GameSpot: Steam Deck Has Ruined Nintendo Directs For Me

[Aprikurt]

What in the fuck are you talking about, lol.

Nintendo has impeccable preservation of their history as shown by all the leaks where they even had perfect copies of all sorts of inane manuals and e3 demos, let alone the actual retail products, and they've never in their company history missed out on backwards compatibility where it was actually feasible.

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I'm sure you're right... and I hope you are right. I have over 100 downloadable Switch games. And if we can download every single one of them on the Switch's successor come launch day, I owe you a coke.

It's great they preserve manuals for shits and giggles. I really don't care unless I can transfer my library over. Time will tell.

 

[SweetBellic]

This is really dependent on the game though. For many indie games, they're not going really look or perform worse. Doom? Sure, that will play much better on the Deck, but something like Ace Attorney? You're not going to be getting much of an advantage there and then the Switch can be favorable if you have the OLED version since that's a better display.



No it is not every bit as portable. It literally takes more than twice the physical space in my bag. One of the first things I did when I got my Deck last week was see how well I could pack it into my travel bag with the usual stuff that I carry and it wasn't easy because it's longer and bulkier and takes up way more space in my bag. As a result, my Deck will not be traveling with me while my Switch will. My deck will be for playing PC gaming around the house when I don't want to sit in front of my desk to do so. This poster also echos my feeling on how it takes up more space:

Steam Deck |OT| Your Games are Going Places Valve - Tech - OT

doing my first workish related trip this week with the deck and started packing. Bringing 2 laptops and a tablet and man... this steam deck case does require some tetrising in my backpack along with everything else. Quite a bit more effort than my slim switch case.

www.resetera.com

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No one's denying the Deck is larger but to call its portability farcical because it takes up slightly more space in an overnight bag is ridiculously hyperbolic. I could just as well say the Switch's portability is farcical because it's twice the size of my phone and can't fit in my pocket. Compared to a desktop PC, dedicated console, or even a laptop, the difference between a Switch and a Deck is pretty trivial. But then I've never owned a backpack or overnight bag that couldn't accommodate either, nor have I ever been so overpacked that a few cubic inches of space were ever so critical that I couldn't fit the Deck, which I transport to work on a daily basis.

 

[CTRON]

I could just as well say the Switch's portability is farcical because it's twice the size of my phone and can't fit in my pocket.

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The Switch easily fits in my pocket with the joy-cons detached. Its modularity makes it more practical to carry around compared to the Steam Deck.

 

[Chairmanchuck (另一个我)]

Nintendo has impeccable preservation of their history as shown by all the leaks where they even had perfect copies of all sorts of inane manuals and e3 demos, let alone the actual retail products, and they've never in their company history missed out on backwards compatibility where it was actually feasible.

Click to shrink...

Strange that I cant access my Wii VC on anything else than the Wii.
Or my 3DS VC.

Or Super Mario 3d All Stars that was only available till last year March. So how wasnt it feasible to make it available forever?

 

[Darknight]

No one's denying the Deck is larger but to call its portability farcical because it takes up slightly more space in an overnight bag is ridiculously hyperbolic. I could just as well say the Switch's portability is farcical because it's twice the size of my phone and can't fit in my pocket. Compared to a desktop PC, dedicated console, or even a laptop, the difference between a Switch and a Deck is pretty trivial. But then I've never owned a backpack or overnight bag that couldn't accommodate either, nor have I ever been so overpacked that a few cubic inches of space were ever so critical that I couldn't fit the Deck, which I transport to work on a daily basis.

Click to shrink...

One is simply more portable than the other because one is smaller than the other. They're not equal and it's that simple. When I travel, I carry a ton of stuff and my backpack barely fits underneath the seat in front of me on an airplane. The Steam Deck just makes it more difficult for me to fit everything in because it takes up more than twice the volume that the Switch does. In the compartment where it goes into my backpack, there is a divider. I use that divider for organization and the Steam Deck is too thick in its case to fit where as the Switch fits fine. Not to mention even on short day trips without a backpack, the Switch fits in my jacket where as the Steam Deck does not. Everything that I currently use fits the Switch better than the Steam Deck for carrying so for me, the Steam Deck is going to stay at home because it's less portable to me.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Gamespot has taken with weirdly antagonistic articles like Kotaku I see.

