Following the reveal of the Switch OLED earlier this month, Valve announced its new handheld PC device, the Steam Deck.
It's drawn plenty of comparisons to Nintendo's hybrid system due to its similarities in design (and has resulted in many memes) and now some members of the Valve team have shared their own thoughts about this exclusively with IGN. To drive home the point it's different, designer Greg Coomer reiterated how the Steam Deck was chasing a market that's already attached to the Steam library. In the words of IGN, "high-end PC gaming".
"We tried to make all the decisions really in Steam Deck that targeted that audience and that served the customers that were already having a good time interacting with the games that are on that platform, on our platform. That really was how we were making our decisions...We've ended up with a device that cosmetically shares some traits with a Switch, but that just was... it's kind of an artifact of how we've proceeded down the design direction."
Programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais reinforced how the focus was on enhancing player engagement with Valve's Steam library, and the Valve co-founder Gabe Newell believes users will immediately know if the Steam Deck is right for them (or if they should stick with the Nintendo Switch), from the moment they pick it up:
"So I think Nintendo does a great job targeting the audience they do with the content that they have. And that's going to be different. Like when you pick this [Steam Deck] up, it feels much more like the ergonomics for somebody who's used to playing with an expensive game controller, right? Because it's bigger and it's bulkier than a Switch. And if we're right, that's the right trade-off to be making for the audience that we're going after.
"Let me put it this way... If you're a gamer, and you pick up a Switch, and you pick up one of these, you're going to know which one is right for you, right? And you're going to know it within 10 seconds."
What are your thoughts about the Steam Deck at this stage? Do you think you're part of Valve's target audience? Tell us below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 194
Are they though? I'm primarily a PC gamer, but I love my Switch. I've picked up a lot of pc ports, but the exclusives are what keep me coming back.
The Steam Deck has absolutely no appeal - why would I play a game at 800p and 30fps when I could play it at 4k and 60Hz+? It's portable, but the battery life is poor and the games won't be remotely optimised for the controls.
Not that high end given they've said it's targeting 30fps in it's games.
Everyone is acting like Nintendo should be scared of this thing. Trust me they ain't. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck steam is anyway. I thought steam came out of a boiling pot of water. What a stupid name.
Nintendo is no more afraid of this than they are of PS5. They have and always will continue to do their own thing. Let the other guys worry about high end or bleeding edge technology. Nintendo does Nintendo and I like it fine that way! Wouldn't be a gamer if it weren't for them.
I would say that people need to temper their expectations for the Stream Deck. It has a good CPU for sure, but its GPU is roughly on par with a PS4 Amateur. That means 30fps and low graphics settings for the most part.
Valve really look to missed a trick with the screen too. It isn't OLED, it doesn't support HDR, and it doesn't have FreeSync/VRR. The latter in particular would have been immensely useful on a device with such a weak GPU.
It's also twice as heavy as the Switch, which was already a very cumbersome and hefty device. Frankly I find the Analogue Pocket more appealing than both of them.
Plus you can add in the mess of so many different PC stores (the days when everything was on Steam see sadly long gone) and I just isn't that interesting.
The Steam Deck will simply fill the void of games not being ported or being too demanding for the Switch.
It is a product that will give players the option to play PC games or retro games in handheld mode for more affordable price that those GPD win machines.
I'm not a PC gamer, but I'm very excited by the Deck.
Nowadays I use my Switch 90% handheld, perfect to fit in my lifestyle, so if another predominantly handheld system is available, able to run games better and with a huge back catalogue of games I want then it's a nobrainer.
Animal Crossing lost me this generation, so really the Switch would only be needed for BotW2, they were the only Nintendo exclusives I was interested in, I mainly played ports.
I'm sure we'll always have a family Switch with different accounts as my wife plays Pokemon etc, but we've both put a deposit down on Decks for ourselves.
@ramu-chan There's also the fact that it's going to get pretty hot considering it's gonna be running not just these games but an entire operating system as well since if you want you can download Windows onto it, for example if you don't like SteamOS
It's not a battle for the Nintendo gamer or the PC gamer, it's about that indie/old port market that straddles both systems. Because Nintendo have been eating Steam's proverbial packet of crisps on the side of their high tech lunch recently.
They can both coexist…no, Nintendo has nothing to worry about but I honestly hope the steam deck does well. Even if they do consider themselves in direct competition with each other, that’s a GOOD thing! A competitive market benefits the consumer after all so we should all want it to succeed.
Neither company will admit it, but they are competitors in the same market and competition is great for the buyer.
There are a certain percentage of Switch owners who buy multiplats on Switch over other platforms because those games are able to be played away from the TV. I definitely think SteamDeck is explicitly targeting that section of the Switch playerbase, and, if it takes off, could even make a real dent in sales of certain types of third party games.
Of course, it's not going to change that people will keep buying Nintendo consoles for Nintendo exclusives, but the Switch has shown a lot of growth in the area of third party support, and that could slip back somewhat if the portion of the audience that buys third party games on the system is investing more in their Steam library again.
PR speak, nothing more.
@Zach1122 hear hear! This is correct! All us consumers should be celebrating having choice. The more options the better it is for us and the harder companies have to fight to win our dollars.
I’d love to try the steam deck, looks neat. But I’m not paying that much money to play games I already play on a nicer screen. Never really been the type of guy to bust out handhelds on airplanes or at doctors offices haha. And that goes for the switch as well. It’s mostly docked in my house.
The Steam Deck looks like a pretty incredible piece of tech though. I am intrigued by how they are handling mouse heavy game’s, and who knows, maybe one day I will get one.
Another day another “proper gamer” downplaying Nintendo…
If your a serious gamer you want our machine…
Ha - yeah ok. Pathetic how these gaming snobs act around nintendo content….
They insists because it's true. This clearly is aimed at a niche within Steam userbase. They don't want their userbase migrating to consoles because PC UX for playing on the couch was bad, so they made big picture mode and steam controller. Now they don't want people who wants/need portability to migrate for the Switch.
Deck is also a good way to promote Steam OS 3 and Proton compatibility, since most users will just stay there. Which covers their other problem, which is Windows dependency.
The Deck was clearly not intended for the general public and the super limited production in the first year just shows it was never intended to sell tens of millions.
People just have to remember that Deck isn't an entire platform like Wii U or Vita. It's more akin to a revision like 2DS or Switch Lite, there to add some extra sales not to carry the platform.
And I say this as someone who is potentially going to buy it at scalper price.
It's for people who
1) have a large steam library already
2) were looking for a gaming laptop/pc on the cheap
3) were going to upgrade to the oled but don't mind paying $50 more instead.
