All over the internet, people are discussing (or just shouting about) whether or not the Steam Deck will be a success or a flop.
But I don't actually see much discussion on how you would even define those.
Do you define it based on HW sales numbers, like a console? Everything less than 50 million units is a flop? I guess it would at least be a clear metric, but I am also pretty sure it would flop by that metric. However, I don't think it's applicable. The Deck doesn't need to sell in huge numbers to prove its viability to publishers so that they target it with native ports, or failing that end up with an anemic library (which is why flopping consoles suck for their owners). In fact, in terms of library, you could say it's already almost certainly a success.
But we also can't say that it will automatically be a success / can't flop, that's just a copout.
In my opinion, a useful definition is whether it succeeds in doing what Valve claims they want it to achieve, which is introducing a new form factor for PC gaming. From that perspective, I'd say that if there is substantial (i.e. significantly more than there was before the Deck, i.e. at least a few hundred thousand units a year) demand for handheld PCs (either the Deck, or its successor, or others) 5 years from now then it was a success, otherwise it was not.
What are your thoughts?
But I don't actually see much discussion on how you would even define those.
Do you define it based on HW sales numbers, like a console? Everything less than 50 million units is a flop? I guess it would at least be a clear metric, but I am also pretty sure it would flop by that metric. However, I don't think it's applicable. The Deck doesn't need to sell in huge numbers to prove its viability to publishers so that they target it with native ports, or failing that end up with an anemic library (which is why flopping consoles suck for their owners). In fact, in terms of library, you could say it's already almost certainly a success.
But we also can't say that it will automatically be a success / can't flop, that's just a copout.
In my opinion, a useful definition is whether it succeeds in doing what Valve claims they want it to achieve, which is introducing a new form factor for PC gaming. From that perspective, I'd say that if there is substantial (i.e. significantly more than there was before the Deck, i.e. at least a few hundred thousand units a year) demand for handheld PCs (either the Deck, or its successor, or others) 5 years from now then it was a success, otherwise it was not.
What are your thoughts?