Steam Deckis present and accounted for at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, and Valve has surprised a number of onlookers by showing it off alongside the official docking station. The dock for the Steam Deck has been a point of contention for some owners of the handheld gaming PC, as Valve had to push back its release, with no word on when it might actually be coming out.
Whereas theSteam Deckitself has been a rather successful endeavor for Valve, the fact that the official dock is nowhere to be found has rubbed some users the wrong way, and they turned to third-party solutions, like JSAUX, instead. Valve didn’t mention that the docking station would be making an appearance at this year’s TGS, but the fact that it is present may suggest that the device’s release window isn’t too far out after all.
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TheSteam Deck docking station delaycame as a bit of a disappointment because the device’s current docking support leaves much to be desired with resolution and refresh rate mismatches being a major concern. Early adopters had been hoping that an official solution would come out soon after the device itself, and provide a reliable docking platform for the portable PC, only for Valve to push it back for a while yet. The device itself has been revealed beforehand with all of its features shown off, but TGS visitors have already taken pictures of the Deck dock’s I/O for others to check out.
Though the current status of the Steam Deck docking station is a tad hazy, it’s worth pointing out thatValve upgraded the dock’s functionalityahead of its initial release date estimate. An extra USB 3.1 port was added to the mix, as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port, all of which combine to provide ample connectivity to the Steam Deck, which otherwise comes with a single USB-C plug at the top of its chassis.
Price, too, is a concern for many users, as Valve is yet to reveal how much the docking station might end up costing. Thankfully, no matter the price, users can likely expect a quality product in the end once it finally does come out, as virtually all of Valve’s recent hardware outings have been solid performance in their respective niches. For those who might encounter potential quality assurance problems,Valve has opened official Steam Deck repair centersthat are likely to tackle docking station problems too, once it comes out.
Aside from stealthily showing off the docking station itself, Valve used its platform at TGS 2022 to show a fewSteam Deck prototype examples, helping illustrate just how much iterative design and development had gone into the handheld PC. It’s possible that the company has a few more surprises in store before TGS is wrapped up, too, so fans of its output may wish to stay tuned to the news.
