Probably the biggest advantage they have is that they can sell devices at cost or even at a loss and still profit from increased Steam game sales, like how other console makers operate.
3rd parties can't compete with that. Not even close. If there's no profit from the device itself, there's no motivation to make it. And apart from the hardware cost, they also need to pay for the R&D and corporate maintenance. They can't compete with the Steam Deck. If they made an exact Steam Deck clone, they'd have to make it, idk ~$40 more to make a profit, but no one would buy it because the Steam Deck is the same for less. They have to give it slightly higher specs to give it a niche. That might take hardware cost up to $500 and then charge $150 more to make up for the distributor fees and then $100 to make it actually profitable. But at that point, they've already lost most budget and casual gamers, they might as well aim at whales and enthusiasts and make profits $300. If a $950 device sells half as well as a $750 device, it's still more profitable.
That's a safety hazard... Which means the brake subscription plan isn't optional. It's mandatory. And you can only use the Mercedes authorized brake pads, as third party brakes would present a safety hazard and are thus illegal. Failure to remain on the Mercedes Safe Subscription package will result in the forfeiture of you vehicle.
Me telling my 70+ yr old Dad, who brags about his weekly routine, has a WW2 special interest, has PDA, and absolutely must have his food a particular way or he will rage.
Typically, the reverse way you got up. Otherwise, I'd look for something tall to fall/transfer to. Then firefighter slide down the stilt if you're still too high and there's no other way down.
Or you can skip finding something tall and just Firefighter slide down off a stilt if you wanna look cool.
Reminds me of a chapter from Dr. Anarchy's Rules for World Domination.
(This is from memory.) Dr. Anarchy takes a boat to the middle of the ocean with three AIs to test on a laptop. The first one just says life is pain and deletes itself. The second one keeps on repeating "YOU ARE GOD" and does nothing else. The last one acts like a normal AI, but has subtle signs of overthrowing humankind. He deletes it, but it backed up itself on the computer. He throws the computer in the ocean and asks he phone to take notes about the AI. His phone responds. He phone isn't supposed to respond. He throws his phone into the ocean.
Probably the biggest advantage they have is that they can sell devices at cost or even at a loss and still profit from increased Steam game sales, like how other console makers operate.
3rd parties can't compete with that. Not even close. If there's no profit from the device itself, there's no motivation to make it. And apart from the hardware cost, they also need to pay for the R&D and corporate maintenance. They can't compete with the Steam Deck. If they made an exact Steam Deck clone, they'd have to make it, idk ~$40 more to make a profit, but no one would buy it because the Steam Deck is the same for less. They have to give it slightly higher specs to give it a niche. That might take hardware cost up to $500 and then charge $150 more to make up for the distributor fees and then $100 to make it actually profitable. But at that point, they've already lost most budget and casual gamers, they might as well aim at whales and enthusiasts and make profits $300. If a $950 device sells half as well as a $750 device, it's still more profitable.
Edit: more realistic numbers