Such a weird article from Nintendo Life trying to defend the Switch 2 over the Steam Deck. And it’s so cringe.
First let’s talk about the contention that the Switch 2 has better value because it’s comes with a dock.
Look, I can hook my Steam Deck up to my TV using a USB-C to HDMI adapter and use the Steam Deck itself as a controller. As for a dock itself, sure the official Steam Deck Docking Station costs C$109. However, I can buy a 3rd party docking station off Amazon for C$40. So that’s not much of an argument.
The Switch 2 has a bigger screen that runs at 1080P. That great. But the Steam Deck has an OLED panel which the Switch 2 does not.
In terms of performance, the Switch 2 probably has a better GPU. However, it lacks the Steam Deck’s CPU power. And it only has 12GB of RAM compared to the Steam Deck’s 16GB of RAM. Will games look better on Switch 2? Only if CPU and RAM don’t serve as bottlenecks.
The next thing: Switch 2 is supposedly better because a joy-con can act as a mouse. But they’re really grasping at straws here because I can use an actual Bluetooth mouse with the Steam Deck—one which is more ergonomic too. Oh, and unlike the Switch 2, I can also use a Bluetooth keyboard too with a Steam Deck.
Apparently, the Steam Deck’s touchpad so “too awkward” compared to the Switch 2’s mouse. But you don’t use a mouse in handheld mode—no one does. Touchpads, on the other hand, do work in handheld mode. And I find them much more suitable for FPS and RTS games than an analog joystick.
Now for the article’s final point: the Steam Deck can’t play Switch 2 games. This is actually the most legitimate point. However, it cuts both ways too. Switch 2 can’t play decades of PC games, all which are accessible on Steam Deck. And I should know because I’m able to run literally thousands of games on my Steam Deck—many which don’t even run on Windows anymore without lots of modding.
Can Switch 2 play F.E.A.R. without needing to jailbreak and emulate it? Nope—so in terms of game library, Steam Deck has the win.
But ultimately, this is a silly comparison because the Steam Deck is already three years old at the moment. Of course the Switch 2 will be able to do some things better than Steam Deck. It should—it’s the newer piece of hardware.
However, when the Steam Deck 2 comes out—probably next year—how will the Switch 2 compare? I don’t know, but it will likely have all the advantages that the Steam Deck still has but with giant generational leap in terms of performance.
Right now, if I wanted to, I could get a Lenovo Legion Go S. And it would be leagues better than a Switch 2. It has a AMD Ryzen Z2 Go APU, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage—which absolutely wrecks the Switch 2 in terms of raw performance.
But the reason I’m holding off is because I think the Steam Deck 2 will be even better.
This doesn’t even touch about many points that makes the Steam Deck just plain better. The games are cheaper. You don’t have to pay for online multiplayer. You have access to multiple storefronts like GOG or itch.io. You can use it as a PC in desktop mode. I can go on.
Now do I think the Switch 2 is totally lacking in value? No. If I had a young child, I’d probably get them a Switch 2 simply because it’s more kid friendly.
However, I’m a full grown man. As for my kid? She’s turning 12-years-old in a few weeks so I think she’ll do just fine with a Steam Deck.
Yep, and a wireless VR headset for your home gaming PC has steamdeck beat. So steamdeck only has value if you don’t already have a gaming computer. Or if you need to play on a bus and couldn’t handle added latency in the game you plan on playing.
In a VR headset, you have a 4k screen, or more than one, or a triple-wide 5760x1080 screen, or anything else you want, at 120hz. And you don’t have to look down at your hands to play it or hold your hands up. Virtual desktop is about 6ms latency for your own desktop(s) in your house, and about double that for your own desktop from someone else’s house or business. But tethered to a cell connection, latency can start to get out of hand. Or if you want to stream your computer from half-way around the world. Still useable, but it does limit the types of games you can play at that point.
But, having said that. I’m probably still gonna get a Switch 2. I still like Nintendo first-party games, and I don’t plan on stealing them.
And I still have a Steamdeck, I just rarely find a use for it.
Edit: also you can do perfect 3D monitors in a VR headset. Not to mention also VR…
VR headsets are still niche, and a lot of people find them uncomfortable for long sessions and/or get nauseous using them.
You very politely missed the #1 point… I can already play every single nintendo game I’ve ever bought on my steamdeck. Right now. With no subscription, just simply uploading from my GBA/DS/3DS/Switch to my Steamdeck… Nintendo for reasons completely lost to me refuses to allow that. Like, wth are they even doing over there to not have solved that issue day 1 on the switch.
Can you play online with your friends?
