Random: Let's Be Thankful The 'Switch 2' Won't Be As Big As Acer's Ridiculous New Handheld

It's a Switch XXL size I guess.

To small for me. I want a handheld that is bigger than my 55 inch TV

I don’t even think I need more than 7”.
The OLED Switch screen is just the perfect sweetspot, just reduce the bezels even further.

Looks like Just a I PAD

Armheld

• Bro you're so ripped, how many reps do you lift every day?
• oh I just play on my Acer

That picture of the guy holding the device is hilarious. What a ridiculous thing to make.

Imagine advertising 10inch tablet as a handheld gaming console.

Bit overdramatic article, but expected on Nintendolife for anything that isn't Nintendo getting burned into the ground.

They offer two sizes, yet you only focus on the 11inch model, which Acer themselves admit will be an extreme niche product for a select few who will be interested and manufactured in a limited amount.

The vast majority will just go for the more portable 8,8 inch version.

I myself, have an 12,9inch iPad Pro for over 7 years now (still going strong and working) and absolutely love it!
I actually use it time to time for XBOX remote play.

So honestly. That 11inch model is not so crazy if you think about it. Most who would buy that model, will use it with the kickstand and remote controller.
So it can be valid alternative to a Gaming laptop for those who prefer to game with controller anyway.
I never use the Switch with kickstand and remote controller, as the screen is just too small. So here an 11inch screen is actually a big plus for that type of gaming.

People need to try to be a bit more open minded.

Apparently there's some people out there who always think bigger = better so I guess this is supposed to appeal to them.

Can’t wait to play games on that machine while laying in bed on my back.

That's not a handheld, that's a tablet with controllers.

I'd love to try it just for the sheer ridiculousness.

The 8inch model looks a bit more reasonable, but still suffers from unreasonable pricing like all the other steamdeck competitors.

Is this for the giants out there who thought the Xbox Duke controller was too small for their hands?

Maybe it's because I got some fat hands but I actually prefer the beeg handhelds. I hope the Switch has some sort of XL options down the line

Joke’s on you, this IS the Switch2! Surprise!

@AmplifyMJ
lol yea, not too far off, unfortunately

@JohnnyMind It's because of the hardware, they end up priced like that. It supports native Windows, so you can run any Windows games on it natively!

A good gaming laptop is also expensive.

While obviously not being as successful as Switch, handheld PC hardware with detatchable controllers existed before Switch was ever announced. Also, it's a little weird to level criticism based on the size, from the same site that has published articles, promoting using 10"+ portable screens, with the original Switch.

They named it “Nitro Blaze”…

@WhiteUmbrella Yep. NL hypocrisy at it's finest.

I feel like these other alternatives are pointless, the only two that matters is Switch and the Steam Deck, when it comes to handheld, that's your pick.

Everyone suddenly wants a piece of the handheld pie. Even if you have to make something ridiculous to stand out.

@mariomaster96 The Nintendo Swole.

@Reztobi While Steamdeck is an amazing handheld, it suffers from outdated hardware. Most new games won't run on it and are not Steamdeck verified or just run extremely poorly and look like a blurry mess.

While design wise the Steamdeck is superior to many of the alternatives, Valve really needs to release a new updated next-gen version.

Also, Steamdeck wasn't even available here in Europe until sometime last year via select few 3rd Party retailers that decided to import them themselves.
Legally, we can still not order the Steamdeck here in Europe directly from Valve!

So technically, for many here in Europe at least. Asus, Lenovo and now Acer's PC handhelds are the only option.

Is that a Switch after consuming a Super Mushroom?

I hope they don’t increase the size that much on the new Switch. 7” is just right.

@Jeronan Steam Deck 2 won't be out until 2026 at the earliest.

They are waiting for a huge gap in hardware before making it.
Valve don't earn money on handhelds, so there is no point in rushing it.

The only reason they can sell a handheld without earning money on it, is because they have Steam store.
Steam also get money from other handhelds too.

@Toastmaster I know, I saw the same interview last year.

The problem still stands, that it's pointless and waste of money to buy the current Steam deck today, unless you only interested in old (retro) games and have the money to waste.
Plus, like I said, it's not even directly available outside of NA. Only via some 3rd party retailers through grey market import (with hefty markup, so you end up paying same price as the new alternatives) with no support from Valve.

So, again, outside NA. Why in earth would I buy the Steam deck, when I can buy the new (much more powerful) alternatives for the same price?

At that point, just play games on the TV. Honestly I even find the Steam Deck too big for me. The Switch really fits the perfect form factor of size and portability.

