Gaming without a desktop or laptop computer?

 You've thought about it, haven't you?

Since the Steam Deck has taken hold, and the ASUS ROG Ally has arrived, mobile gaming computers are real and good.

I admit that back when Epyx Games designed their handheld gaming machine with color display, I was interested.  Atari bought it and put it out under their name.  When Nintendo brought out Virtual Boy, it piqued my interest.  However, bad, tiny displays weren't enough for me.

I looked at the Nintendo Switch several times.  The newer, OLED-equipped Switch really looks good, but it's not very powerful for 2023.  So many people bought them in 2020 and 2021 because they were stuck at home, the company did well.  For me, I want different games, and mostly, those games don't end up on Switch.

So, here I am with a Steam Deck and it's good.  I have over 182 games available in Steam, 62 are in the Great on Deck category, and I have 42 games installed.

Earlier, I was watching a YouTube video about installing a game launcher that could handle non-Steam-based games.  You have to exit Steam and go to the Linux/KDE desktop, use the virtual keyboard, and more.  Without a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it sounds difficult.  It sounds like my 8-bit days before the GUI arrived. The good thing is that there is a GUI.  I'm not sure I want to bother with GOG Galaxy or the Epic Games Launcher on a Steam Deck in desktop mode, though.

Play Games or Mess with the computer?

This reminds me so much of my time at work getting Win98SE and WinNT to work.  Then, going home to my MacOS machines.  I really don't want to mess with the computer.  I bought Steam Deck to play games, not to become a Linux laptop replacement.

Windows Local or Windows Remote?

The good thing about Steam is that it allows you to Stream a game from another machine.  I can stream a game from Steam Deck, Mac, or Windows.  I can even play remotely on Android or iOS.

GeForce NOW will also allow you to run Windows games remotely on Android or iOS.  However, unless you're a premium subscriber, you may be waiting in the queue quite a while.  The Razer Kishi V2 works fairly well, but only supports/is supported by a handful of games I have.  It did not work with my OnePlus 8T and, while it works with my Google Pixel 6a, the Pixel 6a isn't as powerful as the 8T.  Gaming is not so happy, even for light, casual games.  Playing from a Mac is fine, but seems a waste.  I don't have a Kishi V2 for iPhone.

Valve has really worked hard to make Steam Deck a success and I'm pleasantly surprised how many games work well.  I'm not too quick to jump on the latest trends, but Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks and Bethesda are pretty bug-free for new releases.

I'm not about to buy Hogwarts Legacy this year, partly, because it's massive, and partly, because it's expensive.  I would rather buy Baldur's Gate 3 sooner but it's going to be buggy and expensive, also.

Then again, if certain games arrived on Mac, I'd be spending to show my support for native Apple Silicon gaming development.  Some games work fine as Intel-based applications but more speed would make things go more smoothly.

It's interesting how many indie games are available for Mac and Windows at the same time while big studios can't seem to muster the courage.

Is playing handheld good enough?

I've played a number of games on Steam Deck, but some of my favorite pick-up-put-down kind of games, like Unreal Tournament 2004, don't work easily.  For the most part, you can play almost anything.  Games that require a keyboard and mouse will be difficult.  I currently have 44 games installed and they mostly work the way I'd expect but I removed one or two because they didn't work correctly.  Valve continues to make improvements in the Proton compatibility layer.

On iPhone and Android, I've been playing the Galaxy on Fire series for around 11 years, since the original Google Nexus 7 tablet with Nvidia Tegra processor and the second generation iPod touch.  Using gyros for the movement was surprisingly good, although it might have looked silly while playing in a waiting room.

Using a Steel Series Nimbus+ for the iPhone and a Razer Kishi V2 for a Google Pixel 6a makes certain games much easier to play.  It's a bit sad that Android controllers can't be more compatible with a wide variety of phones.  My OnePlus 8T just didn't work with the Razer Kishi V2 but the Pixel 6a isn't as powerful.  Now, Razer has a Kishi V2 Pro.

