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.
If you believe the average person can afford both a Steam Deck and a Switch 2, you’re a person with profound financial privilege who’s missing the point.
That’s not what that says.
It says “if you can’t get the other thing (…) AND your frontal lobe is too squishy to cope with the FOMO”.
I’m not saying you need to buy both, I’m saying if you’re an adult you can live with a cool thing existing and you not needing to have it immediately without resorting to taking sides based on marketing bullet points like a toddler.
Most people need to choose one or the other, so they should be cognizant of what provides the most value for them.
I happen to think Nintendo Life was misrepresenting the actual value of a Switch 2 over a Steam Deck.
If you’re an actual adult, you should appreciate that other adults often have to make financial decisions regarding what they will buy. Especially in this current economy.
Well, let me solve that for you right away.
You need neither of these things. Games and entertainment are not a priority if you’re in a “this current economy” type of situation.
If you already have one, that’s the right one for the money, probably.
Was Nintendo Life “misrepresenting the value of a Switch 2 over a Deck”? Myeeeeh, not sure. I’ll say I agree with their premise that “Steam Deck fans Seriously Underestimating the Switch 2”. In somewhat petty, immature ways, as demonstrated very well here. Does the Steam Deck “obliterate the Switch 2”? Probably not, no. I’ll tell you for sure in the summer, I suppose. That said, their listicle is brand shilling as much as this post is.
Are these two things different and have different sets of pros and cons? Yeah, for sure. It’s even a very interesting exercise to look at the weird-ass current handheld landscape, because it’s never been wider, more diverse or move overpopulated. The Switch 2 and the Deck will probably remain the two leading platforms until whatever Sony is considering materializes, but they’re far from alone, from dirt cheap Linux handhelds to ridiculously niche high end laptop-in-a-candybar Windows PCs.
If you want to have a fun thread about that I’m game, but fanboyism from grown men is a pet peeve of mine, and even if I didn’t find it infuriating I’d find it really boring.
For the record, between these two? Tied for price, Switch 2 will be a bit more powerful and take advantage of specifically catered software from both first and third parties, has better default inputs, a better screen and support for physical games. Current Deck is flexible, hugely backwards compatible, can be upgraded to a decent OLED screen and has fewer built-in upsells.
And as a bonus round, Windows handhelds scale up to better performance than either, have better compatibility than the Deck and some superior screen and form factor alternatives… but are typically much more expensive and most (but not all) struggle with the Windows interface and lack hardware HDR support.
We good? Because that’s that’s the long and short of it.