Can we have Steam Deck as a platform?

Topic: can we have Steam Deck (or at least Steam OS) as a platform?
Yes, it's more or less linux.. but not exactly. I think it deserves to be listed.

I'm going to guess no. Why?

- It's a pc
- Valve says its a pc.
- These devices existed long before Steam Deck. the concept is not new or different. The only thing that makes SD special is its Steam integration which is purely a software difference not a platform one. You can run steam on the "clones"
- Its custom configuration just makes it a Pc. Pc's have different specs and capabilities so Steam Deck approved games are just games which have minimum specs which Deck reaches and specific hardware device support has been in PC games since the late 80s. .
- It plays the same games, which means it doesn't have any unique titles.
- It's closer to the Game Boy Advance or DS/3DS line or Mobile phone market than it is its own class of device. Form factor/hardware differences but plays the same titles.
- We've already had this debate and Everdred was pretty clear.

This was already discussed here starting somewhere in the middle of Page 2...

https://howlongtobeat.com/forum?&thread=2408&page=2

Thank you for the link, I did not see the old thread.

Hum.. I think here the issue is that we have PC as a platform, while in reality it should be Windows. We have Mac (which is just an hardware), Linux (which is just a software) and we have PC which, technically, is a superset of the previous two. While in everyday's language, it really means Windows.

Now.. if PC means Windows, then SteamOS should exist as a platform.
If PC means Personal Computer, regardless of OS, then neither Linux nor Mac should exist.

If we get it down the the most simplistic description...

The SteamDeck is a PC
SteamOS is a Linux distribution

This is fact. It's that simple.

So you suggest games played on the Deck should be logged as Linux?

Thank you for the link, I did not see the old thread.

Hum.. I think here the issue is that we have PC as a platform, while in reality it should be Windows. We have Mac (which is just an hardware), Linux (which is just a software) and we have PC which, technically, is a superset of the previous two. While in everyday's language, it really means Windows.

Now.. if PC means Windows, then SteamOS should exist as a platform.
If PC means Personal Computer, regardless of OS, then neither Linux nor Mac should exist.

I suspect there is a generational slant to how people view platforms, and you've said some things that make that clear.

[ I think here the issue is that we have PC as a platform, while in reality it should be Windows

Because DOS existed long before Windows was a viable game platform, and Windows 3.1 and 95 games were often supplied on the same disc as DOS versions. Even Windows 98 didn't entirely remove DOS as the option for playing games, but the growth of DirectX had more to do with that.

Now.. if PC means Windows, then SteamOS should exist as a platform.

It doesn't per the above.

If PC means Personal Computer, regardless of OS, then neither Linux nor Mac should exist.

Mac was introduced 2 years after IBM's PC platform and was 100% incompatible. Both platforms developed entirely separately using incompatible components and standards. the market treated them as separate, and they were separate things. There were thousands of exclusive games between the two platforms.

The Mac then switched to a PowerPC based platform, which again was incompatible with "PC". Yes it did switch to intel for a while, but it has now changed back to its own separate technology. The key difference is that both platforms have a diverse and different historical significance, and gaming libraries to match, even if they crossed some paths for a while.

Linux is more complicated a discussion but there are unique games only available on computers running Linux (or Unix).

Not sure I agree.

What makes sure that a game (or program) can run on <something> is the couple (hardware, OS).

What does platform here means?
Because we could split things like Mac32bit and Mac64bit.

And from what I got from your answer, linux has no reason to exist as basically all hardware that can run linux can run some version of windows (or Dos, since you mentioned it).

Not sure I agree.

What makes sure that a game (or program) can run on <something> is the couple (hardware, OS).

What does platform here means?
Because we could split things like Mac32bit and Mac64bit.

And from what I got from your answer, linux has no reason to exist as basically all hardware that can run linux can run some version of windows (or Dos, since you mentioned it).

linux also runs on non "PC" hardware.

Not sure I agree.

Well obviously. I would be surprised if people changed their mind after having things explained. People generally don't do that.

Sorry, from your aggressive answers looks like I am coming out as somehow aggressive myself. If that's the case, I apologize, not my intention at all (and not being a native speaker might have led to a wrong choice of words).

I think I am making things a bit more complicated than they should be.
The base question is: What does "platform" on this site means?

One thing to note... when you submit Mac, Linux or PC on your submission they all filter into just PC. Setting that is just user preference for your own collection.

One thing to note... when you submit Mac, Linux or PC on your submission they all filter into just PC. Setting that is just user preference for your own collection.

Which has its own pros and cons and I'm not sure is the correct approach, even if I understand why you've taken it as a middle ground.

Are the platform lists for game pages and submission platform separate database entries? I guess I tend to think more from a game page aspect than submission platform.

Sorry, from your aggressive answers looks like I am coming out as somehow aggressive myself. If that's the case, I apologize, not my intention at all (and not being a native speaker might have led to a wrong choice of words).

I think I am making things a bit more complicated than they should be.
The base question is: What does "platform" on this site means?

The same here.

I guess I'm still annoyed by the previous discussion where people bought a Steam Deck to use as a portable PC and then wouldn't accept that we treated it as well, a PC despite valve themselves calling it one. However there wasn't really a need for my comment, I blame me rushing to reply before leaving for work.

Which has its own pros and cons and I'm not sure is the correct approach, even if I understand why you've taken it as a middle ground.

Are the platform lists for game pages and submission platform separate database entries? I guess I tend to think more from a game page aspect than submission platform.