I still find myself at the computer, whether Windows or Mac, to play games that can't easily be played on Steam Deck, Android, or iOS.

I mentioned UT2004 earlier and it's one that I pick up for 15 minutes and then, put away.  I play Toxikk that way as well.  I haven't spent much time on Honkai: Star Rail or Genshin Impact on my phone.  They're too much for my Google Pixel 6a, but run fine on my 2022 iPhone SE.  The display dimensions aren't very good on the iPhone SE, as it doesn't really have a widescreen display.  It does have a powerful processor, though.  Genshin Impact demands a lot of my Windows 11-based machine.  Those fans run quite a bit while playing, even for a few minutes.  Teyvat is shown in great detail.

Which handheld will succeed to break the need for a laptop computer?

I'm looking forward to seeing Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go take hold and change the face of gaming.  It's time.

Update 2023.12.14: Attached a keyboard and mouse to my Steam Deck and played Toxikk and Unreal Tournament 2004 as if I had a laptop computer.  It was a good experience, even though I need to adjust to the keyboard.  UT2004 actually ran better on Steam Deck than it ran on my Ryzen 7 5800H through the AMD application launcher using AMD graphics.  That experience on the 5800H was surprising, considering that my experience in 2004 was better on a Mac clone with an ATI card that was probably priced around US$200 in 2004. ATI's XClaim VR was the card from 2004.  The Steam Deck was awesome.

Cheap keyboard/mouse combo from Temu wasn't bad.  Longevity?  Who knows?

 Update 2023.12.26: I have Hogwarts Legacy on Steam Deck.  Performance is good so far.  I need to acclimate myself to the controls or I won't go far. 

Update 2024.01.13: Ayaneo has just announced a Steam Deck-like device using a SteamOS-like operating system, Ayaneo Next Lite.  It's starting just a bit cheaper than Steam Deck, but who knows whether they'll continue to support the operating system or not.  The company has so many devices that it may just be throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

Update 2024.03.08: Ayaneo Next Lite will be shipped with Windows 11, for some reason.  Orange Pi Neo has been announced with Manjaro Linux Gaming Edition.  Supposedly, it will be less expensive than Steam Deck, even with Hall Effect triggers and a higher resolution display.

I've been acclimating myself to SteamOS desktop and updates through Discover.  Trying to work a machine without a good desktop interface is difficult, but this one is good.  When I was experimenting with Ubuntu back around 2005, there was a lot to dislike.  GNOME desktop wasn't good and Ubuntu's Unity was different, not better.  People raved about KDE but it wasn't that far along, either.

In any case, it's good to have a handheld device that can replace a desktop computer in a pinch.

Update 2024.03.19: Windows 11 Update KB5035853 has caused problems on Ally and others like it that use an AMD APU.  Too many times Microsoft isn't paying attention, but with millions of configurations, how can they test enough of them?

Update 2024.05.27: Things are better and there are more alternatives yet.  ASUS has an Ally X with some redesigns to fix and make things better.  We'll see if it corrects ruining the SD Card by overheating it.  It's still fairly expensive and Armoury Crate isn't much of a game launcher.

The newer Steam Deck OLED is a better performer and the display dazzles all but the most frugal.  There are over 15,000 games Verified or Playable now.

I've been playing a few games from Netmarble, some for Android, some for Windows.  I haven't got to the point where I want to try games outside of Steam on the Steam Deck.  I downloaded two launchers for the desktop, but haven't done much to try them.

Update 2024.09.09: I noticed this week in a couple of articles that AMD is close to a new generation of APUs for handheld devices.  There was a mention of Escher, which was in the same category as Van Gogh, the APU in the Steam Deck.  There was also a mention of Z2 and Z2 Extreme, the processors in the ASUS Ally and Legion Go. Supposedly, the Z2/Z2 Extreme will arrive first quarter of 2025 but the replacement for the Van Gogh may take longer.  It would be interesting to see how Valve handles a replacement for the current APU, not only in software, but in game verification.  Obviously, it has to be fully compatible, but will it support more to deal with technical difficulties we've seen on Steam Deck?

