GamersNexus Wonders If The Handheld Market Is Too Crowded
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Date: 2024-06-16
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Comments and reviews: 20
denvera1g1
I live in the US and get an hour lunch for work.
I only need 15 minutes, but cant just leave 45 minutes early because of business hours coverage.
So for 15 minutes i walk, and for 30 minutes i game on my legion go, or if its nice and chilly and i wont work up a sweat, i'll bring my steamdeck and play lighter games while i walk for 45 minutes. Honestly i do most of my gaming at work now during lunch.
While i mainly got the the legion go because of the detachable controllers, fast RAM, and large display that allows me to also use it as a tablet, i didnt know integer scaling would be so bad on this screen, having dual native 1280x800 and 2560x1600 is basically useless, an external 15 inch 720p screen looks better than the internal 8 inch at 800p the text is all garbled and unreadable, the same game on the steamdeck has easily readable text at the same resolution, if you have the legion go, just disable integer scaling, interpolation will look better even though its not supposed to.
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I live in the US and get an hour lunch for work.
I only need 15 minutes, but cant just leave 45 minutes early because of business hours coverage.
So for 15 minutes i walk, and for 30 minutes i game on my legion go, or if its nice and chilly and i wont work up a sweat, i'll bring my steamdeck and play lighter games while i walk for 45 minutes. Honestly i do most of my gaming at work now during lunch.
While i mainly got the the legion go because of the detachable controllers, fast RAM, and large display that allows me to also use it as a tablet, i didnt know integer scaling would be so bad on this screen, having dual native 1280x800 and 2560x1600 is basically useless, an external 15 inch 720p screen looks better than the internal 8 inch at 800p the text is all garbled and unreadable, the same game on the steamdeck has easily readable text at the same resolution, if you have the legion go, just disable integer scaling, interpolation will look better even though its not supposed to.
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MrCHUP0N
I had to travel a lot for work for most of my professional life. Gameboy Advance, DS, and PSP were what kept me sane. When I could get a laptop decently capable of gaming at an affordable price, that helped a bit, but I lusted after the Razer Edge concept. Switch came out at the tail end of my traveling days so I never got to fully experience my white whale of most kinds of game, any time, anywhere. But this desire is why I'm super into gaming handhelds and am really excited for the next generations, even if the only real benefit is that I can play Elden Ring while lying in bed.
As a New Yorker, I actually wouldn't take a PC handheld on the subway. I stop at Switch (still just light enough to tote, and I can disassemble the joycon to fit everything in separate jacket pockets). So part of it is weight to tote around, and part of it is my lifelong subway behavior paranoia...
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I had to travel a lot for work for most of my professional life. Gameboy Advance, DS, and PSP were what kept me sane. When I could get a laptop decently capable of gaming at an affordable price, that helped a bit, but I lusted after the Razer Edge concept. Switch came out at the tail end of my traveling days so I never got to fully experience my white whale of most kinds of game, any time, anywhere. But this desire is why I'm super into gaming handhelds and am really excited for the next generations, even if the only real benefit is that I can play Elden Ring while lying in bed.
As a New Yorker, I actually wouldn't take a PC handheld on the subway. I stop at Switch (still just light enough to tote, and I can disassemble the joycon to fit everything in separate jacket pockets). So part of it is weight to tote around, and part of it is my lifelong subway behavior paranoia...
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rklrkl64
It's weird that Adam says that he prefers a Windows handheld for tinkering when the Steam Deck has Desktop Mode (including a superior command line) for exactly that! I think it's probably simply that he's more familiar with Windows rather than anything else.
It's become a crowded market and there's a disappointingly unique differentiator right now - Linux on the Steam Deck vs Windows on everything else, though the Orange Pi Neo is said to be shipping with Manjaro Linux in the near future. I'd like to see more handhelds with Linux pre-installed - it's quite annoying that Valve Time has massively delayed the release of a SteamOS 3 ISO that can be installed on non-Deck hardware (yes, I know about Bazzite, Nobara etc, but OEMs would prefer a big company to be behind the OS they pre-install).
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It's weird that Adam says that he prefers a Windows handheld for tinkering when the Steam Deck has Desktop Mode (including a superior command line) for exactly that! I think it's probably simply that he's more familiar with Windows rather than anything else.
