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Steam Deck OLED Might Happen, But It’s Not Easy, Says Valve

Lunatic_Gamer

Gold Member
WCCFsteamdeck2.jpg


If you've been holding out hope that a Steam Deck OLED version might get a surprise release by Valve, you can probably rest easy for quite a while. Speaking to PC Gamer, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais plainly said it's not something they can quickly swap in for a new edition.

That's not because of any specific issue with a Steam Deck OLED versus the regular LCD version. Rather, according to Griffais, every single component in the Steam Deck is wholly connected to each other, which would make changing the screen quite tricky.

I think it would be a bigger amount of work than people are assuming it would be. I don't think we're discounting anything. But the idea that you could just swap in a new screen and be done—it would need more than that to be doable.

It's just something you have to plan ahead. When we were working on this screen, we made sure these could be supported, even if the refresh rate switching wasn't ready at release. It was really important to us that all that would be supported. So it's something that you need to keep in mind when you're evaluating and selecting possible options. It's about how you're designing the whole system and what's in between the screen and the SOC (system-on-a-chip).

ipeAcTUdGYaexQjq5dvy7Q-1200-80.jpg.webp


While many fans have been salivating at the prospect of the far better and more accurate color reproduction allowed by OLED displays (even with handhelds, as seen with the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch OLED), it sounds like it'll be a while before Valve can produce it. Chances are it could happen whenever a brand new version of the Steam Deck is released. Again, though, just a few days ago, Valve stated it wouldn't be happening any time soon.

 
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PSYGN

Member
They would need to source an OLED 16:10 with matching physical dimension of Steam Deck's. Honestly it would be better from a business perspective to hold off on a "Pro" version or the next iteration. But Valve being Valve they might just drop a refresh without much ado with one in the future.
 

Bakkus

Member
I just want better battery life. Oh and of course for it to be avaliable in my country, so I don't have to make some demanding deal with any swedes...
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Sony, time to step up and release a 3-4TF hybrid with an OLED screen. As much as people say it would fail like the VITA, they are wrong for a dozen reasons and half the people on here would run to buy one.
 

Comandr

Member
Just release steam deck home console, no one needs a giant handheld.
I actually believe a revived Steam Machine could make a comeback. With the market now paying close attention to Valve and the Steam Deck, I think a Steam Box (with limited edition Companion Cube version) would make a lot of sense. SteamOS as it stands already works with all of your existing controllers and what not. It makes so much sense to just... discard the screen, beef up the specs a little bit, and sell a console box that plays steam games. Sounds like easy money to me. A lot of people are interested in PC gaming but intimidated by the concept of building or buying a gaming PC. This is why consoles appeal to them. I think there's a market to tap into here. Ironically, the steam deck made that relevant again.

Edit: Back on topic, I think a sourcing a large 16:10 oled screen sounds expensive. I would actually really like to see the next gen deck go 16:9. The overwhelming majority of content is consumed this way. Give me 16:9, 1920x1080, lose the bezels and beef up the battery and specs to 4ish TF and I'm a happy man.
 
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I like the idea of Steam Deck and want one but not the first generation model. I am happy to wait for the second or third generation, hopefully with an OLED screen as I have been a bit spoilt by my Switch OLED (and 55" OLED TV) versus the original Switch so I know just how much better these screens can look over even the best IPS panels.
 

Silver Wattle

Gold Member
I can barely swallow the stagnation of the SoC, I refuse to accept LCD.
I will not be buying a steamdeck due to these decisions of hardware stagnation.
Im Out Morgan Freeman GIF
 

Rac3r

Member
Sony, time to step up and release a 3-4TF hybrid with an OLED screen. As much as people say it would fail like the VITA, they are wrong for a dozen reasons and half the people on here would run to buy one.

That ship sailed once they started porting their games to PC.
 

Bragr

Banned
Valve is doing everything in their power to keep this at a decent price range, I dont think they want some huge price increase and turn the system into a PSVR2 situation. They want to hit within the range of Switch OLED and not lose tons of money on each system produced. Which is hard.

This is why Switch is running on old shit, its super expensive to manufacture powerful small consoles. Just look at Vita, it terrified Sony.
 

