Hello all,
I ordered the 1tb LE and it should be coming in a few weeks. Originally I was gonna wait for a true performance upgrade to get the Steam Deck, but I decided to take the plunge because I was quite impressed with the changes in the OLED model and want to experience it now that the software has matured.
One of my goals I have with the Steam Deck is pretty simple; basically use it as a pseudo-Nintendo Switch. I want to use it as a party console for whenever I have guests over or whenever I travel. I think I want it to ‘live’ in my living room docked, and I can take it to my room whenever for single-player games handheld. Then when guests come over, I can just boot it up from the dock or plop it down onto the dock, whip out some controllers, then play some party games off of Steam or emulators. When I travel I’d take the deck, dock, and controllers with me.
Basically, I’m looking for general advice. What dock do you think I should get? What controllers should I go for? Any particular setup that would be ideal for this? Keep in mind portability is the name of the game, so a clunky dock solution or four full-sized xbox controllers is probably out of the question.
Plus price, I was originally thinking to just buy some joycons, but at $160 just for four joycons, not including the charger either, the price is STEEP. I don’t necessarily want to spend $200+ just on controllers alone. Plus with joycons they wouldn’t have a full button layout either, so some games wouldn’t be playable. I’m scratching my head trying to figure out what to go with. Ideally they should all be fully-functional (full button layout), small-ish, and wireless would be welcome, but a few of them could be wired if needed. It might be a tall ask, but hopefully some good solutions exist.
Any advice is welcomed. Can’t wait for it to ship! Super excited.
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If you will be moving around with it occasionally, a protective case is a good idea. This protective case has a hard-shell cover, and a kickstand (half the reason for a “dock” form factor gone). Price = $8.36. There is also the more expensive brands like JSAUX etc which are around $30-50; but have some expanded features beyond basic protection.
The thing about a Steam Deck is that the USB-C port is on the top, so regardless of if you use a USB-C Hub, or a Dock, you still have to go through the motion of manually connecting the USB-C cable at the top. So my question is always, why pay so much extra for a “dock”.
Another detractor from the dock form (for me) is, it forces you to have everything connected to it in view. With a Hub, you can keep everything below the deck, behind the TV etc, and only have the 1 USB-C cable connecting to the Steam Deck visible. You can go either way, just my pref. Dock maybe $30-70, USB-C x-in-1 Hub $10-20
For some cheap controllers that work well, that are decently compact (not small) are the Stadia controllers. You can probably find them for cheap somewhere. I’ve had the same one for 3 years, still looks in great condition and no stick drift issues. I’ve seen some people find them in used game stores etc for $8-10 each. If buying online it will cost much more because people have clued in to them being good BT controllers. Bonus is they have orange thumbstick accents to match your LE Steam Deck, and come in black or beige.
So I’d go for a case that has a stand integrated into it and a hub over a docking station. Just make sure you buy a hub that has a rated input power so you can charge and play at the same time. Significantly cheaper and more portable.
When it comes to controllers unfortunately I have no advice, I tend to use existing ones I have lying around and ask others to bring theirs.
If you were to go the joycon route, there are cases (from jsaux for example) that have extra space that may fit some small controllers safely.