The Steam Deck is a very successful Linux-based handheld gaming PC released in 2022. It sparked a wave of competitors from other manufacturers. It has encouraged reinvestment into portable gaming on a global scale. However, it was not released globally, the initial roll-out was limited to North America, Europe and Asia. Australia’s time to shine has finally come.
Valve announced the official launch date for the sale of Steam Decks in Australia today through it’s “OnDeck” Twitter account. The tweet is below:
This is a nice contrast to the preorder hell some early adopters had to go through. Poor communication through third-party distributors and missing shipments affected several buyers in Asia. Another positive of the delayed release is that Australian buyers can choose between the massively improved OLED variant and the base LCD model. The OLED Steam Deck offers massive improvements over the LCD model namely a larger, brighter and faster display, marginally better performance, 30% longer battery life, better wifi and Bluetooth speeds.
That’s not to say the LCD isn’t a good buy, but it definitely isn’t as on par as some might have you believe. Regardless the Steam Deck has hit Australian shores and now gamers can take their party on the go. Better late than never, let’s hope that multiple region releases give Valve the experience and motivation to continue elsewhere. Scalping in unsupported regions is still out of hand and hampering console competition.
If you’d like to read about other PC gaming handhelds click here. If you’re curious about how the Steam Deck came to be and its early prototypes click here.
