Is Steam Deck a portable game console and a PC hybrid?About easy -to -understand OS and overwhelming customization freedom

Valve's newly announced device, Steam Deck, has a mysterious name, combining two completely different words.Steam Deck is a portable game console that mainly operates with game pads while preparing for the performance of the PC.It is the new version of Steam OS that makes it possible to make these two elements together.This OS plays a role in bridging the gap between the two elements between simple and easy to use.Anyway, it is the best thing for those who want a game console that has no trouble, but at the same time who expects all possible possibilities beyond that.

We actually tried Steam Deck and talked to the Valve people who produced this device.It was said that they were the highest priority on software and OS.The Steam Deck had to be specialized in something, but at the same time, had a wide range.It also supported 50 -inch TVs and desktop computers monitors (probably the most important thing), which was necessary to carry it easily.In the end, Valve told me that developing fast and flexible OS was the most important.

"I really started with this idea. I know that the user will bring this device to various places. Players will play in various ways," said Valve designer Tucker Spoffford.There is.

"I think the play time of each time will be shorter and I want to start playing very quickly. So it was very important for users to find the game immediately. In my library.Like the game, the games you want to see and the newly added games are also available.

Eventually, a completely new UI for Steam Deck was born.This is not the first time Valve has developed a UI that is easy to play with the controller.Even in Steam Link and Big Picture mode, it is a console -like interface when playing in a non -desktop place.However, Big Picture mode appeared nearly 10 years ago, and although the library is certainly easy to see, it is somewhat old -fashioned and fluffy.Visuals have not changed much since the beginning, and it is said that this sloppyness may have been mentioned in Valve.

"I have to understand that Steam Deck's operating system (OS) is just Steam," says Spofford.Although it continues to be reworked to respond to the controller more well like Big Picture, unlike Big Picture, Valve's back end is not a derivative product.It looks different, but it is the same Steam.Some recent steam improvements have no Big Picture mode, but this is not always the case that the development points can be easily shared between two different versions.However, since "Steam Deck" automatically inherits everything, the development of Valve for "Steam Deck" is also useful for improving Steam.

This also saves time and effort for Valve.For the Steam team, if the time spent is two products, it is easier to justify the work on improvements and changes.The Big Picture mode can be used if necessary, but it is surprising that Steam Deck's UI operability is good compared to Big Picture.Both search for specific games and the overall navigation are easier, and the more sophisticated to the current console UI, the more sophisticated.

Here, there is everything that Steam is expected.The installed mod is recorded in the Steam workshop, the STEAM cloud is synchronized, and the Steam achievements track the data in the profile as before.Steam extension controllers customization (even in games that do not officially compatible with controllers) can be used on hand or dock connection.Steam Remote Play can distribute games to Steam Deck from other PCs.Conversely, PCs can be done from Steam Deck.There are many others.Valve has created a Steam desktop version for nearly 20 years.With Steam Deck, you can immediately hit all the benefits.

All of these features can be used on regular computers, but Valve has been working hard to implement a single function.The console players use it as a matter of course, but PC players have just been envious and paused.Like Switch, you can stop playing games without saves indefinitely.You can stop on the way and resume later.Valve says that many people may think this is a matter of course, but PC games were not an easy problem.

"This feature came out from the beginning in the story with AMD (APU's APU developer), and it was a hot topic among the internal Steam developers," said Valve.Greg Coomer explains that although it was not the most difficult problem in the problem that needed to be solved, "I checked it anyway so that I do not forget that this function is important."。For the team, Steam Deck was the core of how it was used, so the need for a fast and flexible OS was feedback, and it was a priority that would never be dropped.

In addition, it was not yet implemented on the development device that I played this time, but it is also exploring how to stop the game with Steam Deck and play on the desktop PC from where I stopped.Valve is talking.This is also part of the advantage that the OS of "Steam Deck" is the Steam.With improvements, you can easily adapt to desktop play.Valve says that the change performed on Steam Deck will be released on the desktop version before the "Steam Deck" device was sold in December.

For those who are not particularly interested in using a PC, Valve is trying to clearly convey that Steam Deck is a device that can be completed with one unit.It is an important factor that the integration of the library, the store, and the SNS function are all in one unit.

"One of the long -standing how to bring it to the Steam platform is the Steam Deck's Steam home screen," Spofford says."I hope many fans will feel this feature very good. You can return to the game you are playing, see the games you are playing, or add something new to the store.You can see the new items in your library, and receive information on the recommended games to play next. All of these are on the home screen. "

"Steam Deck" users don't have to worry about the trouble of playing on a PC like a driver update.After the release, Valve is planning to update the STEAM OS and Steam Deck software, but can be applied as simple as the console as needed.Recently, driver updates in PC games are not so troublesome, but at least for those who want to go without any troublesome things, it is a psychological wall.It would be nice for those people that Steam Deck aimed to provide their own experiences.

Of course, for those who want more than such a sophisticated environment, Steam Deck is a Linux -based desktop that can be handled in the same way as a regular computer.You can put anything on the software you want to install, and you can install anything that works with Linux in Steam Deck and anything that works with Proton.That includes not Steam games and third -party stores.If you want to do it, you can even initialize Steam Deck and install Windows.Valve emphasizes the openness of a PC game platform called Steam Deck, and what Valve wants to do is to create a garden surrounded by walls and many closed doors with exclusive technology.The opposite is true.

This is a completely different stance from a normal console.The lack of regulations is probably the largest part of Steam OS (and device design itself), which is fundamentally different from a gaming PC.And I'm glad that Valve continues to have a customization mind.Also, I would like to thank you for making a smart and modern console style UI.Steam Deck is about to exist in two different worlds at the same time, but from what we have seen so far, it will work.

Steam Deckについてもっと詳しく知りたい人は、IGNの体験記事をチェックして、UIを離れてゲームに入るとどうなるのかなど、実際に見てみてほしい。Valveがさまざまな質問に回答しているQ&Aや価格設定がSteam Deckの成功の決め手となるとゲイブ・ニューウェルが考えた理由もチェックしよう。そのほかにも「Steam Deck」の情報はこれからたくさんお届けする予定となっている。