Steam Deck: How To Run Sega Game Gear Games

Unleash Your Inner Gamer: Playing Game Gear Games on Your Steam Deck

The Sega Game Gear, a 90s handheld marvel, now finds a new home on the Steam Deck thanks to EmuDeck. This guide walks you through installing and optimizing EmuDeck for a seamless Game Gear gaming experience. We'll cover everything from initial setup to troubleshooting post-Steam Deck updates.

Before You Begin: Essential Preparations

Before diving into EmuDeck, ensure you've taken these crucial steps:

• Enable Developer Mode: Navigate to Steam > System > System Settings > Enable Developer Mode. Then, within the Developer menu, enable CEF Remote Debugging. Restart your Steam Deck.

• Essential Gear: An external SD card (A2 recommended) or external HDD (requires a dock) is vital for storing ROMs and emulators, preserving your internal SSD space. A keyboard and mouse greatly simplify file transfers and artwork management. Remember to legally acquire your Game Gear ROMs.

Installing EmuDeck on Your Steam Deck

Let's get EmuDeck up and running:

1. Switch to Desktop Mode (Steam button > Power > Switch to Desktop).
2. Download EmuDeck from its official website.
3. Choose the SteamOS version and opt for Custom Install.
4. Select your SD card (Primary) as the installation location.
5. Choose your desired emulators (RetroArch, Emulation Station, Steam ROM Manager are recommended).
6. Enable Auto Save.
7. Complete the installation.

Quick Settings Optimization

Within EmuDeck's Quick Settings (left menu panel):

• Ensure AutoSave is enabled.
• Enable Controller Layout Match.
• Set Sega Classic AR to 4:3.
• Turn on LCD Handhelds.

Transferring ROMs and Managing with Steam ROM Manager

Time to add your Game Gear ROMs:

1. Access the Primary SD card via Dolphin File Manager (Desktop Mode).
2. Navigate to Emulation > ROMs > gamegear.
3. Transfer your ROMs into this folder.

Now, use Steam ROM Manager (within EmuDeck):

1. Close the Steam Client when prompted.
2. Select the Game Gear icon in the Parsers section.
3. Add and parse your games.
4. Verify artwork and save to Steam.

Troubleshooting Missing Artwork

If artwork is missing or incorrect:

• Use the "Fix" function in Steam ROM Manager, searching by game title.
• Ensure ROM filenames don't contain numbers before the game title, as this can interfere with artwork recognition.
• Manually upload missing artwork via a browser (Desktop Mode), saving the image to the Steam Deck's Pictures folder, then using the "Upload" function in Steam ROM Manager.

Playing Your Games and Performance Tweaks

Access your Game Gear games in Gaming Mode (Steam Library > Collections > Game Gear).

To avoid performance issues (30 FPS slowdown):

1. Press the QAS button (three dots below the right trackpad).
2. Select Performance.
3. Enable "Use per-game profile" and set the Frame Limit to 60 FPS.

Unlocking Enhanced Performance with Decky Loader and Power Tools

For optimal performance, install Decky Loader (via its GitHub page in Desktop Mode) and the Power Tools plugin (via the Decky Loader store):

1. Install Decky Loader (Recommended Install).
2. Restart in Gaming Mode.
3. Access the Decky Loader store via the QAM button and install Power Tools.
4. In Power Tools, disable SMTs, set Threads to 4, enable Manual GPU Clock Control (1200 MHz), and use Per Game Profiles.

Restoring Decky Loader After a Steam Deck Update

Steam Deck updates might remove Decky Loader. Restore it by:

1. Switching to Desktop Mode.
2. Re-downloading Decky Loader from GitHub.
3. Running the downloaded file (Execute, not Open). You'll need your sudo password (create one if needed).
4. Restarting in Gaming Mode.

Enjoy your retro gaming on the Steam Deck! Remember to rate this guide!