Steam Deck Emulation Testing -- Six Months Later!

The Steam Deck has been shipping for about six months now, and so it's time to do an updated emulation showcase video to see what kind of performance we can expect on 2022's most performant handheld.


Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:16 my setup
02:39 retro systems (up to PSP)
03:49 GameCube, Wii, PrimeHack
06:42 3DS, PS2, Xbox
08:53 Wii U and PS3
10:57 Switch (and cat break)
13:30 summary and conclusion

Theme song written by Jim Gray of Our Ghosts:

This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

#SteamDeck #Emulation #RetroGaming

[RetroGameCorps]

A few notes (thanks for the all the questions and feedback):
- Apparently using the v1.0.0 version of Link's Awakening improves performance; I was using v1.0.1 in my testing
- When closing the PowerTools plugin, press the B button to close it instead of the QAM ("three dots") button, which can cause the SD to crash
- If you experience slowdown when playing RetroArch, it's likely because you downgraded the display refresh in the Steam settings -- set it back to 60Hz
- I am currently not very interested in testing Xenia (X360) because most of those games are ported to PC or backwards compatible with current consoles. I may try a few exclusives down the line.
- I also said "across the board" a lot in the video, forgive me.

[HLLHATHNOFURY]

I love my Steam Deck. Hands down the best gaming handheld I’ve purchased. I barely play my PC games on it due to what I can play with emulation.

[securatyyy]

Favorite thing about the Steam deck is that Valve is supporting the hell out of it. It may have bugs but they have consistently put out updates to fix it. Sometimes going a bit beyond what was required. It shows they give a damn and want their product to flourish which I can respect.

[FanTheDeck]

It's time!! Grabbing some coffee and digging into this video. Thanks Russ!

[andrewsorenson]

This is just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion. Can't believe all this improvement in just six months. The Steam Deck has really been a shot in the arm to the emulation community and spurred on innovation. Can't wait to see what the next hardware iteration will be!

[tatertot]

This came at the perfect time for me! Having my steam deck shipped very soon, and stumbled across your channel looking for info on the unit and its emulation capabilities. I've since begun bingeing your reviews of smaller emulation handhelds and really enjoy your stuff!!

[erdemmemisyazici]

That is a powerful portable. Literally 1980-2010 games all emulated in your hand. As a kid who owned a PSP, I'd love to get one. As a 30 something with an office job, I got bills to pay. 😄

[hehaheadshot]

The Steam Deck has been a dream come true. Growing up with N64/PS1/XBOX and gaming after, it's been a dream to have all of my favorite games on one device and now it's here and somehow portable too! That plus having most of my PC library being playable as well as running a full linux PC, synth/eurorack software, watching movies, etc. this machine is limitless entertainment with a bit of productivity on the side. Traveling has never been better!

[maticman]

This was a joy to watch, the games, the nostalgia . Now I want to buy one.

[lopsidedwombat]

Getting mine in tomorrow and can not wait. Love that there's still videos like this coming out and that people haven't moved on

[TheCrazyCanuck]

I love my steam deck. I originally got it for PC gaming but find myself mostly playing PSX/PS2 games. Although the steam deck battery life is not great, when you emulate old game you can expect at least 6 hours battery life easy.

[feetenthusiast]

This is awesome to watch. The gaming community really is great to be part of, getting to see tech advancements as cool as this is a big highlight😎 👍

[zhp]

With Steam Deck getting into more consumer households and their presence expanding towards the Asia regions, it might be worth featuring more Deck content over on this channel.

Doesn't have to be a full pivot away from your preferred content, regardless.
Please continue doing what you enjoy.

[davidlr]

every Steam Deck video that I watch makes me want one more... hoping they release in Australia at some point

[TheNickerous]

Awesome! My Steam Deck was literally delivered a hour ago, so I am very excited to watch the updated guide. Still need to secure a micro SD card, so by the time I get that, maybe I can use the new guide!

[johnnydaugherty]

Something I don’t see a lot of with Steam deck videos is playing old games on private servers. Like PSO, or FF11. I would like to see how doable stuff like that is on the steam deck! Great videos!

[BrianJones-wkcx]

Great coverage, as usual, Russ! As my Steam Deck came in a few weeks ago, I’m looking forward to seeing your updated Emu Deck guide. I’ve been reticent to dive too deeply into my dumped PS3 library, assuming it wasn’t going to run quite as well, but I may give it a toss after seeing your experience. Also, great tip on the plug-in for altering threads, will definitely be giving that a look as well! I’ve said it before but it bears repeating—every video you publish has something of value and is worth the watch! Thank you for your work! One thing that might be worth covering in the updated guide if you please—what is the out-of-box update process like for the Emu Deck updater?

[Intertayne]

Finally got mine. It's like the dream I first had when I was first heard of the PSP has finally been fully realized. It's amazing.

[BrianMills]

Oh thank heavens Chicken is ok. They were absent from videos for so long I was afraid to ask where they went for fear of bad news. Glad to see they are ok and making cameos again. Good cat.

[novaspacewitch]

My Steam Deck came in literally the day this was posted (my birthday! Very convenient timing, Valve!)
I'll wait for the new setup video to make things easier on myself. Thanks for putting in all the effort to make this process painless.