I don't know a single person who would rather play a PC game on a portable device than on an actual PC, so yeah, they really aren't going after the same audience as the Switch. I sure as hell wouldn't want to play RE8 on a 720p portable screen vs. my TV or my PC. LMAO
I personally want one to play older games, from the 2010s and back, this would be perfect for that, I don't know yet if I can justify the cost for it over a PS5 or Xbox Series X when those systems also have exclusives and will run games better because unlike alot of people I don't have a huge steam library.
@Chamver well there was definitely a lot of preorders that beg to differ
@Clyde_Radcliffe They said 30fps is the base..and up. it isn't simply offering just 30fps.
I think this statement is about as clear as it can get, but peoole are still going to make these comparisons online because of the shared form factor and how memeable it is.
In the real world, comparing the two things is a lot like comparing a shark to a coyote to find out which one is the most successful animal. You could hold a two-week conference and have all kinds of experts in the field debating the advantages and disadvantages of each, but the fact is sharks and coyotes don't usually have to worry about each other.
Boy, this metaphor is really going to get me in trouble. It's early Sunday morning and I haven't had my coffee yet, okay? But really, I think the two systems can coexist.
@Petew Yeah I agree, they'll be competitors in the handheld market, hopefully this could push Nintendo to do more with their console & services.
@ramu-chan With reference the screen, they had to make some sacrifices both in cost and battery life and the screen is just that. We could speculate all day about what could of been better, you'd also find yourself getting further away from a handheld device, and if you think the switch is heavy perhaps up your iron intake and join a gym.
What I'm more interested is whether Sony will keep porting their exclusives to PC or not, I don't think Sony would like their exclusives being playable on another console.
@YANDMAN I know but 30fps will be the default games can run smoothly at which sounds like the same situation with Switch and it's multi-format games. I was expecting a 60fps base on something like this.
If high end PC gamers were the audience it would have a much higher price point.
@Zeldafan79 I'm still trying to figure out what the heck steam is anyway. I thought steam came out of a boiling pot of water. What a stupid name.
Hahaha You made my morning!!
I'm just going to be happy being able to play Luftrausers, FTL, Rimworld, Factorio, Project Zomboid, dozens of point & click adventure games, Oxygen Not Included and so many more in handheld-mode. I don't really care for playing first -and third-person shooters with a controller, so the more high-end games probably won't do much for me on this device.
The Steam Deck only really proves one thing - people shouldn't have to buy two handheld consoles to gain access to every single game possible to play on-the-go.
Not that I want the Steam Deck to fail, it's just that we HAVE to buy the Steam Deck for the games that never made it onto the Switch, all because developers were too stubborn to spend time and money on ports.
As long as I can play games at decent framerates the steam deck will satisfy me. I'm not some super hardcore PC gamer at all.
It were obvious from the start that it aimed at people with gaming PC's and huge Steam libraries already. People like me.
@Clyde_Radcliffe
Unlike consoles, the steam deck is basically a PC which means games have PC settings. If you struggle to run something at acceptable framerates you can always tinker around with the settings, shut things off etc to get the performance you want. We're getting closer to this with consoles having Performance and Graphics modes but PC just offers way more options to fine tune your experience, which steam deck will take advantage of.
@Petew Exactly. You 100% nailed it. Competition is great for the buyer, and for the business.
This article is a bait for all the insecure Nintendo fans that feel threatened by a new product.
If you consider gamers like me, Nintendo SHOULD be worried, because I am ceasing all purchases of Nintendo products and will be Switching to a Steam Deck. This way, I don’t have to pay full price for downgraded ports, and I don’t have to wait around for companies to port games from my Steam library to the under-powered Nintendo system. Nintendo’s exclusives have gotten to the point where they are so low quality that I’m not interested. So Valve, while they are “not competing,” won me over!
Personally, my main interest in the Steam Deck is seeing what hackers are able to do with it. I'm very interested in seeing what kind of homebrew community could pop up around this thing once it gets jailbroken.
EDIT: Apparently doesn't need to be broken so in that light, I'm interested in what kind of emulators the device can run. Also, the potential to run fangames like AM2R and SoR Remake has me tempted.
The Switch has really converted me into a handheld gamer. I’m happy there is another handheld option for games that probably won’t be coming to Switch. I was seriously considering joining the XBOX ecosystem (I’ve been PS for the past couple gens) just so I could play Starfield now that Bethesda is exclusive, but this has me reconsidering.
@JasmineDragon I get the metaphor, and I definitely think the systems can co-exist in the context of the gaming business! However, on a personal level, Valve won me over, as there aren’t any first party titles that I own on the Switch. I got one to begin with because of the ports and it being portable. But for me, Valve just knocked it out of the park!
@Onion The Steam Deck is 100% open source, meaning you can install anything you want on it, even a new OS, without having to jailbreak. Closed source systems, the likes of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, require jailbreaking because of protections those companies put to justify their “exclusiveness.”
@The_New_Butler
In that case, I'm interested in seeing how it runs emulators like Dolphin, Mupen64, EPSXE, etc. If it can run emulators right out of the box without the need for breaking it or softmodding in any form, it could be a fun legacy gaming device.
@Chamver I love the prospect of playing PC games on a portable device, and so must all the people that have been pre-ordering this device.
@Onion It will have more than enough power to run Dolphin, it may even be suitable for the PS3 emulator. All emulators run NATIVELY on Linux, too, so if you want a nice emulation machine this thing is going to be Heaven.
I wish I could play FTL on the Switch. If someone gave me a free steam deck, I would use it, but I'm not going to buy one.
More interested in the Playdate. Because clearly I'm an ageing hipster.
@The_New_Butler Interesting how it would compare with retropie. Also it has HDMI out and controller in, doesn't it?
The amount of people who got a switch to play a portable Skyrim, Witch or Dark Souls is low. If you want to beat nintendo you just have to make a better zelda, mariokart, smashbros, fire emblem, etc.
@ramu-chan Digital Foundry analysis of footage of Steam Deck has already established that Doom Eternal runs at a locked 60fps.
It's funny that Switch fans cite oled as so important, when no existing Switch on the market has an oled screen, and won't until October, and even then unless sales projections are 180 million, the oled model won't comprise even half the models sold. Switch doesn't have freesync, Switch doesn't have vrr. My tv supports them and has four hdmi 2.1 ports, but really almost no-one has those things at this point. HDR is reserved for 4k content only, which you should know, if you actually know anything about HDR. There aren't any HDR 1080p displays, much less 800p or even 720p. You're free not to be interested in it, but your claim to not believe that Steam Deck is a threat to Switch is somewhat weakened by your obvious desire to spread misinformation about it.
@TryToBeHopeful
I'm still crushed that game still hasn't came out on Switch. It's so perfect for the platform and one of my favorite Steam games.
Personally, I don't see them as a direct competitor to Switch. The Steam Deck, however, will be disruptive to the niche portable gaming PC from the likes of GPD and similar companies. They are too small to be able to compete with Steam Deck in pricing, especially as they have different business model as well (just selling hardware).
