Steam Deck has barely outsold N-Gage as sales cast doubt on Xbox handheld plans

New data has revealed sales figures for PC gaming handhelds across the board, which even collectively haven't even surpassed Sony's failed PS Vita.

[piroh]

I didn't expect such a low number - about a 4 million.

Well, Nintendo dominating handheld market.

[Vits]

We have to consider how this device is sold. In the markets where it is available, it cannot be purchased at retail. It is also not officially available in some of the world's largest PC markets, including South America and South Asia. In fact, among the top five countries with the most Steam users, it is not officially sold in three: Brazil, Russia, and China.

It is not truly competing head-to-head with anything. Even its PC handheld competitors have much stronger distribution channels and are available in far more regions. Considering that, selling around 4 million units is actually pretty impressive.

[Rockstar]

I've gotta scratch my head at the disagrees. This is bang on.

[ziggyzinfirion]

As someone from Southeast Asian region, the steam deck can be purchased anywhere in the region. The only reason I think why the device is niche on the region is because majority of the people who opted for a portable gaming device either went for a switch or a mobile phone.

[Profchaos]

Maybe it's different for us here but we can buy it via retail here in Australia through JB hi-fi and EB Games but not in store

[Killer2020UK]

Lol at the disagrees. Well, it's not that they disagree, it's that you have provided evidence contrary to their belief, and they don't like it.

[RedDevils]

Because Steamdeck is freaking huge, you can't put it in your pocket. Is mostly for couch gaming not a travel friendly device with a shitty battery.

[DarkkMinion]

You triggered the bots somehow. Why are you getting down voted when you are spitting facts.

[jjb1981]

Thank you for making sense of this nonsense.

[Duke19]

Its a bummer because the Steamdeck is actually a legit piece of hardware. IMO a great example of 'Sales doesn't reflect quality'.

Shame it didn't do better tho

[Eonjay]

Sales aren't bad though. I bet that Valve is satisfied with those sales. They were never trying to 'outsell' Nintendo or PlayStation. And, it doesn't really say much about a potential Xbox handheld because it wouldn't be a portable PC... unless of course Microsoft throws a curveball.

[Profchaos]

Far from the first time this has happened though the vita was a incredible device that was cut short because of the market conditions it launched in there was a ton of hype around iPads iPhones at the time they were advancing so fast people legit thought phones would be more powerful in a few short years that never happened.

The Sega nomad could play console games on the go but Gameboy killed it

About 10 other 90s era consoles could have been far more capable but we're also killed early

[SethNW]

It kind of makes sense, since Steam Deck is basically newcomer and more handheld PC. While Nintendo is very well established company in handheld, since up to Switch, they had DS and its variations. And I kind of always expected Steam Deck being held back by being a PC. Because your average Joe, will still way more likely buy Switch, because despite console like limitations, they buy it, all games work out of the box, performance might be poor, but they work, no tweaking required, no settings to change, no questions if it will work. While Steam Deck is more in a way enthusiast thing. You aren't guaranteed that everything will work. Like latest one, Monster Hunter Wilds, it doesn't do 30FPS on Steam Deck at low settings. Also not all games work, if they have too tight DRM or anticheat. And don't get me wrong, Valve moved mountains to get things working as good as they do. Like hats off, full respect to them. But there are limits to what they can do. PC isn't closed platform, so ultimately it will be down to developers to cooperate. And this will always be worse experience for someone who just wants to buy any game on platform and play it out of the box. Hence why something like Switch will always be more mainstream.

