Would you pay $2000 for a Steam Deck? Well someone on Ebay did just 2 days ago, albeit a special one. It looks like a very early prototype of Valve's hardware was being sold on the auction website, though how the seller got hold of it, we don't know.
The listing was spotted by Reddit user 'Gary_the_mememachine' who posted to the Steam Deck subreddit with screenshots of the listing. They originally wrote that the Steam Deck was sold for $3000 however later reports show an offer was accepted for $2000. Bargain?
A Steam Deck engineering prototype was just sold on eBay today for $3000 😭 from r/SteamDeck
The device is listed as an "early Valve engineering 34 Prototype Steam Deck 256GB."
The device went for $2,000 just a couple of days ago after the seller settled on an offer. Originally listed for $3,000, it’s likely the price would’ve been even higher if the prototype had been in better condition, as it has some scuffs, a loose touchpad, and, crucially, no OS installed.
The seller didn’t reveal how they got their hands on the device, but they did share that it’s an unfinished prototype with circular touchpads reminiscent of the old Steam controller.
The prototype bears a strong resemblance to the finished product, but with some other key differences apart from the aforementioned touchpads which are now square on the official Steam Deck.
The buttons are shaped differently, with two face buttons being blue instead of black. There's also teeny tiny joysticks you have to squint to see, and altered button and vent placements (I wonder if those vents smell as good as the final product.)
A plate on the back of the device marks it as 'engineering sample 34.' Also "not for resale," which is kind of awkward as someone just made $2000 selling it.
Is it a real Steam Deck prototype?
As part of the Asia launch press event, we made the design lab into a showroom of development history. My favorite are the playable prototypes: bootable Deck family tree from mid-2019 to now, from a couple of hand-built units onto gradual mass production. pic.twitter.com/TpU5I8D50pSeptember 12, 2022
We cannot know for certain, but it isn't that far-fetched if you look at official photos shared of previous iterations of the Steam Deck before Valve settled on it's current model. Back in 2022, Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais shared these images on social media, and they bare more than a passing resemblance to the Steam Deck available on sale on Ebay.
What do you think? Is it fake or the real deal? Would you buy a piece of gaming history for $2k?
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