I hope it does because the biggest problem for handhelds like the Ally is the atrocious experience as soon as you leave steam big picture. Armor Crate is buggy as hell and trying to click anything in windows with the joysticks is not fun. Not to mention the usual Windows shenanigans of “update every damn day” and “spam me with bs about one drive and angry birds”.
Yeah, I feel like the Steam Deck is the only handheld PC that could be a decent experience without trackpad, since it provides a console like experience. It’s pretty unacceptable in my opinion to have windows handhelds forcing a windows desktop experience without a trackpad.
I imagine some of the smarter people at Microsoft are seeing the Steam Deck unfold and are realizing it’s a potential threat. Desktop is dying, and gaming is one of the few segments still doing alright in the space. Microsoft wants to make sure games continue to be made for Windows even as mobile and consoles take over the lion’s share of profits. They haven’t been buying up studios just to prop up Xbox 😉. The Deck runs Windows games, and if compatibility ever reaches a point that the average gamer doesn’t need to know they aren’t running Windows, Microsoft is in big trouble. With the progress made just in the last five years alone, it’s an eventual possibility.
Licensing is a cost in an already razor-thin market. If gamers won’t care that a device isn’t running Windows - they won’t install Windows on it, and the OEM will just pocket the difference. Valve also has an advantage traditionally enjoyed by console manufacturers. They can sell it at no profit or even a loss, because Steam Store sales will make the money back.
So long as Valve keeps steady progress and improving compatibility, they will carve out their niche. If they can somehow get studios with major multiplayer games to provide official support, the chicken and egg problem will solve itself.
I don’t think microsoft worrys that much about PCs they make their money in B2B where they profit from Lock-ins due to their vast ecosystem not because companys use windows for gaming.
Check out Bazzite. Works pretty well on Desktop in my opinion.
Not going to happen until NVIDIA proprietary drivers work well in Wayland
You might want to check out update 545
Yes, I tested it. Some issues were fixed, but it’s far from being complete
This is also my assessment. I’m still going to give it an honest go, since no night light was honestly my main gripe and that works now.
So what comes first: SteamOS for desktop or Half Life 3?
People will do anything to avoid installing “linux”…
I just spent 2 hours trying and failing to get a Hello, World! in Eclipse, I’m not brave enough for Linux
Depending on what you want to do the one does not imply the other. (And some times coding actually is easier on Linux, I had a way better experience compiling my c++ projects there then my friend had on windows)
I’m amazed there are people out there putting windows on a Steam Deck. It’s like buying a Monet and then bringing it home and doodling on it in finger paint
If doing certain things under proton was less of a pain in the ass, I’d agree with you. But proton still isn’t simple for some usecases.
EDIT: the people downvoting me very likely have only surface level experience with Proton. Sorry, it isn’t perfect. It’s based on WINE, which also isn’t perfect. It’s making a lot of progress and is damn close but it isn’t perfect.
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I guess they are referring to playing some specific games or software which don’t work well on Linux even with proton.
That’s the great thing about the deck; You can use it for whatever you want.
I personally would rather not play those games than worsen the general experience by installing Windows. Other people feel differently and that’s okay.