Update 2024.10.24: SteamOS has been updated to version 3.6.

I know that Legion Go and ROG Ally X are making improvements in handheld devices.  I don't see myself switching at this point.  I have a Windows 11 Pro machine and it seems as though the performance has become worse with every update.  Anything extra that they can eek out of Steam Deck would be appreciated.

Update 2024.12.28: At CES, there should be an announcement between Valve and Lenovo that the Legion Go will come in a SteamOS version.  Valve has been busy working on SteamOS to add drivers and such to make their distribution of Linux work for any handheld that works like the Steam Deck.

Steam Deck itself has been available in Australia for a bit, but it still has a long way to go.  The operating system is working well and many games run without major problems.  The minor problems often offset the problems that Windows has.

Update 2025.01.24: It has been a couple of days since I got a notice from Nintendo that the Switch 2 was being announced.  They didn't really go into enough detail about what it is.  I will guess that it isn't powerful enough because they always go less powerful than they should.  The extra port and the controller-as-a-mouse functionality is interesting.  However, after the number of portable gaming systems in the last few years, will it be enough?  Will the Switch 2 have enough power to play games without a Nintendo character, i.e. AAA games?

Waiting for Valve to do something about Steam Deck feels like being in the waiting room of a doctor who has bad news for you.  They might have cleaned up SteamOS 3.6 enough to calm down the problems.  They're not big enough to have a huge distribution network, so things are moving slowly.  By the time they have it under control, they'll probably announce Steam Deck 2.

I've been considering moving to SteamOS for my Windows 11 Pro laptop computer.  It takes so long just to get it to the login page, even though it's using an M.2 SSD.  The 24H2 update gave me hope and then, it's no better.

Update 2025.02.26: Valve's Steam Deck is three years old.  My Steam Deck is about two years old.  The device still doesn't have a major distribution network but sells well.  The company is working on a Steam console and apparently, another VR headset.  Is SteamOS enough to upset Windows?  The company is still working on a one-size-fits-all version of SteamOS to be installed almost anywhere.

I watched someone install a version of Red Hat's Fedora offshoot called Nobara.  There seems to be an Nvidia version that I could use, as well as a SteamOS version.  It started up like it was still 2004, but eventually booted into a SteamOS-looking interface, similar to when I use my Steam Deck with keyboard and mouse.

Update 2025.04.06: Guess what isn't going to arrive in the USA?  The Nintendo Switch 2 is being delayed, due to the tariffs from the White House. 

Update 2025.11.15: Valve announced Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and a second generation Steam Controller just recently.

 I've got the original Steam Controller (somewhere) and it's both really good and really bad, at the same time.  Hopefully, the new one will be amazing since they've learnt a lot from the Steam Deck usage.

Steam Machine is just a Linux-based box computer for Steam-based games.  Anything that runs on Steam Deck will run on Steam Machine, but FASTER.  Will it be as good as current Playstation or Xbox models?  It may not matter.

 Steam Frame is another matter.  The Valve Index was expensive and then, Apple made it look inexpensive.  I suspect that it only sold a few hundred times.  I would like a VR headset, especially one that has the processing inside it as Apple has done.  If they have the energy for it as they've had for Steam Deck, they might do well.  Samsung just introduced another entry into the market.

 Valve could really use a Steam Deck with much more processing power.  The AMD Escher variant was designed to replace the Van Gogh variant and they should be planning to use it. 

Update 2025.12.23: The LCD version of the Steam Deck is finished.  When supplies run out, they won't be sold any longer, except for refurbished models, I'd expect.

I wish that this meant that a follow-on product was in the works, but they seem to be allowing anyone and everyone to load SteamOS. 

Update 2026.02.25: The Steam Deck is four years old today.

 I waited a while to buy mine.  They had so many shortages and couldn't deliver for the longest time, so I waited.  Now, with AI servers needing RAM and storage, things are slowing to a standstill.

I saw the other day that AMD is not providing firmware updates for the Z1 or Z1 Extreme APUs and Lenovo made a similar announcement.  SteamOS seems a better bet but can they cover all AMD APUs? 

