Switch 2 Has to Face a Problem the Original Didn’t: Handheld Gaming PCs
Switch 2 Has to Face a Problem the Original Didn’t: Handheld Gaming PCs
Is it still worth buying the Switch 2?
Don't get me wrong I love my Steam Deck... But with its mass-market appeal the Switch 2 is going to steamroll over the handheld gaming device market.
As streamlined as it is, the Steam Deck is sometimes finnicky due to it being a PC (which is an amazing thing for tinker-minded folks). Plus it cannot play some of the most popular PC games on the planet (Fortnite, LoL, Roblox, etc).
Windows handhelds are even more niche, because dealing with Windows on handhelds... Man that takes some serious dedication.
I would wager that Nintendo is going to sell at least 20x more units as the whole handheld gaming PCs lineup combined.
Plus it cannot play some of the most popular PC games on the planet (Fortnite, LoL, Roblox, etc).
Out of the loop. Why is this?
Mostly due to lack of support from the developers, but that often reaches into willful obstruction. People are stubborn and clever, if it can run on windows it can likely run on Linux, but the devs will sometimes put willful roadblocks against things running on Linux. Allegedly to stop cheats, though since most anti cheat software does support Linux I think they just don't want to deal with the OS.
League of Legends used to work until they brought their kernel level anti-cheat from Valorant into League as well.
Most of the time it's because client-side anti-cheat is not being well or at all supported on Linux.
For instance Roblox used to run on Linux through launchers such as Grapejuice or Vinegar. However the devs now explicitely block Roblox player on Linux due to a large quantity of cheaters coming from there according to their stats. Since their actual Linux userbase is minuscule compared to other platforms, they just chose go the easy (and probably financially sane) route.
As for Fortnite, it's all about the ROI baby !
If we only had a few more programmers. It’s the Linux problem. I love the Steam Deck hardware. Valve has done an amazing job there; I wish they would get to tens of millions of users, at which point it would actually make sense to support it.
If you install windows it can, but natively it can't as those games don't support Linux. However, you loose a lot of the value of the steamdeck (SteamOS) by installing windows.
Also windows sucks on a handheld. I dual booted for a while, but it's just not really worth it.
The day I see a Steam Deck in Walmart in Mexico (my country) is the day I am gonna acknowledge these PC handheld devices as Switch competence (I mention the Deck because it is the only one that I am slightly interested in getting, probably other brands are already there).
If limited games were actually an issue then the Switch wouldn't sell. It can only play the games made for it. There are so many more PC exclusives than all console exclusives combined.
I think the Fortnite, LoL etc stuff will be fixed soon enough.
If there are enough SteamDeck (or SteamOS) people around, they would have to fix it, or they would be missing out on those people.
While I look forward to seeing the market grow, right now handheld gaming PCs are still a small niche compared to the number of Switch 2 units that will ship. Valve can't manufacture at the same scale as Nintendo, and every other product on the market is a niche within a niche.
As a satisfied Steam Deck owner who will never buy a Switch: The Switch is in a league of its own and has absolutely nothing to fear from handheld PCs. The entire handheld PC market is just a tiny fraction compared to all Switch or future Switch 2 sales.
No it doesn't. I love my steam deck, and have used it to emulate many Nintendo systems, but Nintendo will always defy people's expectations by having amazing first party titles. It's their software, not the hardware.
Not in its domestic market in Japan. A handful of niche hobbiests may have things like a SteamDeck, but it's far from mainstream, nor is the market seemingly terribly interested in it.
Current ones are too heavy and the only one that can make a price competitive device is Valve and the question will be can they do so in volume that can sell in Wal-Mart. Maybe a Steam Deck mini that still manages to improve performance at ~10w compared to what it can do at 15w and designed to size with that peak chip TDP in mind. Nothing is ever going to beat the breadth of library that is on Steam. All the games from the 90s to present that are solid to great games which at this point are probably thousands of games, but the main kicker will be how it performs with multiplatform games that target the Switch 2
A Steam Deck won't be a AAA exclusive game platform. At this point the Xbox and PlayStation haven't been those this gen. But PC does get all the surprise indie hits that go viral on twitch/etc that may take years if ever to show up on consoles
Until handheld PCs can be as compact and light as the Switch, it's not a problem at all. I can fit a Switch Lite into my pocket, I can't say the same for a Deck.
The soluton to this is to bring back JNCOs.
You can't really say the same about a non-lite switch 1 either.
Love my Deck and think the handheld PC format is awesome… but Nintendo has nothing to worry about. Switch 2 is going to far outsell these devices. It’s much more appealing to mainstream audiences, it’ll be heavily marketed, and it has Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon.
That's just pure clickbait
RIP Smach Z, would have been a handheld gaming PC set to compete with the Switch 1
Lol
Don't think so. Those who actually are interested are just a vocal minority, compared to Switch userbase. I'm personally conflicted on this one.
On one hand, I kinda want to get a Switch 2 because I know how convenient it is to just pick up a Switch and play a game without fiddling with settings.
On the other, I have so many games on Steam/Heroic it just makes sense to get a Steam Deck or a competitor.
For now I'm waiting for the reviews of Lenovo Legion Go S with Z1 Extreme and Steam OS, then I'll probably make a decision on what to get
The size of the switch 2 will be its downfall.
It's smaller than a Steam Deck and that sells just fine, A long with the rest of handhelds being of the similar size.