 

[SweetBellic]

The Switch easily fits in my pocket with the joy-cons detached. Its modularity makes it more practical to carry around compared to the Steam Deck.

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You must have some big pockets on your clothes lol. I couldn't imagine fitting a Switch in my pants or jacket pockets even with the joycons detached.

 

[cowbanana]

I mean, I am guessing there are way more switch owners than steam users, so this writer is in a rare minority.

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lmao. But other people have already responded.

 

[-Peabody-]

Err... good luck when the Switch 2 rolls around, is all I'm saying, given Nintendo's past efforts at preservation.

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Considering Valve's past attempts at hardware it's also possible this will be the only model we get before they drop it in a few years and it becomes outdated. Nintendo has made it known they're aware of compatibility concerns and unless they change from the cartridge format I can't imagine it won't be backwards compatible?

 

[AfropunkNyc]

Considering Valve's past attempts at hardware it's also possible this will be the only model we get before they drop it in a few years and it becomes outdated. Nintendo has made it known they're aware of compatibility concerns and unless they change from the cartridge format I can't imagine it won't be backwards compatible?

Click to shrink...

Rip steam controller..

 

[zMiiChy-]

I want to say clickbait, but if I had a Steam Deck... tbh I wouldn't give a damn about this upcoming Nintendo direct lol

I enjoy handhelds so I appreciate the Switch, but Steam's Ecosystem is overall vastly superior to Nintendo's

 

[Theswweet]

Considering Valve's past attempts at hardware it's also possible this will be the only model we get before they drop it in a few years and it becomes outdated. Nintendo has made it known they're aware of compatibility concerns and unless they change from the cartridge format I can't imagine it won't be backwards compatible?

Click to shrink...

Stop it with this; people always bring this up, but it's simply untrue. Steam Link was "abandoned" because it grew outdated. Even then, they still support it with occasional firmware updates. The Steam Controller was discontinued thanks to a lawsuit over the paddles (which they eventually won, years later), and the Index VR Headset is still the best headset you can get for dedicated PC VR, and is well supported.

Steam Deck has undeniably already been a massive success for them, and there's absolutely no indication that they'd want to abandon it. Hell, they've even said there's definitely going to be a Steam Deck 2 down the road.

 

[Darknight]

You must have some big pockets on your clothes lol. I couldn't imagine fitting a Switch in my pants or jacket pockets even with the joycons detached.

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This is the inside pocket in my jacket with the Switch in a case inside it:

The Steam Deck would not fit comfortably in there especially because of its thickness.

 

[cowbanana]

This is the inside pocket in my jacket with the Switch in a case inside it:

The Steam Deck would not fit comfortably in there especially because of its thickness.

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That's a very niche jacket. I doubt it's even available in all territories. I've never seen a pocket like that in my life and none of my friends have either.

 

[Darknight]

That's a very niche jacket. I doubt it's even available in all territories. I've never seen a pocket like that in my life and none of my friends have either.

Click to shrink...

It's a Columbia jacket; a pretty well known and common brand. I'm looking at various clothing on their site and it doesn't seem that uncommon. Here's a completely different model than mine and it has it too:

Men’s Steens Mountain™ 2.0 Full Zip Fleece Jacket - Tall | Columbia Sportswear

A Columbia classic finely tuned with soft-yet-rugged fleece to keep you warm when temperatures drop.

www.columbia.com

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

What is with this dumb pocket talk? Just carry a damn backpack or bag. Who gives a crap if it fits in your pocket or not?