It's become a crowded market and there's a disappointingly unique differentiator right now - Linux on the Steam Deck vs Windows on everything else, though the Orange Pi Neo is said to be shipping with Manjaro Linux in the near future. I'd like to see more handhelds with Linux pre-installed - it's quite annoying that Valve Time has massively delayed the release of a SteamOS 3 ISO that can be installed on non-Deck hardware (yes, I know about Bazzite, Nobara etc, but OEMs would prefer a big company to be behind the OS they pre-install).
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kostasvapo69
The main problem of companies is that they want to make new better products every few months and they don't try to make a good one.
For example steamdeck tries it's best to do more optimizations from time to time, that's why as the Only product of valve, it gets it's attention from us, the consumers.
While ASUS for example has some CPU variations that confuses the Consumers, like: This is the ASUS BIG BOOBS, while he have an even better device the ASUS BIG BOOBS ELITE and the best of our company is the ASUS BIG BOOBS ELITE X.
Just make a good all - around product and when a very big uplift to the CPU/GPU performance comes to market, create a new product.
We don't care if your new product is only 5-10% better.
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The main problem of companies is that they want to make new better products every few months and they don't try to make a good one.
For example steamdeck tries it's best to do more optimizations from time to time, that's why as the Only product of valve, it gets it's attention from us, the consumers.
While ASUS for example has some CPU variations that confuses the Consumers, like: This is the ASUS BIG BOOBS, while he have an even better device the ASUS BIG BOOBS ELITE and the best of our company is the ASUS BIG BOOBS ELITE X.
Just make a good all - around product and when a very big uplift to the CPU/GPU performance comes to market, create a new product.
We don't care if your new product is only 5-10% better.
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gdot1803
No, there's definitely not too many handhelds; there's still a _lot_ of room for innovation in the market. A lot of people still complain about the large size of handheld PC's, so we need to see big companies address this and make more pocketable and clamshell form factors, similar to what smaller Indiegogo companies, like AyaNeo and GPD, have created.
There are still a lot of big PC companies, like Razer, Alienware, nVidia, etc, who also need to enter the fold. Perhaps nVidia could be the first to make an ARM-powered handheld PC that can actually play games with decent framerates and utilise DLSS We know that nVidia are working on an ARM based gaming laptop, so could we see a Shield Portable 2 Exciting times.
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No, there's definitely not too many handhelds; there's still a _lot_ of room for innovation in the market. A lot of people still complain about the large size of handheld PC's, so we need to see big companies address this and make more pocketable and clamshell form factors, similar to what smaller Indiegogo companies, like AyaNeo and GPD, have created.
There are still a lot of big PC companies, like Razer, Alienware, nVidia, etc, who also need to enter the fold. Perhaps nVidia could be the first to make an ARM-powered handheld PC that can actually play games with decent framerates and utilise DLSS We know that nVidia are working on an ARM based gaming laptop, so could we see a Shield Portable 2 Exciting times.
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Pocahonkers
I know I want another handheld after the Steam Deck but anything that came out now really isn't a meaningful improvement in the aspects I would like to see improvements in.
A perfect upgrade for me would be a more compact SteamDeck in a Clamshell formfactor with Frore Airjets so I can use more CPU power without fan noise becoming annoying...
until then I'll probably stick with the Deck (although I still am a little grumpled by the OLED coming out 2 or 3 months after I bought mine, since it adressed everything that annoyed me about the LCD steam deck)
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I know I want another handheld after the Steam Deck but anything that came out now really isn't a meaningful improvement in the aspects I would like to see improvements in.
A perfect upgrade for me would be a more compact SteamDeck in a Clamshell formfactor with Frore Airjets so I can use more CPU power without fan noise becoming annoying...
until then I'll probably stick with the Deck (although I still am a little grumpled by the OLED coming out 2 or 3 months after I bought mine, since it adressed everything that annoyed me about the LCD steam deck)
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Goalier95
Sony could've really made a dent with the handheld market, but instead they released the Portal. Microsoft: make your Xbox handheld a true portable and you will be really successful. Valve: please make a Steam Deck 2 with a larger screen (8 maybe) and make it more compact if possible. With Asus I hope they figured out all their errors from the first Ally and really knock the Ally X out of the park when it comes out next month. MSI: Intel was a flop and you just copied the ROG Ally design, do something original and use AMD in the future.
