Topic: I think the Switch is better than the Steam Deck (with caveats)

Had a steam deck since September and it blows you away to begin with. Incredible power and the controls / button set-up ergonomics are superb. The range of games and pricing of them is equally superb.

It is ultimately a pc though and not a console - as such you get a lot more games crashing, messing about with optimisations, control scheme configuration adjustments, huge memory storage size on titles.

Battery is poor - which is understandable with the power - it is amazing that a portable can run the games that the steam deck can. It’s also a big unit - I was away on a business trip last week and didn’t bother taking it.

Began to realise that my Xbox series x ultimately runs these games better and the switch / Xbox combination is the better set-up for me.

I sold my switch after getting the deck - think I am going to pick up an oled version this week (I had the standard version previously) and get back into the switch

Follow up to this - is it late in the switch lifecycle to be buying the oled - any rumours on when switch 2 will come out ?

@Punisher67 Guesstimations for the arrival of the Switch successor are between 2024 at the earliest and 2026 at the latest. Regardless of when it'll arrive, there's no guarantee it'll be a portable device. There's always a chance Nintendo could "Nintendo" and pivot away from the hybrid design. I recommend you purchase an OLED at your earlier convenience.

The main selling point of these handheld PCs is the ability to play virtually anything, yes, but I'm more drawn to being able to play legacy console/handheld games on them and older PC games due to their poor battery life.

I'm keen on picking one up eventually.

@Sisilly_G thing is I had Baldurs gate on switch - was a decent experience. When I switched to steam deck I played it for 30 minutes then gave up - not optimised for it like it was for switch. Controls were cumbersome. Neverwinter nights was the exact same.

I would have to agree, I have both sitting right here with me now. I play the switch 90%+ of the time over my Steamdeck.

PC is my preferred second platform (after Switch), but the things you describe are precisely why I've chosen not to get the Steam deck. While it delivers on the portability, it's seemingly missing a lot of the convenience that make the Switch appealing to me. And the form factor isn't really doing it any favours either.

Plus at this point the Switch has almost every game I'd want to play portably anyway.

I own Switch OLED and Deck. And... ya. I prefer Switch by a wide margin.

Deck is super cool, but it really does bring with it all the problems PC has. Just this past weekend I fired it up to play Hogwarts Legacy, and my Decky loader plug in was missing. Had to research how to fix that. Had to turn developer mode on again, and some debugging setting, switch to desktop, Google the Uninstall line code for Konsole (like windows Cmd Prompt line code window), uninstall it, then get the code to reinstall it, switch back to gaming mode.

Then I realize the touch screen stopped working!! Had to Google that and found out the fix is turning off, holding Volume + and Power to enter recovery mode, turn on battery saver mode which disables the battery, plug in to turn back on, it was fixed, then had to power cycle again to turn off the battery saver mode...

Then playing Hogwarts Legacy, I get an infinite loading screen. Had to power cycle for that.

Like, I love it, I really do. And when it works it's kinda magical. But good night it's a hassle to deal with all the little issues that come up. Not to mention the dreadful battery life. And while Switch has its own shortcomings, the large size, weight, lack of detachable controllers and kickstand and inability to instantly drop and dock like Switch, it really highlights the inadequacies of being a pure handheld when compared to a hybrid design.

I do not regret SteamDeck, not one bit, on the contrary I genuinely love the device. But... it's for a certain type of gamer. And certainly no substitute for the Switch.

Steam Deck is super cool, but yeah, the people trying to sell it as a more powerful Switch that can play anything are setting people up for disappointment. It's a handheld PC that has a ton of compatibility issues with games, and expectations need to be managed.

I do think the platform will continue to get better and better over time. Valve has been very proactive about continuously improving the experience. But it's not going to provide the sort of consistency of experience you'd expect from a console.

I am genuinely glad it exists, though, and I'm excited to see how it evolves in the future. Don't own one myself, but based on what Nintendo does, I might grab one sooner than later.

They both portable one smaller then the other but one doesn't play Nintendo games not all games but enough of them that unless you games constantly on both console it's not a bad thing but also a big downside Deck isn't a factory production unlike Switch is on a production line. And cost is another factor to take into account. And one is only Digital only while the other is both Digital/Physical option when they become Physical. We can talk about performance all we want but if that takes a hit on battery life it's pretty worthless as a portable. That's just from the known part of both systems.

Got my switch oled today !

I still say that the Deck and Switch don’t service the same customer base (barring the buys everything customer who doesn’t care). The Deck is for PC/Emulation users that want a games focused PC that has a handheld aspect. However it isn’t really designed for long term play in that mode.

The switch is a handled full featured console (ie hybrid) that is designed with (hopefully) optimized gameplay and access to the Nintendo ecosystem out of the box. The user that just wants to play a game but doesn’t know what an .ini file is and would like to switch from portable to tv (or not and just happens to want Nintendo’s latest hardware) with a lower price point investment. The switch is lightweight and designed to be portable (yes Lite users nobody forgot about you).

