"Even 2021 games are running no problem.

In a new video with IGN, Valve talked a bit more about the technical capabilities of the Steam Deck and its AMD processor, stating that even games releasing this year "have been running without issues."

"We've been looking at various games the past few years in the back catalog, but the real test for us was games that were coming out last year. They just couldn't really run very well on the previous types of prototypes and architectures we were testing," Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais said. "This is the first time we've achieved the level of performance that is required to really run the latest generation of games without problems. All the games we wanted to be playable is, really, the entire Steam library. We haven't really found something we could throw at this device that it couldn't handle."

Griffais said that current PC gaming trends that favor high frame rate performance and high resolutions help the Steam Deck, because it means games will easily scale down to its lower resolution 800p display and run at at least 30Hz.

Valve reiterated that it's using a brand new AMD CPU and GPU, along with LPDDR5 RAM, an especially fast new memory standard. "We might actually be one of the first products to showcase this memory technology," said Valve hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat. "That gives a lot of future proofing, especially since we're not the only people with this architecture. Any optimization that game developers make for this new architecture will carry forth to benefit us as well."

The architecture Alderhayyat's referencing is the one-two punch of AMD's Zen 2 found in Ryzen 3000 CPUs and RDNA 2 in the Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards. (you can read a deeper dive into the Steam Deck's hardware here).

"It wasn't until now that we felt the entire Steam catalog is available to people who have this device," Alderhayyat said. "That's when we knew we had a product that is going to deliver the experience we're looking for."

https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-says-it-hasnt-found-a-game-steam-deck-cant-handle/

2 years ago*

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its... i mean its a cheap portable pc... it doesnt really mean much. it can handle anything any modern pc can run. doesnt mean it'll run it well with high end visuals, but it'll run it.

2 years ago
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Yeah guess good point.

2 years ago
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And how it handles games in 6 to 10 months when it's actually released is really the question.

2 years ago
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They didn't look too closely. There are a lot of games on https://www.protondb.com/ that don't work.
And as Steam deck is using Linux with proton, and not Windows, any games with a botched rating on protondb will not work on steam deck...
Just by looking at https://www.protondb.com/explore?page=0&sort=mostBorked as an example: PUBG, Dead by Daylight, Homefront..

2 years ago
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They said you could install any OS you want including Windows which might be better suited for certain games.

2 years ago
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Thanks, I missed this information. This makes it slightly more interesting.

2 years ago
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Supposedly PUBG (which uses BattlEye) will work when Steam Deck is released.

2 years ago
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They also said they are involved in Proton development and have a version that is not available to the public (which supposedly has improved compatibility).

2 years ago
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Steam Deck uses much improved unreleased Proton version, current ratings are useless.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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If you miss the point of this being a handheld, yes. And as it is a PC, it seems absurd to expect any kind of "it'll play all games for the next 7 years", as the consoles do.

2 years ago*
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And I'm not sure if a console like today's PS5 wil be able to cope with games from 7 years from now.
Perhaps some upgrade is needed.

2 years ago
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You mean console games that hardly can increase hardware requirements as that would turn the whole console to trash?

2 years ago
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Thankfully we have PC, where memory, or other hardware upgrade is not an issue, so nobody has to do proper optimization. A little bloating here and there, and people eat it up as progress :)

2 years ago
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So you mean games developed in 3 years still can only use the same shitty graphics etc. the game today only can have etc.?

2 years ago
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You must love gaming and stuff if the first example that popped from your mind was calling today's graphics collectively "shitty" lol. Also previously you were talking about requirements, not performance or looks ;) bigger requirements not necessarily mean better graphics. Your second comment is a out a different topic than your first was about.

2 years ago
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It was an exaggeration. Not that req = quality of a video game(especially for graphics), but simple better quality games can hardly have low(same) req from the start(like worse ones). As such games will improve over time(not speaking about a specific one just in general).
So 2000 games were better than the games a decace ago. 2010 better than 2000 etc.
On console you simply can't improve game quaility by much(yeah improve by optimizing engine etc. to better use limited resources) - so they are better from that part than most games for PC, but PC can go upwards as they are not restricted to use the same hardware forever(as higher quality games would require a new console with better hardware to handle the increased req).

2 years ago
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you should look at it in a different way
you can just take it and play it while in bed, just like a phone. take it on a bus/plane etc. work while on vacation, etc
even gaming laptop can't do that, well they could, but it's still feel bulky and they're hot in your pants

2 years ago
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What Valve says implies to me that the Deck will be significantly better than current AMD or Intel 15W mobile CPUs, and that's promising. It will still likely be slower than a Radeon RX 560 or GeForce GTX 1050, so I don't expect that it will play the most demanding games at the highest settings even at 800p 30 FPS, but it might be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on medium and not just low.