Apple Silicon Software Development seems slow

It's been about three years since the initial M1-based machines from Apple became reality.  Why is development lagging?

Steam Hardware Survey

The other day, Steam requested my computer's details.  One is an AMD Ryzen 7 with Geforce RTX 3050 Ti (laptop version, of course), and the other is a 2020 MacBook Air M1.  In reporting, Steam shows AppleVirtual processor and 1440x900 resolution, which is far from the truth, unless of course, you don't care to make your software the best and take advantage of the actual power that is available.

I've only had my 2020 M1 MacBook Air for about a year, but it seems as though most applications are only compatible through emulation.

I could understand why Adobe wouldn't be quick about it.  They were dragging their feet on the way to Mac OS X in 2000.  They wouldn't port Premier Pro, and Apple brought out Final Cut and Aperture.

Intuit was also complaining, but then, they wanted us to move to Windows because they told people "the Mac is just too difficult to program" or some such, used to justify the higher price and lower functionality.

What got me over the years was that Microsoft was Apple's enemy and yet, their software was better for Mac OS X than that of Adobe, Apple's friend.

It's 2023, not 2003

It still feels as though little has been accomplished since the M1 and other Apple Silicon processors have been available.  The performance is so good that you might not notice the speed of Intel emulation.  Mouse cursor positioning doesn't seem all that stable, though, as of macOS 12.x.

It's been almost three years and I would expect that developers would want to show what their applications could do on better hardware.

Valve Software might not be doing as well as they want people to believe, but I suspect that they could buy a couple of M1-based Macs and update Steam for Apple Silicon.  If that worked out, they could re-jig Source to 64-bit compatibility, as well as Metal compatibility.  Apple might even help them, just to get more games on M1 Macs.  I should note the rumor that Valve and Apple talked about making Proton work on Macs and Apple refused.  Whether it happened or not, things need to be better than running Windows executables on another operating system.  Steam Deck with Proton works but it's not always wonderful.

It really wouldn't hurt Apple to create a division for games and keep it to help third parties develop outstanding games.  A couple of games I had for Windows are available in Apple Arcade but unavailable elsewhere.

It's interesting that Evernote is a Universal binary, but Dropbox is Intel-only.  Google Drive is listed as Apple Silicon, not Universal.  LastPass is Intel-only, but thankfully, Malwarebytes is Universal.

Serif's Affinity applications are Universal, but it seems a number of creative applications are not.  I'm thankful for Capture One Pro being Universal, as well as Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo.

How many years until Intel is completely gone from Apple machines?  When Apple pulls the plug on Rosetta 2 will they step up or step away?

Update 2024.07.29: I just updated to macOS 14.6, a Sonoma release.  I got an update for Steam, but I 99% know that it's Intel-only.  I checked updates on GOG Galaxy some 20 minutes ago and I'm waiting for it to finish.  That's perplexing since the Windows version updated a few days ago and I didn't have to check.  It told me.  It's time for the Heroic games launcher.

Electronic Arts finally got around to retiring Origin for the EA launcher, which is Universal.  Most of my games are still Intel-targeted.  Death Stranding is Apple Silicon only and is not available on Steam yet.  Divinity - Original Sin 2 is Intel only.

I've been reminded in some forums that there are 200+ Mac games.  I've also been reminded that you can use Whisky with the Heroic launcher to play some Windows-only games.  There are a few well-known games coming to Mac, including a new Assassins Creed (Shadows?) game.  I have a few of them but Ubisoft hasn't made a game I've loved since the original Rayman on Atari Jaguar.

Of course, it's not all about games, but they are essential to home users.

Update 2024.08.16: Now that the Qualcomm ARM-based machines using a Nuvia-developed SoC have been released, it should be interesting to see if there will be ARM-based games on Windows.  Apparently, the Windows' equivalent to Rosetta 2 is not so amazing.

Perhaps, if game developers start to design games for ARM on the desktop, they'll be able to target Macs as well as Windows machines.  Considering that the M1-based machines arrived in 2020, it's a bit frustrating waiting for something to happen.

