How big is the handheld PC gaming industry?

This article includes sales estimates for different handhelds from market research firm IDC.

They place total handheld PC sales of the Steam Deck, RoG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw at almost 6 million units for the past 3 years. It’s estimated that the Steam Deck makes up between 3.7 to 4 million of those sales, more than all the other major handheld PC manufacturers combined.

  • Technus@lemmy.zip
    60·
    17 hours ago

    The Steam Deck arguably created the handheld PC gaming market.

    Sure, there were handhelds before, but almost no one gave a shit about them. Gamedevs certainly didn’t.

    It wasn’t enough just having the hardware exist, it’s also the massive amount of effort Valve put in to ensure compatibility with a ridiculous number of titles.

    The renewed emphasis on controller support in games alone has significant ramifications for the wider community. A lot of players with physical disabilities use input devices that map to controller actions.

    • BestBouclettes@jlai.lu
      6·
      11 hours ago

      Feels a bit like the iPhone, there were some smartphones back then, but the iPhone took it to the next level.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
      16·
      15 hours ago

      Compatibility is one thing and a heck of a important one.

      The software and interface is great too. It’s not perfect at all. However, the fact that the power button suspends and resumes my games and I can just select from a menu and stuff. It’s a big deal. Like, I’m a programmer but I get tired at the end of a work day and just want to play some games without fiddling too much sometimes.