Yes, exactly. Getting it repaired (both within and outside of warranty) and spare parts availability.

What do you mean, “exactly”? The vast majority of owners will not need to repair theirs, and the vast majority of units will outlive their owners interest in using them. You’re assuming you’ll be one of the exceptions, which is always a possibility, but you can’t factor in it in as if it’s a 100% chance.

Software eventually too, but usually that takes a while longer.

What do you mean? It’s an x86 PC. The same way I can grab a 15-year-old laptop and slap a linux distro on it, the same thing is possible with the Deck.

Would you have bought a Steam Deck if Valve would stop producing them after 3 years? I wouldn’t.

I would and I did. In fact every person who has bought one before today, technically did. That’s a million points of contest against the argument you’re trying to make with this. Are you seeing the catch 22 you’re asking your tech to adhere to?

I’d have bought a Deck even if it only lasted a few months, because I got one two months after launch on pre-reservation.

And why not? It’s a great device that is worth the price of admission, as-is. I do not need valve to make several million more, and to keep doing so for several years, for my unit to become been worth owning. It is worth that all on its own.

I get wanting companies to do hardware better, but the level of the standard you are claiming you want here, is absurd. The Decks potential for longevity is above and beyond almost any other hardware product in the tech industry right now, with the exception of the framework laptops.

My one unit has given me three years and hundreds of hours of gaming away from home, and will likely give several hundred more before it stops working. When it does, there are a variety of possibilities to get it back to working.

If it had stopped working within warranty, I’d either have gotten a new unit, or my money back. There is no gamble there.