I've downloaded Whisky and the Heroic Games Launcher but I haven't tried much, as I am not restricted to macOS, having a Windows 11 machine and a Steam Deck.  I need to focus.  I probably need more than my 1 TB drive and it might make sense to have a big, external drive for my Windows-based games for Mac since I have 230+ games on Steam alone and only a few are native to Mac.

Update 2024.09.02: I was just taking a look at the Steam hardware survey results.  macOS is around 1.3% of the total.  Is that surprising when Valve went out of its way to kill Counter Strike that was working and develop Counter Strike 2 with no executable for Macs?  All of their 32-bit executables from 2010 (?) still work on older machines but unless Rosetta 2 will run them, what's the point?

Why Apple and Valve couldn't even reach a compromise sends a message that isn't necessarily true.  Mac gaming isn't exactly alive but it's not dead, either.  However, the late 1990s were much better than now.

I tried Heroic Games launcher and downloaded a game that I know runs on Apple Arcade and it was fine on Mac.  I've been a bit slow to download much else because of the storage required.  I tried one of the Resident Evil games, which is native for Apple Silicon, and that was surprisingly good on an M1 MacBook Air.  If they have the RE Engine converted, they should be able to port to the whole series.

Unreal Engine 5 runs on macOS but it's the headlines about how bad its performance is on Windows that got my attention.  Trying new technologies is difficult but bringing a gaming system to a crawl is not good--just ask the Starfield people.

Update 2024.12.11: There are a few more games out for Apple Silicon:

• Resident Evil Village
• Resident Evil 7
• Resident Evil 4
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows

I've seen a mention or two about other games and that the Resident Evil Engine was ported, so any in the series could be ported.

With the M3 and M4 SoCs supporting ray tracing and other advanced technologies, there could be more games arriving, but Apple really needs one set of machines for gaming.  They need exceptional air flow, not the thinnest enclosures ever.  That said, my M1 MacBook Air is far ahead of most of the Intel-based Macs and about as fast as my Windows machine, AMD 5800H with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti.  The MacBook Air's graphics are way ahead of my 5800H's iGPU but not nearly as fast as the 3050Ti, of course.

What happened to the Nuvia/Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus?

Update 2025.06.13: This week, Apple announced that Rosetta 2 will be diminished with the new macOS Tahoe.  Developers are going to have no choice but to make their software Apple Silicon native.

Since it will be diminished, it will supposedly be effective for older games, maybe other older software that has no chance of being updated.  We'll learn about it soon enough.

 Hopefully, this will inspire developers to work at bringing their software to Apple Silicon after five years of hardware. 

Update 2025.10.30: Since the M5 14 inch MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro, people are surprised how fast the SoC is.  I'd like to see the MacBook Air with M5 SoC in spring 2026.  I'm not really happy or trusting of macOS 26 but it's part of the deal.  It's not that my M1 MacBook Air has become slower but that the games run much better on the M5.

I continue to get beta versions of Steam and yet, no native version for me.  I know that they're out there. It's interesting that Windows-based games are running, and running well, at that through Crossover.  I've had some success with the Heroic Games Launcher.  Whisky has been finished. 

Steam Deck is here!

 

So, it arrived after FedEx led me to believe that it wasn't arriving when it was scheduled.  It went from "out for delivery" to "pending" in a matter of minutes after 5 P.M. local time.  30 minutes later, it had been delivered.  I don't do unboxing videos, so the three photos will have to suffice.

First Impressions

It's big compared to the early handheld from Epyx/Atari or from Sega.  It's a bit heavy at times.  The anti-glare display is great.  It has touch capabilities, so you can operate games and the operating system in a number of ways.  It takes what the Steam Controller had and amplifies the capabilities.

There is a cleaning cloth that arrived with the unit, as well as the charger.  Instructions are minimal.

I have around 30 games in my Steam library that are "great" with Steam Deck.  I have installed over 10 of them.  Most operate well, but Ni no Kuni Remastered has some audio glitches.

