I consider myself lucky that I was able to snag a 512GB earlier this year at roughly 800 USD lol
Jesus CHRIST that Chad face is cursed
More to the point, though, I agree: Valve really should try to ship to more countries. I understand that they are a service provider first and hardware distributor second, but having done Steam Machines, Steam Controllers, Valve Index, and most recently the Deck, they really should up their game with worldwide logistics. I mean, DHL is super easy to deal with…
Because Valve also don’t want to pay custom fees, and they also want to provide support for deck, and for this they need service centers… Logistics can be hard, especially considering that Valve until recently were specialized only on digital goods, and don’t have wide network of physical shops around the world. Maybe it will change over time, but so far it is what it is.
At least if they slowly increase the availability that would give us some confidence. Almost 2 years and except for the Komodo Asian market release, it just feels like they forgot lol
Yeahhh. Third world gadget tax is realll. Layers of profiteering with absent after sales support. 👌
Craziest thing is here in Russia we do not have official Steam Deck release due to the sanctions. But Russia is in the top 3 countries in terms of global sales. https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/10/19/steam-deck-sales-3-4-million-units-report-gamediscoverco
Right now i can order Deck LCD with express 1 day delivery just for the ~750$ (512 gb new deck, never in use) from Germany, Netherlands, US, China etc. And Deck OLED for ~900$ (1 tb) with 7-14 days delivery from EU or US.
I’ve bought my LCD version in november 2022 here in Moscow in a local store.
It’s because setting up a logistics network and offering support as well as RMA management is not so easy. It requires knowledge, local partners and money. No comparison to just digitally shipping game keys over the web.