Is Steamdeck killing Nintendo Switch?

My Nintendo Switch was collecting dust for a half a year now. Nintendo exclusives are cool and all, but they can not compare to my extensive AAA backlog on Steam. The fact that I don't have to rebuy games now for Switch to play them on the go, in compressed and lesser quality, is a game changer.

Thanks to Steam Deck, I have time now to clear my AAA games I always wanted to play but never had time. And I don't need to pay eye-popping prices on Nintendo store for it.

Funny and all, but did Steam just bit a huge market segment from Nintendo, the segment of multiplat portable gaming?

Nintendo exclusives are cool and all, but honestly, the older I get the less weeaboo I become. I think I can live without them now. I have the series of Trails of Cold Steel on my Steamdeck for that, to get my Weeaboo itch in check.

Steamdeck does what Nintendont. :P

No.

I think it's great to relive 7th gen games as handheld games:

The Witcher 2, The Force Unleashed, Bully Scholarship, ...

Their low quality textures and rougher effects really shine on a smaller screen.

The Steam Deck is just great. But Nintendo just does what it always does (milk the ever loving crap out of their fans) and they have their niche, whereas most of the AAA industry is too busy chasing tails over making quality games.

I'm sure even Valve would admit that they're nowhere close to the Switch's popularity or success.

Avg gamer prob doesnt know what a Steam Deck is, so uh no

It's funny but when I pass a scan security check at the airport, the security people always notice it and say, "Ooooh Steamdeck!!!", and no one comments on Nintendo Switch lying beside it on the tray.

The top 20 best selling games on Switch (LTD) are ALL Nintendo exclusives.

People buy Nintendo hardware for Nintendo games. Steam Deck isn't going to end that.

----

Because a Switch is an incredibly common device. You expected folks to comment on your iPhone or Galaxy too?

Heck, a lot of older generations would probably call the Steam Deck a "Nintendo" if they saw one. lol

It'll never be as popular but it's a superior piece of machinery in every fashion

If your Switch has been collecting dust, it's likely it's been collecting dust long before the Steam Deck came around.

The Steam Deck is rad and all, but it appeals to a more niche crowd whereas Switch has universal appeal and more accessible to consumers. You probably won't find many Steam Deck's on a store shelf, but a Switch you will.

not exactly...I don't know what people are doing with their steam deck, but for me its become a handheld gamepass machine. Now that I think about it, the steam deck was a bit of a waste for me, since I don't really use it to play any steam games. I prefer my xbox library, and buying games on xbox store.

Nintendo will sell regardless, they focus on innovation plus their own exclusive library.

No. Steam deck is for PC gamers how want a portable option for thier steam library.

Switch is for everyone else.

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Another delusional Hermit living in 2005 lol

Switch is for gamers who want a light weight portable option to play indies, last gen 3rd party games, and 1st party Nintendo games at a very low cost of entry.

Lol pretty much. :P

Oh shit 🤣

@SecretPolice said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@sargentd said:

No. Steam deck is for PC gamers how want a portable option for thier steam library.

Switch is for everyone else.

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Lol pretty much. :P

What a burn.. switch doesn't play any new Nintendo 1st party games? Wowzaa

No, but the backlog comment is a good point. I bought the mid-tier Steam Deck, and as a console gamer up to this point, I want to put as much time into this expensive little gem of a system as I can. So this year I have planned to play through twenty games on Steam Deck and five on Switch. I have already sunk hundreds if not a thousand or more hours on the Switch since 2017. To say that Steam Deck has "killed" it is erroneous. It's more like Switch has had a long stay in the spotlight for me, and now I am trying games elsewhere. I still look forward to playing Tears of the Kingdom and Pokemon Scarlet this year on Switch, but I love variety across systems.

@SecretPolice said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@sargentd said:

No. Steam deck is for PC gamers how want a portable option for thier steam library.

Switch is for everyone else.

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Lol pretty much. :P

Yup.

And to answer the topic: No. Switch sells a lot more than Steam Deck.

But it does make the Switch look like crap. Steam Deck is a PC, so you can do whatever you want with it. It's way more powerful than the Switch. It comes with a humongous library of games that puts any console to shame, especially Switch's. You can play online for free. You can play all sorts of console games (including Switch games) on it.

@Litchie: it's $600.

Built like a center block

And has a battery life of 2 hours.

Indeed. That battery sucks. Still love my Steam Deck.

2 hours with a PC game is a better battery than what's in my Switch, which lasts 3 hours with an ugly game running in 30 fps.

So for double the price of Switch, you get like 4x the quality.

Switch is successful because of first party, Steam Deck is not. It sold its million and that will be it, I bet there will not be another one. Valve and Google are brothers.

The Switch was dead to me before I even got my Steam Deck, so maybe it's just a coincidence... Steam Deck came along at a low point for the Switch.

For gamers, yes. Nobody sane wastes their time on a system that can't handle video games since 2020. But most Switch owners are children and people that game for 1h per week. They simply don't know any better.

"Portable system"

*Plays while tethered to a wall*

Going by pretty much any sales number ... i would say the answer to this thread is a big, simple and irrefutable, NO.

Still play it far more than I've ever played my Switch. And it I take it to work everyday.

I don't like Steam, at all. Tried it once, never again. Some people out there might be able to enjoy the Steam Deck, and it is probably a great device. But I think the Nintendo Switch features a lot of exclusives that keep it relevant. Case in point, I'd probably be playing that new Fire Emblem Engage game over anything on the Steam Deck right now.

