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Theory: The Steam Deck is Actually An Attempt to Get Linux into More Widespread Adoption

Arnox

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If this were running Windows 10, this would obviously be totally false, but each Deck will come preloaded with SteamOS which is Arch Linux based. And Valve KNEW that Linux hasn't QUITE reached Windows levels of compatibility yet, even though it's damn close. But they chose to do SteamOS anyway even though most, if not all devices like it that are getting sold are shipping with stock Windows 10. Further, even though Linux is definitely getting more and more popular, it's still absolutely a shadow compared to Windows' popularity still. But if this thing sells as well as Valve and everyone thinks it will (and I'm sure it will just due to the GPU shortage alone), this could boost the active amount of Linux users in one swoop. Even if they could get 10% of the market to run Linux, that's a fucking huge amount. And most importantly, an amount that cannot be ignored any longer by both game developers and hardware manufacturers.

That or Valve just likes money and they didn't wanna pay for Windows licenses. I'll let you decide.
 

gaijinkaiju

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occams razor.
why pay for a license when you have your own in-house os? It's got nothing to do with increasing linux uptake contrary to what linux users want to believe
 

Battousai

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No man, its their own inhouse OS which although indeed based on Linux it is developed by them. Why would they pay a license to use an OS from their very own competitors in the console market? Valve has had this thing since 2013 and has been upgrading it over the years.
 

Arnox

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Valve has had this thing since 2013 and has been upgrading it over the years.
Yes, they have. And it was also abandoned for a long while until now. Their last release was in 2015 I think. Also, if this was purely a money decision, then why is Valve making the Deck with generally premium components but would skimp out on not paying ~$30 per device for a Windows license? Linus was talking about how the 40 W/hr battery alone in such a small form factor was amazing. And further, I think they're gonna lose money selling these at the price they're quoting, even if it's not necessarily a lot lost. And then there's the huge and very recent push to make Proton even better.

This all only makes sense if they're working at expense to get Linux into the market for real. And it especially makes sense to do it now with this GPU shortage. I mean, FFS, they crashed the site and people are already scalping it. Mark my words. Valve is gonna flood this market with Linux devices by the end of the year.
 
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gaijinkaiju

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skimp out on not paying ~$30 per device for a Windows license?
Why pay for something they already have?

And it especially makes sense to do it now with this GPU shortage.
What does a gpu shortage have to do with this?

Mark my words. Valve is gonna flood this market with Linux devices by the end of the year.
I'm sure that plan will work as well as reinventing the controller with touch pads did.

I'll stand by my previous comments re: occams razor.
 

Arnox

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Why pay for something they already have?
Because that something they had was both abandoned and didn't have full compatibility. Or at least, it didn't then. It would take a lot of work to bring it back from the dead and make it fully functional for the Steam Deck.

What does a gpu shortage have to do with this?
People are looking for anything with a half-decent GPU in it for a good price. If they see that, they'll snap it up. And because so many want a Steam Deck just because it's a good gaming device, Linux will get a big boost in numbers. Of course you can still install Windows on it, but I don't think a lot of people are going to do that if SteamOS is rebuilt to take full advantage of the Steam Deck controls and features right out of the box.

I'm sure that plan will work as well as reinventing the controller with touch pads did.
lol I mean, it's already working, man. People are bumrushing the Steam store. Assuming the Deck does everything Valve says it will, I see no reason why it would fail.
 

Battousai

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It was already stated by Valve when they first unveiled this thing years ago that it was indeed an attempt to encourage devs to incorporate Linux compatibility into their releases, this is no secret ploy they have been on it for years. In the words of Gaben himself "Linux and open source are the future of gaming."
 

gaijinkaiju

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It would take a lot of work to bring it back from the dead and make it fully functional for the Steam Deck
Valve has plenty of time, it's not like they're making (fixing their) games

lol I mean, it's already working, man. People are bumrushing the Steam store. Assuming the Deck does everything Valve says it will, I see no reason why it would fail.
People will be rushing to get copies for the same reason people rushed for ps5/xbox (I forgot what it's called). To scalp them. I guarantee ~75% will be scalped and then there will be subsequent supply issues, given the chip shortage.

"Linux and open source are the future of gaming."
"Games streaming is the future"
-some guy, probably
 

Battousai

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"Games streaming is the future"
-some guy, probably
I don't think anyone in their right mind even believed for a second game streaming would take off, the internet quality required for that is ludicrous and there was still lag and massively delayed response even with good internet. Joke is on the chads that actually bought into the Google Stadia bullshit.
 

Battousai

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I only know about Stadia, everyone knows about Stadia pretty much. It became a huge joke, the requirements to actually make it viable are way too high and expensive, what we got was nowhere near what they promised. Netflix as far as I know only streams movies and series, if they are doing a foray into video game streaming then may god have mercy of their souls because the people won't if its Stadia all over again. Nvidia I have no idea.
 

gaijinkaiju

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Netflix has game streaming? Nvidia has game streaming? Stadia isn't a joke?
I think it was called nvidia shield, or something like that. Not sure what happened to it but apparently it was something to do with licensing.
 
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