We asked fans about whether they are interested in buying a steam deck or not…

With the announcement of Steam Deck as a new competitor in the realm of handheld gaming platforms, the competition in the market is likely to start heating up when it is released at the end of the year. Some people even think that this will be the Nintendo Switch’s strongest competitor, especially with a stronger performance in playing AAA games than the Switch, which only gets an OLED screen upgrade.

Just like when the Nintendo Switch OLED was announced, we were also intrigued by fan interest in the Steam Deck. For that GamerWK with our media partners at GamerBraves, Casual Gamer, and Wanuxi re-opened a survey over the past week to see what fans think about the Steam Deck. In this survey we have asked several questions regarding the status of whether players own a handheld console or PC, their opinion about the new system, and whether they are interested in buying it or not.

This survey mostly focuses on the fan base in Malaysia and Indonesia. The response we got was quite a lot with results that were no less surprising.

What about the Survey Results?

Beyond our prediction, it turns out that most fans (54.8%) claim to be interested in buying Steam Deck. This result is even more surprising because of their status that already has a gaming PC, so technically they don’t mind buying a new PC again just to be able to play games portable. The next highest results are quite close, namely among fans who have a gaming PC and are not interested in the Steam Deck (19.7%) and those who do not have a gaming PC and want to buy a Steam Deck (19.4%).

By combining the results of existing polls, if 74% of the 279 fans who participated in this survey were interested in Steam Deck. This is clearly a far cry from the Nintendo Switch OLED poll we previously conducted, where only 28.9% were interested in buying the console. Seeing these differences of opinion, it can be concluded that fans really want a system that is capable of running AAA games on a minimalist platform. So even though the Switch OLED is a better version than the previous edition, fans’ desire to see a new innards upgrade has unfortunately not materialized.

We’ve also included an option that asks about the status of whether they have a handheld console or not. As a result, 55.2% said they did not have a handheld console, while the remaining 42.7% already had one. This result is also beyond our prediction, because even though many people already have more than one gaming platform, it doesn’t just make them turn away when a new product is introduced. If we have to follow personal opinion, we happen to already have a gaming PC and Nintendo Switch, so the existence of the Steam Deck doesn’t make us interested in having one.

Judging from the overall survey results, it can be concluded that Valve’s experiments in targeting new market targets have resulted in a positive response. Seeing how there were many disappointments from the announcement of the Switch OLED, they seemed to take the right timing to announce a dream handheld platform, especially for gamers with limited budgets. Of course, we are still quite far away from seeing the real response when this product is available, especially since Steam Deck’s marketing target has not yet reached all regions.

Interest, Criticism, and Feedback

This high interest is certainly not without reason, because most of the praise that Steam Deck gets is indeed on the performance of capable hardware. Just imagine, you can already play all the AAA games available on Steam only on handheld devices at affordable prices starting from USD 399. We didn’t expect the hardcore-class performance that desktop PCs could deliver, but for casual gamers it feels like this new platform can so recommendations that match their taste. Apart from performance and a more affordable price, not much other praise is given because the information from Valve is not completely complete.

Behind the positive response, Steam Deck also received quite valid criticism and input.

Entering the criticism section, some people admit that they don’t like the design of their own device which is too big. This criticism also coincides with our opinion, but rather than a matter of body design, we do not like the placement of buttons and analog that are too cornered up. Maybe the sensation will be more comfortable when held directly, but at least from what we imagine we are less sure if we can play games in the long term on this system. Apart from design, other criticisms also point to the fact that despite its status as a handheld PC that can play any AAA game on Steam, the performance it offers will still be lower than most gaming laptops and PCs.

The input we get has more to do with how Valve should adjust its marketing price later. Because if it’s directly converted from USD in raw, Steam Deck may set a price that is almost or even equivalent to a PS5 unit, which we have to admit is the better choice to take. In addition, there are also those who regret that the storage options are too small and hope that later there will be a model option with a more capable SSD. This is a very valid input, especially when you find out that AAA games in this era have sizes that can reach 100 GB.

Conclusion

This survey gives us some interesting facts about the real interest in Steam Decks. Although it can be predicted that gamers’ response to this handheld PC is more positive than the Nintendo Switch OLED, but knowing that there are up to 74% of the small number of people who claim to be interested in buying it is something that is not predictable, especially knowing that most of them already have one. gaming PCs. By responding to market demand for the best AAA gaming experience on portable devices and at an affordable price, Valve has succeeded in attracting the interest of the market who can’t wait for the Steam Deck to come.

Despite the positive response it has received, this new platform is not perfect. This is because there are still some shortcomings, such as in terms of design that looks less comfortable, storage space options are too low, until the marketing target is still limited and with price options that have the potential to swell drastically for those who want to buy it from outside the marketing area. We are well aware of the high interest of people, but those who are really interested in buying should look at the hardware quality reviews and testimonials from those who have tried it, because buying a game platform when it is released always has its own risks.

For those of you who missed the announcement, here we have summarized the information we have summarized the details about the Steam Deck HERE. While more complete information, including reservation details, you can check on the official Steam page HERE.

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