What people miss about Steam Deck's "loss" to Nintendo
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I'm frankly glad you liked them so much. Which are your favorites?
Animal Crossing New Horizons was great. I was also a pretty big fan of Mario Odyssey. Both Zelda games were great (though I know the first one was released to the Wii U or whatever). Mario Kart was great of course. Mario party was a little underwhelming this time but I think they've since released a better one. Smash Brothers was great. Mario Wonder? Was pretty awesome too.
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I have played them, they are ok. But I would be extremely disappointed if I spent that much money and that is all I got.
shrug to each their own
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Console wars stopped being cool years ago. Everyone has their preferences and favorites, no need to shit on someone's fun because you think yours is better.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Its unfair to call it a "console war" when one is a classic locked down console and another is a general handheld computer. This also means there are bigger societal stakes in this argument than just "which corporate flavor you like more" because one empowers people and the other does the exact opposite.
So no, "console wars" here are very much cool.
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Meh, personally I haven't enjoyed a Nintendo game since the GameCube. Every new game they release feels like a rehash of the same shit they've been shoveling down our throats since the Wii. Nintendo forgot how to innovate.
BotW and TotK were both really good. Don't mistake this as me saying "Nintendo is good actually", more like a broken clock is right twice a day sort of statement.
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BotW and TotK were both really good. Don't mistake this as me saying "Nintendo is good actually", more like a broken clock is right twice a day sort of statement.
Personally I thought botw was pretty mid overall. The world is so empty and there's no reason to really ever fight anything for the most part. The weapons breaking so easily just cements that. Haven't played the second tho.
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It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.
The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.
Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.
But that’s exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.
That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
The funniest thing is that Nintendo buyers are not even part of this conversation LMAO
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Sure, if it doesn't bother someone to wait 3-5 years. It's no Problem.
You can say this too all kind of Games.
You don't want to pay 100$ for GTA VI? No Problem, just wait 5 years and it will be 20$ on sale.wrote last edited by [email protected]Gamers do be a patient bunch sometimes
I'm still playing AOE 2/3, civ v and endless space after all these years
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Their new premium price point is definitely going to put a dent in their family sales, though. That's uncharted territory for them.
Meh, it amortizes over time. Switch 1 lasted 10 years
Switch 2 will probably be the same, buy the games now, play for 10 years sounds like a deal to the lowest common denominator in gaming
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BotW and TotK were both really good. Don't mistake this as me saying "Nintendo is good actually", more like a broken clock is right twice a day sort of statement.
BotW and TotK are by far the worst Zelda games ever made. What's the point of having a huge open world if there's nothing to do in it? Plus there are no real dungeons and there's barely a plot. It honestly blows my mind that people enjoy those games. Hell, TotK was so lazily slapped together that they couldn't even bother creating a new map.
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BotW and TotK are by far the worst Zelda games ever made. What's the point of having a huge open world if there's nothing to do in it? Plus there are no real dungeons and there's barely a plot. It honestly blows my mind that people enjoy those games. Hell, TotK was so lazily slapped together that they couldn't even bother creating a new map.
I remember when botw came out and some time after it was cracked and you could play it in 4k 60. So i did and i was just like meh. Do i really want to collect all the same shrines in a boring world?
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It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.
The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.
Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.
But that’s exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.
That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
I loved my steam deck, but it was too chunky for me and certainly for my kid.
My compromise is Anbernic type devices. Long battery life, better form factor, lots of ported games too.
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It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.
The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.
Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.
But that’s exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.
That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
Steam Deck is just one of many devices capable of playing PC games. It isn't an entire game platform the way that the Switch 2 is.
If you want to play Switch 2 games, you have to buy a switch. If you want to play PC games, you have an absurd number of options. If you want to play PC games specifically on a handheld device, you still have a bunch of options.
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Exclusives are good for the company making them, but they are anti-consumer. I'd be open to buying Switch games if they were available on PC. But I'm not buying a whole separate piece of hardware (complete with various accessories) so that I can play whatever exclusives that I'm interested in. I'll just pass on it.
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I stopped buying consoles and moved pretty much exclusively to Steam because it gives me many more options. Thankfully, I don't think that's changing anytime soon. Consoles are great for some people, but I need more flexibility. I sometimes wish I could (legally) play Nintendo first party games, but it's really not that big of a deal.
Yep, last console I bought was an XB1. I really only use it for playing 4K discs and for couch co-op.
I don't foresee buying another console unless I have a really good reason to.
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It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.
The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.
Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.
But that’s exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.
That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
There is a reason why i call all these handheld gaming pcs as decks or gaming decks.
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Steamdeck also isn't a console anyway, it's a handheld PC.
it plays like a console and repairs like a pc.
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it plays like a console and repairs like a pc.
How? Its a PC with a built in steam controller. You can play dwarf fortress over SSH using a keyboard, it plays like a PC.
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How? Its a PC with a built in steam controller. You can play dwarf fortress over SSH using a keyboard, it plays like a PC.
You turn it on and boom steam library ready to launch, click buy download play just like a console. Remember most peopl just want easy use and the steam deck does that.
Yes the average steam Deck user is above average in tech literacy.
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You turn it on and boom steam library ready to launch, click buy download play just like a console. Remember most peopl just want easy use and the steam deck does that.
Yes the average steam Deck user is above average in tech literacy.
So steam is set to autorun by default?
By that reasoning my old PC in like 2008 was a console because you boot and it starts up with a list of games to play that are all loaded from Linux DVD, just click to launch any of them immediately.
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So steam is set to autorun by default?
By that reasoning my old PC in like 2008 was a console because you boot and it starts up with a list of games to play that are all loaded from Linux DVD, just click to launch any of them immediately.
Yeah ease of use, no technical skill or knowledge needed.