@Axecon Yea I basically came to say the same thing. Household's used to have TVs all over the house - albeit smaller ones in places like the Kitchen or Bedrooms - but now we seem to be in a place where a lot of people will have 1 large TV and then a menagerie of "other screens" ranging from phones and tablets to laptops and gaming handhelds.

We'd save ourselves a whole of time, money and sanity just getting another TV!

@Jeronan Not sure what you mean here. EU customers can order a Deck just fine. In fact, the EU distribution centre is here in The Netherlands. My Deck arrived within a day.

EDIT: I guess you mean retail availability.

@Jeronan here in europe the steamdeck was available as pre-order through steam in 2022, got mine in september 2022.

and most new games do run on it, though admittedly not all are running at ideal framerates.
black myth wukong is the worst performing game i have on it, and aside from hairs and clouds turning blocky it runs well enough to enjoy and looks good.

"We take detachable controllers for grated [sic] these days, but without Nintendo paving the way (again!), the PC handheld market probably wouldn't be enjoying its current bout of prosperity."

is there an actual "handhelds with knockoff joycons" boom, currently?

without having to think, besides Switch, what are the second and third most popular in the category? 123 go.

@Jeronan
Yeah, Steam Deck is outdated at this point.
I bought Legion Go at launch in 2023 and it runs all games that don't work on Steam Deck including the Avatar game.

900 bucks for Legion Go were a bargain compared to Steam Deck price.
A Steam Deck 1.TB cost 1200 bucks at the same time here which is insane.

Steam Deck were only launched in selected countries in Europe, and is why it's so expensive in a lot of countries.

The reason why Windows handhelds are much cheaper than Steam DEck, is because Lenovo, Asus, MSI, Zotac, Acer etc. sells globally, unlike Valve.

Yet an iPad Pro would be cheaper, lighter and play RE4 longer. These PC manufacturers are easily proving Apple’s point why Arm and RISCV based machines are the future. Nintendo was smart to be all in on Arm.

@Qwiff Steam Deck were only released in selected countries, and the prices are insane in the countries that wasn't included.

When i bought Legion Go 1.TB at launch for 900 bucks, Steam Deck 1.TB cost 1200 bucks at the same time....

Windows handhelds are cheaper and in countries Valve don't sell in.

Imagine holding that up while playing in bed and you start to doze off…

@Qwiff Only very select countries in EU and for limited time.

Here in Norway, it has never been available. I can buy it now at local retailer or some online shop that does grey import, but end up paying almost double the price.
I can literally buy the latest top spec Asus ROG Ally or top spec Legion GO for the same price as the Steam Deck OLED.

So again, ( if you are in the market for a PC handheld ) why would you buy the Steam Deck OLED here in Europe today (with heavily outdated hardware), when you can buy the top spec Legion GO or new Asus ROG Ally 2 for the same price?
Or, even better, this new Acer 8,8inch handheld with even newer hardware specs.

@Toastmaster @Jeronan, I see the confusion here: EU = European Union. Norway is not part of the EU, so that's why it's not available there.

@Qwiff And is why the more powerful handhelds are cheaper than Steam Deck.

@Jeronan Hello fellow Norsk.

Elkjop and Power sold Steam Deck for a long time in local stores, but the prices are insane.

The higher prices are partially because of 5 year warranty in Norway on electronics.
If they break after 1-2 years, the stores themselves have to pay for the repairs and not Valve.

If Legion Go or Rog Ally breaks after 4+ years, it's Lenovo and Asus that pays to fix them instead.

This is why global brands is cheaper than brands like Valve that isn't.
Any global brand have 5 year warranty in Norway.

Microsoft, Nintendo, Samsung, LG, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Philips +++ all honor the 5 year warranty.

My guess is that Valve were scared of the 5 year warranty, as Americans usually have only 1 year +/-.

LOoL Acer just turned that thing into a meme.

@Toastmaster It's not really the 5 year reclamation law in Norway that is the main issue though.
As most products that are widely available have similar pricing in EUR and NOK. Sometimes it's up to 5% more expensive in Norway with some products due to 25% VAT, instead of 20-25% in other countries within EU.

The problem here is just the grey import. Elkjop and Power literally buy these consoles at US retail price and then still want to make a profit themselves. That is why they end up so much more expensive.
They just did it and bought it in fairly small quantities due to demand for people willing to pay that extra high price to buy locally, but the demand wasn't high enough to go through the lengths of applying for official Nordic distribution rights with Valve.
It also didn't help that Valve had trouble producing enough consoles and was constantly sold out. There were very long periods of time that the Steam Deck was out of stock and not available.

