I bought it because I already have a huge steam library and I’ve worked with linux since 1999, so it made sense. I’ve been off the new console bandwagon since the ps4 launch due to the same things you said. Pay out the arse for a new game, doesn’t work on day one all the way to like day 30, and the publishers just don’t care. If I wanted to be a beta tester, I’d pay for early access games on steam.

Meh, the boss fights are pretty souls like

Motherboard failure. My first deck shipped to me in this state. Nothing you can do.

The only thing I have to say is that you have to do your own research. Opinion here is going to be biased towards the steam deck. As a steam deck user I know it’s not perfect for everything. Like if I was an addict of like… I dunno PUBG, Destiny 2, COD Warzone, microsoft gamepass, specific games on GOG I would either go with a windows based handheld or a powerful gaming desktop/laptop over the deck. Luckily for me, I can live without that stuff, and I love linux so it fits for me. But what works for me, might not work for you.

If you require your new AAA games to run in ultra mode, 60-120 fps at 1080p then this isn’t for you either. If you love emulation the steam deck is for you, but so could a legion go, or a rog ally. If you love indie titles at a cheap price, steam deck is for you for sure. But you could also do that on the windows handhelds. What steam deck does that others don’t though is there custom OS. But, much like windows, it’s not perfect. It’s getting better by the patch, but I’m not going to lie and say everything just works perfectly. Just like windows has it’s problems. I can say though that valve cares about the handheld market, and they are doing a great job.

So the TLDR: Do your research. Look at your needs and budget, and weigh the pros and cons.