With the expansion of Steam Deck shipments to some locations, the handheld PC/console hybrid may reach new heights. The business has just announced that bookings are now available through Komodo, a website that also offers Valve’s Index VR gear for PC along with other games and gaming-related products, in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. You should shortly be sent to Komodo’s website if you visit steamdeck.com from one of those areas, or you can click here and choose your language.
Valve spokesperson Kaci Aitchison Boyle tells The Verge that the first batch of new reservations will be fulfilled later this year; a press release adds that shipments will begin in Japan, “with additional units planned to ship to customers in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the weeks immediately following.”
Pour one out, though, for our Australian friends who are still waiting for word of a launch after Valve mentioned it during its developer summit in November 2021.
The cost of the Steam Deck in Japan will start at 59,800 yen (about $447) and go as high as 99,800 yen (about $746) for the top-of-the-line 512GB model. These variants are priced at $400 and $650, respectively, in the US. Like before, making a reservation only requires a small, refundable deposit of 1,000 yen (about $7.50).
This significant expansion was made feasible, in part, thanks to Valve’s recent increase in manufacturing, and the company emphasizes that supplying these new nations won’t cause Deck delivery estimates for people who have already made reservations to be delayed.
If you’re attending the annual BitSummit gaming conference this weekend in Kyoto, Valve will reportedly be there with Steam Deck in addition to the Tokyo Game Show in September 2022.
Globally, handheld gaming is popular, but it is especially so in nations like Japan where large populations often travel by train to and from major cities. Although having access to Steam is nothing new in these areas, having the choice to buy a somewhat powerful, well-built, and reasonably small handheld where they can play those PC games (while large, compared to the Nintendo Switch) is a major deal.
There has been a lot of encouraging news recently regarding Deck availability, most notably that you can make a reservation for one right now and will likely have one by the end of the year. Due to Valve’s announcement that it would start tripling Steam Deck shipments in late June, many individuals may receive their Deck hardware earlier than expected. And more recently, in late July, Valve announced that, after resolving certain supply chain concerns, it was increasing production to better meet demand.
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