 

[darz1]

Steam Deck is a great system. Nintendo Switch is also a great system. There is no wrong place to buy games you want to play. People should feel comfortable buying games for whichever system they play. Support devs by buying games on whatever system you prefer.

If you are excited about the games shown in the mini direct, be excited. If you are not excited by the games shown, that's fine too, but don't try make others feel bad for being excited.

 

[Nateo]

I'm sure you're right... and I hope you are right. I have over 100 downloadable Switch games. And if we can download every single one of them on the Switch's successor come launch day, I owe you a coke.

It's great they preserve manuals for shits and giggles. I really don't care unless I can transfer my library over. Time will tell.

Click to shrink...

Thats not preservation thats backwards compatibility two different things.

 

[MrKlaw]

Hmm, I can see where the article in the OP is coming from.

Even though it is clickbaity as fuck lol.

Steam is the best video game platform on the planet imo and it's not even close. The Steam Deck can run games better than the Switch. So in that context, the Switch is only good for the exclusive content which is one thing the console manufacturers usually had over Steam. But when it comes to 3rd party Steam Deck probably fills that need better. The hype of something being playable on the go doesn't hit as hard when you have kit like the Steam Deck on the market.

Even if it is extremely niche.

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its a spectrum of ease of use/plug and play vs performance and tweakability but often requiring some fiddling.

At the moment while I'm waiting on my steam deck preorder I'm tending towards the simplicity end of the spectrum. Realistically I'm most likely to use my steam deck in home as an extension of my home PC so I'm also exploring steam link options (including moonlight on ipad) to see if that'll give me what I want from PC gaming portability

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

The Steam Deck "doesn't play Nintendo games"...

Piracy is illegal and you shouldn't do it, but people are definitely running Switch games on the Deck.

The Deck sure looks great, but it seems kind of irrelevant when it will be years before I can buy one. In the meantime, can walk into any electronics retailer in my city and take my pick of three different Switch models.

 

[ragolliangatan]

Stop it with this; people always bring this up, but it's simply untrue. Steam Link was "abandoned" because it grew outdated. Even then, they still support it with occasional firmware updates. The Steam Controller was discontinued thanks to a lawsuit over the paddles (which they eventually won, years later), and the Index VR Headset is still the best headset you can get for dedicated PC VR, and is well supported.

Steam Deck has undeniably already been a massive success for them, and there's absolutely no indication that they'd want to abandon it. Hell, they've even said there's definitely going to be a Steam Deck 2 down the road.

Click to shrink...

seconded, the Steam Deck has proven successful for Valve already- they are going to stay in the portable space for the long run I believe.

Regarding the overall topic- both the Switch and Steam Deck are great devices and it's fine if people have preferences with one over the other with regards to 3rd party titles. There's no right or wrong here- just personal preference.

 

[degauss]

Such a high percentage of games these days are indies that require no horsepower, or quasi-indies that only require a little bit of power, the Switch does all these things perfectly. In fact using a 200+watt device to play something like Hades feels stupid, and maybe even a little bit unethical if we are all starting to track our carbon footprint.

So I'm happy for the Switches success, and the relative success of the Steam Deck. It feels like a step in the right direction.

That said, the Switch is 2015 era tech, that's when the iPhone...6S/7 came out. Switch feels a bit lacklustre doing anything demanding (including even opening the e-store). It's starting to show it's age and specs. Once Nintendo release the Switch "Pro" or whatever they will have shored up the only weakness in their 100+million device and ecosystem. But until then there is a bit of a gap in the market for a higher performing mobile device (outside of the obvious answer, which is mobile phones and tablets).

The Steam Deck, more than twice the size of the switch in volume, more than twice the watts, 1.6X the weight. But I would rather the out and out appliance, designed from the ground up to be what it is, than this - trying to kludge a PC down into mobile with an existing non-mobile ecosystem. Seems like the tail wagging the dog a bit. And if legacy ecosystems were not a factor there is no way anyone would choose this way of going about it.

