We’ve known the speeds and feeds, the size and weight of of Valve’s Steam Deck for months. We’ve seen dozens of developer kits in the wild. And we’ve watched multiple hands-on previews from that initial press preview. But none of that will prepare you for seeing the Deck stacked against legendary handheld consoles like the PS Vita and Nintendo Gameboy Advance, and not-s0-legendary portables like the Nokia N-Gage (does that even count?), Sega Gamegear and Atari Lynx.
Indie game YouTuber and portable gaming fan Gary Golomb recently received a Steam Deck to review, and has treated us to no less than 18 fascinating comparison photos.
Game Gear vs “Gabe Gear”
The Steam Deck has been given the nickname of “Gabe Gear” as an affectionate nod to Valve founder Gabe Newell, and the fact that the handheld is, well, a bit chonky. So let’s start our comparison tour there:
Obviously said chunkiness is necessary to properly house the powerful custom AMD APU and various internals needed to deliver a PC gaming experience that doesn’t skimp on the graphics quality. And by all accounts I’ve seen, Steam Deck is surprisingly comfortable in the hands. But I do remember the Game Gear feeling huge in my hands as a teenager, so this shot was somewhat surprising to see.
An interesting side note here: the Steam Deck is 11mm deeper than Sega’s Game Gear.
Steam Deck vs Wii U Controller
Speaking of chonky, remember the Wii U gamepad? You’ll be relieved to hear Nintendo’s thicc controller is a whole 1mm deeper than Deck. But comparisons aren’t really fair, not least of which because the Deck is a literal computer, and the Wii U gamepad was nothing more than a fancy wireless remote with a screen.
Steam Deck vs PS Vita
I have fond memories of the PS Vita, and remember it feeling great in my hands. If you’re of a similar opinion, this comparison shot might make you do a double-take.
You’d be forgiven for wondering if the Steam Deck, despite its hardware prowess and PC gaming pedigree, is going to be an unwieldy piece of tech. Only extended gaming sessions will provide an answer, and that answer will certainly vary depending on your personal preferences.
(Disclosure: I do have a review unit on the way, and plan to have as many battery-draining sessions as humanly possible).
Steam Deck vs Game Boy Advance
I easily burned 100+ hours playing Advance Wars on the classic Game Boy Advance. I also remember my hands feeling like they’d been assaulted with tiny hammers after multiple-hour gaming sessions of Metroid Fusion.
This is why I'm so pleased that Valve has considered adult hands when designing the physical interface for Deck. My only concern (which may or not be valid) is how gaming will feel when using the trackpads to play games like Humankind, or other titles that are designed with mouse-driven gameplay in mind.
(Also, will a UI-dense game RTS game like that be comfortable to play on Deck’s 7” touchscreen?)
Bonus Round: TurboExpress and Switch OLED
To see a wealth of other comparisons, such as the deck vs a VirtualBoy, Nokia N-Gage, and AYA Neo Next, check out Golomb’s entire thread. And come back on February 25 for the beginning of my Steam Deck review impressions.
If you want to read more Steam Deck coverage, check this out:
