There's one thing going against the Steam Deck. Valve is already thinking of future revisions and trying to get OEMs to make their own version using Valve's framework.
So instead of carrying one spec through 4-6, years, they're looking at the same thing that made the Steam Box irrelevant - a glut of choices with varying specs, support, and build quality, with nothing specific for devs to target.
Valve’s Greg Coomer told IGN that should the Steam Deck succeed, the company’s already thinking about future models, and offering the “building blocks” to other manufacturers as well. “We look at this as just a new category of device in the PC space,” he said.
IMO if they want to get this right, they need to put one spec forward every 4-6 years, and let other OEMs find their own way, making it clear that Valve will be working with devs, and working on Proton, to support Valve's current target spec.
Other OEMs bringing hardware will happen naturally because it is already a thing. Valve should share what they have with them, but they should be focused on their own hardware.
They could tap into an important and unrecognized segment of the gaming market. People who want a console, but are attracted to the library and flexibility of the PC market. They want mods, indies, PC exclusives, and a digital library that will come forward with them without extra work with renegotiating licensing deals or adding support for new hardware capabilities.
This would only work if there is a specific shared hardware platform, building a community of devs and end uses concerned with compatibility with one specific hardware configuration.
This would go a long way to getting people who want a reliable plug and play appliance-like experience to take a chance with PC. It could be a bridge between consoles and PCs like we didn't have before.
Looks like it might end up the same as Steam Box tho.
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