Still, not all people will consider 30 FPS to be playable. But it's good enough for me. :)

2 years ago
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So realistically how do you play games that require a mouse and keyboard?

2 years ago
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Trackpad.

2 years ago
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Trackpad, Touchscreen or ... with a mouse and keyboard. It's a PC.

2 years ago
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And, as someone said in the comments on the link posted by Lugum,... how readable will be some text on that resolution?

I think this "portable PC console" is a good thing for many games but obviously not for everyone.
Every PC/console/mobile has its advantages and drawbacks. They can't have ultrabig screen, huge battery durability, high resolution/fps... and so on. A compromise must be found for all of this and it will render the machine able for some tasks and a pain the neck for others, I guess.

2 years ago
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And, as someone said in the comments on the link posted by Lugum,... how readable will be some text on that resolution?

This is actually a good point.
Valve says that developers won't have to do anything, but a lot of games will 100% need to scale up the size of text/UI.

2 years ago
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That's a good point. Console games are made for consoles so they go by a certain number of specs and dos and donts. Most of the games on Steam haven't been made with a tiny screen in mind. And if you also need a screen, a dock and whatever else to play... seems like a waste of portability, doesn't it?

2 years ago
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I (no joke) play Cyberpunk on my phone every now and then, and while it's not ideal (I wouldn't want it to be my first experience with the game's tiny-text interface), it still works okay. If the text is really important though (most of Cyberpunk's tiny text isn't), then yes -- definitely a good point. Also, my phone has a better screen resolution than the Deck, so again -- a valid point. But probably not as big of a deal as you might expect, for most games, and especially not if you're already familiar with the interface.

2 years ago
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Like you do with the Steam Controller. Clunkily.

2 years ago
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I have no doubt that the hardware is capable, but I really wonder how this is going to work with the software? The tech specs say that Steam Deck runs with SteamOS (which is basically a modified Ubuntu Linux). So will the whole Steam library now get Linux versions? The presentation shows Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order running on Steam Deck, but Fallen Order requires Origin and neither the game itself nor Origin does have support for SteamOS (as far as I know). So how is that going to work? Personally I'm not interested in playing games on a 7 inch screen anyway, but I'm still curious...

2 years ago
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Like mentioned above you can install Windows on it. Also SteamOS was based on Debian not Ubuntu and for SteamDeck they use a new SteamOS version which is based on Arch Linux.

2 years ago
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Most people here say it runs well for them, presumably the hardware is up to par and you don't have to worry about differences and you can expect further improvements to Proton before Steam Deck comes out anyway.

2 years ago
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I'm wondering the same thing. Do games have to be compatible with SteamOS to run? You can install Windows on it so if it came down to it, I guess you could maybe make a partition and install Windows on part of the HDD and run games that only work with Windows that way if you had to. I was just hoping a game like Resident Evil 2 (or something else from the series) would just run on the OS that comes installed, that way it wouldn't require installing another OS and then dealing with all of the problems that come with running an OS that the machine wasn't designed to run on. I'm kind of doing that already playing games on a Bootcamp install of Windows.

2 years ago
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In theory it should run through Proton, and Valve is working (including with game publishers) on making it as compatible as possible, but yes, that's my worry too. I guess we'll have to wait and see how well this turns out.

There's been a move towards Linux anyway, since Google's Stadia is also running Linux.

2 years ago
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It's hyperbole. I'd imagine handle* means with adjustment to game settings from low-medium for their target 800p@30fps. Still hoping that it does well though since I do want to get one since having a portable Steam library for indie games would be awesome. Would definitely help with the backlog clearing.

2 years ago
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My thoughts exactly. I mean its nice that it will be able to play Cyberpunk but I'm not getting a portable 720p device to enjoy new AAA titles, got my PC for that. I'm getting a device to play many of those non-graphics demanding games that I got by the thousands in my library.

I mean think of that, you're getting a console, you need to buy (super expensive) games from scratch. You get the Deck instead and - voila - you got ALL your Steam games available on the go :D

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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30fps on 800p...

the biggest joke is, that for decades the "pcmasterrace" joked about xbox, playstation and co. for not getting close to 60fps while in newer days people claim that anything below 120fps is not playable anymore...

And then valve releases a handheld that can play games on low, 800p, 30fps and the same people say this is a good deal.

