That certainly held true with the joke of an idea that was the Steam machine.

The Steam Deck is a bit of a different animal though, and the portability is essentially the core draw. And as someone who tried gaming on a bulky laptop years ago, I would've much preferred to have had something like a Steam Deck.

The other thing is that portable devices for gaming really are especially contingent on solid design and engineering, just for the bells and whistles. Portable conditions are much more vulnerable to any range of inconveniences, whether it be the use of a reliable input device in games or a screen ease of use when interfacing with other devices.