It varies from game to game, as you’d expect. I can play pokemon multi-player without requiring a link cable, for example, but I can’t speak to other games I haven’t played much (like smash brothers or mariokart). If you mean games in general on the steamdeck, I find gog games and randos like Doom and Diablo multiplayer works just fine.
The trade-off of losing online features when emulating Nintendo games has never really felt that bad mostly because Nintendo’s online capabilities have always been total ass.
Nintendo’s online capabilities have always been total ass.
I hope this sentiment changes with Mario Kart World… I mean, I wouldn’t still pay for NSO anyway, but they should really focus in improving this.
Nintendo for reasons completely lost to me refuses to allow that.
Because consoles are a net loss in terms of R&D, production, shipping, warranty claims for when they almost always fucked something on the first or second version, etc etc etc. Locking people into the platform means you make all your money on game sales, even 3rd party, indie, and asset flip shovelware makes Nintendo money. It’s the “Walled Garden” method, Apple is shit hot at this. They make an everloving fuck tonne of money from their app store. Even free apps have to pay to have the app hosted on the store servers, and in app purchases are subject to a percentage cut for Apple.
The fact that having digital backups of games/music/media you have purchased is perfectly legal in more than a couple countries, as is emulating, is a thorn in these sociopathic cancers of megacorpic greed’s paw. That’s why Ubisoft is pushing for widespread legal acknowledgement of “game purchases are actually just paying to be granted a revokable for any reason or no reason at all licence.” That’s (partly) why Nintendo is so very aggressive in their litigation of anyone who attempts to make a highly functioning emulator for one of their systems, often with games running better with higher resolution and more options for QoL things. Because instead of trying to sell to as many different systems as possible, they want literally all the money, and they refuse the idea that the little money sacks who buy their shit might actually be legally allowed to run back up copies of their purchases on hardware that wasn’t sold by them. Refuse the idea that the money sacks have rights or deserve to pay for something and actually own it.
You will own nothing, and you will be happy.
You will own nothing, and you will be happy.
I can imagine a dystopian future, where only few hardcopies/offline copies of literature survive. All art/media is only available on the cloud, which is constantly changed as per the agenda of the day. All communication has to go through the cloud for authenticated. The police state is constantly scanning people if they have any sort of external storage device. USB ports are banned from being manufactured. Radio is banned. Few people, the rebels, hoard the last bit of art and music in the form of LPs/cassettes,/canvas but it’s shared among people like contraband.
This can be an awesome movie :P
Yeah… that’s… depressingly accurate for the way things are going.
With no subscription, just simply uploading from my GBA/DS/3DS/Switch to my Steamdeck… Nintendo for reasons completely lost to me refuses to allow that. Like, wth are they even doing over there to not have solved that issue day 1 on the switch.
Are you honestly asking why Nintendo doesn’t allow you to simply bypass purchasing their console? Really? Why do you think?
Ofc not, I’m asking why they didn’t just release a collection like Sega did, or like Nintendo has done in the past.
Releasing a “classics” collection in the first few months of the switch would have been such an easy move.Though, contextually (and more importantly), pointing out that the switch 2 doesn’t just have to compete against a similar device with a mammoth array of games… but one with all of nintendo’s games, too.
deleted by creator
But the Steam Deck can have Pokémon, Zelda, etc. thanks to piracy.
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
How come?
Nintendo is extremely aggresive when it comes to intelectual property.
There is an argument to be made, that IP laws are too powerful giving exlusive rights for shit ton of time (170 years or sth like that)
The law basically is there for corporations to force small companies out of business and keep their monopolies.
So just excersing a law written by the rich for the rich, for them to stay rich is evil. And by extension the company is evil. And by extension, not supporting the company is inherently good.
So just excersing a law written by the rich for the rich, for them to stay rich is evil. And by extension the company is evil.
Ah okay, was just wonder if there was more nuance than “capitalism bad”
Because intellectual property is a ridiculous capitalist notion. You can’t own intellect.
Not unless you support slavery, which I am sure you don’t.
You can’t own intellect
That not what IP rights are.
But also, piracy is a copyright issue, not an IP issue.
Piracy isn’t an issue at all, because I don’t recognize or consider either of those concepts.
Lol
Ahh but see. Nintendo has taken down many fan made games for just using their IP. No copyright violations
Which isn’t relevant in a discussion about piracy.
I believe it is. Because it started by saying it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo products. I think shutting down fan projects is very anti-consumer and an abuse of their power. Which makes it morally correct to pirate their shit
Reasonable IP laws are fine if they actually serve the stated purposes but we haven’t had that in generations
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
Nintendo is not getting another red cent from me until the day I die.
