It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that anyone’s hopes of getting a Steam Deck in Australia were reserved for either the shadiest or most expensive corners of the internet, but these days you can run into them almost as easily as an angry magpie on a morning walk.
The latest Aussie retailer to get in on the grey import Steam Deck train is none other than Big Woolies, with both the original Steam Deck as well as the new and improved Steam Deck OLED available for purchase. Of course, there’s still no official supply for the Steam Deck locally, so you won’t just be walking into your local Big W store and picking one up off the shelf.
These are available online, through its “Big W Market” system which essentially connects you to third-party sellers much like eBay or Amazon – albeit with the same Big W checkout system so you can use any vouchers you might have or PayPal/Afterpay/Zip.
Of course, there’s likely more risk involved in buying grey import stock than something purchased through official channels, though that’s going to be the case for any Aussie attempting to pick up a Steam Deck for as long as Valve refuses to sell them here. You can learn more about your rights with “parallel imports” as per the ACCC here.
The models currently available through Big W are:
Steam Deck/Steam Deck OLED Australia (via Big W):
Steam Deck
Steam Deck OLED
And below is a spec comparison between both models, with the main advantage of the Steam Deck OLED naturally being a slightly bigger, much brighter and richer display along with a more efficient chip, bigger battery, better WiFi and the option of 1TB storage.
STEAM DECK
- 64, 256GB or 512GB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 optically bonded LCD display
- 7? Diagonal display size
- 7 nm APU
- Wi-Fi 5
- 40Whr battery; 2-8 hrs of gameplay (content dependent)
- 45W Power supply with 1.5m cable
- Carrying case
- Steam profile bundle
STEAM DECK OLED
- 512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display
- 7.4? Diagonal display size
- 6 nm APU
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery; 3-12 hrs of gameplay (content dependent)
- 45W Power supply with 2.5m cable
- Carrying case
- Steam profile bundle