That said, Valve did a good job for what it is. I thought it would sell 100k units to nerds and die off. It seems to be holding up at well over a million units so far. It must be a good experience for a majority of users.

 

[Uzzy]

Considering Valve's past attempts at hardware it's also possible this will be the only model we get before they drop it in a few years and it becomes outdated. Nintendo has made it known they're aware of compatibility concerns and unless they change from the cartridge format I can't imagine it won't be backwards compatible?

Click to shrink...

An understandable concern, though given it is at it's core just a PC, even if Valve drop support for it people will find a way to support it long into the future, and it'd be unthinkable if you couldn't just access your Steam library on it. The hardware will eventually become outdated, but being a portable device there's already a level of compromise and physical limits on what hardware can do while still powered by mobile batteries, so that's less of a concern for a good number of years yet.

Going forwards, I do think Nintendo will take backwards compatibility more seriously, but you'll be entirely reliant on them doing that, and have to accept whatever terms or restrictions they put on it. While I certainly hope it's flawless, unrestricted and universal, that seems optimistic to me. PC's open platform, on the other hand, means you don't have to accept any restrictions put on playing old games. If Steam started charging people £10 to 'upgrade' their games when a new generation of GPUs come out, or demanding you subscribe to Valve Time Plus Extra just to play games from two decades ago, people would just find workarounds.

 

[Sqrt]

I thought it would sell 100k units to nerds and die off. It seems to be holding up at well over a million units so far. It must be a good experience for a majority of users.

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Do we really have any info on the ballpark of units Valve has shipped so far?

 

[Minsc]

People are seriously overstating the performance angle here too.

I'm not trying to say there's not times the Deck will be a much better choice - take Doom and others - but of all the purchases I have for the Switch, only a handful really suffer from performance where a non-emulated copy would exist on the Deck. Then again, I enjoy do enjoy indie games and stuff like Picross S and I guess I don't have any trouble with the comfort beyond improving the default joy cons. Stuff like Hades, Hollow Knight, Pinball FX3 (Switch has the vertical mode grip attachment - physical controls in tate mode - which also pushes it over the Deck for shmups too of which they are dozens and dozens), plenty of indie/adventure and retro games like the Mega Man collections. The 3DS/PSP/Vita all never caused me any trouble or kept me from using the devices, same with the Gameboy and others. Hell, I can function perfectly fine on a smartphone too, even without a bluetooth gamepad.

That said, the Deck is really cool - the added control customization is unrivaled and advanced features (like control over framerate/battery life), massive game library ahead of any other platform (if you factor in Windows compatibility), and not needing to worry about losing your entire digital library the next time Nintendo resets - which could be next year - or any year.

I just REALLY hate the bezels on the thing and if I'm going to spend $600+ with a memory card I really can't get over the screen. I'm like 99% confident this will be addressed in the next model - so I'll just wait for now.

 

[fourfourfun]

One is simply more portable than the other because one is smaller than the other. They're not equal and it's that simple. When I travel, I carry a ton of stuff and my backpack barely fits underneath the seat in front of me on an airplane. The Steam Deck just makes it more difficult for me to fit everything in because it takes up more than twice the volume that the Switch does. In the compartment where it goes into my backpack, there is a divider. I use that divider for organization and the Steam Deck is too thick in its case to fit where as the Switch fits fine. Not to mention even on short day trips without a backpack, the Switch fits in my jacket where as the Steam Deck does not. Everything that I currently use fits the Switch better than the Steam Deck for carrying so for me, the Steam Deck is going to stay at home because it's less portable to me.

Click to shrink...

And that's it for me, I'd prefer even the Lite to be a bit smaller. An iPhone Pro sized one, nice tough screen, would be amazing and completely pocketable. Wouldn't need a case, wouldn't need a bag. I can juuust about run with Switch OTG but I'll always need a bag. No way I'm casually lugging "the monster" around unless I'm on a train for a good long time with a luggage rack. My commute, jumping between short bursts of train and tram, it just isn't feasible. Deck lends itself to being housebound.