Drew1440

Member
That's not because of any specific issue with a Steam Deck OLED versus the regular LCD version. Rather, according to Griffais, every single component in the Steam Deck is wholly connected to each other, which would make changing the screen quite tricky.
That concerns me, if the screen somehow gets damaged does this mean its near impossible to replace?
 

CuNi

Member
Just release steam deck home console, no one needs a giant handheld.

I understood that request when it came to the Switch.
But what you are asking for already exists and is called a PC.
You realize that, right? Hell, Valve even went so far to add a docking station for it that literally transforms your Steam Deck into a PC.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
That ship sailed once they started porting their games to PC.

Nah, the Steam Deck and it's lack of exclusives poor marketing, lack of distribution, compatibility, ease of use issues is not the same market. 90% of regular gamers don't even know what a steamdeck is.

A properly executed hybrid with day and date games would be a completely different animal.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Wtf are you talking about they've already done that with the project Steam Machines...

No they haven't, a bunch of random manufactures, all random prices, confusion, the OS wasn't properly done like the steam deck, etc, etc, etc. Not even close to the same thing as a properly executed console like box.
If valve themselves launched a box now (just one model) it would sell just fine, even better if it had proper retail distribution.
 
No they haven't, a bunch of random manufactures, all random prices, confusion, the OS wasn't properly done like the steam deck, etc, etc, etc. Not even close to the same thing as a properly executed console like box.
If valve themselves launched a box now (just one model) it would sell just fine, even better if it had proper retail distribution.
Wtf are you talking about #2.

There's not profit in that...

They did with he deck because the handle held market had only ONE player that was pushing outdate hardware and mostly "first party"/party games. Play on the go is HUGE now days and Valve saw that as a opportunity to expand steam player base.

People that want to play on PC already have one and so do people that want to play on console. Consoles are HIGHLY subsidized to the point they are sold at loss... Valve do a little of that on the deck but with the said "steam box it doesn't make sense because it would be very easy to put windows on it and have competing stores in the ecosystem making the whole thing pointless.

Dude you're really talking nonsense If you want a small form factor PC with mid range specs there are thousands of articles in the internet of how to build it yourself or where to buy on pre made. If the problem was the interface??? Just fire up big picture mode it is identical to steam decks now.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Wtf are you talking about #2.

There's not profit in that...

They did with he deck because the handle held market had only ONE player that was pushing outdate hardware and mostly "first party"/party games. Play on the go is HUGE now days and Valve saw that as a opportunity to expand steam player base.

People that want to play on PC already have one and so do people that want to play on console. Consoles are HIGHLY subsidized to the point they are sold at loss... Valve do a little of that on the deck but with the said "steam box it doesn't make sense because it would be very easy to put windows on it and have competing stores in the ecosystem making the whole thing pointless.

Dude you're really talking nonsense If you want a small form factor PC with mid range specs there are thousands of articles in the internet of how to build it yourself or where to buy on pre made. If the problem was the interface??? Just fire up big picture mode it is identical to steam decks now.

Wow, you are clueless.

Of course there is no profit in the hardware, there isn't in the steam deck either, yet they made that. By your logic the steam deck shouldn't exist either. The profit it clearly from selling software on the steam store.

If it operates like a console and is marketed as such, it has zero to do with PC gamers or sales. The general masses don't see small form factor PC's as a console, they see it as a PC.

For steam machines, there was no certification process for the games at that point, and it wasn't marketed as a console. Price, distribution, advertising and perception matter.
It would be marketed as a console, not a PC. Plug and play matters. I bet you anything valve already has an APU home console type prototype that they may or may not launch.
 
Wow, you are clueless.

Of course there is no profit in the hardware, there isn't in the steam deck either, yet they made that. By your logic the steam deck shouldn't exist either. The profit it clearly from selling software on the steam store.

If it operates like a console and is marketed as such, it has zero to do with PC gamers or sales. The general masses don't see small form factor PC's as a console, they see it as a PC.

For steam machines, there was no certification process for the games at that point, and it wasn't marketed as a console. Price, distribution, advertising and perception matter.
It would be marketed as a console, not a PC. Plug and play matters. I bet you anything valve already has an APU home console type prototype that they may or may not launch.