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Sony could've really made a dent with the handheld market, but instead they released the Portal. Microsoft: make your Xbox handheld a true portable and you will be really successful. Valve: please make a Steam Deck 2 with a larger screen (8 maybe) and make it more compact if possible. With Asus I hope they figured out all their errors from the first Ally and really knock the Ally X out of the park when it comes out next month. MSI: Intel was a flop and you just copied the ROG Ally design, do something original and use AMD in the future.
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TobyIKanoby
I am still waiting and watching what happens, also have quite a beefy gaming laptop and a tablet so no need for it yet, or better said don't want to spend the money yet. (Tablet BTW is used almost 100% on public transport and a handheld would probably be mostly used the same way, Steve is on to something there)
What I am saying is, I think there are lots of people still open for buying a handheld. I think handhelds are here to stay, in a way they have been here for ages already in one way or another.
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I am still waiting and watching what happens, also have quite a beefy gaming laptop and a tablet so no need for it yet, or better said don't want to spend the money yet. (Tablet BTW is used almost 100% on public transport and a handheld would probably be mostly used the same way, Steve is on to something there)
What I am saying is, I think there are lots of people still open for buying a handheld. I think handhelds are here to stay, in a way they have been here for ages already in one way or another.
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Kamodomon
I think Valve is going to win this JUST because of the software side of things. Windows is so freakin bloated and you really want an efficient OS when it comes to a mobile gaming device, otherwise what's the point The companies going hard on the powerside are always going to be niche and lose relevance when they quickly drop support for those handhelds. YOU HAVE TO TREAT THESE LIKE CONSOLES AND NOT DISPOSABLE ELECTRONICS like with phones.
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I think Valve is going to win this JUST because of the software side of things. Windows is so freakin bloated and you really want an efficient OS when it comes to a mobile gaming device, otherwise what's the point The companies going hard on the powerside are always going to be niche and lose relevance when they quickly drop support for those handhelds. YOU HAVE TO TREAT THESE LIKE CONSOLES AND NOT DISPOSABLE ELECTRONICS like with phones.
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stennan
It might be a lot of options and that is good for consumer choice and for competition and keeping prices reasonable.
But releasing one each 3/6/12 months (ayaneo) will just make things harder to support with repair and firmware. Valve releasing one each time SOC innovations happen (or to add meaningful differences like OLED) is a better approach. Take care of them with updated SW features or actual HW improvements on battery/display.
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It might be a lot of options and that is good for consumer choice and for competition and keeping prices reasonable.
But releasing one each 3/6/12 months (ayaneo) will just make things harder to support with repair and firmware. Valve releasing one each time SOC innovations happen (or to add meaningful differences like OLED) is a better approach. Take care of them with updated SW features or actual HW improvements on battery/display.
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baysidejr
Microsoft has a rumored xbox handheld. Is it a windows handheld with a new version of windows 11 for handhelds. Is it an xbox os
That could become the biggest player in the space.
The biggest innovation for me needs to be to get these handhelds to tablet level of thickness and weight. And software side of microsoft makes a more handheld friendly version of windows.
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Microsoft has a rumored xbox handheld. Is it a windows handheld with a new version of windows 11 for handhelds. Is it an xbox os
That could become the biggest player in the space.
The biggest innovation for me needs to be to get these handhelds to tablet level of thickness and weight. And software side of microsoft makes a more handheld friendly version of windows.
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tpf92
One huge problem I see is the majority of handhelds lack touchpads, these make a huge difference with controls on PC games, without them you end up lacking enough buttons.
Besides the Steam Deck, the only one that I can think of that has it is the Orange Pi Neo, however it lacks back buttons, which you just end up trading off one set of buttons for another set of buttons.
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One huge problem I see is the majority of handhelds lack touchpads, these make a huge difference with controls on PC games, without them you end up lacking enough buttons.
Besides the Steam Deck, the only one that I can think of that has it is the Orange Pi Neo, however it lacks back buttons, which you just end up trading off one set of buttons for another set of buttons.
