Ayaneo (and perhaps a few others) was doing it before Valve, but no one gave a sh1t until Valve did it, and Valve's success was definitely helped by the success the Switch found. At least, that's what things seem like to me. Part of the problem with Ayaneo's products is that they are just too expensive. Steam Deck was the first "affordable" handheld gaming PC.I would like to say this is just everyone springboarding off Valve, but really, Valve just took the Nintendo design and ran with it.
Yyeeaahh maaaaan. And while Valve is doing it the best among the handheld PCs, I know multiple people who have Steam Decks, and that sh1t is still pretty much a beta, unfinished experience. Quality control issues with both the hardware and software abound, but the software is definitely beta-level sh1t. Steam Deck still mostly feels like an unfinished product, so it's sad that it's the one with the best user experience.That's the reason I think all these other ones are going to die off - it's not just the hardware, it's the entire experience. Nintendo and Valve seem to be the only 2 that get that and are investing in more than just having faster hardware specs.