WEBVTT

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- Hey, this is Philip Tracy,
senior reporter at Gizmodo,

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and this is the Steam Deck.

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It's a portable handheld gaming
console that plays PC games.

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Now this is a product that PC gamers

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have been dreaming of
for many, many years.

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And I have to say it
comes pretty damn close

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to fulfilling the prophecy.

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First, what is it?

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The Steam Deck is a
seven-inch gaming console,

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most similar in shape
to the Nintendo Switch,

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except that it runs a
modified version of Steam OS,

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which is based on Linux.

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And it plays Windows PC games,

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using a compatibility layer called Proton.

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Games are run directly on this device,

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thanks to some powerful AMD
chips and some nifty cooling.

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But don't worry about
all that technical stuff.

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The bottom line here

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is that this is a full blown gaming PC,

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crammed into a tiny handheld console.

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So how does it perform?

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Actually, remarkably well.

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Most games I tested ran just fine

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at the screen's native 1200
by 800 pixel resolution,

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though some had to be
brought down to 720p.

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Even then, though, they
looked really great.

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Now this is for games deemed
as being verified for Deck.

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There are a few hundred
of those right now,

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but many games are only partly compatible,

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and most games just can't play at all.

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Not yet, at least.

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So Valve is hard at work,

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testing and optimizing its Steam library.

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It's an important process, but
one that will take some time.

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For now, you can play a
smattering of AAA titles,

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like God of War, Portal 2, and NBA 2K22,

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along with a bunch of indie games.

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But other high profile
titles, like Halo Infinite,

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Battlefield 2042, FIFA 22, or FarCry,

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they haven't been tested yet.

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As for the hardware,

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it's mostly ready for prime time.

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The literal elephant in the room

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is the Steam Deck's gigantic size.

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It's big, really, really big,

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much wider than the Nintendo Switch

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and any other handheld before it.

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Thankfully, Valve got
the ergonomics right.

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Though a bit hefty, the
Steam Deck is comfy to hold,

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the trigger button is, while a tad soft,

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are nicely curved, and the
analog sticks are responsive,

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while the main buttons feel tactile.

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There are even four additional
rear trigger buttons

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you can customize like
hot keys on a keyboard.

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Overall, it's good,

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besides the Steam and quick
settings buttons, which,

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well I'm surprised they even
got out of the prototype stage.

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They feel terrible.

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It's a shame, because they're
actually really useful

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for navigating Steam OS.

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The software is nice and user friendly,

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but still filled with
bugs and missing features.

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Valve has been rushing
to update the Steam store

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and game library to make it
more Steam Deck friendly,

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but it's very much a work
in progress at this point.

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And let's not forget,
this is a PC, and as such,

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has a full desktop operating system on it.

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Yes, you can visit gizmodo.com

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or any of your other favorite sites,

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right from this handheld,

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and even download apps like
Spotify and Office Libre.

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The Steam Deck starts at
399 for a 64-gigabyte model,

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and goes up to 649 for
a 256-gigabyte version.

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Don't worry though, because all of these

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have expandable storage,
via microSD card slot.

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Later this year, Valve
will release a dock,

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so you can connect the
handheld gaming system

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to a TV or monitor, and
plug in peripherals,

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which will essentially turn
this into a stationary console,

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similar to how the Switch's dock works.

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In the end,

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the potential here for
the Steam Deck is immense.

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That being said, the
hill Valve needs to climb

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in the coming months to iron out bugs

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and verify more games is very, very steep.

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But the trail to the a top so far

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has been filled with some
exciting twists and turns.

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(upbeat music)