The Steam Deck won't have much appeal in the very young demographic, which the Switch is pretty much the only option. It seems too heavy for children, you don't want to kill their wrist. It doesn't have much appeal for family time either. It's pretty much a portable gaming PC for young adult (which I'm also one and probably get one when I could).
Another thing for this first gen of Steam Deck is that, they still used X86 architecture. We knew ARM chip with better gaming performance is coming soon, Samsung is working with AMD and Mediatek is working with NVIDIA. This is probably still one or two years away, but the next generation of portable gaming PC with ARM should be the future.
@Clyde_Radcliffe the developer that made the statement about 30fps said 30fps minimum, This is a target very often Switch can only dream of, in games that are apparently designed for the system from the ground up, and that's not mentioning the resolution scaling either.
I do find the 30fps comments interesting. You do realize some of the Switches best games play at 30fps. Breath of the Wild often drops well below 30fps. Portable systems have to make sacrifices. They are smaller devices. Do I really have to explain this?
Personally for me I don't even care about the 30fps. I primarily use the Switch and Steam as a portable indie device. I know it's blasphemous to say this here but I think most Nintendo games are highly overrated .
Knowing that I can buy indie games much cheaper on Steam than any Nintendo sale, I see myself selling my Switch . I did get a few good years out of it though.
@WhiteUmbrella
Misinformation? Such as? HDR and 4K are entirely unconnected. I have a 1000nit 1440p ultrawide on my PC, and my ancient iPhone X also has HDR and that's 1125p. In fact most high end phones have HDR now.
VRR, as Digital Foundry went to great length to talk about in the Steam Deck direct would have been massively useful to have. It allows weak GPUs to run at an even frame cadence under 60fps but above 30fps. Look at the footage of Jedi Fallen Order or Control on the Stream Deck. They're in the 40s, and they look absolutely terrible on a non VRR screen.
I have a Switch but I've barely touched it in over a year. I'm a PC gamer mostly, which is why this device makes no sense to me. I want to play PC games with the graphics on ultra, with HDR and with a frame rate well above 100. That's why I play on PC. I run a rig with a 3080 and a 5900X. No compromise.
And lose the condescending tone please.
This is great for gamers because all of the lost games that no one wanted to port are available on Steam and they are almost giving them away.
I just picked up Flatout for €1.39 and Flatout 2 for €1.99 as they are the closest games to the original Burnout series.
Also looking forward to playing Fable and the original Halo game on handheld.
I’m super excited and can’t wait for my confirmed December 2021 availability for the 512gb model.
I’m also getting my legally owned Dreamcast GDI files ready so I can enjoy them as it appears Sega is not interested in porting them to Switch.
@BloodNinja Exactly! Nintendo has been on auto pilot for years churning out bland iterations of their popular franchises with less content than previous games. The Switch is so underpowered that Nintendo fans are guaranteed the worst version of every release. The Steam Deck will let everyone play all the indies that no one really cares about and all the third party games that never hit the Switch.
I’ve put a four quid punt on a preorder. I always play handhelds and I was toying with getting a gaming laptop as my laptop is a potato. But this will be more affordable.
Even if it doesn’t keep up with new releases the back catalogue is immense, and if I buy the games I know I’ll sill have them if I upgrade later. I don’t get this with Nintendo systems - I have to rebuy the games instead and then only if Nintendo choose to rerelease them.
I’d look forward to playing series like Yakuza which I can’t on Switch.
It doesn’t matter too much to me right now, what with the preorders being so far out…
@ramu-chan "In fact most high end phones have HDR now". Sorry, what? What current phone models that are considered "high end" have 1080p displays and hdr? I'm just asking for a friend.
So you're a pc master race gamer, who thinks little of the Switch but still holds it in higher regard than the vastly more powerful Steam Deck? Why are you even bothering to debate the finer points of a race you claim not to have a horse in? You seem confused, or perhaps you're just a contrarian.
@WhiteUmbrella You know what, forget it. Move on. Find someone else to pick fights with.
Sure they aren't going after those who play only Animal Crossing and Pokémon...
I don't buy that this is not competing with the Switch personally.
One of the best things about Switch has been that so many multi platform games have been ported over- to be honest it's made up for the lacklustre first party output from Nintendo these last few years.
Some of my most played games have been things like Witcher 3 and Wolfenstein 2 and I even had my eyes open for a big price drop on the cloud games like Control and Hitman 3.
Now that there is a dockable handheld that is capable of playing uncompromised versions of these games, I really think it cancels out a major USP that the Switch once had.
@6thHorizon It isn't competing with the Switch because the Switch is too underpowered to be considered competition.
@Ambassador_Kong
Well I am seriously considering getting one and therefore wouldn't be buying those games that I mentioned on Switch (among others). The games are also a lot more affordable on Steam.
That definitely counts as competition in regards to my circumstances and I am sure that I will not be the only one.
@Ambassador_Kong Yep! And I sure won’t miss Nintendo. I still have my old consoles so I’m good on exclusives!
The Deck actually has all the features to deliver on the promises both the Vita and Switch made, but couldn't live up to.
Honestly, it's only missing the first party titles of Nintendo and Sony, but will have the Xbox ones, so...
@AndrewR might have no appeal to you, but to me who is about to go to college and doesn't have cash/room to build a pc, this is incredibly appealing. The portable aspect is more than appealing and makes it a better value than a Switch. The current switch I have is the families so I am totally buying a steam deck as I won't have to rebuy old games for 60 bones, will have my library, and even be able to emulate other games. Cheers.
I think people are really disregarding the price point. The basic model is 50 dollars more money than the most expensive model of Switch.
And the premium model is over 600 dollars! For a portable video game, that's a huge ask for something like this. Yeah, people spend way more on phones, but phones are a lot more versatile and really, in today's society, almost necessary. But Something like Switch or Steamdeck is a lot more... extra.
@Heavyarms55 it's literally a pc tho. i will be able to run n64, gba and gamecube games on the steam deck before switch
@Clyde_Radcliffe It's expensive, so that's why they're targeting at high end PC users, because they have the money to buy it.
@Zuljaras exactly. If it ever comes here without its price bloated into GPD Win territory along the way, I might well be in the market for it myself. Even all the familiar format hijinks aside, I dare expect a tangible number of Switch absentees from all the Steam-represented generations would play comfortably enough and still be decisively more portable than my laptop. These things will never be quite on the level of a dedicated console, regardless of how many times its specs they may boast, but they can still legitimately complement the game accessibility range in this regard.
@6thHorizon "Now that there is a dockable handheld that is capable of playing uncompromised versions of these games"
You're sounding kinda new to PC gaming in comparison to consoles as a whole, not to mention handheld micro PCs. Not all "compromises" are about resolutions and framerates.
