With this weekend being all about deals, Valve’s discount on certain Steam Deck LCD models is very underwhelming.
Black Friday is chock-full of sales on everything and anything under the sun—but that doesn’t mean every deal is worthwhile. As Valve does every year, the Steam Autumn Sale has gone live, offering deep discounts on a huge variety of games. But there’s more than software on sale, as Valve is also running a deal on select Steam Deck models. Unlike the game discounts, however, these Steam Deck discounts are not worth your time.
That’s not to say that the Steam Deck itself is bad. We love both the LCD and OLED versions of the handheld, giving them both spots in our handheld gaming PC roundup and gave the original Steam Deck a glowing review last year. The problem is that the discounts on the Steam Deck are awful.
As of the time of writing, the only model of the Steam Deck on sale that’s still in stock is the 512GB LCD model—the version of the original Steam Deck with the most storage. While it seems like a deal at $336.75 (a little less than a Nintendo Switch OLED at full price, though the handheld is also on sale for Black Friday), you’re not getting your money’s worth for a few reasons.
For starters, buying a version of the Steam Deck with more built-in memory is not a great idea. Since it’s easier (and cheaper) to pick up a microSD and expand your storage that way—not to mention that you’ll be able to get more than 512GB of space on the SD card. More egregiously, however, is the fact that neither of the OLED models are on sale. The Steam Deck OLED is undoubtedly the superior version of the handheld, with a better screen, bigger battery, and Wi-Fi 6E capabilities.
During a time when every game console is on some sort of sale, Valve’s decision not to discount the Steam Deck OLED at all (and instead release a limited edition that costs $20 more) is very disappointing. It’s even worse when you consider that the ASUS ROG Ally X, which was only released a few months ago, receiving a $100 discount. While it’s still a little more than the Steam Deck OLED, the ASUS ROG Ally X brings a number of improvements over the original, and we loved it.
All this said, you might still prefer to get the Steam Deck OLED or LCD, despite the lack of a good discount. But it’s something to seriously mull over as you make your Black Friday purchases—if you’re going to pay full price, make sure you won’t regret it.
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ASUS ROG Ally X (2024)
The ASUS ROG Ally X (2024) is a handheld gaming PC designed to play your favorite titles on the go. With the AMD Z1 Extreme processor and 24GB of RAM, the ROG Ally X packs a punch in the power department. USB4 and USB-C allow the ROG Ally X to be converted to a desktop through a USB dock, making it even more versatile.
