I think Steam did an admirable job working around that problem by implementing track pads. There are ways around it.

Is that the new steam deck?
wonder how does that work? maybe a diablo could be made into meh

Nope. It is a perhaps a more niche product, but you will have seen the success of the switch, the PSP. Handhelds always have had a place in the market. The higher cost/power handhelds are niche, as generally those who want them don’t need a full pc. However in terms of the: just get a desktop/laptop argument, I have several of each. I wouldn’t want to sit in the garden with a beer and play a game on any of them, the iPad and gpd win 2 however fit nicely there. Sure your not going to get 4K 200 FPS on the latest games, but for what it is they play really well. I wouldn’t play FPS on them, just controller stuff (although kids don’t use k+m anymore).

What keyboard issue? The gpd win 2 has a physical keyboard, the win 3 has a keyboard (although it’s not buttons). You can get a clip on keyboard for the one x player, like iPad. In a lot of case you can use something like anti micro:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/antimicro.mirror/
To map controller to keyboard/mouse commands, it actually makes controlling a lot of old games easier.
They can’t fix the purple dot, let alone developing a full system, tested. Cost is not just money up front to build, it’s testing, time and resource, support etc. Also, your list above has a widely different range of devices, are you going to go in low end and compete with rom players like rg350, or high end like gpd/aya? What games do you want to support as gog have a large range, couldn’t be a Linux system like steam deck as galaxy isn’t on Linux. So arrange a load of windows licenses? Means all Linux max users out the window. Windows users, some won’t use galaxy, those who would, why not get a steam deck. There isn’t really any benefit to start competing across the board when they can’t compete with other stores let alone anything else.

Developing a GOOD and cheap handheld is an entire diferent beast though. Many on your list were crowd funded.

Keep in mind that the Steam Deck is a state of the art consumer hardware and probably the first x86 device to launch with DDR5 RAM memory. If GOG would make something similar I bet the price would double (at least).
I hope GOG wont copy because whoever's in charge of Steam Big Picture should be impaled by a team of blue dwarfes. It's a very neat idea and I would use it, if eventually works. Things like typing messages is painfull, settings won't always work and it should be suited to touch screen inputs!!!!

Yep, OP super oversimplifying the immense resources it takes to create a good product people will actually buy and market conditions. The Steam Deck is also priced painfully too according to Newell. That implies they're making super low margins or it's even a loss leader where they'll make it up in game sales.

- Could GOG have made a handheld? Yes with conditions on specs / quality.
- Would it be popular? Possibly.
- Would it have been a feasible business venture? No, given what we already know with all those case examples OP listed. Was always a niche market up until recently. This is what we've all been saying.

Steam Deck may well be the most successful of the current (and even future) "handhelds designed for PC gaming (mostly)", but overall it depends whether there is a real market for such devices, ie. need for masses to play PC games on a handheld.

Maybe there is, I dunno. Maybe I should have bought my kids a Steam Deck instead of Nintendo Switch, so that they could play e.g. many of my existing GOG and Steam on it... but frankly at this point they are using the Switch mostly as a "console connected to the TV" gaming device. I've brought it with us to a couple of road trips but my son gets nauseous if he tries to play it in the car.

Anyway, while I am interested in the technology of these "PC handhelds", the problem for me seems to become the price, ie. when I see some 700 or 800€ price tag, I instantly get a feeling "waiddaminute... I could get a pretty good laptop with that price, that can play lots of PC games great too. And has probably considerably more CPU/GPU power, and a bigger screen, as well". The only thing such a laptop would miss is that it isn't really a "handheld", so at that point I'd have to weight it carefully, how important it would be to me or my kids that it truly is a "handheld", and not a small laptop.

At this point I am actually a bit more interested in the GPD Win devices, at least the one which seemed to come with an integrated keyboard (EDIT: Ok I realized only now that the GPD Win 3 also has a keyboard, it is just hidden behind the screen by default... I was wondering why they'd drop a keyboard from GPD Win 2 to Win 3?). Kind of a complete "mini-PC", even smaller than laptops.