2 years ago
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It's a mini PC that carries all your Steam library on the go. I assume most of the people buying it have a PC at home too where they can enjoy their many, many frames when needed while enjoying less demanding games on their Deck while they can't be on their PC. At least that is one of the reasons Im getting it.

2 years ago
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Its not a joke...this is not a console or a PC
If you want to play AAA games at 120 FPS that's what your PC is for
I currently use the Steam Link app to play games on my PC when I'm not home. This device does just that.

2 years ago
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and the same people say this is a good deal.

Stop with this stupid line. I don't get why people keep using this utterly moronic argument every time there are people with different opinions.

These aren't the same people! There are tons of PC users who aren't "PC master race". There are people who game on laptops, on integrated graphics, on old discrete weak graphics cards. There are PC users who have nothing against consoles, and there are PC users who can game fine at 30 FPS.

So there's a minority of people who must play at 120 FPS. They likely won't enjoy the Steam Deck. That leaves, what, hundreds of millions who would?

2 years ago
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handheld

It's like you just gloss over this word like it means nothing. Pcmasterrace would love 2160p 120 FPS in our hands, and it will come someday. That day is not now. But any PC enthusiast will be happy about getting acceptable gaming on the go when it wasn't an option before. Of course it's a good deal, it's a brand new product segment without a price gouge.

2 years ago
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I'm guessing you're not tech savvy based on the comment so I'll try to explain in case you're wondering why people are saying it's a good deal. The main PC component usually includes CPU+cooler, GPU, motherboard, RAM, power supply, and Storage. Here's an entry level gaming pc, which is little better (or could be weaker, see below) than Steam Deck - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/r34dLP. It's 800 bucks, Steam Deck is 400.

Here's why I said the entry level rig I posted might even be weaker than Deck. The CPU is weak, and the GPU is using older architecture. Steam Deck is using a custom AMD APU (think CPU+GPU in one) which both has access to the same 16gig of RAM (a lot for a handheld, Switch has 4gig for comparison). AMD APU performs a lot better with faster RAM, and this even has LPDDR5 RAM, the latest memory of it's kind which is fast.

This is of course on top of all value added component needed to create the product (LCD, controller, track pad, ect). And Valve managed to out-price the PC Partpicker I linked above. Credit where it's due, It's really a technological achievement.

Linus made a good explanation regarding this if you want to know more about - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz8qjyxD8YE

Edit - And it doesn't really play on Low setting, people are just saying that it's an option because do you really want anti-aliasing on a 7 inch screen? IGN went to Valve hq to play Fallen Order and Control on medium-high settings.

2 years ago*
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The System you names is not "a little better". The MSI GeForce GTX 1650 is much stronger than the API in the SteamDeck. You can compare the power of the SteamDeck with a Xbox One S. Even the 250€ XBox Series S is stronger than the Deck. And yes, that is not a handheld.

We will see how this one will turn out. My guess: in ~12 months we will see people complain because the deck does not run most of the games just out of the box without problems.
It will be the same show that we saw with the steamcontroler that should have worked with all games (and yes, in a strange way it did worked with all games)

2 years ago
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It will be the same show that we saw with the steamcontroler that should have worked with all games (and yes, in a strange way it did worked with all games)??

Clarify?

2 years ago
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It will "work" with all games but not good.

Just check how many people still use the Controller... There is a Fanbase but it's small because you needed to tweek this and that so that you could use the controller with the game you want.

It will be the same with this.
If you just install a game and start it it will prob. not work that well. Then you need to change this option and try this and after some time your game might work (in low with 30fps).

A lot of people who buy this never touched Linux and Steam OS is a Linux System so tweaks will not be that easy for these people.
Installing Windows on this will also not just "click here to install windows".
Again: this is a nice tool for people who love to craft and find workarounds and stuff but it's not the big game changer that will crash the switch and I'm sure it will not be a consumerfriendly device that works flawless out of the box with "all games on steam"

2 years ago
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but isn't it using Proton to try to make it more seamless?

2 years ago
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But proton does not fix bugs of games or change the settings in the game.
I don't talk about starting a game but about getting it playable.

2 years ago
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but I would think that Valve will try to make the vast majority of games compatible at least and runnable to some extent.

2 years ago
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Maybe...
They didn't made profils for the steamcontroller back then.

2 years ago
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Apologies, I thought I put in a 1050 there. If you replace the GPU with a 1050, it comes to 720 bucks. Still a good deal imo. I do think all of this depends on how Steam OS is modified for the casuals, that I agree. Most complaint will definitely due to the compatibility issues but take a visit to https://www.protondb.com/ to see how it's being updated. Proton layer has been improved significantly since Steam OS 1.0.