Sales wise, no, it won't kill the Switch. Performance, game library, customization, and value, yes, it shoves it's proverbial thumbs into it's eyes. If switch is considered a console then the Steam Deck is the only console in gaming history to launch with thousands of games in it's library while also letting you transfer you exsisting game library.

Also, the fact that Valve had an image of a switch emulator in its own SD video then deleted it gives off some very specific information for those interested..

It's $600. Has a 2 hour battery life (if you don't run at max) for a "portable system".

Built like a center block

If I am spending $600 I might as well pony up another $200-$400 and get an actual gaming laptop.

Congrats to valve for passing 1 mill. But as far as I'm concerned they aren't out of gimmick territory. Other companies are already making better handhelds ( granted at even higher price points.)

Can get a switch for $200. Steam deck will never kill switch lol

That's like saying "gaming laptops" will kill switch.

@ivangrozny said:

@sargentd said:

@DEVILinIRON said:

@sargentd said:

@Litchie: it's $600.

Built like a center block

And has a battery life of 2 hours.

Indeed. That battery sucks. Still love my Steam Deck.

"Portable system"

*Plays while tethered to a wall*

Just buy a gaming laptop...

How is it a low cost of entry? Nintendo Switch exclusives almost never go on sale and go for 60USD a piece and you need to rebuy all 3rd party games that you already own on PC...

@ivangrozny said:

@sargentd said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@sargentd said:

No. Steam deck is for PC gamers how want a portable option for thier steam library.

Switch is for everyone else.

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Switch is for gamers who want a light weight portable option to play indies, last gen 3rd party games, and 1st party Nintendo games at a very low cost of entry.

How is it a low cost of entry? Nintendo Switch exclusives almost never go on sale and go for 60USD a piece and you need to rebuy all 3rd party games that you already own on PC...

It's $200. So Nintendo hardware costs less than 3 Sony games.

And you still had to buy those games on steam.

@sargentd said:

@ivangrozny said:

@sargentd said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@sargentd said:

No. Steam deck is for PC gamers how want a portable option for thier steam library.

Switch is for everyone else.

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Switch is for gamers who want a light weight portable option to play indies, last gen 3rd party games, and 1st party Nintendo games at a very low cost of entry.

How is it a low cost of entry? Nintendo Switch exclusives almost never go on sale and go for 60USD a piece and you need to rebuy all 3rd party games that you already own on PC...

It's $200. So Nintendo hardware costs less than 3 Sony games.

Sony has PS Now for 20 bucks a month, which includes almost all Sony exclusives of the past 10 years. Nintendo doesn't.

Yeah, it's low cost if you ignore all the costs.

Higher prices for basically all games, including multiplat indies. And you have to pay for online.

For those who have been using Steam for years, a Steam Deck is actually much cheaper to game on than a Switch.

Switch would hold better value for me if it allowed at least Steam/Gamepass/PS Now streaming because I do appreciate Nintendo Switch's superior OLED screen, but of course Nintendo would never agree on that third party streaming, greedy bastards.

The switch is still selling well so... no? Maybe took a bit of a chunk.

Sales? No.... In everything else....? Yes and it's not even close.

Not even close. It's barely a blip on nintendos radar. The only thing that's going to kill the switch is old age :P.

The deck is still very successful though for Valve. If it sells a couple million over it's life then a big win considering the market it's going into. Unlike the Switch, the deck has to sell on the merits of being a portable gaming PC. That's it. It has no exclusives.

I priced it up there recently and you could get a desktop that would mop the floor with a deck for the price of the 512GB model. I'm sure there are laptops that can also offer more power and a better battery life while gaming for the same money. So people clearly do see value in having a PC in a Handheld form factor.

Looks at NPD, EU sales, and Japanese sales.... Nope, Nintendo is doing just fine. Now is the Steamdeck a better machine? In my opinion it is, but Nintendo fans will always buy their product regardless if a better option is out there.

@ivangrozny said:

@sargentd said:

@ivangrozny said:

@sargentd said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

Switch is for Nintendo gamers that want a portable option for their Wii U library.

Switch is for gamers who want a light weight portable option to play indies, last gen 3rd party games, and 1st party Nintendo games at a very low cost of entry.

How is it a low cost of entry? Nintendo Switch exclusives almost never go on sale and go for 60USD a piece and you need to rebuy all 3rd party games that you already own on PC...

It's $200. So Nintendo hardware costs less than 3 Sony games.

Sony has PS Now for 20 bucks a month, which includes almost all Sony exclusives of the past 10 years. Nintendo doesn't.

Oh yeah you can pay for a sub where you don't own the games.

So what

@sargentd: I personally never said it would kill the Switch. I just said it's way more powerful, has a much bigger game library, full backwards compatibility, and also can also emulate switch games. That's all.

@TheEroica: "Sales? No.... In everything else....? Yes and it's not even close".

Don't forget size and battery life. I think the Deck is neat, but it will need to improve those two things before I'll consider getting one.

@pcgamerlaszlo: My IPhone can do that plus way more.

On the flip side I could say a gaming laptop is way more powerful than steam deck, has better screen, has better power supply, has a much bigger game library, full backwards compatibility, and can emulate any games.and can just do way more overall compared to a steam deck.

I agree Matt.

This is steam box 2.0.

going to laugh when Valve abandons it for a new pet project.

To add to the reasons why switch is successful.

$200 cost of entry.

Available at all major retailers.