Valve announced something new, and as usual, the Internet lit up like a switchboard, with opinions instead of electricity. First, Valve did the obvious, naming the Steam Deck the Switch Pro and praising Nintendid for doing what they never did: as Hard Drive writes, "At press time, the full technical specs for the Switch Pro also revealed the inclusion of a long-awaited Switch feature called functional analog sticks." [ugh.

Sony said the same thing. Mark Dougherty, who runs a parody account of former Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, decided to post this observation under his own name instead: with "Horizon" and "Day's Gone" now on Steam, Sony already has more Steam Deck than PS Vita Support."

YouTuber and Kindafunny co-founder Greg Miller is also still upset about the Vita.

Those who didn't rename Steam Deck to Switch Pro argued over whether Gabe Boy or Gabe Gear was the funnier alias (the answer is clearly Gabe Gear.) Fighting Games Daily is a Russian anti-alcohol HET! turned posters into anti-Switch propaganda, and Classic Mac collector Dana Sibera, who usually tweets about retro hardware, mocked up an image of an aesthetically pleasing version of the Atari 2600 on Steam Deck.

Professional video game industry pundits seriously discussed the Steam Deck, with Daniel Ahmad praising the "aggressive price point" and the "desktop/dock capabilities, the ability to install third-party software and storefronts, and a fairly open Jason Schreier pointed out that "those who are skeptical of the Steam Deck are underestimating the huge user base that plays most games on portables (in this case, fathers of toddlers!). )," and blamed the skeptics. For years, every time an indie game has been announced, people have asked, "When is it coming to the Switch?" I've been told. If this feels great (and I exaggerate), no one needs to hear that anymore."

Mat Piscatella said, "The discourse comparing Steam Deck and Switch as if the two devices are in direct competition is, at best, top-level misguided." Jeff Grubb explained why it doesn't matter that the resolution of the screen you have in front of your face is 720p, and Lawrence Sontag noted that it "would be the cheapest point of entry into PC gaming in general."

Umurangi Generation developer Tali Faulkner expressed skepticism, saying that activities such as "modding, building hardware, chatting with friends on Discord while playing, and incidentally watching Youtube" are at the heart of PC gaming No one does that on the bus," he noted. Chris Kramer, who works in video game PR, is also a naysayer: "The only way I'll buy a Steam Deck is if Valve gives me a $100 refund for the absolute garbage Steam controller I bought. is for Valve to refund me the $100 for the absolute garbage Steam controller I purchased.

Meanwhile, The Behemoth, the development studio behind Castle Crashers, exclusively premiered the game running on Valve's new hardware, and Radiator developer Robert Yang said, "The only positive thing about this is that Valve's haptics will usher in a new era of teledildonics," joked Yang.

More usefully, Durante, a modder, DSFix creator, and PC Gamer contributor, provided a clear explanation of the Steam Deck's specs by comparing it to several gaming consoles.

From an angle that is probably inappropriate for a work account, IGN's Simon Cardy said, "Unless you've spent 18 months cooped up inside, I'm afraid the weight of the Steam Deck will make your wrists hurt." Finally, Gamasutra's Alissa McAloon used an Elgato Stream Deck, two joycons, and masking tape to create the Steam Deck we have at home.