Primarily in my life ive been a console gamer. Starting with the ps1 and owning every system released since. Never did much pc gaming even when i had access to a decent rig. For the past few years ive been a collector. Going for rare and cool retro games i always wanted to own. After about a year with the steam deck it all feel so… archaic? Like, i went and hdmi modded my ps2, but i find the idea of booting up pcsx2 on deck more appealing. I dont feel the need to have a new game in my hands physically, when i know its gonna take me months to play it anyway, i can wait for a sale, get it cheaper, play it portably with mods. Console gaming, especially in the last 2 generations, feels like a hinderance more than anything. Why would i want to be tied to one piece of hardware, with a dubious at best chance of carrying my games forward to the next gen every 6 years? The steam deck feels like its released me from the shackles of console gaming. I dont think ill get rid of my whole collection… but my ps5 and xsx have been doing a lot of dust collecting these days.
Anyone else feel the same? Or have i just had an existential gamer crisis?
Oh yeah. Much like you I’ve been a console guy for my entire gaming life, but I’ve also loved my handhelds so very much. Proud PSP junkie of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Deck has just simply changed my desire to ever play anything else lol. I feel way too locked down on a dedicated console. I love physical media but I hardly see the point anymore because I don’t have the time to properly enjoy them. The Deck is the end all handheld I’ve always wanted that sacrifices nothing at all by being a handheld - which is the problem that literally every other handheld ever always had - so yeah.
I’m sure I’ll get the occasional console for Christmas or for a very specific exclusive now and then as life goes on, but the Deck is my end game.