For me I have little interest in the Deck because if I am going to play PC I will do so with the best experience I can afford.

Yeah, the Switch has sold upwards of 120 million units where Valve aren't even claiming two million Steam Decks shipped yet. The latter might have been a massive step up for the handheld PC market but there's clearly still a big gap between it and the mainstream console market.

Also, I don't think it's so much size, battery life and ergonomics that are keeping the Switch safe in its lane, but mainly the it-just-works factor and the exclusive content. Pretty much anything you can play on the Steam Deck can be experienced elsewhere, and rather better too for the most part, but you can't beat Switch for Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and the like.

I have and play both as my main consoles. They are interchangeable in my preference depending on what I'm playing. Both have major strengths and weaknesses. Switch has far better optimization, battery life and much lower internet dependency. Steamdeck is far more comfortable, has better analog sticks and a near bottomless library.
But the converse of those is also true. Right now I'm on a World of Warcraft kick so Steamdeck is my number 1, but that is winding down. I delayed Metroid Prime so I could finish what I wanted in WoW and get the Physical version to sink my teeth back into.
Long ago I wanted just one system that could play them all. To be honest, both are very close. I could run Roms of all the old Nintendo content I want on Steamdeck, but I'd rather not. I would also like Physical carts of all the NSO library, to purchase again, but that may never happen.

In the meantime I have my go-bag packed with three pieces of tech, my mini laptop, Switch and the Steamdeck strapped to the back like a spare tire. I'm never bored long at work.

I love my Switch, it’s my favourite console of all time.

But as I don’t have an Xbox or PlayStation or gaming PC getting a Steam Deck is a game changer for me.

I quite enjoy the tinkering side of things (that’s the meta game). I play handheld so it’s opened up vastly what I can access.

If a game is on Switch physically I’d still want to pick that up. If it’s digital I’d probably go with Steam as it’s likely cheaper, probably available earlier, and I don’t have to worry if it’ll be tied to one system.

Nier Automata I went back and forth on where to get it, physical vs performance. In the Spring sale I went for Steam in the end.

I recently decided to grab a Steam Deck as it was on sale, it is a great device for playing games in bed with that I previously could not play in bed and I actually kinda prefer the feel of it in hand to the Switch. I also love how it offers all of the benefits and flexibility of PC gaming.

However, as an actual portable device yeah... it is kinda useless. It isn't exactly heavy, but it is pretty massive and the battery on it suuuuucks. Like I had heard how bad the battery was, and it is somehow even worse in person, I'm lucky if I get over an hour with some games. This effectively makes it a stationary device as I have to have it plugged in, or a charger on hand, basically all the time.

All of that being said though, whenever the inevitable Switch successor comes along, depending on how much they modernise their hardware and try to catch up with the industry around them, I assume they are going to run into much of the same problems the Deck has and the Switch only avoids them now because it is basically a decade plus old mobile phone at this point.

@Pizzamorg I was tempted to buy one in the recent sale, but the portability issues made me reconsider..it's a shame really, because i want to play the new AAA games released on other consoles on the go, but i can't bring myself to carry around battery banks plus the steam deck in my bag. Just to clarify i play my handhelds mostly away from home and that was a key factor to my decision not to get it. I'm glad it works for you though, happy gaming!

The way I look at it the Steam Deck is less about the literal hardware and more about moving the ecosystem forward. I don't have one and I'm sure it's clunky now. And obviously battery life and form factor and even the screen is behind what the Switch has. But at the end of the day it's just hardware

I'm not going to pick up the Steam Deck. But I'm excited to see what Steam Deck V2 or third party Steam Deck looks like. Asus deck? Dell Deck? That's where we're going

I haven’t had the same battery issues but Yakuza is the most powerful game I play on it, I don’t usually get more than an hour or two free a day anyway. I have a battery bank but I’ve not used it yet. Form factor, it’s more comfortable than I was expecting. Games look better than on my battered OG Switch, for which the battery isn’t much better.

I still haven’t dared take it out of the house but that’s mostly because I’m trying to keep it in good condition. I usually play it on the sofa whilst others commandeer the tv. I do also hope that revisions might focus on improving form factor and battery life.

I do also like Steam having the things we’ve given up on asking for on Switch. Messaging, achievements, customising your profile so it looks like your MySpace page back in the day. Or judging on most peoples game collections … backloggery too.

I have my v2 switch for three years now and take it everyday with me inside my shoulder bag. So far i haven't noticed any wear and tear from the daily transport, including situations where i bump into things or the bag falls by accident. I have it in a case of course, but yea i wouldn't worry about the steam deck either, the thing's built like a tank xD Sure though newer revisions would definitely benefit portability by reducing the size and making it more efficient or adding extra battery juice. Btw i really like your profile picture, is it from a game?