I don't doubt indie games will have little issues. It's the anti cheat ones that are not working properly in Proton. Now that Valve has announced publicly that they are trying to work with EAC for Steam Deck's launch, it's an incentive for EAC themselves to get their program working with Proton. Unless Epic themselves instructs EAC to ignore Valve's attempts but that'll never happen right? :P

2 years ago
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I'm not so deep into EAC but maybe it would be a problem to support Proton because it's open source so it might be easyer to find accessholes to create new cheats/hacks

2 years ago
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From what I've understood, Proton itself is just a layer of compatibility so that native Windows program (.exe files for example) is translated into Linux's language. It shouldn't technically touch the internal files itself, just the main program.

Take this with a grain of salt though, cause I'm not a programmer myself so it might very well be an impossible task for all I know lol.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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Is it me, or it sounds like CDPRed CEO saying "Cyberpunk 2077 runs surprisingly well on PS4" before the game relese? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

2 years ago
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Bur can it play Bad Rats?

2 years ago
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"Even 2021 games are running no problem."

lol gaben you idort, it's not games from 2021 that will crash your device, it's those games from 2011 that can't be played on anything but Win XP (which you stopped supporting a few years ago)

2 years ago
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Proton does support older games too (better than Windows in some cases).

2 years ago
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Good point, I do wonder how the new SteamOS & Steam Deck will handle games that already barely run on modern hardware. I'd love to play an old game like F.E.A.R. on it, but last i tried to run it on my desktop it was totally borked. Well, you'll still be able to mod games, so as long as there are mods that get it running on newer hardware, maybe that'll make some old games work. Still lame some games don't get updated for compatibility in general though.

2 years ago
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Doesn't seem that outlandish when considering that the Steam Deck only has a 30 Hz display @ 900p?

2 years ago
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The fuck you smoking? The screen is 1280 x 800px 60 Hz. https://www.steamdeck.com/en/tech

2 years ago
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My bad - I guess 30 comes from the FPS being targeted for a bunch of AAA games

2 years ago
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This implies that at least one person at Valve is going through the entire Steam library to see what works and how well it runs via Proton, that's a daunting task.
I still think this thing is gonna shine mostly as an indie machine and an emulation powerhouse that can also do current AAA games with some compromises, which is one hell of feat for that form factor.

2 years ago
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Lol at making a new thread. Lugum gonna Lugum.

2 years ago
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Maybe for once you shouldn't be you.

2 years ago
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View attached image.
2 years ago
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I will just in case chime in that a 1060 and Ryzen 1400 runs games like AC: Valhalla, Cyberpunk and Watch Dogs Legion at less than 60fps at 1080p with pretty major chugging at times if you don't do any tricks with it. Not sure how the Steam Deck could suddenly do 800p/30 without some issues with those ones.
Hopefully it works out though. I've been excited for the handheld PC market for a while now.

2 years ago
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800p/30 is only 24.7% of the pixels that 1080p/60 is. I think most people underestimate how big the difference is (the opposite holds true for 4k and high FPS displays)

2 years ago
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yeah lowering the resolution is the easiest way to increase fps

2 years ago
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Agreed. Just that those gains aren't infinite. Going from 1080p to 72p (yes, 128x72) would only yield you around 50-100% increase in framerate, depending on the situation. There's only so much a reduction in resolution can do. At most going to 800p would yield 20-30% and that still wouldn't fix the stutters.

2 years ago
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Technically for the GPU those gains are pretty much infinite, but once you go low enough in resolution you hit the CPU bottleneck instead of the GPU bottleneck. I guess it depends on how optimized the game engines are at that point.

Also real world examples (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0kRQKSqUQ0) show more like a 50% speedup from 1080p to 720p, 30 FPS to 45.

2 years ago
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It has 5ghz 16gb ram... its a fantastic machine... Of course it will perform well.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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Maybe they have the opposite problem - nowhere to spend inflating moneys. And will gladly buy all top models day one. Many guys already have several consoles, playing the same games on everything....... and still get bored AF! Now they can get bored non stop, even taking a dump - what's not to like?)))

As for me, i once had a PSP - that's how my eyesight got ruined. Now i can comfortably play on 32'' monitor only, usually at 1200 resolution. Guys, don't repeat my mistakes!)

2 years ago
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Good point, you sure force the eyesight way more like this. The real question is how many hours did you put on that PSP daily and for how long. I had a friend who was super pissed because he started to develop tendonitis (PS2 era) but then again I don't know how much he used to play.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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