Clueless?

You're the one having hallucinations.

Consoles are closed garden so the profit is guaranteed through the 30% cut on sales, steam can't snd won't go that route.

The reason why deck works is because it is convenient to use the default operation system and the default UI+Store.

Your idea is the dumbest thing ever... You're basically saying "Please Valve build a low end PC and sell it at loss so people can use steam to buy games" as if people cannot do that themselves.

No Way Wtf GIF by Harlem
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Clueless?

You're the one having hallucinations.

Consoles are closed garden so the profit is guaranteed through the 30% cut on sales, steam can't snd won't go that route.

The reason why deck works is because it is convenient to use the default operation system and the default UI+Store.

Your idea is the dumbest thing ever... You're basically saying "Please Valve build a low end PC and sell it at loss so people can use steam to buy games" as if people cannot do that themselves.

No Way Wtf GIF by Harlem

I don't know how to break it you, but steam is taking a 30% cut on sales, they can and are going that route this second. Only the sales that go much higher get a lower rate. Maybe check your facts.

"The reason why deck works is because it is convenient to use the default operation system and the default UI+Store."
Thank you for proving my point as you basically just described a regular console.

"Your idea is the dumbest thing ever... You're basically saying "Please Valve build a low end PC and sell it at loss so people can use steam to buy games" as if people cannot do that themselves."
LOL, hardly my idea, lots of other people have suggested this before, but the OS has evolved. And you clearly don't understand the basic consumer, they don't build themselves low end PC's to hook to their TV's, they don't even consider.
Wow. Not everyone is like you, open you eyes.

And you've just proven once again people who post "witty" gifs always have the weakest arguments ever.
 
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Tams

Gold Member
Was it? Did you see how much they changed?

Not that much. For a company with their resources, it shouldn't and clearly wasn't that hard.

Better screen? Just a case of finding a supplier.

6nm? It's at a point where the costs of the smaller nodes is negligible due to enough capacity on the smaller ones. AMD may even have said that to stay on a larger one would cost more.

Bigger fan? The Steam Deck already had space to spare.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Not that much. For a company with their resources, it shouldn't and clearly wasn't that hard.

Better screen? Just a case of finding a supplier.

6nm? It's at a point where the costs of the smaller nodes is negligible due to enough capacity on the smaller ones. AMD may even have said that to stay on a larger one would cost more.

Bigger fan? The Steam Deck already had space to spare.
they also added wifi 6 which massively improved download speeds, andimproved some toher stuff like the touchpads.

Either way, even if you don't find it much of an upgrade, it's the same price as the original (unlike the switch oled) so we ain't losing much here as much as we are gaining
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
WCCFsteamdeck2.jpg


If you've been holding out hope that a Steam Deck OLED version might get a surprise release by Valve, you can probably rest easy for quite a while. Speaking to PC Gamer, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais plainly said it's not something they can quickly swap in for a new edition.

That's not because of any specific issue with a Steam Deck OLED versus the regular LCD version. Rather, according to Griffais, every single component in the Steam Deck is wholly connected to each other, which would make changing the screen quite tricky.





ipeAcTUdGYaexQjq5dvy7Q-1200-80.jpg.webp


While many fans have been salivating at the prospect of the far better and more accurate color reproduction allowed by OLED displays (even with handhelds, as seen with the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch OLED), it sounds like it'll be a while before Valve can produce it. Chances are it could happen whenever a brand new version of the Steam Deck is released. Again, though, just a few days ago, Valve stated it wouldn't be happening any time soon.

LOL. Gotcha gamers.

In other words, the OLED system was done R&D in March, went through some final testing during the spring, manufacture in summer, and shipments in Q4.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
they also added wifi 6 which massively improved download speeds, andimproved some toher stuff like the touchpads.

Either way, even if you don't find it much of an upgrade, it's the same price as the original (unlike the switch oled) so we ain't losing much here as much as we are gaining

Yeah, that's kinda a shitty attitude to take, there's like only a small handful of handhelds with OLED screens, what, Vita and Switch and now this? If you get in to the really obscure ones, there's probably a couple others, but if you add in HDR to that list, that drops it down to just this. And it's a 60 > 90 fps upgrade as well.
 
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