You seem to think GOG would have some kind of edge over most of those other "gaming PC handheld" providers, but I fail to see what exactly it would be.

Maybe if there was some incentive for buyers of such a device to buy all their future games from GOG (instead of other stores), then maybe it would make sense, but I fail to see how GOG could have such an edge. Valve is better prepared as they have invested so much already to SteamOS, and Linux compatibility of its library of games.

Let's put it this way: why wouldn't you just buy any of those devices you mentioned, or Steam Deck, to play your GOG games? What incentive would be there for you to buy a PC gaming handheld specifically from GOG? I presume GOG games install just fine on those other devices too, if they can run x86 Windows games in general (either through Windows or Linux WINE).

Yep, switch looks like a huge success, but it had the fan base and advertisement to start with. And tailored more for kids, they don't care much with lower quality, they like whatever they can get and trendy. + Most of the games as I see are the very colorful and the typical Nintendo franchise games + lots of arcades and a few PC games like subnautica.

Clearly gog won't be able to compete with that, with open system they are not guaranteed games are bought from their stores, and if they implement any limitation there goes drm-free.

Right, what could we assume they can make, if they have troubles fixing the current store too.
No way they could a worthy handheld. The userbase is too fragmented.

To those of you who asked “why wouldn’t you just buy the Steam Deck, or another handheld rather than ask GOG to make one?” ... keep in mind that the only reason why I brought this thread back was due to the fact that I suggested the idea of GOG making a handheld over six years ago (look at the date on the original post), so I was just wondering what would have happened if they actually made one when I suggested it. I would still love it if GOG made a handheld, and I think they would do a great job if they did, but the chances of that happening are virtually non-existent. I just thought the idea was cool.

GOG already has gone that direction with Galaxy, which depends on each person to decide on the hardware personally. That is the same approach as the computer games themselves, placing the responsibility of personal choice of hardware (or making do with what is available at the moment) with the person rather than a company. That is one factor that distinguishes PC gaming from video game consoles.

I like that approach better, because that is less strings attached, and I make my own decisions and compromises. On the other hand, I would also prefer the software is similarly personalizable. That is, personalizable software instead of a computer program like Galaxy, because computer programs are generally dead-ends.

So, GOG did do it, and without having to support specific hardware like video game console companies do (and the developers of the games).

I look forward to some sort of API for my account with GOG rather than Galaxy, but an "interface" less oriented towards computer programming. Something the everyday person could personalize, like the way HTML and CSS can be simple.

Unfortunately, computer programmers program. If only the computer programmers could spend some time making it possible for themselves to accomplish what they want to do without having to do so much computer programming. They would make their jobs easier, and as a consequence more approachable by the everyday person, too.

With that said, I am very interested in Tilt Five (tiltfive.com) and someday using their glasses or something like that with a piece of reflective cardboard instead of an LCD screen. Less weight, I would hope less electricity. Imagine, a notebook computer without a screen, and instead just unfold some lightweight material until it is as big as desired, for holding or for setting on a desktop. Though, nobody else would see what was there, but it is possible with another pair of glasses.

But that is probably way off, as it is currently supporting only "720" by whatever resolution.

Again, I think GOG already did what you were thinking about, but software only and sensibly so. Hardware is garbage when someone else designs it, as I would rather it fit my hands and provide what I want to experience. That changes as I change, perhaps throughout the day, but a company heads its own direction and becomes chained to legacy support.

Maybe I got too old, and am tired of dealing with gadgets that are essentially non-repurposable as art. Probably from two decades of purchasing "hardware integrated with software" from that fruitcake computer company ('here's to the crazy ones!') that stopped referring to itself as a computer company. Terribly non-repurposable, and I hope never to deal with another of those devices ever again. Gotta learn and do something different instead of just picking another company.

