Only a week or two after confirmation that Microsoft is working on a handheld Xbox device, we now have reports that Son…
  • averyminya@beehaw.org
    1·
    3 days ago

    Can anyone tell me where handhelds are supposed to go from here? Truly. I can’t really see what can be improved from the perspective of the Steam Deck - all the things that come from a next gen device seem a bit antithetical to how the portable device functions. Better specs to make use of the better screen (HZ+resolution) mean a bigger battery and more weight, so…

    The OG Deck is about as heavy as any portable should ever be, the OLED is noticeably lighter. So are the console wars shifting to handhelds in the next gen hardware packaging competition? The future of the gaming industry is just making more powerful Nintendo Switches?

    Note: I’m not against more handhelds being out there. I just genuinely don’t see where they can really improve from here in any meaningful way after the next screen improvement

    • Flaim@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      2 days ago

      as a steam deck user, who would like to use it during shortish transits (20 minutes per ride) i’d like it to be a good bit smaller. the size of the ayn odin 2 mini would be ideal, with slightly recessed sticks, so you could easily pull it out of the backpack and put it back in quickly. yes, that’s conflicting with others who would like to have a bigger screen, using it more like a travel console being tied to wall power, but that’s personal preference.
      outside of the usual spec bumps, that’s all i could think of in terms of upgrades for the deck.

      • averyminya@beehaw.org
        2·
        13 hours ago

        I can definitely see the benefit in smaller sized portables, but I do wonder at what point we reach diminishing returns. I can’t help but think about the 3DS and PSP and how silly it would be to be trying to play Battlefield and CoD in the Steam Deck style. At the same time, I played Monster Hunter all the time on those, and MH:W on my phone with a controller and steam remote play.

        So then I think about the types of games, like Disgaea and other J/RPG’s and how a smaller Steam Deck would fit that well. Idk where I’m going with this, it’s just interesting to think about how gaming is fractured based on the genre and form factor. I use my Steam Deck a lot to play games, but I’m playing games that I stopped playing on PC, because indie 2D side scrollers feel weird there.

        Are we just going to get to the point where gamers have their 3DS/PSP sized portable, the Steam Deck sized portable, and the large tablet sized portable, each for specific games? Lol

  • termus@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    MS and Sony can push their handhelds, but I’m not looking for a locked down device to play games on. The reason the Steam Deck was such a sell for me was that it is a full PC. That I can do what I want with. I don’t want “mobile” or console gaming, because they have turned them into predatory micro-transaction mess.

    • Riskable@programming.devEnglish
      0·
      4 days ago

      Well, good/useful AI integration. An AI that makes games infinitely replayable by changing the story, levels, and characters so they’re 100% unique every time? That could be awesome. Oh man I bet that sort of thing would be amazing if done right in a roguelike game!

      AI that tries to figure out how to sell you more loot boxes? No thanks!

  • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
    0·
    3 days ago

    Didn’t, like, steam deck and the switch already do THAT? Maybe they’ll force Sony to make a PSP2. I still love that little guy 😭

    • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      3 days ago

      The success of the Steam Deck alongside the Nintendo Switch I think is the primary reason MS is attempting to enter the market, and So y is giving it another try.

      Out of curiosity, is there any reason why you don’t consider the Vita a PSP2?

  • Viri4thus@feddit.org
    0·
    4 days ago

    People are 100% ignoring that going mobile is a red herring for the fact graphical fidelity is becoming increasingly expensive and publishers need an excuse to divest from lifelike game worlds and graphics. It’s the perfect excuse to go back to stylized games like SOTC or HiFiRush without antagonising the CoD and FiFA type crowds that send death threats when the recoil changes left 0,01mm in the latest update, or when there’s women as protagonists.