 

[Minsc]

What in the fuck are you talking about, lol.

Nintendo has impeccable preservation of their history as shown by all the leaks where they even had perfect copies of all sorts of inane manuals and e3 demos, let alone the actual retail products, and they've never in their company history missed out on backwards compatibility where it was actually feasible.

Click to shrink...

I love the Switch, but the Switch itself is a prime example of the digital reset they so love to do. Your entire digital 3DS and Wii/Wii U libraries vanished. Poof. No more. That's on the very Switch itself we're talking about - something that has never happened one single time on Steam through its entire history. Yet it happens like clockwork on Nintendo systems.

I'm very confident at some point in the near future - Nintendo's entire digital library from the Switch will be discontinued, shut down and you'll start over on their next piece of hardware. Because they won't just release a Switch 2 and then a Switch 3 - they'll release some radically different device that cannot really play games anymore that existed on the Switch for some reason, whether there's an entire VR device (with no ability to use a traditional gamepad) or who knows. They'll definitely pull the plug on your digital games on a future piece of hardware, that they have proven through their actions, time and time again.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I love the Switch, but the Switch itself is a prime example of the digital reset they so love to do. Your entire digital 3DS and Wii/Wii U libraries vanished. Poof. No more. That's on the very Switch itself we're talking about - something that has never happened one single time on Steam through its entire history. Yet it happens like clockwork on Nintendo systems.

I'm very confident at some point in the near future - Nintendo's entire digital library from the Switch will be discontinued, shut down and you'll start over on their next piece of hardware. Because they won't just release a Switch 2 and then a Switch 3 - they'll release some radically different device that cannot really play games anymore that existed on the Switch for some reason, whether there's an entire VR device or who knows. They'll definitely pull the plug on your digital games on a future piece of hardware, that they have proven through their actions, time and time again.

Click to shrink...

No, that's very unlikely.

3DS/WiiU/Wii games on Switch, especially Day 1 would have been much more work than Switch 2 having BC to OG Switch games.

Switch was the one big exception because a lot changed that generation for them in terms of media, setup and architecture. Otherwise we have....

Cube - Wii - WiiU
GB - GBC - GBA - DS - DSi - 3DS - n3DS

Both lines providing full BC to their predecessor console. I know it doesn't fit the wrong picture people around here try to paint when it comes to Nintendo and BC, but it is what it is.

 

[Minsc]

No, that's very unlikely.

3DS/WiiU/Wii games on Switch, especially Day 1 would have been much more work than Switch 2 having BC to OG Switch games.

Click to shrink...

You missed my point though - there won't be a Switch 3 with Nintendo. They've shown through their actions they much prefer to innovate than iterate. At some point in the near future (and you can see this based on their history) - they will radically alter their hardware so it doesn't make sense to continue their pre-existing software support. It's part of the reason why Nintendo doesn't number their consoles like Sony. There probably will be a PS6, but there won't ever be a Switch 6.

I would comfortably say that the Switch name and brand will be dropped by Nintendo in the near future for some other naming scheme entirely on a future hardware - and with it, the digital library you've built up as well.

 

[cw_sasuke]

You missed my point though - there won't be a Switch 3 with Nintendo. They've shown through their actions they much prefer to innovate than iterate. At some point in the near future (and you can see this based on their history) - they will radically alter their hardware so it doesn't make sense to continue their pre-existing software support. It's part of the reason why Nintendo doesn't number their consoles like Sony. There probably will be a PS6, but there won't ever be a Switch 6.

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This doesn't really make sense to me but you seem very convinced that future Nintendo portables won't exists or that they won't be able to play past games - despite NSO pretty much being built around traditional offerings, so guess we will just have wait and see.

Switch is just a name, doesn't have to called Switch 3 or 4 to be able to play previous gen games.

