Valve Steam Deck 512GB Handheld Gaming Console - Black

Amazing!!! Best purchase of my life. It has improved my life and relationship. I can finally play all my games at work and while commuting on the train. Plus play games on the lounge while some dumb woke tv series the misses is watching is on. Tip though, when she express how good a female actress or director is just agree and say she needs to win an award. Else you will lose game time, I learnt the hard way.

Best gaming device. It can play Pixelmon! 😉

I love this device. Everything about it is excellent. The amount of things I can do on the Steam deck is fantastic, all in a convenient form factor. If you are familiar with gaming on Linux, you should not have trouble getting this machine to do magic. I liked it so much, I bought two more for my kids. Now they can play Pixelmon, something you can't do on gaming consoles 😋. Out of my 450 games on Steam, I only found 2 games that could not run. Games installed from Gog plays great as well.

Excellent handheld device!

Very good purchase, however a little pricey, definitely worth it. I can play all my steam games on the couch, bed, outside on the DECK. Graphic is amazing, and game runs at least 60fps, speakers are good, there's also a microSD slot. Overall I would recommend this, and glad that we can finally get it in NZ.

Great Handheld Gaming PC

First of all: yes, this is quite a bit more expensive than if you'd just buy the SD if it had just released officially by Valve. Buuut who knows when they're going to release it over here? I know I didn't wait. If I (and you) can get one now even if it's got a bit of a markup it's all good as long as it was worth it. For people that aren't quite experienced with computers in general like all the ones that use Windows, this may not be the best thing for you. Linux is quite a bit different to Windows and can be quite a bit confusing if you don't know what you're doing. HOWEVER, at the same time, SteamOS is actually fairly similar to Windows in some aspects so if you're good with Windows, you'll fit right in with SteamOS. In the end, even if you don't have a lot of ... MoreFirst of all: yes, this is quite a bit more expensive than if you'd just buy the SD if it had just released officially by Valve. Buuut who knows when they're going to release it over here? I know I didn't wait. If I (and you) can get one now even if it's got a bit of a markup it's all good as long as it was worth it. For people that aren't quite experienced with computers in general like all the ones that use Windows, this may not be the best thing for you. Linux is quite a bit different to Windows and can be quite a bit confusing if you don't know what you're doing. HOWEVER, at the same time, SteamOS is actually fairly similar to Windows in some aspects so if you're good with Windows, you'll fit right in with SteamOS. In the end, even if you don't have a lot of experience with this stuff, there are plenty of tutorials you can search up that'll help you out a lot in the end so make what you will of it. Besides, most of the time it's fun to learn something new. I reckon the 512GB model is perfect for us that want the most storage. Means you don't have to uninstall games to fit more in like you would with the 256GB and especially 64GB models as often, let alone upgrading the storage. Which if you're not exactly comfortable with opening up devices to upgrade them like myself, makes the 512GB model pretty nice. Other than that this model of SD is no different from the other models in terms of performance. Despite it's size, it's quite light. It's easy to use, navigate and do whatever you'd like. Lots of things to tinker with (provided you know what to do and look for) if you're into that stuff. The matte screen is a nice thing to have too. The control layout was somewhat awkward for me at first but I grew into it really fast. Lastly, that Samsung charger that MA bundles together with the SD? Works perfectly. If you don't have an adapter for the original SD charger the other one MA gives in for free should do just as well.

Great in theory but do your research

I was very excited to see these being sold in NZ and jumped at the chance to grab one without doing my research in full. I ended up disappointed overall so I would note the following before jumping in: - You're paying a premium; this model runs for $630 USD which is approx. $1,000 NZD - Steam deck runs on a Linux hybrid OS that doesn't run all games. COD, Destiny 2, Apex etc all don't run on it. - Even when games are compatible, they often don't run well due to the hardware limitations. The deck is really focused on smaller titles or AAA games that came out <2022. Research your favourite games to see how they run before buying (as I should have done for Destiny 2......) There are some great things about the deck however: - The steam deck shines as an emulation ... MoreI was very excited to see these being sold in NZ and jumped at the chance to grab one without doing my research in full. I ended up disappointed overall so I would note the following before jumping in: - You're paying a premium; this model runs for $630 USD which is approx. $1,000 NZD - Steam deck runs on a Linux hybrid OS that doesn't run all games. COD, Destiny 2, Apex etc all don't run on it. - Even when games are compatible, they often don't run well due to the hardware limitations. The deck is really focused on smaller titles or AAA games that came out <2022. Research your favourite games to see how they run before buying (as I should have done for Destiny 2......) There are some great things about the deck however: - The steam deck shines as an emulation station, there are native apps (EmuDeck) which make it easy to setup and run games from basically all the older consoles. - If you're into tweaking around Linux again this is probably going to be heaven for you, there is a rabbit hole of tweaks you can get into. In the end I returned my Steam Deck as it arrived with a dead pixel on the screen (Mighty Ape were easy on the return process so this doesn't affect my review) and whilst I enjoyed my time it ultimately made me just want to purchase a gaming laptop running windows for less hassle. Keep in mind you can get laptops online for around the same price running an RTX 3050