But if I consider where Linux was for gaming before Valve brought Proton and Steam Deck, those are extremely good numbers. Like I tried gaming on Linux before Proton and it was anything but smooth and good experience, if you weren't into tinkering. Compatibility was worse and it really was like for really big enthusiasts, not just for gaming, but also Linux. The way Valve made it moved the needle for lightyears. And I really do wish Vavle success with it, to move needle further and to succeed. Because Steam Deck and Steam OS are awesome. And Valve looks like gets what Linux community and developers don't. Things just need to work for your normal person to have good experience. Linux enthusiasts are way too used to type few "simple" commands into Terminal to fix issues and get things working. That is not how you get general crowd on Linux. Like I remember when I worked in store that also sold PCs, once in a while we would get few with Linux preinstalled. They way too often came back because people didn't want to put up with quirks of Linux or just got lost. And fact that there are distributions is not used enough to make bigger targeted variety of Linux distributions that cater to different users. Which is shame and I hope Valve is the one that finally does it.

[Hereandthere]

Switch is a home console 1st and foremost. Switch 2 will even the playing field once more with PlayStation and xbox.

[badz149]

nope. Switch is a handheld 1st and foremost

[Jingsing]

You didn't expect it because as usual the internet completely blows out of proportion the size of next gen PC gaming, Yes a lot of people have PC's but only a small amount play AAA games on them or can afford too. That is why console manufacturers are ok with PC releases.

Most comment sections on websites or platforms are represented by a vocal PC minority posing as a majority saying this is great or this is the best and constantly trying influence companies decisions in their favor but it is all fantasy land talk.

[Profchaos]

All gaming handheld PC's like the steam deck and Rog ally have only amassed a total of 6 million units sold when combined together.

Steamdeck currently sits at around 3.7 million in total

Honestly very surprising and not what I expected at all

[Lexreborn2]

Honestly, it’s not all that surprising. They are pricey pieces of equipment. When steam deck released it was the cost of an all digital PS5 for the 64gb model. It cost more then a ps5 with disc for 256gbs at 529. And the founders addition was 649 for 512gbs. The very thing people screamed about the ps5 pro being the highest tier of steam deck was for less value in tech.

[crazyCoconuts]

I don't know - for Valve, Steam Deck is almost like a companion device - like PS Portal is for Playstation. It probably isn't being used as the main platform. So if it only sells a million a year or something but keeps those users more engaged in your platform, maybe that's enough.
I've gotta think with just ~ 4M Steam Decks that's not enough to cover the costs of the R&D for Valve because that whole Proton thing is a lot. It's a stickiness play. And maybe foundational work for the Steam Box 2.
Regarding MS, they have R&D going into adding SteamOS like features into Windows. Assuming they can do that, anyone can build the hardware. If they push their own store as part of this, that makes sense - another pass at competing with Valve (spoiler alert - they'd probably fail). I think if they sell hardware and people just end up using Steam there's little point other than to keep Windows alive for gamers,

[DodoDojo]

Its like some people are just realizing this, ive brought up how little the Steam deck has sold before and got alot of disagrees. The thing is these devices offer next to nothing over a gaming laptop and without dedicated exclusive software they will never be that big.

[lanmanna]

Better portability? Good luck trying to play a gaming laptop when you're laying on your bed or couch. Lol

[DodoDojo]

Umm people do all the time. You know that controllers work for laptops too right?.

[VariantAEC]

@lanmanna
I can stream games from my PC to my phone. If I owned a Backbone controller I could play many of my favorite PC games of the past 10 years on my much lighter phone the same way I can play PS5 games with the PS Portal (or with the same phone and controller in PS5's case).

[Azurite]

If Microsoft released a handheld that supported Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Xbox/Microsoft Store, and larger game stores I may not have mentioned, it'd sell even better than the Steam Deck.

[Giga_Gaia]

People don't even buy their consoles, they won't buy their handheld either. Also, Valve will not want Steam to be supported on any Xbox handheld.

[ocelot07]

So what you just mentioned is what we call the Rog ally lol

[Profchaos]

That's what is rumoured for the next gen console and with the advance of tools like wine which can translate Xbox one and series games to PC's it seems the next console will likely be a highly specced PC

[fsfsxii]

Lmao laughable numbers.

[S2Killinit]

I thought they had been a success. But these numbers show how difficult it is to break into the mainstream market. These are very sobering numbers. I didn’t expect this.