 

[Minsc]

This doesn't really make sense to me but you seem very convinced that future Nintendo portables won't exists or that they won't be able to play past games - despite NSO pretty much being built around traditional offerings, so guess we will just have wait and see.

Switch is just a name, doesn't have to called Switch 3 or 4 to be able to play previous gen games.

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History has shown Nintendo does not ever really through more than a few generations of support at you, sometimes just one. Just going based on what I've been shown in the past by Nintendo. Sometimes it's not even two generations. Nothing spare maybe the Xbox can rival Steam in that regard - even then it's still loses but gets points for having such a dedicated team working on improving past game support and performance - but on PC gaming communities do that same thing.

All they have to do is remove the focus on the hybrid feature on their next hardware and it's no longer marketed as a Switch anymore. Then they alter the way it displays or controls drastically enough they can easily cut off past support - it just simply isn't possibly to continue playing games in the same way on the new device or whatever.

Anyway, it's very hard to make an argument Nintendo won't cut off your access of Switch games going forward - when that very same device - the Switch itself - they did just that.

 

[disparate]

Huh? It's not like you can fit the Switch in your pocket either lol... I take my Deck to work every day, and on trips. It's every bit as portable as a Switch is.

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Eh, it's not like the Switch fits in your pocket. Whenever I take the Switch anywhere I do it with a case and carry it in a small backpack which puts it right in the Steam Deck's bracket for portability. Considering I also tend to try to bring the Pro controller or the Hori split pads since the default ergonomics are so bad, it arguably is less so for me since that adds a lot of extra bulk and accessory juggling.

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I can put a Switch- especially the Lite into a coat pocket, the Deck isn't far removed from a gaming laptop with the thicc case. Like, I can put an ROG gaming laptop in a bag too, the volume of the device in the case is significantly greater than a Lite or SwOLED with a snap-on flip case, why even pretend otherwise? The Deck is an amazing small PC with a great ecosystem, there's no point in trying to downplay alternative devices that have other hardware advantages like size or display.

 

[Tobor]

What in the fuck are you talking about, lol.

Nintendo has impeccable preservation of their history as shown by all the leaks where they even had perfect copies of all sorts of inane manuals and e3 demos, let alone the actual retail products, and they've never in their company history missed out on backwards compatibility where it was actually feasible.

Click to shrink...

This is totally false. Their very first transition to the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo famously did not have BC even though it was very feasible. They chose not to. Meanwhile Sega did release an adapter to play Master System games on Genesis.

And don't get me started on VC.

Their record is not impeccable. BC on Nintendo going forward is probable but not guaranteed, and to pretend otherwise is ridiculous.

 

[disparate]

If you want to buy a game to keep long term, Steam is probably one of the best places to do that, better than Microsoft, better than Nintendo, better than Sony.

 

[BeI]

If you want to buy a game to keep long term, Steam is probably one of the best places to do that, better than Microsoft, better than Nintendo, better than Sony.

Click to shrink...

A recent Klonoa thread reminded me that a lot of Switch users still cling to physical versions of games, which is an outdated way of having your games, imo. Forget preserving games across console generations; I don't even know what's happened to some of our Switch cartridges, so those games won't be playable anyway.

 

[impingu1984]

Brought my steamdeck I just received on holiday with me and it's been a absolute joy playing streets of rage 4, trine, Celeste and cuphead on it...

My son has a switch and I don't feel like I need to play his switch due to the steamdeck....

It's overall the ultimate handheld really...

The most impressive part of the steamdeck is the software though... Values investment in Proton is paying dividends now and it's true witchcraft...

The os, it's UI and usability is super impressive considering its making use a abstraction layer to make windows games work on Linux as a one click operation is incredible

 

[ArcticDonkey]

"Switch is an amazing console that has given new life to indie titles and there was excitement to seeing some of my favourite games being ported and playable portable.

However that feeling has worn off now that there's another console on the market that allows these games to be played without as much concern about performance issues, release dates or inflated prices.

