Highlights
- A gamer spotted Disneyland employees using Steam Decks to control animatronics in the Star Wars section, showcasing the device's unexpected utility.
- The Steam Deck has proven its potential beyond gaming, with companies finding other uses for the handheld PC.
- Speculation surrounds the Steam Deck accessories used by the employees, with most assuming a battery pack for extended playtime or possibly an antenna for a stable connection.
An eagle-eyed gamer spotted a few employees at Disneyland using Steam Decks to control some of the animatronics inside the Star Wars area of the park. Although some people have used the handheld console to do incredible things, like the Steam Deck owner who developed an indie game with the device, controlling an animatronics with the system brings a new unexpected utility to Valve’s mini-PC.
The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming PC created by Valve, the same company behind the popular online gaming platform Steam. When this powerful system first came out, some gamers wrote it off as a Nintendo Switch clone, while others saw the potential of the mini-PC right away. As it turns out, not only did gamers see the potential that the Steam Deck brought to the table, but some companies figured out that the device could be used for other uses than just gaming.
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While enjoying the day at Disneyland, Reddit user Leepixel noticed three employees holding Steam Decks while controlling a few droids in the Star Wars:Galaxy’s Edge section of the park. The Reddit user posted on the Steam Deck subreddit showcasing the employees and the Steam Decks that appear to be disguised with a white shell/skin to blend in with the Star Wars theme. There are plenty of things that most players don’t realize that the Steam Deck can do, and controlling animatronic droids is now toward the top of that list.
One of the biggest questions that fans have about the posted image is what Steam Deck accessories are being used. Obviously, there’s a white shell/skin being used to help blend the device into the theme of the park, but there’s some speculation about what’s attached to the back of the system, with most people assuming that it’s a battery pack of some kind. This would make a lot of sense, considering that the Steam Deck only has an average of about 2 to 8 hours of playtime, depending on how the user sets up the console, making a battery pack a necessity for all-day use. Some people have also theorized that it could be an antenna or a transmitter to help keep a stable connection with the droids.
Gaming may be the main reason to use Valve’s handheld mini-PC, but players can also access desktop mode on the Steam Deck, allowing them to hook up a mouse and keyboard to the system, as well as opening up other useful features that are not available in gaming mode. There's no telling what Steam Deck users will think up next when it comes to using the handheld device, but the future certainly looks bright.
