Mobile gaming has become huge business and we have witnessed many tremendous developments in the mobile gaming industry. One of the more recent additions to the mobile gaming world is the Steam Deck. Will the Steam Deck be a success? If so, how will it change mobile gaming going forward?
What is the Steam Deck?
Steam Deck was released by Valve at the beginning of 2022 and is a portable device capable of playing games from the Steam library. Steam is a portal where you can purchase and install games on a computer or laptop. The Steam Deck is essentially a handheld Linux gaming PC that allows you to play Steam games in the same way you would play games on a mobile phone. At the time of writing, there are three different Steam Deck models available offering various processors and storage options. Each Steam Deck comes complete with a carry case and the two most expensive variations include an exclusive Steam Community profile bundle.
The Pros and Cons of Using Steam Deck
Up until the release of the Steam Deck, you had to use a laptop to access video games from the Steam library when away from the computer. Thanks to the Steam Deck, you can leave the gaming laptop at home and take the smaller, more compact Steam Deck instead. Having access to your Steam library in your hand is fantastic and you are no longer resigned to sitting at a personal computer to play games from the library. The controls are extremely versatile, and you can change them to suit the way you want to play. The Steam Deck also comes with impressive performance, running games smoothly but the battery life and fan noise are two of the current drawbacks when using the device.
The Future of Mobile Gaming
Steam Deck does give an indication of where mobile gaming could be heading in the future. Handheld devices that can play games previously reserved for PCs or laptops are always going to be a big hit and the Steam Deck is not restricted to playing only games from the Steam library. It is not 100% clear how easy it will be to play games using other software, but this could play a significant role in the success of the device. For example, if it is possible to access online casinos using a browser and play casino games, this opens a whole new market. Taking online pokies Aus as an example, for those who enjoy playing video games from the Steam catalogue but also like playing online pokies, having access to online casinos would be a massive bonus. Having Windows available on the Steam Deck would also open a whole new range of games from Xbox Game Pass, thus making it a complete system in terms of available games.
With the introduction of Steam Deck and the potential possibilities, people could start moving from using their mobile phone to a dedicated handheld gaming device.
