Pre-orders for the Steam Deck opened last week, but already there have been website crashes, order delays, and duffers trying to ruin the launch of the new product.

Last week, Valve announced the Steam Deck, a portable gaming PC capable of running Steam's entire game library, and opened for pre-orders on Friday morning. As soon as pre-orders opened, many eager users received an error message.

Valve is offering a slightly different pre-ordering experience with Steam Deck. At the moment, one can reserve a system by paying a $5 pre-order deposit. When the device's release date (currently undetermined for December) approaches, customers are invited to complete their purchase in the order in which they first pre-ordered. This is a somewhat awkward system, but it is designed primarily to deter duffers.

Unfortunately, duffers are not so easily dissuaded, and resale sites like eBay are already flooded with Steam Deck listings. The console's MSRP starts at $399 for the model with 64GB of eMMC storage and goes up to $649 for the 521GB SSD version, but resellers are willing to sell pre-orders for as much as $1,500.

Buying a console in demand via a reseller is a questionable decision at best, but given Steam Deck's unique pre-order system, it is puzzling this time around.

So far, no duffers have confirmed reservations. Like regular customers, they have only put down a $5 deposit. Some duffers on resale sites have made completely unsubstantiated claims, such as "I'll get it in time for the holiday season."

In fact, getting a Steam Deck by 2022 seems to be a very hard sell. While the first wave of pre-orders offered a chance to purchase the machine in Q4 2021, the Steam Deck pre-order page currently states that the 64GB and 256GB models are expected to be available for order in Q2 2022. The top-of-the-line 512GB model, on the other hand, is currently not available for new orders until Q3 2022.

Demand for these portable gaming PCs is clearly outstripping supply. The ongoing global semiconductor supply crisis and the growing interest in home entertainment are probably two of the reasons for this.

Those lucky enough to reserve a spot in the first batch should receive order invitations in December. However, to get a Steam Deck by 2022, those who missed the initial pre-order window will probably have to pay a hefty fee to a duffer; the Steam Deck, along with the PS5 and Xbox Series X, will be the technology product that everyone wants but few people can actually afford It seems likely.

Getting a Steam Deck may be difficult, but that may not be a bad thing; given Valve's erratic hardware track record, it may be worth taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding to buy; Valve has said that this system will be a stick promises that it won't suffer from drift.