Here in Germany I can get it certified refurbished for 340€ (64gb), 440€ (256gb) or 540€ (540€). You can go for the cheapest and upgrade the storage. Seems affordable to me.
First of all why are we comparing a handheld to a console? That just doesn’t make any sense.
And since when are games for consoles cheaper anyways? Seems like PC games go on sales much faster.
For any PC gamer with an existing library (or any pirate) you already have plenty of games to play on the steam deck. No need to buy anything new.
Also don’t some games on the playstation for example need a subscription for online play?
That said you are right that if you want access to a large variety of games then game pass+Xbox is a solid option. But look at streaming services and mark my words: this won’t last forever. They WILL enshittfy it eventually.
Why am I comparing a console to a handheld? I’m not. The deck was presented as a budget option. I agree mobile devices typically aren’t budget friendly and I’m providing an alternative.
As for cheaper games it’s because the console still has a rental and resale community. Unless you are actually buying 3 games a year and putting hundreds of hours into them; it’s far cheaper to rent or buy and sell on Amazon. I played well over 30 games last year and spent about $250. Had I purchased them it would be well past $2000 a year. Even if I wait 3 years for every single title to hit $5 (which never happens in practice for many games) I’ve still spent $200 on those discounted titties.
Here in Germany I can get it certified refurbished for 340€ (64gb), 440€ (256gb) or 540€ (540€). You can go for the cheapest and upgrade the storage. Seems affordable to me.
First of all why are we comparing a handheld to a console? That just doesn’t make any sense.
And since when are games for consoles cheaper anyways? Seems like PC games go on sales much faster.
For any PC gamer with an existing library (or any pirate) you already have plenty of games to play on the steam deck. No need to buy anything new.
Also don’t some games on the playstation for example need a subscription for online play?
That said you are right that if you want access to a large variety of games then game pass+Xbox is a solid option. But look at streaming services and mark my words: this won’t last forever. They WILL enshittfy it eventually.
Why am I comparing a console to a handheld? I’m not. The deck was presented as a budget option. I agree mobile devices typically aren’t budget friendly and I’m providing an alternative.
As for cheaper games it’s because the console still has a rental and resale community. Unless you are actually buying 3 games a year and putting hundreds of hours into them; it’s far cheaper to rent or buy and sell on Amazon. I played well over 30 games last year and spent about $250. Had I purchased them it would be well past $2000 a year. Even if I wait 3 years for every single title to hit $5 (which never happens in practice for many games) I’ve still spent $200 on those discounted titties.