Some of the "great" games are games I have never tried, so it's good that Steam Deck is showing me what works well.  There are a lot of games that need adjustments in the next category.  I was pleased to see the Unreal Tournament 2004 is one of those.  Apparently, keyboard interaction is manual, so the player must invoke the keyboard, rather than it being displayed automatically.

It's odd that not all of the Valve games hit the "great" category.  There are two games attached to Half-Life that I'd like to play but they don't fall into the "great" category: Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 Update, and also, Portal Stories: Mel.  Portal Stories: Mel falls into the untested category, so anything could happen, including that it could work perfectly.

Most everything is good, but the connection to Wi-Fi seems a bit dodgy.  I'm not really worried.  This is the best Linux-based machine I've ever had.  It's based on Debian with KDE Desktop  although I haven't tried that.  I had hoped to play some games I have from GOG Galaxy, but there is not a Linux version.  However, there may be a way to make it run on Debian.

It's only been two days.  I have much to learn and do.

Getting to the enjoyment part

I have 21 games installed and a 512 GB microSD Card on the way.

Some of the games are fine but the controls aren't always what I'm expecting.  I was pleased to see that Chorvs/Chorus was available and bought that quickly.  After having several games in the Galaxy on Fire series, I hurried to buy another game from the same developers.  The controls work as expected, once I invested the Y-axis control.  I slso bought Road 96, which seems great, but the controls are troublesome.  Distance is a game that will take some time to get the controls where I like them.  Right now, I can't find which controls work.

Another problem is accessing the game menus.  Some use the Start/Select buttons, but others seem to randomly assign the buttons for menus.

I managed to install Unreal Tournament 2004, which is a first-person shooter for keyboard and mouse but just working the menu has been interesting.  I can get to the option with the right track pad control, but as soon as I go to select it, that control moves the pointer.  I'm hoping for a way to use the D-pad to go up and down the menu and the A button to select the function.  Obviously, with a game from 2004, there won't be any updates to make it work better.

Past the initial phase

I have 27 games installed now.:

aperture Desk Job

Galaga

Pac-Man

Bayoneta

Bright Memory Infinite

Bugsnax

Children of Morta

Chorvs/Chorus

Distance

Doom II

The Gardens Between

Half-Life 2

Heaven's Vault

Moonlighter

Ni no Kuni, Wrath of the White Witch, Remastered

Okami

Ori and the Blind Forest, Definitive Edition

Portal

Portal 2

Redout

Road 96

A Story about My Uncle

Trigon

Trüberbrook

Unreal Tournament 2004

Vanquish

Yonder, The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Update 2022.12.15: It's been about one month.  A few games require precise cursor movement and the Steam Controller trackpads were never my easiest controller bits.  I've been playing Pixel Puzzles Japan to push myself to learn how to use those pads.  It's helped a lot.

I have 38 games installed at this point.  Several of the Bandai Namco games have been modified to use the controllers and they work well.  I'm struggling with other games and the Underdog Detective game shows the video upside down with menus right-side up.

As they test more of the games, I have more choices.  I've removed one or two since I started but I continue to try everything.  I think back to when I started playing games and using different kinds of controllers made the games easier to control but occasionally, games were just a pain to play.

I just saw the system update for SteamOS 3.3.3 and updated the device.  Hopefully, the experience will continue to improve and more games will become available out of my 129 Steam-hosted games.  The odd thing is that Quake III Arena doesn't work but Quake III Team Arena will work with adjustments.  Obviously, some development software would never be ported and software dependent on those products just wouldn't work.  I remember some problem with Unreal Tournament III, where it was ready to go on Windows, Mac, and Linux, but there was a dispute about using the package outside of Windows and so, the other two versions were never allowed to be distributed.

I'll continue to hope that almost everything can be made to work.  Surely, Steam Deck is becoming a success and developers should consider the implications of not offering their games.

Update 2023.03.01: SteamOS 3.4.4 has been out for a while and the Proton layer has been updated a few times.  Most everything works as expected and the glitchy-ness has subsided.