@Richnj it DOES have Sony 1st party games. What are Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone and the soon to be coming Uncharted 4 then?
Also I am not getting Steam Deck as it’s battery life lasts only like 1 hour.
I don't get the binary thinking with this thing, like it's an either-or thing. The Switch is amazing for all of the reasons we already know. I'll be getting a Steam Deck too because I've never wanted to invest the money or physical space necessary for a gaming PC but this eliminates both of those barriers. Just like with every other iteration of the console wars, there's room for both here.
Lol Coomer "I'm cooming, I'm cooming!"
@anoyonmus I didn't include Sony because the number of titles is so small.
And where did you hear that it only has a 1 hour battery?. Google says 2 at least, and up to 8 (on what I'm guessing is very light use).
It'll be funny when people hit the space wall with the Steam Deck. Even 512GB is low por PC game standards.
@Richnj I said like around 1 hr.
It all depends on the game but this device has poor battery. I think it’s worse than the switch as the switch has like around a 9 hr battery life but it depends on the mode you have
@Edu23XWiiU yeah. You need to spend more money on Steam Deck than like building an actual PC
I'm simply just going to go back to buying all my indie games on steam now due to the sales they have, and my library transferring across generations.
@anoyonmus Yeah, OK. Then the original Switch device (which I own) has around 1 hour battery life too.
@Zeldafan79
Nintendo weren't scared of Sony's first console (after rejecting their collaborative efforts) but they should have been.
While Nintendo have shown an ability to bounce back from setbacks, the reverse is equally true; they are very capable of spectacular failure from a dominant position.
Couple of thoughts from someone who has literally every Nintendo game console (which most are still connected to my TV) and has reserved a Steam Deck.
I love Nintendo and their games. The Switch has got me through some dark times these last 4+ years. There has been so much support for the Switch, it's crazy probably the most supported Nintendo system ever (no actual idea). So much so that it has a string of "impossible ports" like Doom, Doom Eternal, Divinity Original Sin 2, XCOM 2, Civ 6, Crysis(!) And Witcher 3. Very cool and impressive and I have brought most of them but...
As also a long term PC player, the extensive compromises to get these on the Switch and how janky those games are even after those compromises (XCOM 2 looking at you) makes actually playing these games painful. I have seriously contemplated getting multiple of the Hongkong group funded handheld PCs that have come up over the last years. What held me back was the price and question on how well they would be supported.
Then enter the SD. With a price of 400$ which as we know is on 50$ more then the OLED edition and checking a lot of boxes I reserved without reservation. Even if it does have the stuff they say I will enjoy it, I have so many steam games (not to mention on Epic, gog, origin, and etc). I know a lot of people talk about just using the Streaming feature in Steam. That for me is always a pain because it can be very fiddly and in practice I have to mess with the source computer a lot to get it to work or fix issues with the stream. You also can't use it if you are traveling or otherwise outside the house.
@nhSnork
Yes you're right to an extent, I've not played PC games for years and always found the cost of a gaming setup prohibitively expensive.
That's why the Steam Deck is so appealing to me: relatively affordable (the memory is micro SD upgradable), portable and seems to be capable of playing everything that I've been missing and without being compromised versions too.
@WhiteUmbrella "the developer that made the statement about 30fps said 30fps minimum, This is a target very often Switch can only dream of, in games that are apparently designed for the system from the ground up, and that's not mentioning the resolution scaling either"
That's just not true at all. 😂 Near enough all Switch exclusives and games built for Switch from ground up run at 30fps minimum!
Honestly the Switch hate train, (which has been going on since it's debut) just went into overdrive after the whole Pro debacle. The Pro does not exist currently and Nintendo are most definitely working on the next console, but we don't know anything about it. The Steam Deck is hitting the scene at the correct time to jump in that "empty" Pro handheld market, but it does not have the Nintendo charm so it'll probably be able to sit alongside Nin8but won't concur it in the long run.
@The_New_Butler For MS i don't think they care too much, as long as people buying GamePass they're alright with another console having it. Their primary target is GamePass right now, if GamePass become a success, and more media adapted it, I think they're gonna kill their XBOX console and just put their focus on GamePass.
Our inspiration was the PSP Vita! Honest!
@SwankyKong64 Please, stop. If I wanted to pirate games, it would be very easy to do so on my actual gaming PC. My PC has enough power to emulate much newer titles than that. But I'm not a dirty thief. I have only ever emulated games I have legitimately purchased.
That people consider the ability to run stolen software as a plus is really just sad.
@Heavyarms55 it's also a gaming PC
@Clyde_Radcliffe The performance of Mario Golf, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Age of Calamity all disagree with you.
@Clyde_Radcliffe That's the bare minimum for current release AAA games. Play something indie or something a bit older and you will be able to get a better frame rate
@Chamver I would, of course I own everything, but it is a bit like apple products. They are better when you are more invested in their ecosystem. So having a gaming PC and instead of a gaming laptop you have a steam deck, its going to replace my laptop for travel that's for sure.
@MikeHiscoe I think that nintendo has carved themselves their niche. You buy nintendo products to play nintendo games. They are like disney for video games. But the steam deck, I am hoping it is a sign or a beginning for a new trend in technology. Gaming laptops are bad, they lose everything that is valuable in a laptop, battery life, weight, thermals. But this comprises the design space, and you can still do pc things if you wish. I'm optimistic about using this as a portable pc and a place to play my large library of games. But I have the money to buy tech that interests me, I havent missed a console since the gamecube, from any of the main companies. I do think part of the barrier is financial and that can lead to some people being more scathing because it is a bit financially intimidating. I wish the switch oled was the switch pro, but it isnt, and i think people are venting some frustrations about that on the steam deck as well. For me I was prepping to buy a switch pro, but this allowed me to pivot and I can't wait to play halo portable
@Heavyarms55 cry some more! I wil enjoy gamecube games on the go! Maybe even wii u games! Have fun with your underpowered switch!
@AndrewR Agreed. This is in no way a threat to switch
They are right... It took me less then 10 seconds to feel that the joycons are among the worst controllers I've ever held in my hands. They aren't build for comfort or ergonomics, they are build to have as much functions as possible, even tho all of them are mediocre at best.
@BloodNinja . While I won't completely abandon my switch and look forward to games like BOTW 2, many Switch owners won't be able to resist games like GTA5, RDR2 or Xbox gamepass stuff.
Nintendo will know that it will divert money away from their own pockets and they definitely will care.
I was going to buy the Switch Pro until we found out it was actually just the Switch oled but now the choice between a handheld with PS4 power or a PS5 digital for not much more than the cost of a Switch OLED, I know where my money is going.
And I will still have my old Switch, the only concession being a slightly inferior screen.
@Liam_Doolan Shouldn't the quotations be placed around "different" rather than "going after"? Or is that another grammatical difference between US English and UK English?