They aren't separate. The submission page just has the supplemental platforms like Android, iOS, PlayStation VR, etc.

if Steam Deck deserves a category, AyaneoAir deserves a category too, and Ambernic Win600 deserves another...

I mean... why not?
there's already a spam of hardware that probably get legitimate logs once per millennia (who has actually beaten games on the 3DO and made a legitimate log on this specific website?)

easiest solution is to let us add custom hardware that wouldn't contribute to any public stats, I don't care if you don't want to add the steam deck officially, just let me do it for my own personal lists like the funny custom tabs we can do

How about a PC (Handheld) or just Handheld PC?
This form factor is here to stay and will only get better and more viable in time.
Sure, in the end it's all PC but we would like to be able to distinguish between them

How about a PC (Handheld) or just Handheld PC?
This form factor is here to stay and will only get better and more viable in time.
Sure, in the end it's all PC but we would like to be able to distinguish between them

Sure, in the end it's all PC

You've upended your own argument

It would be good if you could just add a option in maybe aditional mode or options if it is steam deck playable or compatible as not every game you can play on steam is steam deck playable/compatible.

They say they will ad all games but when is that ever trough, just you cab filter them out when to play a game next.

That seems like a lot of work for the one person running the site, especially considering there already is an official website run by Steam that tracks this: https://www.steamdeck.com/en/verified

There is also one from IGN: https://www.ign.com/games/feature/steam-deck-playable

However, I think it's a pretty good idea for a collection. If you're not interested in doing it yourself, I would be willing to make one for you.

Sure, in the end it's all PC

You've upended your own argument

All other handhelds yes, laptop PC hardware repackaged into an all-in-one handheld running Windows. It's a PC no question about it.

Steam Deck on the other hand is powered by a custom SoC, runs a custom OS and sells games through its own digital store. Exactly like the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo.
If Valve pushes it as the 4th console/platform and the developers start to develop with the Deck in mind and we all start to see the Deck logo alongside the other consoles, then it definitely deserves to be its own platform.

How about a PC (Handheld) or just Handheld PC?
This form factor is here to stay and will only get better and more viable in time.
Sure, in the end it's all PC but we would like to be able to distinguish between them

This is the correct way to do it in my opinion, don't have Steam Deck as its own platform as there are other handheld PCs similar to the Steam Deck. Make this 'PC (Handheld)' platform work as a PC sub-platform like the Mac and Linux platforms work currently (strange there isn't a Windows one). If the moderators here think 'PC (Handheld)' shouldn't exist then they should remove 'PC VR' as they are just PC games. Oculus Go and Quest should be 'Oculus VR'. There are plenty more platforms in the list I could pick apart to further prove this point but I'll leave it at that for now.

Right now the way I handle Steam Deck games is to label them as 'Linux' and label desktop games as 'PC' which is better than nothing.

All other handhelds yes, laptop PC hardware repackaged into an all-in-one handheld running Windows. It's a PC no question about it.

Steam Deck on the other hand is powered by a custom SoC, runs a custom OS and sells games through its own digital store. Exactly like the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo.
If Valve pushes it as the 4th console/platform and the developers start to develop with the Deck in mind and we all start to see the Deck logo alongside the other consoles, then it definitely deserves to be its own platform.

Steam Deck on the other hand is powered by a custom SoC, runs a custom OS and sells games through its own digital store. Exactly like the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo.

Custom Soc based on existing pc technologies. It runs PC operating systems. Steam Deck can run games from other sources, unlike those consoles.

This is the correct way to do it in my opinion, don't have Steam Deck as its own platform as there are other handheld PCs similar to the Steam Deck. Make this 'PC (Handheld)' platform work as a PC sub-platform like the Mac and Linux platforms work currently (strange there isn't a Windows one). If the moderators here think 'PC (Handheld)' shouldn't exist then they should remove 'PC VR' as they are just PC games. Oculus Go and Quest should be 'Oculus VR'. There are plenty more platforms in the list I could pick apart to further prove this point but I'll leave it at that for now.

Right now the way I handle Steam Deck games is to label them as 'Linux' and label desktop games as 'PC' which is better than nothing.

Make this 'PC (Handheld)' platform work as a PC sub-platform like the Mac and Linux platforms work currently (strange there isn't a Windows one)

There isn't a Windows platform because PC covers all PC (i.e. x86) based operating systems including Linux if people want to use it that way. The PC platform has never been defined purely by Windows, especially in a historical context. There is also MS-DOS, DOS/V, OS/2, BeOS, Unix etc. Some shouldn't be included such as PC 98 or FMT Dos as those are subsets running on incompatible hardware with different memory mappings and hardware access but those both have their own platforms because they are different platforms.

Mac has been its own thing for 40 years, and Linux is widely used on non x86 devices.

All these platforms offer something the Steam Deck doesn't, unique games. Steam Deck games are just PC (or Linux in many cases) games, often running under on the fly code translation. It's expected that a platform have unique games in order to be its own entry.

If the moderators here think 'PC (Handheld)' shouldn't exist then they should remove 'PC VR' as they are just PC games. Oculus Go and Quest should be 'Oculus VR'.

Because Oculus isn't even close to being the only VR platform on PC. It's also a separate discussion entirely and you are welcome to ask that question in feedback if you wish to.

Wow with so many of this gaming handhelds I never thought of this. But with steam deck I can see how this could become a discussion point.