It's still interesting to play games that expect a keyboard and mouse but they work with the unique controller trackpads.  A few games require the Steam button + X to invoke the keyboard but it's becoming better.

Update 2023.03.19: Valve has the Steam Deck on sale for 10% off.  I've had mine a few months, so I don't know whether to be happy or upset that I didn't get it for less.  Still, it's a good experience.  SteamOS 3.4.6 is out and they've handled more situations.

I have more games and what I've put on Steam Deck seem to run well.

Update 2023.04.19: I've been reading a bit on Steam Deck HQ and Gaming on Linux.  They're both worthwhile resources with plenty of current information and reviews to offer.

Proton 8.0, based on WINE 8.0 is out and should fix even more problems.

I saw some article recently about how older games are so much better on the battery life than newer games are.  Of course, when you planned for a 1024x768 or 1280x800 resolution display, you didn't need as much power, did you?

Hi-Fi Rush isn't too bad, but obviously, Hogwarts Legacy, which taxes most machines, is going to hurt a portable's battery life.

I recently bought a 1 TB microSD card and there was no way to transfer the games from one card to the other.  When I switched cards, I needed to download and install the games again.  I've been a bit more picky so far, even though I have more space.  Despite a good internet connection, I don't want to waste it.  There have been a few M.2 drives made available in the 2230 size for Steam Deck but they are expensive.

Update 2023.05.14: What about the ASUS ROG Ally?  It's going to be interesting but Windows 11 doesn't really have a mobile/portable interface.  Launching games will be a mixed experience from Steam to EA to Ubisoft to Epic Games.  They're not all that easy to use with a mouse and keyboard, how will they be without them?

There are a number of people working on resources to make Linux gaming better and Valve is involved in making their machine the best, of course.  Would I like to run my purchases from stores other than Steam?  I would but I am happy with a single interface.

Update 2023.08.31: It's been about 9 months since I got the Steam Deck.  Lenovo has been leaking information about a Windows-based handheld (Lenovo Legion Go) with controllers that can be removed, Switch-like.  It's obviously going to be expensive in the premium version, similar to ASUS ROG Ally.

Steam Deck needs to be nothing short of excellent.  It's coming along, with fixes for most new games.  Some of the developers want to see their games running on Steam Deck, so they make some useful modifications, short of a Linux-based executable.

There are more than 11,000 Valve-tested games for Steam Deck.  I only have 168 games on Steam and 44 games installed on Steam Deck.  42 of those games are ready but Toxikk hasn't even been tested and UT2004 requires some adjustment to play.

Update 2023.11.16: The Steam Deck OLED model is on sale, or more correctly, out-of-stock OLED model has been ordered by the hungry masses.

Since the Legion Go and the ROG Ally are available, Valve needed to do something to draw attention back to Steam Deck.  Apparently, the update is very good.  I'm not parting with that kind of money again, but I would definitely want to buy the new one, instead of the Lenovo or ASUS products.  Mine is still good.

Update 2023.11.17: Just like that SteamOS 3.5.5 is here.  I haven't had much time to test the differences, but it seems smoother.

According to the numbers, I have 211 games on Steam, 77 are "Great on Deck", and I have 45 games installed.  I still haven't got a handle on how to play a FPS with a controller.  I'm more used to WASD and a mouse or trackball.

Apparently, Valve has been re-working some of their original games for better play on Steam Deck.  I'm disappointed at the Counter Strike 2 release.  They had a download for Mac but it was everything but an executable game.  Is it time for them to embrace 64-bit-ness?

Update 2023.12.01: Loaded SteamOS 3.5.7 earlier this week and loaded another Steam Client update a day ago.  It seems smoother, although the updates seemed to hiccup, and I have to run the update twice.  However, the Steam Deck is still amazing and it's so good just to play.

There might be a time or two that I think about a game I had with Ubisoft or Epic Games, but that's rare.

I ordered a gaming keyboard and mouse combo from Temu, so I'll see if Temu's listed products are worth it, and how they interact with a Linux-based device, plus I'll learn to use desktop mode.

