Valve’s newest handheld gaming console, the Steam Deck, is now out and available for all gamers to try. It’s basically a handheld device that looks similar to the Nintendo Switch, but can run far more graphic-intensive games straight from the Steam store. Designer Lawrence Yang likes to think of the Steam Deck as a “small PC with controllers attached (to it).”
Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell had prepared a special surprise for the lucky customers who made reservations for the console’s first batch.
Watch Gabe Newell personally hand-deliver the first batch of Steam Decks
Accompanied by Dota 2 host Kaci Aitchison, Gaben roamed the houses of Seattle, Washington to hand-deliver a few boxes of the Steam console. Some fans were completely starstruck to see the legendary Steam video game developer right on their doorstep, delivering their much-awaited gaming device.
Random Seattle bystanders were blessed by Lord Gaben as well, as he gave out three brand new Steam Decks to a couple of guys who were coincidentally in the area.
One of his exchanges with a fan revealed that he plays a lot of Final Fantasy XIV on the Deck and has been trying to level up his White Mage.
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Gaben got a bit nostalgic during the whole delivery process and shared with Kaci his previous job experiences as a paperboy and telegram delivery boy.
“Overall, (this experience) is sort of bringing me back to my days as a Western Union telegram delivery boy,” he laughed.
In true Gaben fashion, the developer also gave out his official Valve e-mail address to the new Deck owners to gather feedback about the company’s latest product.
Does Gabe Newell answer emails?
Gabe Newell’s email address is gaben@valvesoftware.com, which receives “from somewhere 100 to several thousand emails a day” according to the co-founder himself. And yes, Gaben reads them all and even answers some of the emails.
“That sort of keeps you super grounded, right,” he told Kaci. “You know what people are actually thinking, what’s actually important to them.”
Fans can watch Gaben’s full delivery adventure here:
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