Though Valve just announced the product this week, pre-orders for its new handheld device, the Steam Deck, have officially gone live; unfortunately, those wanting to purchase the item online are already encountering errors. News regarding the portable gaming device hit the airwaves yesterday, with Valve promising to deliver a powerful piece of hardware capable of supporting thousands of PC games.
This Nintendo Switch-like device will run customers $399.99 for the 64GB version, a rather steep price for a handheld considering the Switch OLED's asking price of $349.99. Meanwhile, the 256GB option boasts a $529 price tag, with the 512GB iteration coming it at a hefty $649. Steam Deck aims to prove its worth, however, packing in 16GB of RAM and AMD Zen 2 architecture. Better yet, players will find it capable of outputting 1280x720p resolution at 60fps. It's pretty impressive to say the least, which explains why so many are eager to secure a pre-order before the December launch.
The Steam storefront opened pre-orders for the Steam Deck at 10:00 AM PDT. Unsurprisingly, issues abound, with many shoppers reporting errors. Tom Warren from The Verge shared a screenshot of an error message he received upon trying to reserve the portable gaming device. "It looks like you've been attempting a lot of purchases in the last few hours," the message reads. "Please wait a while before trying again." While Warren eventually managed to secure a pre-order, it's clear that countless others are encountering the same exact issue when attempting to reserve their orders.
The above tweet from BWW Media Group's Brad Sams sums up the matter perfectly. Errors and technical issues should've been expected given the events of the last few months. Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were difficult to snag even during their earlier pre-order stages. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 didn't fare any better in this regard at launch, either.
Of course, the Steam Deck's mettle in terms of supply will truly be tested once it actually releases. Will the device prove difficult to find for several months on end? Should hopeful customers prepare to be beaten to the punch by scalpers at nearly every turn? We'll find out for sure soon enough since the handheld presently remains on track for a late 2021 rollout.
Steam Deck is expected to begin shipping on an unspecified date in December 2021.