If you’re wondering how to buy a Steam Deck in Australia, then the quick answer is, it’s tricky. But not impossible. It’s tricky because Valve, the maker of the Steam Deck, doesn’t yet sell its much-lauded handheld gaming PC in Australia, but some local retailers have alleviated any worries and are now offering imported consoles for Australians to buy.
So, where can you buy the Steam Deck in Australia and how much will you need to pay? Read on to find out.
Steam Deck: what is it?
If you’ve landed on this page then we imagine you already know what the Steam Deck is. But for the uninitiated, the Valve Steam Deck is a handheld games console that was launched on February 25, 2022. It was only available in the US, UK, Canada and the European Union at launch, but other regions including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong can now also get their hands on one. Those of us in Australia are still waiting for an official release.
The Steam Deck is designed to run the entire Steam library of games, from the small, indie titles all the way through to triple-A titles such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Valheim. Valve has also released a docking station for the Steam Deck that plugs into a TV, allowing gamers to play their Steam games on the big screen.
Steam Deck: specs and performance
Valve says that every single game on Steam will be playable on the Steam Deck, and that all will run at a bare minimum of 30 frames per second, and up to 60 frames per second on the 800p 7-inch screen.
The Steam Deck boasts an AMD APU (basically a hybrid of a CPU and GPU) based on Zen 2 and RDNA 2 AMD architecture. The former architecture is the one that powers AMD's Ryzen 3000 CPUs, while the RDNA 2 architecture is the same used in the Xbox Series consoles, though the Deck won't rival those. For reference, the Xbox Series S has 20 RDNA 2 compute units, while the Deck has 8. Don't worry: the Series S is designed for playing games in 4K at 60Hz, while the Steam Deck is designed for playing games at 720p, so performance won't be a big issue.
The entry-level 64GB model uses eMMC storage while the 256GB and 512GB models benefit from SSD storage. This has been done because it’s claimed eMMC storage performs better in lower configurations, with the same theory applying to SSD storage and higher configurations.
The Steam Deck boasts 16GB of RAM, stereo speakers, Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's on the larger side, considering its handheld nature: 298 x 117 x 49mm are its dimensions, and it'll weigh over half a kilogram at 669 grams.
How much does the Steam Deck cost in Australia?
Since Valve doesn’t sell the Steam Deck directly in Australia, it means there isn’t any official pricing. This, coupled with the demand and the requirements to import them into the county, means retailers are almost free to charge whatever they want.
To get a rough idea of how much you can expect to pay (at a bare minimum) we can convert the official US pricing for each storage version of the Steam Deck to Australian dollars. Note that in most cases, the actual price you will need to pay for a Steam Deck in Australia will be more than those listed below.
At the time of writing, the official US pricing with Australian conversions are as follows:
64GB (US$399): around $589
256GB (US$529): around $782
512GB (US$649): around $959
You can view the latest best prices on the Valve Steam Deck in all three storage configurations using the widget below.
There is also the option to purchase a Valve Steam Deck from the US yourself and have it imported. However, this is a convoluted process that will require you to use a VPN service to visit the US Steam Deck order page, place an order using a virtual pre-paid credit card, and then having it shipped to your Australian address using a US freight-forwarding service.
If it were us, we’d buy from an Australian retailer to save ourselves the hassle.
Where to buy a Steam Deck in Australia
The easiest – and perhaps more crucially, the safest – way to buy a Steam Deck in Australia is through online retailers Kogan, Dick Smith or Amazon. Kogan and Dick Smith would be our first ports of call, however, as they clearly state the Steam Deck available to buy is an internationally imported version of the console and they sell it with an Australian warranty.
Amazon can be a safe bet, but you’ll want to double check the seller information before adding one to your shopping cart and submitting your payment. There is also less chance you’ll receive a warranty if you buy through Amazon, but again, be sure to check the item description and any additional information provided.
eBay also has Steam Deck consoles for sale in Australia but as with Amazon, you’ll want to check all the seller information. We have seen Steam Deck consoles on eBay being sold with Australian warranties however, so it can still be a perfectly viable option for anyone wanting to get their hands on the handheld console.
