Is there any reason to have a Switch and a Steamdeck,
I’ve been really wanting to get a steamdeck. I’ve been playing a lot on my modded switch, but there is a lot I want to play that is not available on the switch.
Does anyone have both systems and still use the switch?
I imagine I can just dump my games and emulate them on the Steamdeck.
I don’t do anything online, so I can’t imagine I’ll miss out on anything.
Im an experienced Linux gamer, so im not worried about the Linux side of things.
maybe some games you don’t want to spend time tweaking the launch options, the graphics, the sliders, the mods etc and you just want to play the game as the devs intended. Switch is good for that.
maybe there are times you don’t want to deal with all the hassles of a handled pc as a gaming system. Switch is good for that.
maybe you want to play Nintendo games, but you don’t want to go through all the hassle of emulation (especially switch games). Switch is good for that.
maybe there is an indie dev you want to support, and you know their game is more expensive on switch than on pc, but it’s well within your budget and you want to give them extra coin. Switch is good for that.
while switch games are generally low fidelity and low frame rate, you know what to generally expect going in.
maybe your group of friends mostly own switch and play switch online compared to steam.
Truth be told, once I got my steam deck, I sold my switch. Not because the switch was terrible by any means, but I realised that I missed my pc game library, I didn’t care for online multiplayer, and I didn’t care for Nintendo games. Also, I grew up with Linux and tinkering both Windows and Linux - it’s in my blood at this point, so getting a steam deck was just pure joy for me, even if I spent 90% of the time configuring the thing and 10% playing games.
know their game is more expensive on switch than on pc, but it’s well within your budget and you want to give them extra coin
With the (probably doesn't need to be stated but here I go anyway) caveat: how much of that coin is going to the dev, and how much is going to Nintendo? The game might be cheaper on (for instance) Epic, but Epic takes a smaller cut.
maybe some games you don’t want to spend time tweaking the launch options, the graphics, the sliders, the mods etc and you just want to play the game as the devs intended. Switch is good for that
Is it? 2D indie stuff generally don't have meaningful graphics options and defaults to the same thing either way. 3D stuff with settings is cut way down from the developer's vision to run on the switch at all.
I didn't really consider 2D indie games. For 3D indie games, some games are cut down while others are "good enough" to the average Switch end user.
At the end of the day, if the ability to play 3D games from about 5-10 years ago in 30-60fps sounds like a dream to you and you are willing to jump through some Launch Properties/Proton version hoops for some games in order to get that perfect gameplay (for example, I have GTA 3/Vice City/San Andreas OG games, and I spent days modding the games on the SD to get it running close to flawlessly as possible) rather than settle for compromised ports - which for the average person playing video games, they wouldn't care too much about framerates or graphical fidelity as so much as the convenience to push Play and just go), then Steam Deck is for you.
Otherwise, Switch is perhaps preferrable. OR, if you care more about visual fidelity more than anything, maybe consider getting a PS5/XSX. I say this as I do love my Steam Deck for GTA5 sessions, but for RE games I often go to my XSX.