Hmmm I might write an article about this perspective. It might generate some discussion and not devolve into GameFAQs level console warring with people posting literal pictures of jacket pockets"

 

[Lost Heaven]

I mean, we already knew that the Steam Deck would be a better hardware, with better third party support, emulation and the possibility to maintain your library years from now. But until it becomes as successful or at least in the same ball park, which i doubt it will happen, nothing will fundamentally change in Nintendo's vision. Exclusives and the brand itself will always carry a lot of weight, and i don't think they see the Steam Deck as competition as of now. More of a high end specialized handheld product.

 

[Firefly]

It's a Columbia jacket; a pretty well known and common brand. I'm looking at various clothing on their site and it doesn't seem that uncommon. Here's a completely different model than mine and it has it too:

Men’s Steens Mountain™ 2.0 Full Zip Fleece Jacket - Tall | Columbia Sportswear

A Columbia classic finely tuned with soft-yet-rugged fleece to keep you warm when temperatures drop.

www.columbia.com

Click to shrink...

To be fair, this, or a larger size jacket since we're being that picky with scenarios, can fit a Steam Deck too.

 

[undefined]

Eh definitely clickbait, it makes sense though as these Directs are obviously not aiming for the public of other platforms

Anyway handheld gaming is great and I guess Steam Deck could be convincing some previously skeptical people to try the form factor

Now if only they were available in my region besides in some shady resellers... I'd grab it mostly for PC-only stuff, lots of indies don't come for consoles, specially https://itch.io stuff, it seems to have an official Linux client that automatically tries to run stuff with compatibility layers

 

[Getting Away With It]

You missed my point though - there won't be a Switch 3 with Nintendo. They've shown through their actions they much prefer to innovate than iterate. At some point in the near future (and you can see this based on their history) - they will radically alter their hardware so it doesn't make sense to continue their pre-existing software support. It's part of the reason why Nintendo doesn't number their consoles like Sony. There probably will be a PS6, but there won't ever be a Switch 6.

I would comfortably say that the Switch name and brand will be dropped by Nintendo in the near future for some other naming scheme entirely on a future hardware - and with it, the digital library you've built up as well.

Click to shrink...

That absolutely will not happen, Nintendo will not deviate from what they're doing now for at least the next decade, and to be honest I think even longer than that. They have no need to. They're the only game in town when it comes to handhelds now, and they're not going to be going back to having one handheld and one console (nor should they). So that limits what they can go in terms of innovation, because they need to keep up this dual function of handheld and console being same experience.

 

[Xion_Stellar]

This is the inside pocket in my jacket with the Switch in a case inside it:

The Steam Deck would not fit comfortably in there especially because of its thickness.

Click to shrink...

Ohhhhh....here I was thinking you were walking around with JNCO Jeans.

Spoiler: JNCO Jeans

 

[Minsc]

I can put a Switch- especially the Lite into a coat pocket, the Deck isn't far removed from a gaming laptop with the thicc case.

Click to shrink...

You can pretty simply put a switch without joy cons in a pocket too - again a benefit of the device being in parts. There are cases where splitting it apart over a few pockets makes it more portable than having it together. Still clamshell > all for that regard. And I'm way more likely to use a pocket for a smartphone anyway, so having a fun portable game there is most ideal.

 

[LurkerAroundTheForum]

I love the Switch, but the Switch itself is a prime example of the digital reset they so love to do. Your entire digital 3DS and Wii/Wii U libraries vanished. Poof. No more. That's on the very Switch itself we're talking about - something that has never happened one single time on Steam through its entire history. Yet it happens like clockwork on Nintendo systems.

I'm very confident at some point in the near future - Nintendo's entire digital library from the Switch will be discontinued, shut down and you'll start over on their next piece of hardware. Because they won't just release a Switch 2 and then a Switch 3 - they'll release some radically different device that cannot really play games anymore that existed on the Switch for some reason, whether there's an entire VR device (with no ability to use a traditional gamepad) or who knows. They'll definitely pull the plug on your digital games on a future piece of hardware, that they have proven through their actions, time and time again.

