What people miss about Steam Deck's "loss" to Nintendo
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Has either company "lost" anything? They both seems to be raking in money quite healthily.
A very good point.
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Itâs 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, isnât a platform. Itâs just one hardware optionâone entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20â25% of those are gaming-focused, thatâs 49â61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it wonât outsell a console thatâs the only gateway to a major IP.
But thatâs exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last âPCâ that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5â17 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 didnât just sellâit legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. Thatâs why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handheldsâsomething they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didnât outsell the Switch 2. It didnât need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
I hadn't even thought about it until you brought it up. Kind of disappointed in people jumping on this like flies on shit but like... it's 2025, so bigger things to be upset about.
In any case, apples and oranges. And PSA, if you need a Switch 2, grab em on the rebound. There'll be used ones, likely hackable in 6 months and none of that goes to Nintendo. Don't forget what their legal department has done in the past few years.
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It's not a sock puppet, [email protected] just happens to agree wholeheartedly with SchmidtGenetics and downvote/upvote the same comments a couple minutes after they do. /s
wrote last edited by [email protected]Funny how month long idle accounts come out as well on those same votes, what does any of it imply?
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I can't imagine a point and click RPG like Baldur's Gate or Fallout 1 and 2 being remotely playable on a Steam Deck. You pretty much have to have a Mouse and Keyboard for them. The Glide Pads will only get you so far.
Actually, Iâve played a lot of point & click games on the Steam Deck. Older titles are often better because theyâre entirely mouse driven.
Grim Fandango, Divine Divinity, Disciplesâall are good.
If you want to know the worst games to play on Steam Deck, itâs those text adventure games that were popular in the 70s and 80s.
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Thatâs literally what Iâm trying to point out? They all have their own quirks. And yet people bicker itâs funny.
I point out thereâs limitations on PC, and get insulted. The circlejerking against Nintendo and for Steam is just wild on this community.
Well, I don't know what to tell you then, mate. If that's all you're trying to say I don't think it's particularly controversial. Maybe it's the way you're saying it.
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Itâs 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, isnât a platform. Itâs just one hardware optionâone entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20â25% of those are gaming-focused, thatâs 49â61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it wonât outsell a console thatâs the only gateway to a major IP.
But thatâs exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last âPCâ that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5â17 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 didnât just sellâit legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. Thatâs why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handheldsâsomething they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didnât outsell the Switch 2. It didnât need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
I love my Steam Decks (LCD & OLED), and as far as handhelds, won't buy any more until SD2. I'd much rather see the Deckard released before SD2 to be honest, though my Index headset might be fine, the controllers are kind of fubar. I'll support Linux hardware over anything Microsoft, or closed platforms.
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Fuck $80 mario you can get Garfield Kart for $5
Punished Arbuckle
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Well, I don't know what to tell you then, mate. If that's all you're trying to say I don't think it's particularly controversial. Maybe it's the way you're saying it.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I insulted sir Gaben, steam and gaben are sacred on Lemmy. I spoke ill and got brigaded, happens to any comments like that. Could do without the blatant insults, surprised the mods allow it, or maybe they just havenât gotten to it yet.
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Yuup. Nintendo's biggest advantage has always been their intellectual property, and even that hasn't always saved them. glances at the Wii U
They're also much better for local party games. That's essentially what my Switch has become.
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There are millions upon millions of Mario, Link, and Pokemon fans.
There are not millions and millions of... what's the killer Steam Deck game again? Oh, right, there isn't one.
If Valve came out with Half Life 3, made it Steam exclusive and a pack in with the Deck, then it would start putting up Nintendo numbers.
The killer Steam Deck game is absolute choice. Oddly enough you can play many Switch games and older on the Deck.
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Exclusives are a good thing if you want to justify a $400 hardware purchase.
"What can I play here that I can't play elsewhere?"If you can play it elsewhere, why blow $400?
You're the perfect consumer, bud.
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Itâs 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, isnât a platform. Itâs just one hardware optionâone entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20â25% of those are gaming-focused, thatâs 49â61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it wonât outsell a console thatâs the only gateway to a major IP.