Imagine if people were this principled about things that actually mattered…
You can be principled on multiple fronts at the same time, food for thought…
It does… With emulation… That you can scale up to look better than any of Nintendo’s consoles can do… Plus mods, save states all the benefits of emulation…
The Steam Deck is a much better product from a value standpoint, a console will never be able to compare to a PC. So it’s kind of pointless to compare them in this regard.
The only reason, personally, to buy a Switch is for the joy-con games, like games to play with friends and family. Like you would with the Wii ( checks notes, almost 19 years ago…). For an actual handheld gaming device, obviously the Deck is the better choice.
That’s a point I didn’t even think of my sticks were not as smooth bought new ones opened up the back of the unit and about 30 mins of work had them swapped out and calibrated. Try doing that on joycon drift.
Exactly. I personally do all my gaming on a desktop and have no desire for “mobile” gaming, but I’m super excited to get a Switch 2 just for introducing my very young kids to Split-screen Mario kart with that joycon wheel
I’m just going to point out some things.
-
The comparison comes from price point and the fact that both systems are handheld play anywhere systems with docking capability for couch play.
-
There are already arguably better spec’s handhelds in this category that would outperform both these systems, but the cost of them is largely a deciding factor and it comes with some tradeoffs that include OS (since these are windows only handhelds with the exception of the Legion Go S, meaning that if you don’t want windows you have to go to the added trouble of installing something like Bazzite).
-
We know that just about every handheld on the market has some tradeoffs. The Legion Go has a beautiful screen and joycon-like detachable controllers. But it’s also heavier than the switch, and the steam deck and arguably less comfortable to hold for some. We know the the original ROG Ally had a bunch of problems including the fact that it would destroy its own SF card slot and potentially any SD card installed in it. It’s newest iteration is great (lots of fixes, better GPU/CPU, larger SDD, better battery life, better ergonomics, fixed SD card slot etc), however it’s also close to $1000. The Legion Go S had a different storage capacities depending on which OS you chose at launch. Even now there’s different variants that give different performance at different price points (Z1 extreme vs Z2 Go). The Switch OG lacks emulation for a lot of newer games (Wii and DS games specifically). Those games are coming probably but they are available on other handhelds with just a little bit of extra work.
-
Ease of play and ease of emulation are things people who aren’t buying these devices to tinker want. So the Switch 2 wins there. Just buy the subscription and you can emulate quite a lot of their gaming library with more to come.
-
Expecting a publication largely catering to the fans of Nintendo to offer up its competition as the better bargain for the money is just… Silly. It doesn’t make sense.
The switch 2 doesn’t add enough things to the table to make me want to spend $450+ to buy it. It’s launch titles are not particularly compelling for me, and when you add their anti-emulation litigation to the pile and DCMA abuse, I just don’t feel like it’s something I’m currently willing to buy. On top of that there’s lots of accessibility improvements I would love to see including joycon styles for 2D platformers that I clude a real D pad, GameCube style Joycons, or even just Joycons that would allow those with partial impairment or disability. There’s a lot of unexplored territory for the design and execution of this product that doesn’t include better graphics or being able to play cyberpunk 2077 and I think people forget that. Can you get such things on a steam deck? Yeah. Probably. But not natively docked to the system in handheld mode.
-
Their words:
Those same Joy-Con can also be used for super-accurate, independent motion control, opening up far more possibilities than the Deck’s simple gyro. And in games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Civilization VII, plonking them down on a surface (or thigh!) turns each of them into a fully-functioning computer mouse, far less awkward and clunky than the Deck’s integrated touchpad.
The versatility, modularity, and ease-of-use of the Joy-Con is something that we’ve come to take for granted, but it’s really hard to beat. When they’re not drifting.
You:
The next thing: Switch 2 is supposedly better because a joy-con can act as a mouse.
If that was your whole takeaway from that paragraph, I don’t think you’ll ever see the appeal. Different strokes and all that.
my steam deck can play switch and nintendo games and steam games checkmate
Both systems have pros and cons. This article isn’t bashing on the Steam Deck at all, just making the case for what the Switch 2 has going for it.
They say up front that this article is a response to the frankly obnoxious amount of “my gaming platform can beat up your gaming platform” circlejerking that has been going around - which you’re kinda perpetuating.
The Deck does not “obliterate” the Switch 2, and a headline like that makes you part of the problem.
The Deck does not “obliterate” the Switch 2
For me it does. But I know that’s not objective fact. Just my subjective opinion.
The truth is, if what you want is “newest Nintendo games”, well, the Switch 2 is amazing.
I adjusted my mindset on games years ago. There are lots of games that I’d love to play, but because they aren’t on PC, I don’t play them. Because I already have more games than I could ever play. Hype and FOMO are powerful drugs, ones that I’m not immune to. But I am at least resistant to them.