Update 2023.12.13: I've got the mouse/keyboard combo connected to the Steam Deck and played UT2004 for the first time.  Becoming accustomed to the keyboard will take some time but play was good.  I also went to Desktop Mode for the first time and it's interesting to see a Linux distribution that's fairly easy to use.  Explanations happened as soon as I switched to that mode.  Switching back was easy, as well.

My previous experience with Ubuntu in the early 2000s wasn't great and I didn't accomplish much.  Trying to install FreeBSD was a difficult proposition and I was unsuccessful.  It still isn't "The Year of Linux" but it's much more user friendly than it was.

The keyboard from Temu doesn't have a numeric keypad, so it's very compact.  For roughly US$31, the combo is a good deal.  The mouse is very good.  I suspect in the end, they won't last very long under normal usage.  However, for add-ons to a Steam Deck, they're a good choice.

SteamOS looks interesting as an alternative to game consoles

Valve, the people behind games such as Portal, Team Fortress, and Half-Life have been working on their own alternative game console with SteamOS, a Linux distribution of their own, built on Debian.

I don't play much on Steam, but the Half-Life and Portal series have been entertaining.  I've seen people who seem to have every game Steam hosts, which would be quite a few.

I like the idea of SteamOS because the major problem of getting everything working correctly is compatibility.  Using a game console, it's fairly easy to have all the software working to a software specification and leave that specification alone.  Using Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, you can't be sure if things match.  Even though Mac OS X runs on a smaller set of machines, there are a number of graphics cards and processors and operating system versions that make life (and compatibility) difficult.

If someone would build an interface layer onto an operating system and that would always be reliable, it would solve a lot of compatibility issues.  Supposedly, there is an abstraction layer on most operating systems, but to get more speed, system developers allow a way around it.

Can Valve and SteamOS diminish compatibility problems?  I hope so.  I would buy or build a compatible box in order to just play the games.

Yes, you can build your own, as Valve are giving guidelines on how to do it.  Read this Ars Technica article here.

The Debian Linux distribution is probably the most stable for the desktop.  It's used as a base for Ubuntu and other distributions, and now, for SteamOS.  Why wouldn't they use Ubuntu, which is acknowledged as a good desktop distribution for newcomers?  They probably don't want to have to work around all the changes Canonical are making to remove XWindows (thank goodness!) and the slow progress of Unity as a desktop environment.

Apparently, 300 people are beta-testing SteamOS boxes that Valve sent to them.  It should be interesting to see how well everything works.  When I last looked at the Steam store, they didn't seem to have that many games for Linux, as with Mac OS X.  However, if they've used their Source interfaces between the operating system and the games, they should instantly have the same few games that they made Mac OS X compatible.

Will it really affect the latest Xbox or PlayStation boxes?  I doubt the change will be noticeable, until they can show momentum for SteamOS.  It might be interesting to see Nintendo migrate their games to SteamOS as an alternative, since Wii U isn't really powerful enough to drive sales.  (Talk about a missed opportunity!  I've got a Wii sitting there, ready to be replaced, and the only thing I'll really get is HDMI compatibility and the ability to buy some US$59.99 games on an underpowered-for-2013 machine.)

The Steam Play Anywhere policy will allow those with Steam games to use them on their Steam box without an extra cost, I'm sure.  That's good for everyone because the negative part of moving to a new system is buying new games or new versions of games you already have.

SteamOS sounds like a winner.

Update 2014.04.10: It seems as though this is on the back burner.  Since xbox One and PlayStation 4 have made it big, I haven't heard much about a Steam Box, except that the controller has been revised with the removal of the display.

I'm a bit steamed about the Wii U and so are Nintendo apparently because they can't decide what to do.  Obviously, the Mario and Luigi brothers haven't driven sales as much as they would have liked.  It's difficult to believe that the company would barely outdo last generation consoles and try to continue relying on previous back stories to keep them in the spot light.  Had they provided enough power to be considered halfway between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, they might have been much more successful.

Even if Japanese life has something to do with their choices, they can't expect that the rest of the world will approve.