In this week's overkill digest, Valve starts selling refurbished Steam Deck OLED models, Lenovo's upcoming Legion Go S hints at broader SteamOS adoption, and we look back at 2024 in handheld gaming.
Hi, hello, and welcome to a new edition of the overkill Digest newsletter.
First things first: This is actually not the last Digest of the year. I apparently can't count and realized that Christmas is not next week, but the one after. So the last 2024 email is actually coming next Sunday, December 22nd. Which is good, as I have one more review coming (the AYANEO Pocket DMG), and we're done analysing the data from our Steam Deck survey.
Also, we've introduced a new section on the website called In Brief. It's basically like a quick news section, where you can quickly see what happened in the world of (handheld) gaming. We're still finalizing the design on the home page, but soon you can hope to overkill whenever you want and parse what is new.
...and with that, let's get to this week's newsletter.
🗞️ This Week in Handhelds
🚀 Big Handheld Moves
- Valve is now selling refurbished Steam Deck OLED models. I was wondering when Valve would start selling SDOLEDS (yes, I'll keep that name) for cheaper. Well, the answer is now and you can save around 20%.
- dbrand "leaked" the Nintendo Switch 2. You can think of dbrand what you are want, but they are marketing geniuses. We don't know if what they leaked is actually what the next Switch will look like, or if they are just trolling, but they got us all talking.
- Lenovo is readying new Legion Go handhelds. Three upcoming handhelds have been leaked, but the most interesting one is the Lenovo Legion Go S. It has a dedicated Steam button, pointing to an imminent release of SteamOS for other manufacturers. We'll learn more at CES 2025 in early January.
🎮 Platform Updates
- Microsoft wants to make the Xbox app the center of PC gaming. They've added 400 games to the Xbox app, and updated the UI. Still a long way to go for that app to become good, though.
- The Epic Games Store now comes preinstalled in the UK, Europe, and Latin America. Telefónica plans to preinstall the Epic Game Store on all compatible Android devices sold through its different operators (O2, Movistar). I can't imagine Samsung being very happy about this, since Epic sued them earlier this year.
💻 Hardware Corner
- Apple and Sony are reportedly collaborating on Vision Pro controllers. So their plan is to take one dead project and combine it with the controllers of another dead project, and hope it pops off. Yeah, well, we'll see about that.
- PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 released for Raspberry Pi 5 and Apple Silicon. RPCS3 is now compatible with ARM-chips. This brings that new Mac Mini much closer to being an all round very good emulation platform.
- GE-Proton 9-21 fixes a bunch of games. Including Baldur's Gate 3 and TMNT: Shredder's Revenge.
🎲 Gaming News
- Yet another Cyberpunk 2077 update is here. Update 2.2 adds 100 ways to customize V.
- A new Pokémon TCG expansion is coming. I am missing exactly six cards from the standard set (excluding the very rare ones) of 226 cards. It's driving me insane, and I hoped I would be able to finish my collection before the new set launches in two days.
- Everything we've seen at the Game Awards 2024. My personal highlights are The Witcher IV, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, that new game by Naughty Dogs.
- ...and all the winners of the Game Awards 2024. Astro Bot and Balatro are basically the two games of the year. Is this where I admit I haven't played either yet? (Please don't unsubscribe!)
- Xbox exclusives are gone for good. Jez Corden expects Microsoft to only release timed-exclusives from now on, with all games releasing on competing platforms.
- LEGO Fortnite reveals GTA Online, kinda. Whenever Fortnite does something new, I immediately feel very old.
📌 Quick Hits
- Monument Valley 3 comes to Netflix. I'm a bit annoyed that this needs a Netfix subscription.
- Retro Game Corps picks his favorite handhelds of 2024. Russ and I are aligned on most of the picks for handhelds of the year.
- Small games had a big impact this year.
- Nintendo Switch pirate dodges Nintendo's multimillion-dollar lawsuit. Fantastic work by Chris uncovering more on this. Also, that Keighin guy has some big cojones.
Dig the new format? Hate it? Hit those feedback buttons below and let me know what's working.
🔒 Premium Deep Dive: The Overkill Handheld Year in Review
In digest #78, I wrote the following about the future of handheld gaming:
Between Microsoft's rumored handheld Xbox and Nintendo prepping the Switch 2, it feels like everyone's agreed that handheld gaming isn't some side show anymore. It's the main event and everyone's trying to figure out how to get their ticket to the party.
But 2025 is still a few days away, so let's take a moment to appreciate the ride that was 2024 in handheld gaming. Between unexpected hits, quirky innovations, and more than a few "wait, they actually made that?" moments, this year proved that portable gaming was thriving in ways nobody quite saw coming.