Having once upon a time been a top level Desktop Engineer for a Fortune 100 company that used Windows, I now am an exclusive Mac/Console user and haven’t really done much with Windows since Windows 7. But there are often games I want that are PC only, usually indies and puzzle/point and click adventure games.
The Steam Deck had a lot of downsides for me but the price was attractive. Almost bought it during the sale but then the Ally was announced and I preordered as soon as I could. It certainly won’t be a seamless experience, but I’m looking forward to being able to play just about any game that runs on Windows (I usually play Genshin Impact on PS5, but hate playing on mobile when I’m out and about and Steam Deck can’t play it).
Any other future owners? I’m really looking forward to be able to play Stray Gods, the musical game by ex BioWare writers and scored by Austin Wintory in August.
I highly doubt that I would own one.
Asus is jumping to the handheld device hype after Switch and Steam Deck. But Asus doesn’t have the best track record with post release support and customization. I trust them even less with the overvolting scandal that just happened a couple of weeks ago.
If you compare spec only, Ally clearly wins over Steam Deck. But if you consider post release support, aftermarket customization, userbase, Steam Deck is miles ahead.
As I’ve mentioned above, some games, two in particular, do not and cannot run on Steam Deck without installing Windows on it due to anticheat software, so from that perspective it will not meet my needs as capably as a Windows first device. I know the Steam Deck is good hardware.
Bit pointless to compare user base and post release support between a product that hasn’t launched yet and one that’s been out for over a year. I get what you’re saying based on Asus history, but still.
i’m on the fence.
i’m waiting for more reports of ChimaeraOS or HoloISO users to pop up (ETAPrime already did a first look at the ROG Ally running ChimaeraOS and it wasn’t too bad, for something without proper driver support yet).i’m really interested in VRR / 120Hz support (as well as the much better quality of the screen), but there’s no way i’d be dailying windows (except for some game pass titles).
i’m very happy with the Steam Deck, mind you, and it’s my only PC atm, so i’d like a somewhat similar experience. i know i would have to compromise on lower wattage performance and that battery life would probably be worse for indie titles / emulation 5th gen and below, but that’s a small fraction of my use case anyways.ASUS makes ok hardware but post launch support is awful. Good luck getting it repaired as well. Valve made a much better product, even if it’s not got as high of specs.
Fortunately my retailer has never given me issues. If there’s a problem with the device that isn’t my fault, they replace it and they deal with Asus. Don’t think I’ve ever dealt with the manufacturer of a product I’ve owned when something goes wrong.
It’s not about the specs for me, if one the games I play isn’t compatible without jumping through hoops on Steam Deck, it’s a big downside. I’m familiar enough with ASUS and technical enough that I should be able to handle it unless it’s a hardware failure.
Wasn’t looking to start a platform war here folks, just was curious if others were getting the ROG. If you’re not interested that’s cool, Steam Deck is great if it meets your needs! I especially prefer the symmetric sticks as a primarily PS5 user. It just doesn’t support some of my games and devices like the Ayaneo were too expensive.
I’m mostly looking for people who were crazy like me and took a shot with the Ally.
Nothing in your post was inviting to a flame war. If that happens, it’s the flamers who are at fault 🙂.
I’ve pre ordered. Main reason being that the SteamDeck isn’t available in Norway, and probably won’t be any time soon. My main reason for wanting SteamDeck is the trackpads. I’m sceptical how well the controllers will work in an RTS or a click and point game.
For the record, Genshin actually works well on the Steam Deck, both in terms of usability and performance.
I pre-ordered should arrive Tuesday. I have been using the Steam Deck almost daily for the past few months and generally love it. I’m really looking forward the XBox game pass without having to use via cloud, which has been laggy for me when away from home network. My biggest concern will be UI. Steam does this very well, have had zero issue navigating around and using keyboard even in desktop mode. Microsoft has always been hit or miss with hand held devices. I hope Asus is comitted to updates to armory crate to make usability get better and better overtime