Maybe that will change in the future with the inevitable Steam Deck 2 release and if there will be enough demand here in the Nordic countries and Valve able to produce consoles fast enough and in enough quantities, for some distributor willing to step up and go in talks with Valve.

But then there is also the development of SteamOS itself with the posibility now for other Manufacturers going to be able to produce and sell devices with SteamOS.
The initial rumor was that this first handheld console from Acer was supposed to be the first non-Valve handheld officially releasing with SteamOS. Though, it's now clear that isn't happening.

OG switch is already too big and unwieldy for me, and I’m not exactly a petite gentleman. I see children play this thing effectively with their tiny bodies and am surprised.

OG switch is too big to be portable or fit into a pocket. 3DS had some benefits I miss.

Id probably go for a cheaper, dock-only version of switch 2 if given the option.

@Axecon even switch is too big for me. It doesn’t fit into a pocket, and for me at least it’s really unwieldy to play any game that requires much reflex.

Oh yeah, let's all be thankful for underpowered and overpriced hardware with bad services and undercooked games!

@Jeronan Yeah, i remember it were sold out for a long time.
I know they pay full price, but they also increase the price more as they are the ones who cover the warranty and not Valve after 1-2 years.

Steam Deck had a official Norwegian page on Steam before it even were sold and the Norwegian page are still up now which is weird. Why would they have a Norwegian page for it?

One of the 2025 model Legion Go handhelds will have Steam OS installed.
I will stick with Windows on my Legion, because of superior compatibility. Over 900 of my 3500 games on Steam are listed as not Steam Deck compatible.
I also need Windows for all the game launchers like UBI, EA, GOG, Epic, Prime, BattleNet etc.

Are we living in some kind of joke timeline?

@jesse_dylan same here, its why i prefer the lite. I am glad i am not the only one who finds many of those modern handhelds too big.

@jesse_dylan Totally fair. There are days where I miss the form factor of the GBA and DS Lite despite how small those screens were. That was true portable gaming. However, I doubt we're going to get any smaller than the current original Switch due to battery, processing power, and hardware limitations needed to run higher fidelity gaming and based on rumors, the new Switch could be slightly larger than the OLED model. At best, I could see a Switch Lite Pro a few years down the road (similar limitations - no docking, no split joy cons).

@Strawblaze Implying this gargantuan monstrosity isn't also overpriced?

I'm very curious about battery life. 30 minutes?

@Axecon Yeah, I'm expecting the Switch 2 to actually be larger. And the no docking would be a dealbreaker for me on a Lite 2! What would be sort of ideal for me, would be to have a cheaper dock-only Switch 2, and a cheaper/smaller Switch Lite 2. Obviously that won't happen though and would be full of issues. I'm sure I'll survive with a Switch 2, and frankly, the abject lack of battery life on Switch 1 was just as much a limit to my portable play as was the massive form factor. Don't really wanna carry a fkn purse around with me like I'm a damn gogo girl

@citizenerased I'm guessing it will overclock when docked (probably with a fan on the dock itself); when undocked, I'm thinking it will waaaaay underclock. And still have terrible battery life anyway probably. I don't really get the point of "portable" systems if you can only play while plugged in to the wall, personally, but I'm old.

Good gravy, there were TEN Nitro Blazes before this? I've been out of the loop.

1,100.00$?! Why would anyone buy that!

@PoeTheLizard Of course it is. It's just the title was poorly chosen and doesn't make a lot of sense.

@Toastmaster That is because the store page is under steampowered.com, which always had Norwegian translation.

So I am pretty sure, the Steam Deck page is just auto translated and has always said the Steam Deck is not available in your region.

Looks like a super size Switch that hardly brought anything new to the table. I will never buy anything that looks like a tablet. Also anything that requires 3 jobs to afford just isn't worth it.

How will anyone afford that hand destroying, gigantic monster?

@Jeronan also at steamdeck . com/no/

I wish the switch was that big

@Jeronan Legion Go S were just revealed.
Valve helped Lenovo with Steam OS on it.

It will be sold in 2 versions.
One with Steam OS and one with Windows.

@Denoloco Wish my girlfriend would say the same thing about me. 😭

@Jeronan Except it's not just this site. Plenty of general gaming sites are poking fun at the 11" version. Honestly, at the 11" size, I don't understand why you wouldn't just get a gaming laptop and use a controller with it. What would be the pros to using going with it over a laptop? It sure as heck isn't the portability.

@KociolekDoSyta
I use my 11" tablet to play games on via Steam Link. Only at home, though.

@jaughndis That's exactly the problem. Imagine picking it up at bus, cafe... just no. I have a 10inch Windows tablet and I never did take it out anywhere to play games, add gamepads to it on both sides.