[Espangerish]

You can’t laugh at something for not competing with the switch or consoles in mass markets sales when the device obviously hasn’t been pitched at the market.

The deck isn’t available retail, not marketed, expensive, not mainstream family or kid friendly at all.

It sells to the hardcore gamers and is almost universally loved and hyped up by that group hence why its importance then appears exaggerated in forums like this.

[fsfsxii]

It is available in retail. You wouldn’t pour so much into R&D for it to not go into retail.
Why are you personally invested? Its a shitty outdated device for uber nerds. I’ve always said handheld devices are a waste of resources, and these sales number reflect that.

[Profchaos]

Yeah that's the thing though it is available at retail I can find 5 retailers in my area that stock it every time it's a order online type deal but retailers do stock it

Example
https://www.gamesmen.com.au...

[lanmanna]

In America, it's only available through Valve. And a handheld is a waste of resources? I guess Nintendo didn't get the memo. Lmao

[VariantAEC]

Wrong! You can buy the Steam Deck new through Walmart.com even if its only available online to ship to your home. Walmart is a retailer.

[NoDamage]

Not sure why that would be surprising....freaking expensive machines. Not to mention you can't buy the steam deck in retail... That's a huge disadvantage compared to other handhelds.

[Gamingsince1981]

You can buy them at retail .......

[NoDamage]

Where?

[lanmanna]

At least in America, you can't.

[VariantAEC]

@replies
Walmart.com

[Redemption-64]

I am honestly surprised by these low numbers. You would think the Steam deck would have sold significantly more given how people talk about it online.

[Bathyj]

Pc crowd blowing smoke like how they all act like they have 4090s when most don't.

[Gamingsince1981]

Nah 5090s now 🤣

[Bathyj]

I was playing conservative, but neither are true.

[Furesis]

i want one but at this point i might as well just wait for a steamdeck 2 for better specs to run games better

[lucasnooker]

Wow Nokia N Gage! I remember that! Had one of those back in the day lol still got the original tomb raider for it somewhere…

[originaljohn]

Out sold by the WiiU

[Dandizzle]

This is following the precise formula for clicks.

1. Create sensational headlines that's more than questionable

2. write an article with AI and just guess numbers and state them as fact.

3. profit form ads

4. Repeat the next day

[VariantAEC]

I don't really trust The Verge either, but I'm guessing no one here wants to front the cash to pay IDC to give them the best estimates for Steam Deck numbers either.

[FlintGREY]

I didn't buy it because of how big and ugly it is.

[Charal]

Not surprising, this is a niche product.
I don’t believe one bit MS will enter the handled market that makes no sense.

[Destiny1080]

since launch its managed to sell a months worth of playstation sales

[derek]

There has been a massive propaganda campaign online that pc gaming is this massive and growing sector of the industry. The reality is that pc growth as largely been stagnant and the poor sales numbers of the steam deck (which has been raved about as being this huge success by pc gamers and media) prove that pc gaming is not necessarily "the future of gaming" as many pretend it to be.

[Profchaos]

Yeah I've been sceptical as to how much of gaming has grown in the last 5 years as hardware costs have ballooned out of control

[lanmanna]

Are we including the pandemic years which were a misnomer?

[HectixRose]

I hate it when people start yapping before doing their research, check out the recent financial report from capcom. Pc sales are 53% and still got room for growth, while console sales are 40% for all 3 major platforms combined and stagnated. Ps5 is gonna sell little more or little less compared to ps4 sales. It's not gonna have exponential growth of playerbase which in turn would cause growth in software sales.

Pc on the other hand is still growing year by year in terms of software sales, no wonder sony is releasing their exclusives on it.

[Asterphoenix]

Yeah I see that being the case and they're are good portable but its extremely expensive to buy. I wonder if it will be difficult to produce?

[vTuro24]

I'm not that surprised tbh. Most people who are interested in pc gaming play on desktop or laptop. The Deck is really more of a console competitor, but it has nowhere near the marketing power of the big 3. Hence the low sales.