But thatâs exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last âPCâ that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5â17 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 didnât just sellâit legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. Thatâs why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handheldsâsomething they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didnât outsell the Switch 2. It didnât need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
wrote last edited by [email protected]What I like about the deck is I bought it and I instantly already owned >1000 games for it where a good majority of those are playable out of the box.
So ya, I ain't paying $120 CAD per game. Fuck that.
Also my controllers basically all work for it so I don't need to buy these overpriced joycons again for a new system.
Already have webcams if I cared for a silly camera that streams at 2FPS.
It's unfortunate that theres been a lot more attention for optimization from some developers for the switch 2 though, not much we can do about that. Some games I own the deck is screaming and barely handling it and apparently the switch 2 runs it no problem.
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You're the perfect consumer, bud.
I just like good games, I'm platform agnostic.
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If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.
For now.
Yep give it a year or so. The emulator will be up and running.
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Has either company "lost" anything? They both seems to be raking in money quite healthily.
True no one needs to fight for either company.
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I don't expect the average switch user to be intelligent enough to see value in a Steam Deck.
The same can be said about the average Steam Deck owner.
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Itâs 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, isnât a platform. Itâs just one hardware optionâone entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20â25% of those are gaming-focused, thatâs 49â61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it wonât outsell a console thatâs the only gateway to a major IP.
But thatâs exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last âPCâ that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5â17 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 didnât just sellâit legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. Thatâs why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handheldsâsomething they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didnât outsell the Switch 2. It didnât need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
Great text. Thanks for writing it. Fully agree.
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Itâs funny you say this, because for 500 bucks I am actually debating between the two as my Christmas present to myself this year.
I think Iâd prefer a Steam Deck for no particular reason.
â
ïžwrote last edited by [email protected]They are competitors on a personal level as many people only have the time or money to fit one of them into their lives. But by that definition cycling or golfing is also a competitor and nobody would write an article about how bikes outsold the Steam Deck.
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Itâs 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, isnât a platform. Itâs just one hardware optionâone entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.
Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20â25% of those are gaming-focused, thatâs 49â61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it wonât outsell a console thatâs the only gateway to a major IP.
But thatâs exactly the point.
PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last âPCâ that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5â17 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 didnât just sellâit legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. Thatâs why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handheldsâsomething they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.
So no, Steam Deck didnât outsell the Switch 2. It didnât need to.
It won by changing the landscape.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I've generally seen purchasing a Steam Deck as an informed decision. But most people are very nostalgic (can't blame them, SNES to Wii Zeldas and Metroids were amazing) and have uncontrollable FOMO, which Nintendo keeps on milking even when their software and hardware is noticeably much worse than it's competitors'. If anyone also wants to know how Nintendo currently uses the money they earn, here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n025Gxn5GEM No wonder they're less worried about wasting money on legal battles. No trace of the good old Nintendo.
- For Nintendo fans that may get triggered by this, don't. Just own it. Spending more on something worse doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.
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I've generally seen purchasing a Steam Deck as an informed decision. But most people are very nostalgic (can't blame them, SNES to Wii Zeldas and Metroids were amazing) and have uncontrollable FOMO, which Nintendo keeps on milking even when their software and hardware is noticeably much worse than it's competitors'. If anyone also wants to know how Nintendo currently uses the money they earn, here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n025Gxn5GEM No wonder they're less worried about wasting money on legal battles. No trace of the good old Nintendo.
- For Nintendo fans that may get triggered by this, don't. Just own it. Spending more on something worse doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.
wrote last edited by [email protected]This is such a wild take. « I buy the steam deck because I am informed and smart, they buy the switch 2 because theyâre nostalgic impulsive morons ».
Has it ever occurred to you that not everybody is you, and people have different tastes ? Some gamers want to play the latest COD, others are Final Fantasy super fan, and others want to play Zelda and Mario. Most people even just play on a smartphone! (Disgusting, I know).
Your lack of basic awareness of what an individual is is astonishing. May I never meet and have to talk to someone like you again.
