$800 handhelds are clearly a step too far for most gamers.
  • decolo@piefed.socialEnglish
    1 month

    I would assume the entire gaming hardware sector is taking a similar hit. This article isn’t too useful without industry comparative analysis

    • Ashtear@piefed.socialEnglish
      1 month

      Xbox consoles were up 86% YoY in June. I wouldn’t be surprised if people are seeing the eye-popping prices on hardware and choosing to make their purchases now. (June 2025 was also the Switch 2 release, which surely suppressed sales last year.)

      That said, I think Steam’s prices–along with with other swiftly rising handheld PCs–are the canary in the coal mine here. Next gen is going to have some wild sticker shock.

    • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.socialEnglish
      1 month

      No, I don’t, not entirely.

      I think sales are also dropping because all the people who were going to overpay for a low spec computer based solely on branding already bought it, because it sure wasn’t going to generate legitimate hype on value for your money in the first place.

      • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zipEnglish
        1 month

        Eh, my steam deck was well worth the $550 it cost last year. It absolutely isn’t worth the $800 it is now

    • cRazi_man@europe.pubEnglish
      1 month

      Some YouTubers are recommending that certain used ROG Ally devices may give better value and performance from the used market. These work really well with Bazzite. I don’t particularly value the trackpads and have the knowhow to be able to install Bazzite myself. I wouldn’t buy a Steam Deck if I were buying today. I’d look for an upgrade.

    • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1 month

      Pro tip: check pawn shops. I saw tons of handhelds for reasonable-great prices. Especially the steam deck and ROG ally. You can haggle too

    • Thunderbird4@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1 month

      Used ones are basically going for new prices. At least on eBay, I was seeing used and refurbished OLED models between $650 and $950.

  • ScoobyDoo27@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1 month

    I was about to buy a steam deck until they raised the price. Now I bought a ROG Ally Xbox X for basically the same price. I know they aren’t 1:1 but the steam deck is a terrible price now for what you get.

  • DonkeyStar@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1 month

    I keep seeing articles like this, but it was showing as sold out for at least three months before the price hike for me. I guess they’re better off selling some as long as there’s demand.

  • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1 month

    A free and open market of well informed sellers and buyers will naturally find rh cost of items and services. That is it’ll bounce around like this. If sales tanked from day one the same hardware would likely be on a discount.

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1 month

      My understanding is that the hardware market is currently not a free and open market of well informed buyers and sellers. LLM companies are literally buying hardware that hasn’t been made yet for uses which will never exist.

      • Zephyr@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        28 days

        Yeah it’s the well informed part that’s missing and a problem. It’s the same issue with democracy and how it quickly devolves into a small group manipulating many people into mob rule.