[gerbintosh]

Two articles to the right of this one:
"Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming"

[lanmanna]

It's not wrong though. Out of the handheld PCs, the Steam Deck has sold the best.

[franwex]

It would be cool I guess. As long as it’s not all streaming and are able to play some games natively and NO FORCED PARITY.

They also shouldn’t expect tens of millions of units sold.

[Scissorman]

I wonder how this stacks up to something like the PlayStation Portal.

[VariantAEC]

PS Portal has already sold around 2 million units after launching Novemer 15th 2023. In 16 months PS Portal has sold around half of what is estimated for Steam Deck and our source for PS Portal unit sales is Sony.

[RhinoGamer88]

GABE!!!

[SimpleDad]

Gaben!

[andy85]

I do find it odd. Steam is massive. As many users as playstation and the deck was seen as a success. But the PS vita sold several times more units and was seen as a colossal failure. Personally I think these steam deck and the other portable PCs are awesome devices though. The tech will be great in the coming years

[SimpleDad]

It was a failure because small sku numbers don't push software... And Sony had a separate development for it.

Than third party gave up.

Steam Deck gets software big numbers from PC, and Deck team is only doing a support via os and optimisations.

Completely different story.

One of the reasons PS portal is streaming only is that Sony can only do a support for the device.
All the software comes from PS5 development.

That's why these handheld devices are spinned as a success...because they are hobbys of big companies and are pushing more "big" game software sales.

4 mill is nothing...and PS portal maybe has 2 mill

[lanmanna]

Because people are comparing Sony and Nintendo's failures with their past system successes. Up to that point, PSP, PS2, and PS1 were massive. PS3 finally started recovering from the first couple of years. Valve is a rookie in the hardware space.

[gleepot]

Steam deck is a niche thing. A handheld PC primarily for playing your steam library.

It's not for console gamers, it's for a small slice of the PC gamer market, most of which would just prefer to play their PC games on their much more powerful and user friendly desktop.

[No Way]

Idk, I think Xbox and PlayStation would have a much better chance at selling a handheld console (like Nintendo) based on the fact of Brand Name. I'd wager most gamers are more familiar with them than "Steam" or "Valve."

[lanmanna]

Not to mention the fact that Xbox and PlayStation would actually be sold by other retailers. It won't just be Microsoft and Sony directly.

[repsahj]

Nintendo Switch 2 will overtake it quickly within a couple of months.

[SimpleDad]

In 24 hours dude

[badz149]

The Switch 2 will not sell 4 million units in a day. what a delusion

[repsahj]

If it's true, I'm one of those who bought it hehehe

[smashman98]

Very weird article. The only thing that cast doubt on an Xbox Handheld is Microsofts constant shifting around with no solid plan. But even then it's for sure bound to sell more than 4 million because it will be available at retail and will no doubt be advertised everywhere.

[kittujadon]

good

[gold_drake]

look, it might have a huge library, but the steam deck is huge, bulky and quite honestly not as easy to operate.

steam is not super straightforward for casual gamers either.

the price also makes a huge impact.

im not rly surprised. it is a great piefe of tech but ... i have bearly touched mine.

[Jingsing]

People need to stop moving goal posts, 3.7 million is a flop for a handheld that was supposed to be financially subsidized by Steam purchases, it can't even play the latest games anymore and hasn't even had as long a life cycle as handhelds before it. I'd call this experiment an expensive failure for Valve.
As a company they should probably stop wasting money on concept products and focusing on making software which is what they do best and what makes them money.

[carrotcakeag]

It’s not a failure for PC. The market is split between many kinds of devices. Valve is probably happy with these numbers. The best selling computer of all time was the C64 which Guinness World Records says sold at least 12.5m by the highest verifiable number but some estimate up to 30m.

Anyways since the PC software market is not restricted by the total sales of any individual piece of hardware, it’s not directly comparable to console where Switch games can only reach Switch owners. Nobody needs a Deck to play Steam games and Valve doesn’t need to sell Decks to expand the userbase of the Steam platform, it’s just an option.