It's a great machine once you get used to it.

It's almost exactly what I expected though I wasn't aware that the trackpads had haptic feedback as well which is cool. It took a couple of days for me to properly understand the nature of the Steam "verification" ecosystem. For some games that haven't been properly verfied (yellow), there are definite work arounds or it's a very minor issue like; some of the UI doesn't properly fit or scale to the custom resolution of the screen in Grim Dawn for example. Otherwise it works brilliantly. There's also a very densely populated and enthusiastic community out there of Deck owners who have posted detailed guides on how to run just about almost any game you could think of, though there are definite exceptions. This also includes some very helpful coding guides on how to ... MoreIt's almost exactly what I expected though I wasn't aware that the trackpads had haptic feedback as well which is cool. It took a couple of days for me to properly understand the nature of the Steam "verification" ecosystem. For some games that haven't been properly verfied (yellow), there are definite work arounds or it's a very minor issue like; some of the UI doesn't properly fit or scale to the custom resolution of the screen in Grim Dawn for example. Otherwise it works brilliantly. There's also a very densely populated and enthusiastic community out there of Deck owners who have posted detailed guides on how to run just about almost any game you could think of, though there are definite exceptions. This also includes some very helpful coding guides on how to install mods for games like Fallout: New Vegas for example, something I will try in the near future. It is relatively "powerful" for such a device, though obvious caveats apply of course, a good example being that in order for Hogwarts to run stably, they had to have the graphical settings nuked by default. Though, this being a handheld PC you can just push up the settings and give yourself a nice portable heater if you wish, at probably no more than 10 fps. It's a great device, god knows why they took so bloody long to release it here but i'm glad they did and I finally have one.

Must buy

As you cannot currently purchase a Steam Deck from Valve directly, this is the best place to get a Steam Deck without paying some scalper. Yes, this does mean you're paying more as MightyApe have to cover the import fees - but it's worth it. I've had nothing but great experiences in every game I've run so far. Decent enough battery life for a high-powered device. Highly recommend it over a laptop or other portable device of the same price point. Also, perfect if you're like me and own 1700+ games on Steam.

My backlog couldn't be happier

No regrets in this purchase. Once logged in I find I have 70 games with the green steam deck tick, and many more with the yellow. Even then I am still playing games like Jedi Fallen Order that is technically not rated for it, and it is buttery smooth. It is lighter than you would think, and the sound is very impressive to go along with those graphics. The days of handheld gaming consoles always being a generation (or two, looking at you nintendo) behind their full size counterparts are well and truly over. Being able to play a game on my normal gaming PC and then go sit outside on the deck and carry on playing, without having to worry about the wifi signal is an absolute dream

Portable PC with punch

Product came through with no issues, and even included a charger that works in NZ! The Steam Deck is a great device for playing your Steam library. Not everything is supported, but about 70% of my games are verified, and that includes big 3D AAA games like God of War. It's got a really big online community that can help you with any issues or edge cases you have to get certain games running, and you can easily hotswap to a linux desktop mode where you can do regular PC things like browse the internet, watch tv on streaming services, listen to music, or download non-steam games and apps.

Steam deck does what MANY other consoles don't!

Portability! I find myself playing through my Steam library and visiting games that I haven't played in years. It makes it so much easier to play the majority of your games. Unlike a new console from any other publisher, when I got the Steam deck, I instantly had over 100 games available to me that I could play right away. It's the ultimate "backwards compatible" machine. Not to mention, it makes for an awesome emulation machine, which just adds THOUSANDS of games that you can play on the go. I love this thing.