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.
It’s an odd comparison, if the Steam Deck had Pokémon, Zelda and Mario etc., then there’d be a reason to compare them like for like.
But the Steam Deck can have Pokémon, Zelda, etc. thanks to piracy.
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
How come?
Nintendo is extremely aggresive when it comes to intelectual property.
There is an argument to be made, that IP laws are too powerful giving exlusive rights for shit ton of time (170 years or sth like that)
The law basically is there for corporations to force small companies out of business and keep their monopolies.
So just excersing a law written by the rich for the rich, for them to stay rich is evil. And by extension the company is evil. And by extension, not supporting the company is inherently good.
So just excersing a law written by the rich for the rich, for them to stay rich is evil. And by extension the company is evil.
Ah okay, was just wonder if there was more nuance than “capitalism bad”
Because intellectual property is a ridiculous capitalist notion. You can’t own intellect.
Not unless you support slavery, which I am sure you don’t.
You can’t own intellect
That not what IP rights are.
But also, piracy is a copyright issue, not an IP issue.
Piracy isn’t an issue at all, because I don’t recognize or consider either of those concepts.
Lol
Ahh but see. Nintendo has taken down many fan made games for just using their IP. No copyright violations
Which isn’t relevant in a discussion about piracy.
I believe it is. Because it started by saying it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo products. I think shutting down fan projects is very anti-consumer and an abuse of their power. Which makes it morally correct to pirate their shit
I feel like it’s morally correct to pirate Nintendo games at this point.
Nintendo is not getting another red cent from me until the day I die.
Imagine if people were this principled about things that actually mattered…
I’m just going to point out some things.
-1: The comparison comes from price point and the fact that both systems are handheld play anywhere systems with docking capability for couch play.
-2: There are already arguably better spec’s handhelds in this category that would outperform both these systems, but the cost of them is largely a deciding factor and it comes with some tradeoffs that include OS (since these are windows only handhelds with the exception of the Legion Go S, meaning that if you don’t want windows you have to go to the added trouble of installing something like Bazzite).
-3: We know that just about every handheld on the market has some tradeoffs. The Legion Go has a beautiful screen and joycon-like detachable controllers. But it’s also heavier than the switch, and the steam deck and arguably less comfortable to hold for some. We know the the original ROG Ally had a bunch of problems including the fact that it would destroy its own SD card slot and potentially any SD card installed in it. It’s newest iteration is great (lots of fixes, better GPU/CPU, larger SDD, better battery life, better ergonomics, fixed SD card slot etc), however it’s also close to $1000. The Legion Go S has different storage capacities depending on which OS you chose at launch. Even now there’s different variants that give different performance at different price points (Z1 extreme vs Z2 Go). The Switch OG lacks emulation for a lot of newer games (Wii and DS games specifically). Those games are coming probably but they are available on other handhelds with just a little bit of extra work.
-4: Ease of play and ease of emulation are things people who aren’t buying these devices to tinker want. So the Switch 2 wins there. Just buy the subscription and you can emulate quite a lot of their gaming library with more to come.
-5: Expecting a publication largely catering to the fans of Nintendo to offer up its competition as the better bargain for the money is just… Silly. It doesn’t make sense.
The switch 2 doesn’t add enough things to the table to make me want to spend $450+ to buy it. It’s launch titles are not particularly compelling for me, and when you add their anti-emulation litigation to the pile and DCMA abuse, I just don’t feel like it’s something I’m currently willing to buy. On top of that there’s lots of accessibility improvements I would love to see including joycon styles for 2D platformers that include a real D pad, GameCube style Joycons, or even just Joycons that would allow those with partial impairment or disability to have greater access to their gaming library. There’s a lot of unexplored territory for the design and execution of this product that doesn’t include better graphics or being able to play cyberpunk 2077 and I think people forget that. Can you get such things on a steam deck? Yeah. Probably. But not natively docked to the system in handheld mode.
You know what has been great? Being on a vacation and bringing my steam deck and playing tears of the kingdom off of it with better performance than the original switch had. I paid for it and ripped it myself because I still believed it was the right thing to do, but with Nintendo’s increased focus year after year against emulation enthusiasts like we’re fucking criminals, I’m gonna give them something to bitch about. I’m never paying another dime to Nintendo for as long as I live, and that is coming from someone who grew up with a super Nintendo and an N64. Fuck yourself Nintendo. Yo ho and a bottle of get fucked.
The switch and switch 2 are better than all handheld PCs at present for one simple reason: it’s much simpler to obtain and use for the average consumer. That’s it. Average consumers don’t give a shit about teraflops and fps as long as it’s easy to use and still looks good.
Except I couldn’t give a fuck about Nintendo games. Never played ‘em and probably won’t ever want to either.
Said the not average consumer. Proving my point for me
Their words:
Those same Joy-Con can also be used for super-accurate, independent motion control, opening up far more possibilities than the Deck’s simple gyro. And in games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Civilization VII, plonking them down on a surface (or thigh!) turns each of them into a fully-functioning computer mouse, far less awkward and clunky than the Deck’s integrated touchpad.
The versatility, modularity, and ease-of-use of the Joy-Con is something that we’ve come to take for granted, but it’s really hard to beat. When they’re not drifting.
You:
The next thing: Switch 2 is supposedly better because a joy-con can act as a mouse.
If that was your whole takeaway from that paragraph, I don’t think you’ll ever see the appeal. Different strokes and all that.
The main draw of Switch 2 is Nintendo software. That’s about the end of the discussion for me that makes me need one. Nintendo has always made my favorite games since I started playing in 1988. They still make many of my favorite games today.
I was mad at the pricing at first but then I put it in perspective. I really only buy 3-4 retail games per year on the Switch, and at $10-20 more each, that’s $30-80 more per year at most. Not a happy thing but it is what it is. That’s literally one night out with friends having drinks and food.
Still going to love my Steam Deck and still going to play plenty of games on it too… likely more than Switch 2 because of Steam deals and the fact that I trust Valve more with my digital library than Nintendo honestly. They’ve never let me down whereas Nintendo has.
But it’s impossible for a human on the internet to like more than 1 thing at a time!
