Gabe Newell: put performance first, wants to “sell millions” Steam Deck, will be a test for the PC ecosystem in the future

Valve has just announced the Steam Deck , a “handheld PC” that allows you to play games bought on Steam with a huge game store (all PC games, including AAA blockbuster games), great configuration and great price; $399 for 64GB, $529 for 256GB, and $649 for 512GB. In an interview with IGN, President Gabe Newell affirmed that the performance of the machine is the first factor, then they consider setting the price to match the power of the Steam Deck.

“ I want [the experience] to pick up the phone and be like, ‘Oh, this works, that’s fast,’ ” Mr. Newell said. “ And price is only the second factor to be considered […] Performance and experience are paramount, which is the main factor that drives us to try .”

Gabe Newell.

The founder and president of Valve also has great expectations for the company as well as the PC gaming experience on a mobile device.

“ Our view is that, if we can move in the right direction, we can sell millions of machines, build a niche for ourselves and for other PC hardware developers to join us. “, said Mr. Newell. ” It will bring us long-term benefits .”

He added: “ We didn’t impose a rate on this device, not a ‘You have to sell 8 games for every [Steam Deck] machine sold, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense’. We thought again, ‘Is this the product on the right track, and it’s a good way to test the assumption that the direction this PC ecosystem is headed is right, for both players and developers. That is the real test, more than anything else .”

You can place your order now, and it is expected that the first machines will hit the road in December of this year.