@The_New_Butler I prefer the Deck on the face of it (although time will tell) but I understand why Nintendo fans would have to have a Switch instead.
This says it all - they have very little understanding of why Switch is successful with all different age and gender group. No wonder people make dumb comments like this.
So fine. But it makes no since to me . The high end pc crowd does not want to play high end pc games at 720p and run at 30 frames per second.in hand held mode. Valve themselves said this is what the games runs at on the steam deck.. So since most pc gamers do not like console gaming. Why buy a system that makes high end pc gaming look like a console game? Why not just get a console like ps5 or series X or if you want it on the go as well. A switch. You will be saving money. So they think high end pc gamers want their games to look like console games? We shall see. This makes no sense to me.
@Petew Yeah, I’ll be keeping my old Switch around, but there’s room for Valves system in my house!
@Richnj not for me. It lasts about 3 to 4 hrs for me. Depends on your game.
@BloodNinja ofc there is room for the steam deck in your house. Its a portable system.
I would want the steam deck but I am making a PC instead of getting another handheld. Also I am gonna wait for reviews on the handheld
@tntswitchfan68 yeah. These people want like 1080p 60fps quality for like portable system at least. I don't think this is for them
Also that price range is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too expensive. Yeah there is $399 model but it has 64 GB of space and that is NOT enough for the Steam Deck because you are gonna want to get more games and game file sizes are only going to get bigger.
Yes, the switch oled has 64GB as well but unlike Steam Deck, the games are tailored to fit onto switch so file sizes will be lower. Reduce graphically quality and framerate and the file size will be smaller
@Ralizah
Like myself my only first party games are luigi and mario oddisey i would buy the steam deck for all assassins creed, far cry 5 and the future 6, deus ex games, dishonoured 1&2, thief 3,dead space trilogy ecc, even future games i have no trouble to play with low-medium setting as long the fps are around 25-30 , switch have lowered my standard about graphics a long time ago
So: any pc games that were ported to switch wil run much better and be a lot cheaper on steam deck. That is a threat to pc ports on switch.
But steam deck is twice as heavy as a switch, has worse battery life, probably even worse if you get the nvme ssd and it is not fast enough to make sense as a docked machine; about gtx 1030 performance with some added modern features.
The question is: how well do dolphin, cemu and other nintendo emulators run? If you can play windwaker hd, monster hunter stories 1 and xenoblade x on it, as well as the wither 3 and portal, will it be enough to put up with pc updates, bugs, driver problems and viruses?
@anoyonmus You might get 3-4 hours of battery life out of the Deck. It will just depend on your game.
@Richnj and what settings you are at
@okeribok it is true that steam deck is heavier, more clunkier imo, and has a worse battery life.
Idk about emulation wise though. Maybe try looking up on google
I hope this sends a damn message to all the people who are saying that this is a “switch killer”
@anoyonmus fingersnaps whack 'em on Switch settings and get 8 hours.
If Valve themselves doesn't think the SteamDeck is a Switch killer, then it probably isn't a Switch killer lol.
Lol. Yeah honestly if it lives up to my fairly basic expectations and it doesn't feel like holding a hot iron switch is pretty much dead to me apart from Nintendo exclusives. And damn right I'll be installing an N64 emulator. The switch is good for playing third parties on the go but let's be honest corners need cutting and more often than not it isn't pretty.
I'm sorry, I don't believe them. A huge portion of the Switch market are people who want to play games portably, even if they have to sacrifice image quality/frames for it. Why, if that is your primary use of the Switch, would you stick with Switch? There's always Nintendo's IPs but people have forgotten how on autopilot NIntendo has been this generation. Once you've beaten your BoTW and Odyssey tier games, all that's really left is inferior ports. Well, now you can buy a system that can play ports, better than the Switch did, with games often on sale, for just a small amount more. I think the only reason they don't say they're going after the Switch is so Nintendo fanboys don't attack them.
Gonna wait and see what the dock does, if it's not going to do much, then there really is no point. I just want an easier way to set up an easier way to play my games on the TV. I've tried it, I have a very good computer, but apparently it's not good enough to use a 4K TV...? I don't know... -.-
Yeah, Nintendo really targets a different market. Like Doom, Skyrim, Witcher 3, Monster Hunter Stories 2, Ys IX, Minecraft, Fortnite, Crysis. All on much more affordable hardware for....$50 less. Such a different market....
As if saying that will change anything
Nintendo may not be scared but apparently Nintendolife is. 😂
Hahahahaha 🤣.
But you guys already captured alot of switch owners, including me.
I also just found out the specs of this machine are in Some ways even better dan the Xbox series s
It's both funny and disappointing that this needs to be clarified.
@yuwarite No, I get it, I just think the PR is comically fake.
If I had a steam library, I'd have ordered a deck. As is my library is on Xbox and PS4 so jumping into a 4th ecosystem would be silly. I used to be pc for a decade, but I bought all physical discs then, and bailed partly BECAUSE steam/digital was taking over..... And I was on dialup.
Not for me for reasons other than mentioned in article. Too much of a luxury and I don't PC game anyway!
I like my switch, by I love freedom. Steamdeck is simply a better value because it will give me access to my huge Steam library, Epic, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Origin.
If I will have an option to buy indie game, such as silk song for example, I will go with Steam. That's because I will have my saves in cloud, probably have better prices than on the eshop. I can play a game on my pc, play on the go with steamdeck or easily hook it up to my tv and enjoy content on the sofa.
As someone said in the past, software sells hardware. I will still keep switch, because I want to support nintendo and buy their games, but regarding everything else it's just better value. Another cool thing is that I won't have to pay to play games online, since it's a pc.
People seem to be undervaluing the price point of the steam dock. $400 is a steal for the tech on offer. Gabe's already said they're selling the steam deck at a loss.
The high end audience, of course. The ones who want something the Switch can't give us.
It seems as though they have beaten Nintendo at their own game.who needs a Pro?
@BloodNinja gamers like you are a tiny fraction of the Nintendo userbase. I plan to get the steam deck and at the same time I am not silly. Nintendo do not need to worry at all when it comes to market share. Steam deck's share will be miniscule
@kobashi100 Literally everyone as an individual represents a tiny fraction of the user-base, were you trying to make a point about that, or just stating the obvious?
@BloodNinja I am saying the amount of people with the same opinion as you is a tiny percent so all this Nintendo should be worried talk is some OTT jokes. But hey there is no point us debating this now. We have a different opinion and that's cool! Let's just see after 12 months of steam deck release what the numbers are saying. we can then conclude who was right and who was wrong about Nintendo should be worried!
Could be going after a different audience, but I will be getting this instead of the oled 🤷
To be fair, if you're making a hybrid system, there are only so many reasonable ways you can design it.
