Remember when people were licking the game cartridges from their Nintendo Switches back in 2017? The actual company had to make a post on their support page telling people to not do that. Doing so wasn't harmful, but it still shouldn't be done. Now it seems that we're in a time where people are huffing those fumes coming from Valve's Steam Deck.

A recent Reddit post went viral where someone asked Valve if it’s safe to inhale the exhaust from the Steam Deck’s vents. The original support claim was made on December 8, with Valve responding on the day of the post. This post was (hopefully) made as a meme just to see what they’d say if anything. 

Valve responded to this post with the following:

“As with all electronics, it is generally not recommended you inhale the exhaust fumes on your device. While there are no safety concerns with general usage, directly inhaling the device’s vent fumes should be avoided. We understand that it may be a meme, but please refrain from this behavior for the safety of your health.”

It’s a safe response overall. You wouldn’t expect anyone to do something like this, yet here we are. The Steam Deck does tend to get hot, so those vents really come in handy to prevent the thing from storing heat and getting damaged. 

One popular response in this Reddit thread by a user named Andrei-Balan says, “I’m afraid it’s already too late for 80% in the sub. See you all on the other side.” Many others jump in on the joke, admitting in some form that curiosity killed the cat (though no one has fallen ill due to this). 

Valve did state that “there are no safety concerns”, so it should be fine if you caught a smell from afar. Besides, if science classes in grade school taught us anything, at least use the whiff technique if you want to know for yourself. Use your hand and gently fan the odor from the source towards your nose.

In short, if you have a fancy new gaming device that emits a bunch of hot air for cooling purposes, don’t put your nose right into it. These things are for entertainment, not filling our lungs with metalloids and dust.

The post Valve asks Steam Deck users to please refrain from inhaling its exhaust appeared first on Destructoid.

As we near the end of 2023, many apps that we spend dozens, hundreds, and upwards of thousands of hours on give us our stats in a shareable graphic to share on social media. We got the music ones out of the way like Apple and Spotify, so now it’s time for us gamers to bother our mutuals. PlayStation and Xbox have just now released their year-in-review wrap-up stats apps.

Between now and January 12, 2024, people who have played on the PS4 or PS5 consoles will be given a breakdown of what they did in 2023 regarding all things gaming. It’ll start with what your first game of the year was, then your most played games, highlighting your favorite genre of the year, and so forth. 

Xbox players’ “Year in Review” will do basically the same, showing your overall playtime, showcasing your most played month, a piechart breakdown of genres from this year, and so forth. Graphics can be screenshotted for easy sharing on your preferred social media platforms. 

These stats will keep updating until the end of 2023, so things might change!

How to see your year in review for Xbox or PlayStation

For PlayStation players, head over to wrapup.playstation.com and sign in with your Sony account. This can be accessed via mobile device or PC. You can revisit this page as many times as you like between now and when the event is over. You also do not need an active PS Plus subscription or any sort of additional things to view this.

For Xbox players, head over to xbox.com/year-in-review to check your stats. The same applies here as with PlayStation. Simply enter your login credentials and get a thorough breakdown of all your gaming activity on this platform in 2023. 

The post PlayStation and Xbox year in review apps are live for 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.