I’ve wanted to get into PC gaming forever but I’ve been a console gamer my entire life. For context, I go to a University out of province (Canadian) and I travel home for summers and breaks so transporting a PC every summer just isn’t realistic. I already have a Macbook as a laptop and have considered switching to a gaming laptop but since I need to use it every day and around other people it kind of just doesn’t make sense. Already own a PS5 but the deck is interesting to me because it seems like I could play the PC games, especially online games because I refuse to pay for a subscription service, I’ve always been interested in without having to sacrifice a chunk of my room to a PC setup and then not be able to use it a lot of the time. Also, I could bring it home during the summers which I can’t do with my PS5 either. At the same time, it feels a little silly to slam down a good deal of money for a Steam deck when I do have a PS5 which will run my games better with a library that isn’t transferable. Most of the time if I have a choice between PS5 or Steam Deck for AAA games I’ll end up choosing the PS5 simply because it’s more powerful and I want the best experience, but I can see myself playing any indies and online games on the deck. Thoughts?
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Yes
The money wasn’t really an issue in my case, but I will say that I’m similar to you. I do not play modern AAA games on my Steamdeck, but it’s still a great companion to modern consoles.
Streaming via Game Pass or directly from my consoles, purchasing games from Steam that haven’t been ported to consoles, emulating my owns ROMs instead of paying Nintendo a rental fee for an inferior experience, etc. It works as both a primary gaming device or a complementary one.
I have all the platforms and just waiting for my deck to be delivered, In my opinion it means I won’t be using as much space as I won’t need the same game downloaded to all consoles
In regards to multiplayer, keep in mind that still not all the major games (afaik) work on SteamOS due to anticheat not working as smoothly on Linux. I’d say go for it tho, it’s a lot easier to transport than a PS5 or PC (even a r/sffpc) and if that’s the only thing you bring, you’ll surely use it plenty :D
Oh interesting I didn’t know about the anti-cheat stuff I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I agree that the Steam Deck is the best way to play Indie Games where the PS5 is the best place to play AAA games. When you buy bundles of games on Humble Bundle and Fanatical, it is very cost effective to get tons of games, but physical AAA game prices for PS5 will generally go down faster than on PC and will look better without needing an expensive gaming rig
Just curious how a PS5 setup is any less onerous than a PC? It’s basically the same configuration except for the Keyboard and mouse. Or am I missing something. If you want to play on the go, a deck is great. But if you mainly play at home, a mini PC might give you a better price/performance outcome. But that’s debatable as well. I think the frack is a great portable gaming device and maybe an okay PC. But being a PC is not its best characteristic.
At least for me, just getting a PS5 which outperforms a similarly priced PC and not having to invest in a monitor and keyboard as well just made sense for me. Looking back it might’ve made more sense to just get a PC but this is the position I’m in now and it seems a Steam deck could fit my niche pretty well.
Gotcha. Was just trying to understand the comment on not committing more space. You could actually use the TV you use for the PS5 as a PC monitor as well but it probably wouldn’t be optimal. Thanks and good luck with your decision. I would say you can’t go wrong with a SteamDeck if you like mobile gaming. It’s very versatile.
okay you have a ps5 but when do you ever play it?
All depends on how much you enjoy being tied down. I have been doing a lot of gaming on the go lately so the Steamdeck is well worth it. I can’t remember the last time I have booted up my gaming PC since my Steamdeck purchase.
Also as someone else mentioned online FPS gaming is a bit more limited on the Steamdeck due to Linux and the anti cheat’s most online games use. I’m not well versed on the topic but that is something to keep in mind if there’s workarounds and such.
If you have to ask, it is not for you. Just play the ps5.
There’s trade offs but for your use case you should go for the deck. Add a controller and a bluetooth kbm and you can also use it on your TV instead of the PS5. Now don’t go expecting the same performance - this is meant to be a handheld optimized for battery life with a gorgeous OLED screen (at 800p). But you will have the best of all worlds because now you have the best handheld, a console connected to your tv AND a full fledged desktop PC.
I sold my PS5 for an OLED. I’ve played all the games I want to play for PS5. It was just collecting dust
The only thing I buy on my PS5 are AAA titles now. Also canadian and for indie or older games it’s so much cheaper on PC that it makes it worth it if you are into those games. And online game service savings of course