I’m not sure what you’re saying here … 1.6 is an upcoming full game update for Stardew that will add even more content, which he was simultaneously developing with Haunted Chocolatier. They are a very small independent operation, and game development takes more time the fewer employees you have. The fact that they have continued improving the game for 7 years adding free content at the original price point is actually quite remarkable.
The 1.6 update addresses the ability to create add-ons (mods) more easily, which will aid efforts in the modding community to create things like Expanded with less fussing about in third party programs and tools which currently allow them to work.
Just because a game says it won’t work on Deck doesn’t mean it is true. They just haven’t tested thousands of games to verify compatibility. Sometimes it is as easy as getting and selecting a very specific Proton version, but other more involved fixes may be necessary. When in doubt, search “[game] + Steam Deck” to see if someone else has tried and succeeded (or failed).
I have been playing Stardew Valley, which admittedly took me many years and many attempts to get into. I am now on year 3, birthdays and events no longer stress me out, but at the same time I keep discovering new things and most importantly I am still enjoying myself a lot. I think I finally understand the acclaim.
I know these Chucklehead Executive Officers only exist to enrich the companies they run and by extension, themselves, but they all seem to fail to understand that running a company is not just merge and acquire. Of course that is what capitalism wants, but there is room for there to be more than five Big Names in Gaming, and a MSFT-owned Nintendo would not be what it is today. You don’t become an innovator by buying the innovative companies.
Yes, Nintendo’s hardware has gradually fallen “behind the times” (if you look at raw power, generationally) but guess what? A majority of people are still willing to play Mario, Zelda, and many more quality first-party titles on potatoes as long as the games are fun.
Nintendo has taken risks and made some weird crap over the years, but that is exactly what makes them different from the other two. I don’t think we would have had Nintendo Switch today without the wild consumer success of the Wii and then the massive pendulum swing of the WiiU (which was tethered to the home just like that new PS5 Portal display controller). They came to market with an R&D Wii 1.5 prototype that flopped, but that sent them right back to the drawing board to rethink it, creating the Switch, which effectively merged their console and handheld divisions.
I am not a betting person, but if I was, I would be placing my chips on the card company-turned beloved video game creator that turns 134 this week, and not the American conglomerate that thinks the entire future of gaming is subscriptions and microtransactions on the third place console.
Lots of posts here, so maybe you won’t see this, but i think the ___ Simulator games are mindless task-oriented fun (if you enjoy that sort of thing). I have been playing House Flipper lately, which has basic task lists and skippable emails if you don’t care about the job’s context. Clean up trash, paint, build outdoor furniture. There’s just something satisfying about it for me, but it won’t be for everyone. I have heard good things about PowerWash and Gas Station Simulators as well.