SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the when-you-want-to-take-it-with-you dept.
Exclusive: Valve is making a Switch-like portable gaming PC
Video game and hardware studio Valve has been secretly building a Switch-like portable PC designed to run a large number of games on the Steam PC platform via Linux—and it could launch, supply chain willing, by year's end.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that the hardware has been in development for some time, and this week, Valve itself pointed to the device by slipping new hardware-related code into the latest version of Steam, the company's popular PC gaming storefront and ecosystem.
[...] In recent years, the "Switch-like PC" category has exploded. In early 2020, Alienware revealed its first Switch-like gaming PC, but the "concept" device has not yet turned into a commercial product. If you want to buy a similar device today, you're largely looking at products from Chinese OEMs like GPD, One-Netbook, and Aya, who have slapped ultramobile PC processors and parts into a Switch-like chassis.
Rumors point to an AMD "Van Gogh" APU (Zen 2 quad-core with RDNA 2 graphics and support for LPDDR5 RAM), 7/8-inch screen, at a $400 price point for a Q4 2021 release.
Also at Wccftech.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday May 26 2021, @10:37PM (1 child)
Assuming the thing is running SteamOS, you could have access to a desktop. It could be a nice Linux handheld or a locked-down console like experience, but with Steam. Here's hoping it's more along the lines of a nice Linux handheld. I would love a portable way to play Master of Magic, other DOSBox supported games, GOG games, and the vast majority of my Steam Library. In the event that it could run Space Engineers, I might could take it to my brother's and we could finally play some Space Engineers together! My internet may suck a semi-truck load of awful, his internet is like going to the dump and trying to find that receipt your threw out last week.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Thursday May 27 2021, @12:25AM
Yeah. I'm hoping that Valve is more interested in creating additional markets (and some independence from Microsoft with their creeping store) than an operating system empire. The device would likely be far more interesting that way.