I dislike a lot of things about the Switch 2, but one thing I give them is that now it has arguments to win in several fields to the Deck (which it should be fucking given lol) and I thought Steam Deck users would be a bit less loud… But I think I was wrong… Regardless I eagerly hope for a Steam Deck 2, and hopefully I’ll be able to get it officially in Mexico ffs.
When is the video game community going to understand there’s no such thing as “better”. The whole “this vs that” or “us vs them” just needs to stop.
Yes, we all know handhelds peaked with the DS (I am totally biased).
Nothing beats the DS Lite’s 15 hour battery life
Outstanding even in today’s days!
Biased, but absolutely right.
Based*
Before Steam Deck maybe.
I mean, I also never take a gaming article seriously if it has the word “obliterate” in it.
Valve is definitely a more ethical company but all the console crusading also gets tiresome
Hey, hey? Hey.
Two things can be good at the same time.
Stop it.
Unless you’re ten and in a backyard and you can’t get the other thing because you haven’t mowed enough lawns or whatever and your frontal lobe is too squishy to cope with the FOMO.
But if you’re “a grown man”? Stop it.
If you believe the average person can afford both a Steam Deck and a Switch 2, you’re a person with profound financial privilege who’s missing the point.
That’s not what that says.
It says “if you can’t get the other thing (…) AND your frontal lobe is too squishy to cope with the FOMO”.
I’m not saying you need to buy both, I’m saying if you’re an adult you can live with a cool thing existing and you not needing to have it immediately without resorting to taking sides based on marketing bullet points like a toddler.
Most people need to choose one or the other, so they should be cognizant of what provides the most value for them.
I happen to think Nintendo Life was misrepresenting the actual value of a Switch 2 over a Steam Deck.
If you’re an actual adult, you should appreciate that other adults often have to make financial decisions regarding what they will buy. Especially in this current economy.
Well, let me solve that for you right away.
You need neither of these things. Games and entertainment are not a priority if you’re in a “this current economy” type of situation.
If you already have one, that’s the right one for the money, probably.
Was Nintendo Life “misrepresenting the value of a Switch 2 over a Deck”? Myeeeeh, not sure. I’ll say I agree with their premise that "Steam Deck fans Seriously Underestimating the Switch 2. In somewhat petty, immature ways, as demonstrated very well here. Does the Steam Deck “obliterate the Switch 2”? Probably not, no. I’ll tell you for sure in the summer, I suppose. That said, their listicle is brand shilling as much as this post is.
Are these two things different and have different sets of pros and cons? Yeah, for sure. It’s even a very interesting exercise to look at the weird-ass current handheld landscape, because it’s never been wider, more diverse or move overpopulated. The Switch 2 and the Deck will probably remain the two leading platforms until whatever Sony is considering materializes, but they’re far from alone, from dirt cheap Linux handhelds to ridiculously niche high end laptop-in-a-candybar Windows PCs.
If you want to have a fun thread about that I’m game, but fanboyism from grown men is a pet peeve of mine, and even if I didn’t find it infuriating I’d find it really boring.
For the record, between these two? Tied for price, Switch 2 will be a little more powerful and take advantage of specifically catered software from both first and third parties, has better default inputs, a better screen and support for physical games. Current Deck is flexible, hugely backwards compatible, can be upgraded to a decent OLED screen and has fewer built-in upsells.
And as a bonus round, Windows handhelds scale up to better performance than either, have better compatibility than the Deck and some superior screen and form factor alternatives… but are typically much more expensive and most (but not all) struggle with the Windows interface and lack hardware HDR support.
We good? Because that’s that’s the long and short of it.
Nintendo life is just being a bit insecure due to constantly hearing about it being deck measuring contest.
They want a review unit / codes from Nintendo
i’m blown away that the switch 2 is so beefy. nintendo has been the “lower spec consoles but AMAZING first party games” company for as long as i can remember.
Okay, so I gotta admit, that article about the Switch 2 being not-so-bad actually convinced me. They’re right, it’s awesome for parties and two-player gaming on the go. I didn’t realize the hardware could do 3.2 teraflops docked (1.6 undocked)—the Deck only does 1.6!
Yeah, games are pricey, but I think Nintendo delivers good entertainment value.
You could achieve the exact same with a steam Deck with emulation and buying a few more controllers
Switch 2 can’t play decades of PC games, all which are accessible on Switch.
I think you meant “which are accessible on Steam Deck”
The bigger trend is that enshitification of consoles have made steam a juggernaut.
$80 a game is a non starter for most people. Switch was a golden goose that revolutionized mobile handheld gaming. It was like a gameboy reboot. I doubt Switch 2 gets even close to half of the success
