Thursday, July 15th, 2021
	Steam Deck Handheld Gaming PC Announced, Launching December 2021 for $399, Full Details

  

A potential "Nintendo Switch killer" is coming this Holiday Season 2021. (Just kidding. We all know Nintendo will be fine.) However, take your entire Steam library on the go? Attach peripherals and do everything a PC can do, on the road? Today, Valve announced their next-gen handheld gaming system, the Steam Deck. This article has all the specs, details, pricing info, and HD photos, so continue reading to learn about what the Steam Deck has to offer. With Steam's fighting game library having grown extensively over the past 5 years or so (and now becoming a standard platform for the genre), certain kinds of fighting game players might find this "grown up" next-gen portable gaming hardware to be something of interest.     Firstly, the Steam Deck has a USB-C port and Bluetooth capabilities for hooking up the latest fightsticks, controllers, headphones, etc. Early reports say the "feel" of the controller is surprisingly comfortable, even considering the super-wide D-pad and button placement. Valve will also be releasing a Nintendo Switch-style dock (sold separately) for projecting onto a larger monitor or TV.    What does it mean for the future of fighting games? While the Nintendo Switch is convenient and great for casual gamers, there's no denying the system's capabilities and library are very limited... especially in the realm of fighting games. Let's face it, most fighting games don't get released on Switch. However, most fighting games are released on Steam these days. Could the Stream Deck bridge the gap for finally running some fighting game tournaments on PC? It seems to have some serious potential, at the very least. Just as easy as bringing a console setup to locals? Looks like it... In theory... On paper... On a desk? Cool.     The base model will retail for $399 (64 gigabyte) in Dec. 2021, with two higher-storage capacity models priced at $529 and $649. All models come with a carrying case. Internal storage is not upgradeable, but the Steam Deck features its own SD card slot. That means you can use an SD card of any size to store your games. Both higher-end models also include faster read and write speeds for top tier performance.   Considering the size of a modern PC fighting game, TEKKEN 7, for instance, is a whopping 60 gigabytes. That would entirely fill up the base model... so keep in mind additional storage will be a necessity in most cases. The downside: It could get pricey.   For some fighting game players, being able to play the high-quality and customizable Steam versions of Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear STRIVE, and TEKKEN 7 on the go (with mods) might be worth the price of admission. Not to mention upcoming and countless classic fighting games. Worth mentioning: Steam Deck is compatible with PC mods. In fact, Valve's device will let you install pretty much anything, including Windows 10 or even the Epic Games Store. "It is a PC, you can install whatever you want on it," says Valve's Erik Peterson.   The Steam Deck's processor is a custom AMD APU with 16 gb of RAM and runs the latest Linux-based Steam operating system. There are four cores of AMD, Zen 2 CPU with eight threads, and eight CUs of RDNA2 GPU. The 7 inch screen is 1280 x 800 resolution (720 native) and has an aspect ratio of 16 by 10.    Steam Deck Ports and Controls.   Here's a first "hands-on" video from IGN for a closer look.     You can reserve your own Steam Deck starting tomorrow on Friday, July 16th at Steamdeck.com. Keep in mind you'll need a Steam account to do so. Steam Deck will be released sometime in December 2021. Stay tuned for additional coverage. ~Frank Joseph / TFG Webmaster @Fighters_Gen
Sources:  IGN,  Steam Deck FAQ (IGN),  SteamDeck.com           Related Tweets: @Fighters_Gen , #2 Related News  |   July 2021 Chart Compares DLC Support Longevity in Fighting Games Following NRS announcing they have ended DLC support for MK11, a fighting game fan on Twitter created a chart showing the DLC lifespan of modern fighting games as compared to NRS games like MK11, MKX, and Injustice 2... all which have had noticeably less DLC support over time.   Related News:  (7-6-2021): KOF XV coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Steam   Related TFG Links:  KOF XV,  TEKKEN 7,  Guilty Gear -STRIVE- | TFG NEWS
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