Yep, I quite agree. It is easy to think, well I could get an ok low-mid gaming laptop or mid laptop for that price, and yes you will get a bigger screen. That all comes with added weight and bulk, plus a power block. The gpd win 2 fits in a pocket, and the charger is like a phone charger, so also fits in pocket. What you are paying for is portability of course. I wouldn’t worry too much about advanced hardware, the devices are built to push out best as possible to their native screen, and same as switch (for instance) to tv.. I am not overly convinced about the slide to reveal keyboard style of the gpd win 3, I am hoping to pick one up soon, so can come back on that. The biggest downside I have found with the win 2 is some games don’t like the controller plugged in after start up (ys origins for instance), so a connected mouse is useful. Also, not sure how good small screens are on eyesight of course.
Yes, good point. Switch and steam deck already have a huge customer base.

Actually Switch seems to have e.g. buttloads of the same indie games that are for PC on Steam, GOG etc., you can buy them from their e-Shop digitally.

The problem for me though is that obviously I don't want to rebuy any of those for Switch, as I have already bought them for PC. So in that sense I should have bought Steam Deck instead of Switch, as I already have a vast collection of games that should be playable on Steam Deck, and apparently it can be used as a generic low power PC too.

What I like about Switch though is that apparently it is quite power efficient, ie. runs cool without needing fans, which is what all these Intel or AMD CPU based "PC handhelds" still seem to need, as they run much hotter...

In a way I am somewhat interested in both Steam Deck or e.g. GPD Win 3, but my problem is that when I start considering them, I instantly get the feeling "or should I buy e.g. some ASUS TUF gaming laptop, which is in almost the same price range, and offers a bigger screen, better keyboard, probably more GPU/CPU power... but just isn't a handheld really?".

Decisions, decisions...

I would get the laptop too, or wait until x86 cpu-s become very power efficient in the future hopefully soon, looking apple M1 success I bet some decision makers started to think about coping it to some extent

The games for the switch are pricey as well. You will pay £40 upwards for most games, even from Nintendo store. There are lots of the same games yes, hollow knight is one that jumps to mind £11 on Nintendo store for download.
The switch does run cold, not sure why, probably all solid state stuff. What you do need to remember however is it’s not going to be running gta 5, or doom eternal, and even games you do get for it are not cranked up. I had the gpd win 2 running cemu with breath of the wild on it at 10-20fps the other night as a test. And shadow warrior runs fine on it. In fact the only thing I haven’t had running on it well is bloodstained which appears to be a dumpster fire in terms of optimisation,

I presumed it is at least partly because it is not using x86 compatible CPU, but a more power-efficient design. I first thought it might be something based on ARM design, but apparently the Switch has a custom-made NVidia Tegra processing unit, which, if I recall right, are mostly used in some more powerful Android tables and such (I recall one ASUS Android tablet, which even had a keyboard, had some earlier version of the NVidia Tegra chipset...). Also I think the newer generation Switch, which my Switch is as well, apparently has a newer version of that chipset, offering the same processing power for less energy use. Which also means the newer Switches apparently have a longer battery life than the older Switches.

(EDIT: Apparently there is now even newer Switch model, OLED screen version... So that is the third Switch hardware revision then, right?)

My understanding is that Intel and AMD x86 CPU generate more heat and use more power overall because, ever since Pentium CPUs, the x86 instructions are internally converted into RISC-style micro-operations, which is kind of extra overhead of the current Intel and AMD CPUs, compared to e.g. ARM or many other pure(r) RISC chips. (Some real CPU designer might have a more accurate story to tell...).

So that is why you still may see also fanless designs on Apple M1, Nintendo Switch etc. as they use less power overall and passive cooling is enough, while Intel and AMD CPUs, even the lower end ones, are generally more power hungry, and in practice less suitable for mobile or portable designs (needing active cooling).

After all, I think that is one of the main reasons for Apple leaving Intel and going with ARM-based M1 design (the other reason is because they wanted to try again handling the chipset design mostly themselves, to fully optimize it for their own needs).


ANYWAY, yes in my case I guess Steam Deck, or similar, would have probably made more sense than Switch, as I wouldn't have to buy games separately for them, but I already have a gigantic PC game library (and those systems can run various emulators for older systems too, I presume).