to their "Big picture" mode.

For the games themselves, I'm guessing the "Neptune Optimized Games" is going to be a whitelist of games that work flawlessly. Valve already maintains such a whitelist for Windows games that they've confirmed work on Linux. On Linux, we're not restricted to that whitelist, but I'm not sure if that would be the case for the console.

There are 2 potential approaches: One is to only accept Steam-console optimized variants of the games. In my opinion this is the most sensible approach and what i would choose to do. Remember this is a console we are talking about, consoles are supposed to be lockdown and hassle-free, with optimized games for their platform. It will obviously run SteamOS under the hood, on AMD hardware and using the Mesa radeon vulkan driver that is Valve-sponsored. I think technologies like DXVK, Proton, Fsync, etc, are there as a cruch for developers who would like to port their games easily but lack the technical know-how to make a native port. Still, i am expecting them to do proper QA for games running on Proton before they get a seal of approval from Valve to run the port on the console. So the quality won't be random like Proton on Linux.

The second approach is to just port SteamOS to the console as-is, but this will just make the consoles a steam-branded handheld pc like the ones already on the market. I don't think Valve would do that.

A third potential approach, would be to mix the two. That is, have console-focused games for the handheld but also allow users to run it on PC mode, but knowing that quality won't be guaranteed.

 

[pakoito]

The second one is low risk, high profit per unit. They're undercutting the chinese market with a brand instead of cheaper components.

 

[ferratilis]

Valve announces Steam Deck handheld, starts at $400
https://www.steamdeck.com/en/
https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-handheld-announced/

 

[Alienman]

Time to get headshotted across the map by russians in CS on the mug.

 

[LESS T_T]

Heh, it's a pretty competitive price compared to Switch.

 

[ADL]

SteamOS 3.0 being Arch Linux-based is very interesting.

 

[Naraya]

Slap Retroarch on this thing and it might get interesting.

 

[ADL]

Slap Retroarch on this thing and it might get interesting.

Nothing stopping you. It's just Arch Linux with some gaming-specific improvements and the KDE Plasma desktop environment outside of the Steam front-end.

 

[Don Peste]

I liked the idea when the rumor first started, but now, I don't know...

1280 x 800 screen?
That controls position?
$649.00 if you want the fastest SSD...
Not sure about battery life either...

Maybe I just want to find excuses not to but it.

 

[Caim]

Well I guess there go the chance of Steam coming to the Switch. Maybe Game Pass is still in the race though.

 

[ferratilis]

There are some previews on IGN and interview with Gaben on the pricing. I'll put it in spoiler not to clog up the thread:

Spoiler

Basically, you can install whatever works on PC on it. Epic, Xbox app, you can even remove SteamOS and install Windows if you like. I just don't like the D-pad placement and the aspect ratio. Otherwise, it seems great. and we all already have a decent library of games for it. Smart move by Valve.

 

[J_C]

I like the design, but I doubt I will have money to burn on this.