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potatorigs2155
The issue isn't the quantity; it's the pricing. I'd rather purchase a laptop with double the performance for those prices. The Steam Deck is a winner, and it allows for extensive tweaking. On the PC side, the Legion Go is the superior product. It seems MSI is either being compensated by Intel or receiving a substantial discount on those chips.
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The issue isn't the quantity; it's the pricing. I'd rather purchase a laptop with double the performance for those prices. The Steam Deck is a winner, and it allows for extensive tweaking. On the PC side, the Legion Go is the superior product. It seems MSI is either being compensated by Intel or receiving a substantial discount on those chips.
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Patrese_X
Awesome video. I'd buy one of those handhelds in a heartbeat if they were cheaper, just as a way to not stay in front of a PC after a full day of being in front of one for work. Since I love old games anyway, I'm getting it done with a R36S now, which is another category entirely price and specs wise, but does the job beautifully for 2D games.
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Awesome video. I'd buy one of those handhelds in a heartbeat if they were cheaper, just as a way to not stay in front of a PC after a full day of being in front of one for work. Since I love old games anyway, I'm getting it done with a R36S now, which is another category entirely price and specs wise, but does the job beautifully for 2D games.
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AtomicGoober
To be honest, I don't understand this market. The speed in which smart phones are evolving, you would think there wouldn't be any market space for luggageble handhelds. The only thing that I see holding back mobile gaming in the phone business is the lack of a traditional a game store and not having a standard controller layout.
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To be honest, I don't understand this market. The speed in which smart phones are evolving, you would think there wouldn't be any market space for luggageble handhelds. The only thing that I see holding back mobile gaming in the phone business is the lack of a traditional a game store and not having a standard controller layout.
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nathanjuan6042
I prefer handheld as well. I like that I can bring it anywhere and overseas, hotels, in cruise-ships, in airport, planes that a console or desktop PC cannot do. I also prefer windows because I want to play all my games in any platform and also want a handheld in with1080p display because I always play my games in 1080p.
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I prefer handheld as well. I like that I can bring it anywhere and overseas, hotels, in cruise-ships, in airport, planes that a console or desktop PC cannot do. I also prefer windows because I want to play all my games in any platform and also want a handheld in with1080p display because I always play my games in 1080p.
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techieg33k
Being s Linux user i pick the Steam Deck. I also think the more momentum Steam Deck gives Linux, the more companies are incentivised to ensure the DRM (ick!) works on Proton. I've heard of people using Proton to play games on Windows, but with better performance so to me it's a win-win for the entire gaming community
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Being s Linux user i pick the Steam Deck. I also think the more momentum Steam Deck gives Linux, the more companies are incentivised to ensure the DRM (ick!) works on Proton. I've heard of people using Proton to play games on Windows, but with better performance so to me it's a win-win for the entire gaming community
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GamersNexus
I like the reaction at 03:12.
The Mandarin actually caught me by surprise! Great job and keep working at it, Adam! Super fun discussion and really curious to see how handhelds develop. Lots of innovation every year so far and it feels like the early days of smartphones in that there's so much change every year.
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I like the reaction at 03:12.
The Mandarin actually caught me by surprise! Great job and keep working at it, Adam! Super fun discussion and really curious to see how handhelds develop. Lots of innovation every year so far and it feels like the early days of smartphones in that there's so much change every year.
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Eskoxo
There were handhelds for a long time but then Steam Deck came around and all these companies saw their success so like savages trying to copy it to make a buck. What i don't get is windows i can tinker and do this or that bro Steam Deck runs on Linux it's a much more advanced operating system if you go into it...
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There were handhelds for a long time but then Steam Deck came around and all these companies saw their success so like savages trying to copy it to make a buck. What i don't get is windows i can tinker and do this or that bro Steam Deck runs on Linux it's a much more advanced operating system if you go into it...
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cacheman
6:42 Adam saying he prefers Windows _because_ he likes to be able to go in and tweak things is pretty wild, when the Steam Deck offers a much higher degree of hackability. Sure, you're a big boy when you do what, click around in the registry Like wat are you even talking about.
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6:42 Adam saying he prefers Windows _because_ he likes to be able to go in and tweak things is pretty wild, when the Steam Deck offers a much higher degree of hackability. Sure, you're a big boy when you do what, click around in the registry Like wat are you even talking about.
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