Such a weird article from Nintendo Life trying to defend the Switch 2 over the Steam Deck. And it’s so cringe.
First let’s talk about the contention that the Switch 2 has better value because it’s comes with a dock.
Look, I can hook my Steam Deck up to my TV using a USB-C to HDMI adapter and use the Steam Deck itself as a controller. As for a dock itself, sure the official Steam Deck Docking Station costs C$109. However, I can buy a 3rd party docking station off Amazon for C$40. So that’s not much of an argument.
The Switch 2 has a bigger screen that runs at 1080P. That great. But the Steam Deck has an OLED panel which the Switch 2 does not.
In terms of performance, the Switch 2 probably has a better GPU. However, it lacks the Steam Deck’s CPU power. And it only has 12GB of RAM compared to the Steam Deck’s 16GB of RAM. Will games look better on Switch 2? Only if CPU and RAM don’t serve as bottlenecks.
The next thing: Switch 2 is supposedly better because a joy-con can act as a mouse. But they’re really grasping at straws here because I can use an actual Bluetooth mouse with the Steam Deck—one which is more ergonomic too. Oh, and unlike the Switch 2, I can also use a Bluetooth keyboard too with a Steam Deck.
Apparently, the Steam Deck’s touchpad so “too awkward” compared to the Switch 2’s mouse. But you don’t use a mouse in handheld mode—no one does. Touchpads, on the other hand, do work in handheld mode. And I find them much more suitable for FPS and RTS games than an analog joystick.
Now for the article’s final point: the Steam Deck can’t play Switch 2 games. This is actually the most legitimate point. However, it cuts both ways too. Switch 2 can’t play decades of PC games, all which are accessible on Steam Deck. And I should know because I’m able to run literally thousands of games on my Steam Deck—many which don’t even run on Windows anymore without lots of modding.
Can Switch 2 play F.E.A.R. without needing to jailbreak and emulate it? Nope—so in terms of game library, Steam Deck has the win.
But ultimately, this is a silly comparison because the Steam Deck is already three years old at the moment. Of course the Switch 2 will be able to do some things better than Steam Deck. It should—it’s the newer piece of hardware.
However, when the Steam Deck 2 comes out—probably next year—how will the Switch 2 compare? I don’t know, but it will likely have all the advantages that the Steam Deck still has but with giant generational leap in terms of performance.
Right now, if I wanted to, I could get a Lenovo Legion Go S. And it would be leagues better than a Switch 2. It has a AMD Ryzen Z2 Go APU, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage—which absolutely wrecks the Switch 2 in terms of raw performance.
But the reason I’m holding off is because I think the Steam Deck 2 will be even better.
This doesn’t even touch about many points that makes the Steam Deck just plain better. The games are cheaper. You don’t have to pay for online multiplayer. You have access to multiple storefronts like GOG or itch.io. You can use it as a PC in desktop mode. I can go on.
Now do I think the Switch 2 is totally lacking in value? No. If I had a young child, I’d probably get them a Switch 2 simply because it’s more kid friendly.
However, I’m a full grown man. As for my kid? She’s turning 12-years-old in a few weeks so I think she’ll do just fine with a Steam Deck.
I would be surprised of that was the case. Valve said they wouldn’t release another one until there was a generational improvement and I don’t think we’re there.
We maybe are not there yet, but we are at the “a bunch of games are not optimized and needs a lot of computing requirements that the current deck just lacks” stage, and if the “Deck Verified” list starts to stall then I would say we should all wish for a revision at least.
Something people may not realize is that the deck serves as a target system for developers of pc games. Obviously at some point a new target makes sense, but there is a careful balance in release frequency if that target status is to be maintained.
For instance you mention steam deck verified - when steam deck 2 comes out, does steam deck verified get bifurcated where a game can get certified for either system separately? Does it just reference steam deck 2 at that point? Not easy questions
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I would be surprised of that was the case. Valve said they wouldn’t release another one until there was a generational improvement and I don’t think we’re there.
We maybe are not there yet, but we are at the “a bunch of games are not optimized and needs a lot of computing requirements that the current deck just lacks” stage, and if the “Deck Verified” list starts to stall then I would say we should all wish for a revision at least.
Something people may not realize is that the deck serves as a target system for developers of pc games. Obviously at some point a new target makes sense, but there is a careful balance in release frequency if that target status is to be maintained.
For instance you mention steam deck verified - when steam deck 2 comes out, does steam deck verified get bifurcated where a game can get certified for either system separately? Does it just reference steam deck 2 at that point? Not easy questions
I’d say yes, at least I would do it that way.