Apple isn’t a bajillion-dollar tech juggernaut today because it comes up with ideas first. Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player, but the iPod dominated because it had a better design, better aesthetics, and better ads. Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, but the iPhone crushed its nascent competitors with better hardware and a brilliant touch interface. Being first never mattered as much as flexing those brand and design muscles to make everyone else look old and busted.
I think that Valve has a shot at its own iPod moment in 2022. The Steam Deck isn’t the first portable gaming PC, but it might be the one that changes everything.
Or at least, it might change everything for PC gaming. The iPod is probably an impossible bar to reach for broader cultural impact, and the Nintendo Game Boy and DS have already defined the types of portable games we played for a decade, anyway. But the pieces for a sea change moment for the PC, specifically, are all aligned this year. The Steam Deck isn’t just a promising piece of hardware. It’s also coming out at an opportune time when PC gaming is out of reach for many people.
The brand power is definitely there: Steam saved PC games from languishing in the dreary disheveled aisles of Walmarts and Best Buys, becoming the platform that even Microsoft and Sony use to publish their own PC games. The PC already won the console war, so why not go all the way and make the PC a console? It’s been tried before, but never by a company with Valve’s resources or name recognition.
Source: Verge
In other news – Actor Andile Mxakaza speaks out after being dumped by Lady Du
Former Isibaya actor Andile Mxakaza has reacted to the separation announcement from his wife, Lady Du early Sunday morning.
Taking to his Instagram page, Andile Mxakaza, says he’s proud of his wife, Lady Du, for the decision she took in the separation aspect. Learn more