@Clyde_Radcliffe not what they said... They considdr 30fps the low bar to consider a game to be playable. Many games still run at 60 or more
@WhiteUmbrella My phone isn't "high end" and while i don't know all the details about it as i don't care much for phones my phone does have HDR, not sure how good it is but i have option for it when taking pictures and videos.
Hey guys, this isn't a deck measuring contest.
I still think storage is going to be a nightmare on the Steam Deck. I can easily carry a huge library of games with me for Switch without the need for an expensive micro SD card or managing storage. With the Steam Deck the UI in a lot of games will be really hard to read on such a small low resolution screen. Switch games are built from the ground up with portability in mind. Steam Deck is also bulky and nearly twice as heavy as a Switch. Switch has portability built into the hardware. The price is also way too high for taking the Steam Deck out of the house. Especially for the high end models. There are more compromises to consider than just frame rate and graphical capabilities. Switch just works and a Switch Lite is $200 less than the low end Steam Deck. That's the real reason we don't have a Switch Pro. I could see the Steam Deck being popular with a small portion of gamers who don't mind tinkering with their system to get games running smoothly. Meanwhile, it will be a headache for people like me that just want to quickly choose a game from their library and start playing within seconds.
@Ganner @Zeldafan79 Steam is water in gas form and was used to propel a large portion of the industrial revolution. A SWITCH was usually used to release the steam to do the work. =o)
@Zeldafan79 @AndrewR In the end, it’s a portable gaming device, which is capable of playing decent games that the Switch may not have access to, regardless of battery life or any other factor. There’s no doubt it will be competition for sales of the Switch... as an example.. I cancelled my OLED order to go with this.. so it obviously is at least ‘some’ competition. I like my switch but there’s no doubt I am attracted to the ergonomics, plus the fact that there are many games I would love to play portably that just won’t or haven’t come to Switch.
It doesn’t have to be the best device ever, but it definitely has things that Switch hasn’t / doesn’t cater for right now, meaning Nintendo would be crazy to ignore it... and no matter what they tell the public, they of course look at this as competition - it’s called business. Whether they do anything about it is a different story, but any smart person at Nintendo would closely watch this space.
I'm interested in the Steam Deck for a few reasons:
1) It's like the Switch with portability, but looks more comfortable (hopefully less hand-cramping, and more like the Wii U GamePad in design) for handheld gaming sessions.
2) Works with docks for getting it on TVs quickly and easily.
3) Valve is a non-publicly traded company (right?), and I see this as a way for them to go around Microsoft and the PC/console side of things. They're releasing it without Windows, bypassing the need for a Windows license, but they're keeping their base plugged directly into it.
4) At $400, it allows me to play some of my Steam games better than my PC and it allows me to move it around more easily than my desktop PC.
5) Am I part of Steam's target audience? Yes, I think I am. I have a Steam account, but rarely play my PC games on my PC, because I prefer sitting on the couch/chair. Could I get a gaming laptop or upgrade my PC? Yeah, but I like this form factor a lot, ever since the Wii U GamePad, but I also really like that I can/will dock this around the house on TVs, and use it for even streaming PC games more easily without having to upgrade my PC.
6) PC gaming for under $500? I think it's a gamble, because it's Valve's first "console" really like this, but it's a gamble I'm will to take.
7) My plans for the Steam Deck are to probably play it from a dock on my TVs and using a controller the majority of the time, but hopefully I'll enjoy it handheld mode some as well.
The reason why portables like the Game Gear, Atari Lynx, PSP and Vita, failed to defeat Nintendo, is not just because the Game Boy and DS portables were cheaper and easier to use, it's also because of games, technology and power is nothing without games.
And this is why the Steam Deck is different, it was not even released yet, and it already has a better game library than the Switch.
tl;dr: gamer discourse is stupid
they're totally competition, my switch is just a old port and indie machine now and the steam deck could do that better plus way easier online multiplayer that won't require multiple copies and subscriptions.
I dig my Switch and love Nintendo, but it's okay to own multiple consoles if financially able. Articles and companies tend to make it a 'there can be only one' scenario
@HexagonSun I don't see storage as an issue.
My S.Deck will have 512gb plus all my sd cards.
What does the switch have? 32/64gb plus sd cards?
Also to have a large steam collection all in one place for mobile is absurd
PR BS,
what company do not want to grow?
Who doesn't want to up their user base? And if they are targeting high end PC gamers, why make a cheaper model that can't run 60fps? It is obvious they want a pice of Nintendo's pie, same thing happened with MS and Sony 2 gens ago with motion controls
@Guitario That proves the point that the base model is extremely flawed. It only exists to create the illusion that the Steam Deck is affordable. Even with 512gb, it will fill up fast. I only recently bought a 500 gb SD card for my Switch and I have over 150 games for it. My card is currently around halfway filled. Physical games really alleviate the problem of storage. Switch games, on average, are also way smaller.
ttdr; So I'm not a gamer cause I picked the switch.
@Stocksy sorry where was that in the article?
So basically they pulled a Nintendo on Nintendo? Telling people they are not in competition with their competitors is a strategy Nintendo invented.
@sleepinglion On the other hand, if Gaben beheads all the competition, he will inherit their power and Valve can win the Quickening.
@JasmineDragon I think your comment is the most truthful statement I’ve ever read. Spot on!
I can't wait for the Steam Deck. I've played literally thousands of hours on my Switch, but I'm ready to retire it as my portable gaming system. I'm sick of the vast majority of the games I'm interested in, not being released on the Switch. It's an underpowered system, that still primarily is for the "pokemon" family friendly crowd. Nintendo makes some good first party games, but the vast majority of AAA games being released skip the Switch. Where's RDR2? Where's Cyberpunk? Where's even GTA5? Assassin's Creed series? Call of Duty? Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order? Destiny? Dark Souls 2 or 3? Sekiro? NieR Automata? Resident Evil remakes? Mass Effect series? Watch Dogs Legion? Not on the Switch. The list is practically endless. Might be able to run Yuzu (Switch emulator) on this system, so you could play Switch games on the Steam Deck anyways.
Well I don't see these statements making things any better for them.
We are not going after the same customers as switch but we did with the look of it!!
@Dragonstar lol not a chance. The steam deck won't even be powerful enough to emulate PS2 so you can forget the switch.
@glaemay you'd be surprised, the Steam Deck is going to be a pretty powerful system. Yuzu is making HUGE strides in improving Switch emulation. I'm fairly optimistic this system will be able to run it. But time will tell.
@Dragonstar If you're telling me the steam deck is powerful enough to emulate the PS2 then you have no idea what you're talking about.
The steam deck will not be widely available anyway so it will not competing with the Switch which you can find everywhere you look.
Also, the Switch will lower its price too this or next physical year. Which will wipe out competition for casual gamers again.
