If you already have a decent PC for games a Switch allow you to play more games.

The OLED is the same size as the OG but lighter.

Steam Deck will offer you the full steam library of games

*some exclusions apply.

Of my nearly 300 games in my library, 36 are fully steam deck certified. While another ~70 have some layer of compatibility. Leaving almost 1/3rd of my library not usable on the Steam Deck.

Out of curiosity, what games do you play other than Cities Skyline?

If you just want something for portability + ten minutes of gameplay, what about an android phone you can emulate on + one of those phone controllers that turn your phone into a portable console?

To be honest - that's probably the dream setup. The challenge is that android games seem to all be low-effort ad delivery systems.

My happiest place is turn-based strategy and RPGs. XCOM, Total War: Warhammer, anything Baldur's Gate, 4Xs that sort of stuff.

I have several hundred hours killing time on Unciv on Android. Mindustry is fun but cramped. Polybridge was great until I finished it.

To be honest - that's probably the dream setup. The challenge is that android games seem to all be low-effort ad delivery systems.

My happiest place is turn-based strategy and RPGs. XCOM, Total War: Warhammer, anything Baldur's Gate, 4Xs that sort of stuff.

I have several hundred hours killing time on Unciv on Android. Mindustry is fun but cramped. Polybridge was great until I finished it.

If you already have a decent PC, you can emulate Switch

I had a decent PC back in the day (I grew up in the era of building my own water cooling systems) but as a casual gamer I can't wrap my head around around modern graphics card prices and I rather be able to play on the sofa for five minutes while I wait to pull something from the oven.

I'm old.

Oh, in that case you might have a swell time with using an android phone for emulation. Just ignore playstore games for a minute.

I feel like you might not understand what emulation is based on you commenting that you aren't much of a gamer---basically, using a phone you can emulate different consoles. And they often don't have ads.

What type of phone do you have? On my S24 I can emulate up to Switch games, but a lot of phones can emulate up to the PS2 era. You can also look into something called "Winlator" where you can emulate windows games on the phone too.

What emulators do you recommend? I have an S23 but am about to try swapping it for a Fairphone running e/OS

Looking for some advice. My Switch Lite is approaching the end of its life and given that a Switch 2 is basically the same price as an OLED Steamdeck I was thinking it might be a good time to jump back to PC gaming.

I'm not much of a gamer. I got the Switch Lite because of portability and the ability to wake it up, play for ten minutes and then toss it back in my bag. My only beefs with the Switch ecosystem is that you can't download DLC - for Cities Skylines I have the bare game on Switch but a pile of DLC on my laptop for example.

So - would going with a Steamdeck make sense? Any gotchas I should know about? Is there a better option?

Thanks all!

**edit: y'all rock. I'm ordering an OLED Steamdeck

Looking for some advice. My Switch Lite is approaching the end of its life and given that a Switch 2 is basically the same price as an OLED Steamdeck I was thinking it might be a good time to jump back to PC gaming.

I'm not much of a gamer. I got the Switch Lite because of portability and the ability to wake it up, play for ten minutes and then toss it back in my bag. My only beefs with the Switch ecosystem is that you can't download DLC - for Cities Skylines I have the bare game on Switch but a pile of DLC on my laptop for example.

So - would going with a Steamdeck make sense? Any gotchas I should know about? Is there a better option?

Thanks all!

**edit: y'all rock. I'm ordering an OLED Steamdeck

There's a SteamOS version too, right?

Personally, I didn't like physically holding the steam deck. In my opinion, it's much too heavy/bulky and even with a high quality comfort grip It just wasn't working for me. Ultimately, I ended up going with an Ayn Odin 2 instead and I've been enjoying my portable/lounging game time much more now. I do miss the ability to play my steam library though. Even though I can still do this with streaming, I just don't like streaming games as much. Other than the weight/size/ergonomics, which most people seem to be just fine with, the only other thing I'd mention is that steam's UI is buggy as hell when you're browsing around the store. I ended up doing most of my browsing on desktop as a result.

All that being said, you can't deny the draw of it. Even though it wasn't for me personally, I still like the system and I'd still recommend it to pretty much anybody. There's a reason Steam Deck is the champ.

Also, look up retro game corp if you aren't familiar. He just released a video today called 'dude, just get a steam deck'

Looking for some advice. My Switch Lite is approaching the end of its life and given that a Switch 2 is basically the same price as an OLED Steamdeck I was thinking it might be a good time to jump back to PC gaming.

I'm not much of a gamer. I got the Switch Lite because of portability and the ability to wake it up, play for ten minutes and then toss it back in my bag. My only beefs with the Switch ecosystem is that you can't download DLC - for Cities Skylines I have the bare game on Switch but a pile of DLC on my laptop for example.

So - would going with a Steamdeck make sense? Any gotchas I should know about? Is there a better option?

Thanks all!

**edit: y'all rock. I'm ordering an OLED Steamdeck

Switch has dlc, did they just not release any for cities?

I'm going to go against the general consensus here and say you would probably be better served buying a Switch 2. The Steam Deck is awesome but it is bulkier, has less battery life, and is overall less suited for a "pick up, play 10mins and toss is back" usage.

However if you are up for some occasional tinkering, the SD is far more versatile than the Switch and could even replace your laptop depending on your use-cases.

Poor ergonomics is actually a large reason why I sold my Deck. It is quite heavy and clearly made for hands bigger than mine, which made holding it for more than 20 minutes quite uncomfortable. Also the joysticks are just awful, awful, awful awful awful. Id say a hall-effect stick mod is basically mandatory.

Looking for some advice. My Switch Lite is approaching the end of its life and given that a Switch 2 is basically the same price as an OLED Steamdeck I was thinking it might be a good time to jump back to PC gaming.

I'm not much of a gamer. I got the Switch Lite because of portability and the ability to wake it up, play for ten minutes and then toss it back in my bag. My only beefs with the Switch ecosystem is that you can't download DLC - for Cities Skylines I have the bare game on Switch but a pile of DLC on my laptop for example.

So - would going with a Steamdeck make sense? Any gotchas I should know about? Is there a better option?

Thanks all!

**edit: y'all rock. I'm ordering an OLED Steamdeck

Personally, I didn't like physically holding the steam deck. In my opinion, it's much too heavy/bulky and even with a high quality comfort grip It just wasn't working for me. Ultimately, I ended up going with an Ayn Odin 2 instead and I've been enjoying my portable/lounging game time much more now. I do miss the ability to play my steam library though. Even though I can still do this with streaming, I just don't like streaming games as much. Other than the weight/size/ergonomics, which most people seem to be just fine with, the only other thing I'd mention is that steam's UI is buggy as hell when you're browsing around the store. I ended up doing most of my browsing on desktop as a result.

All that being said, you can't deny the draw of it. Even though it wasn't for me personally, I still like the system and I'd still recommend it to pretty much anybody. There's a reason Steam Deck is the champ.

Also, look up retro game corp if you aren't familiar. He just released a video today called 'dude, just get a steam deck'