Click to shrink...

What are you even talking about? Nintendo is the one company that made backwards compatible devices all the time. The Switch was the first big "reset" in decades. There is no doubt that the Switch successor will be backwards compatible.

 

[Evildeadhead]

If a tree falls in a forrest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

It's like the Directs serve multiple purposes and not just "hype" for fannies.

 

[toph]

gaming laptop got me to stop turning on my switch

the first party games are the only thing i'm looking for, and they haven't been my jam lately

 

[darz1]

"Switch is an amazing console that has given new life to indie titles and there was excitement to seeing some of my favourite games being ported and playable portable.

However that feeling has worn off now that there's another console on the market that allows these games to be played without as much concern about performance issues, release dates or inflated prices.

Hmmm I might write an article about this perspective. It might generate some discussion and not devolve into GameFAQs level console warring with people posting literal pictures of jacket pockets"

Click to shrink...

I think it is more along the lines of:

"Switch is an amazing console that has given new life to indie titles and there was excitement to seeing some of my favourite games being ported and playable portable.

Oh a new Nintendo Direct focused on third party titles? Ok so it's a couple of new exclusives, a couple of old ports people have been asking for and a number of new games that are coming out the same day on PC, PS5 and Xbox.

I could write an article about these new games and exclusives, but everyone else is doing that, that won't generate clicks. I could write an article about how it's a good thing the Switch is getting these games on the same day as PC and other consoles. No, that won't work either.

I know, I will instead write about how there's another console on the market that allows these games to be played without as much concern about performance issues, release dates or inflated prices. A topic that has absolutely nothing to do with the Nintendo Direct. Yes, that's what I'll write about, the Steam Deck.

My reaction piece to this Nintendo Direct will be about how much better Steam Deck is than the Nintendo Switch. That's sure to generate some discussion and if I'm lucky might even devolve into GameFAQs level console warring, generating a bunch of clicks. Everyone loves a good console war.

Ok, but I need a real click baity title…"

 

[Ovvv]

lol. Yes I clearly understand that it says a lot about me. It says that I don't have a Steam Deck. And living in Australia I don't see myself getting a Steam Deck any time in the near future, despite sometimes playing games on my laptop through Steam and Epic stores.

I do play games on Switch. I do buy third party games on Switch. I don't need to be constantly reminded the games are late ports and weaker versions.

Me: "I really enjoyed that third party direct, I'm excited for some of those games"
Author: "I used to get excited for third party titles on Switch too, but now I have a Steam Deck which has all those games at better prices and runs them better"

Ok,

Click to shrink...

You want people to stop talking about the advantages of another system because you own a different one...?

 

[Minsc]

What are you even talking about? Nintendo is the one company that made backwards compatible devices all the time. The Switch was the first big "reset" in decades. There is no doubt that the Switch successor will be backwards compatible.

Click to shrink...

Out of their entire history of home consoles aren't just the Wii and Wii U the only ones backwards compatible? The SNES, N64, Gamecube and Switch are all not.

And for portable consoles, I mainly gamed over the Gameboy years and 3DS, but they have done better there however still have a few breaks across them, mainly the Switch itself.

Digitally however, excluding physical, their track record isn't that great.

 

[OldBritBloke]

There can be debate over precisely how portable all of these devices actually are; I used to take my New 3DS everywhere and I miss StreetPass to this day. I have a fully loaded Retroid 2 that scratches that 'ultra portable' itch somewhat now.

However, the niche that both the Steam Deck and the Switch fill for me is that of a gaming machine I can use on the sofa when my family are watching something I'm not interested in, so I can play without taking over the TV or having to leave the room. It's also a device that's portable enough for business hotel stays. Where the Steam Deck triumphs over an OLED Switch in my case is that I have an existing Steam library of 800+ games and I love tinkering with emulation (hence the Retroid 2).