Why does this need to even be explained, apart from the internet minorities who were upset a Switch Pro was not announced, then looked to the Steam deck as some sort of saviour,While nobody else bothered, and these people who want a steam deck are hardly indicative of the wider mass market customers who will buy a Switch console.
@AndrewR,
Trust me they are not going after the wider Switch demographic, and even if they were they will struggle to tap into it.
You like me are gadget obsessive, and we do not represent a large part of the market, I just recognise this while others don't.
@BloodNinja,
His point is very valid, core hobby gamers that spend lots of their time playing video games, and discussing them on internet forums are in the minority.
That's not to suggest their opinions are not valid on a personal level, but sometimes you would conclude they were actually the majority, from the way they post.
@victordamazio exactly. There are so many people out there, especially in their late 20s,30 and beyond who have gamed on PC in the past. People who have had that interest and just kind of moved out towards more casual experiences. There are huge numbers of those previously more hardcore gamers. The switch imho has capitalised on attracting that segment. Most especially in the lockdown boom. Globally, over the time its existed, Steam is absolutely massive. A huge percentage of gamers will have dabbled at some point and already have very large libraries of awesome games ready to play.
And if that's not you? If you don't have a steam library then it's famously easy to amass a very large one cheaply. For those who only play Nintendo or other home consoles... Humble bundle will blow your mind. Like game pass but games to own. Great ones to boot. And talking about gamepass if it plays gamepass then it's an even more appealing prospect. it may be a lot more popular than some people think. You're appealing to a huge section of the switch base that are just here because it's a ninetendo console that doesn't completely suck. But let's be honest it does suck just a little bit. I mean when you boot up the proper version of the game you've been trying to play on switch the difference between them is frequently a complete mindblower. It's not unpopular. Massive threat that will be discussed frequently and passionately in both board rooms.
Removed - offensive remarks; user is banned
@AndrewR Given a short while, likely it will be emulating all Switch games at 800p60 in docked mode, that will be the main reason to own one - for gamers who won't lower themselves to the Switches oft 480i output. Imagine finally able to play Hyrule Warriors BOTW at 60fps instead of the typical sub 720 to 480 5-20fps scaling on Switch.
To me, that's a gimick. Too weak for enthusiasts, too bulky and little battery power to remain relevant on the go. More power to PC gamers, but I think it's more viable to use a gaming PC instead and if you so wish do some kind of game-streaming to an external device.
I wish a Switch Pro is still coming. I'm perfectly fine with my Switch as is, but given the chance to have the games run a TAD BIT better at times, I'd take the opportunity. The Steam Deck still only has a (albeit great) integrated graphics chip and most games will not be fully optimized for that kind of form factor. I feel like the BEST reasons to own a PC are games that are played with mouse and keyboard. To this demographic the Steam Deck does very little imho.
That said, at the end of the day, WHO CARES. Get what you like. Simple as that.
I don’t understand the hate why 2 portable systems cannot coexist together? I have a Switch, I have a 512gb card full of games that I have bought digitally and at least 30 games I bought physically and I preordered the Steam deck and have been busy adding Steam games that are on sale while waiting for delivery.
At least now I have a choice for my portable gaming needs.
@anoyonmus Agree. Deck is a novel idea, but I don't know how it will do outside of the core PC base.
I get what he's saying. They're betting on adults with a ton of disposable income who are already spending $100s of dollars a year on Steam, making this a success. That's why it has bulkier grips, more buttons and track pads. A handheld like Deck, you can play Total War on and not suffer hand cramps if you're like me and have big hands.
The Switch is designed with more people in mind. My kid has been using one since age 3 and I guarantee at age 7 now, Deck will be too much in size and weight. Me, I had to buy a OIVO grip to use a Switch comfortably and honestly much prefer a Wii U gamepad. But that's Nintendo's market, families. Steam is not in the market for families. I mean it has hentai/sex games on it. People who aren't PC gamers don't understand Steam, lol.
The only reason people are comparing the Switch to the Steam feels like either
1) They are mad about the Switch Pro not being what they wanted.
2) Had no idea that the handheld gaming PC market was a 'thing' already.
Like I have a handheld PC that I have Steam on and it worked fine. However those devices are 800 bucks. Which I think Vavle wants to cut into that market. Which is exciting because I like a handheld PC, but wooooo they are expensive.
I’m not convinced this will succeed in the way the Switch has. The vast majority of Steam games are not designed for small screen - playing something like Witcher 3 undocked was tricky enough. I think it’s one thing to have the entire Steam library available remotely, but quite another to have those games optimised for playing on the go. In that sense Nintendo is way ahead, regardless of the what the consoles feel or look like.
Competition is good, we are going to an age where there are no more console wars, which people think it's good, gamers are all united and there is no more internet fights, but not everything is good from that, capitalism needs competition to work like it should, without competition, companies don't need to offer a good product and good prices.
The Steam Deck is the competition the Nintendo Switch needs, it will probably never sell more than the Switch, but there are already people saying they gave up on it and are buying the Steam Deck instead.
The real advantage of a videogame market without competition is that you would not need to buy multiple consoles to play all games, you buy one machine, everything runs on that machine, like VHS and DVD players, you don't need two different DVD players for movies by Disney and Warner, but if you want a future like this, support the Steam Deck, it's a PC, an open concept no one owns, unlike the Switch which is proprietary by Nintendo
@Mips Why are you so angry?
@Clyde_Radcliffe You will be able to select 60fps, it's just going to drain your battery at twice the speed, this is a PC after all, not a console. you may tweak the settings of any game you choose.
@anoyonmus Yeah, the Steam Deck is only for PC user that have money to waste and a lof of free time.
@YANDMAN don’t tell him you can change the graphics! That doesn’t fit his Nintendo narrative!
It's a great device priced to sell. But not to sell tens of millions of units. I'd see it as a flag carrier to establish a beach head for Steam handhelds that will ultimately be carried by third party OEMs (so comparing exact specs is stupid - there will always be a Steam handheld that's way more powerful than anything any major mainstream manufacturer will release. It's the general concept itself that's more interesting). I think that they will be successful with it - with Valve pushing a standard defining device - they should be able to easily devour dedicating Android gaming handhelds and stuff like the GPD whilst nibbling on Nintendo from both sides.
Nintendo should see it as competition because it will leach a lot of "whales" from their ecosystem and it changes the narrative and conversation surrounding the Switch.
Right now at this moment in time however the Steam Deck is something of a blank canvas onto which all of your desires can be projected. It can promise to address every single minor complaint that you might have with your Switch (and over 4 and a half years we've all picked up at least a few of those!).
What is being missed and overlooked, especially by those who don't play PC games regularly (and those who might not be comfortable touching PC settings) is that the handheld Steam Machine concept has a few big downsides.
1. Not every game is perfectly compatible with Steam OS. Some will run but not as well as they would on Windows, some might be glitchy in a way that you'd never accept in a game published on a console. Yes you can install Windows but that license costs money.
2. Most AAA games on Steam are really not optimised in any way for being played on a 7 inch screen. I'm sure you can do it and find it worthwhile if there's a game you really want to play portably but it will probably be annoying at times.
3. The Steam Deck itself is expensive. I keep seeing how it's "only £50 more expensive than a Switch" but this is disingenuous (and true only because Nintendo is stupidly trying to introduce the OLED edition at a higher price point) - the entry level Steam Deck is double the price of the entry level Switch Lite.
I'd expect to see someone try to get a Steam OS handheld out released at a Switch Lite competitive price but I'm going to guess now it won't be pretty.
4. Not every PC game is released on Steam - and yes I know that you'd be able to install other stores and that as a gaming enthusiast you will do this (possibly on top of installing Windows) - but general consumers will never do this and it's hard to see OEM's doing this if it means you have to ship with a Windows license (which would put them at a huge price disadvantage versus their immediate competition).
I would have thought this was obvious. Switch is targeted at people who want a portable video game console. Steam Deck is targeted at people who want a portable PC. They're completely different markets.
@Mountain_Man Have you ever seen a tear down of a modern console?
@BloodNinja What about it?
@Mountain_Man I’m asking of you have ever seen one. Have you?
@BloodNinja And I'm asking you what about it? I don't see the relevance.
@Mountain_Man,
Not relevant at all, but I think he is suggesting they are very similar in their set up, but I suggest like you, that they are purchased by totally different demographics.
@Mountain_Man The way you are avoiding answering the simplest of questions is an interesting indicator of something. So, I’ll ask again, to see how stubborn your avoidance of the truth is: have you ever seen a tear down of an actual modern console, and compared it with a PC? I just want to see if you know what you are talking about, that would be the relevancy.
@BloodNinja Sorry that was out of order I take it back. All the best to you.
@johnvboy "I think he is suggesting they are very similar in their set up..."
That's where I suspected he was heading with this, and it's a silly point. All modern electronics use similar if not identical components. Case in point, if you did a teardown of my Switch, my FiiO hi-res digital audio player, and my Pixel phone, you would find more similarities than differences, but each one still has significantly different target market. Someone who wanted a phone wouldn't buy a Switch, and someone who wanted a portable game console wouldn't buy a digital music player.
@Mountain_Man,
Totally agree just because some tech products are similar in their component design, does not indicate they are bought by a tech obsessed demographic.
The Switch will be bought by more tech obsessive people, but it's main audience is far more mass market, who simply buy it because it's a cool piece of kit, with some very entertaining games available, simple really.
Like the way he suggests you are avoiding the truth, when ironically that's all the minorities do, when they indicate everyone should buy things for the same reasons they do.
@Mips No worries. Be well.
@Mountain_Man Makes you wonder why they keep porting all these PC games to Switch! There has to be more similarity than the wildly different devices you mentioned. Are they going to port Salt and Sanctuary to your audio player?
@Zeldafan79 If you don't know what Steam is, clearly you're not the target audience for the device.
And Steam makes more sense as a name when you take into account the company behind it is named Valve. Valve releases the steam.
@yuwarite I'm sure. I love what it does, and I'm the target secondary market for it, for sure. It's a cool machine, and if I was either still deep into a PC library, or was a lapsed gamer and didn't have any existing library I'd be diving right in too. As-is, with 2.5 massive libraries on other platforms already (300+ games on XB, 150+ games on PS........several dozen on Switch? it's just economic stupidity to dive into ecosystem #4. BUT it did incentivize me to double down on Game Pass Cloud and try some amount of streaming of the XB library around the house like that. Sadly they don't stream your purchases yet, but I could always connect the old X1X again and stream from that around the house.
As-is, the last PC game I bought was probably....err...Supreme Commander 2? Dragon Age: Origins? Far Cry 2: Malaria? Fallout 3? Something like that. On disc...... While I have a combined 500 or so games with a backlog of at least 250 on other systems... I've been a GPU member and just signed up for PS Now to give it a try. I really shouldn't be buying 500 games...
@BloodNinja "There has to be more similarity than the wildly different devices you mentioned."
The Switch, Google Pixel, and FiiO music player are not "wildly different devices". That was my point. They are all essentially the same device but designed for and sold to different segments of the consumer market (the primary difference between them is in the software and not the hardware). As this relates to the Switch and the Steam Deck, as I said initially, the Switch will appeal primarily to people who want a portable gaming console, and the Steam Deck will appeal to people who want a portable PC. Nintendo and Valve are going after two different types of consumers. Personally, I can't see someone who wants the pick-up-and-play simplicity of a console buying a Steam Deck, whereas a PC gamer with a large library of PC games and who likes to tinker with custom software and operating systems will not want a Switch.
@Mountain_Man You can’t see it happening, therefor it can’t happen? What kind of bullocks is that?
The Steam Deck is a portable mini PC, so the Switch/Nintendo is not their real competitor. Let's say, the Steam Deck has an OS based on Arch Linux (incredible distro btw) with KDE Plasma (which is a graphical interface so customizable that you can make appear like you are using it macOS or any Windows) Valve here is aiming at a future less dependent on Microsoft Windows. The real competitor is... Microsoft!
Valve is always trying to get more people to use Linux instead of the norm (i.e. using Windows). All her games are natively ported to Linux, and running damn perfectly (except Half-Life: Alyx, VR is something that doesn't work well on Linux yet)
so no, this is not a PR thing. Valve is really aiming for a different audience (PC Gamers)
@liveswired I hope so, though I'd be skeptical about it having the muscle. I've got a pretty beefy pc and it struggles.
@SwankyKong64 Ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
wow, so some decided goodbye nintendo because of the steam deck coming out, well laptops were one of the first pc portables out there that came out, and you did not just have to use steam as pc gaming but other sites too like gog.com and even though steam has a lot of games and they made be cheaper, they still do not have every game that you can play on there. the switch also has some games that steam does not have, so for me it is best to have the best of both worlds and not try to get rid of one in favor of the other because you never know is in store in the future.
@Zeldafan79 Nintendo has always had a monopoly on handhelds. The closest anyone came was PSP and even then it barely had half of what the DS sold.
@Zeldafan79 How can you say Steam is a dumb name as if the word Nintendo sounds any smarter, you’re way to bias and shouldn’t have anything to say because of it random guy number 87.
@FTL I like when levelheaded people like you speak.👌🏾
NO! That audience is exactly what made the Switch different from previous consoles and actually gave it a chance to convince Playstation/Xbox gamers to get it. Handheld AAA gaming on the go was one of its TRAITS.
Without them, the Switch is just another niche piece of hardware..... that's doing nothing but repeating the history becoming more irrelevant like the Wii did in its convoluted final years
(Except this time, it's getting better and better first-party games)
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