Having to buy from a certain store and being able to run anywhere on hardware of your choice is hardly more exclusive than being forced to buy from one vendor and only run on one system.

But you can’t…? It’s locked to OS, and it doesn’t run on ALL hardware. There’s minimum specs, and you can’t play modern games on windows 95.

Why do people ignore the glaring flaws while preaching the few okay ones? And the obvious lies too. The pros that people use, all fall flat when you follow them. You say all hardware, but it’s not, and never has been has it…?

Bdbhd

Also, for what its worth, the OLED Decks literally sold out today, as in, Valve doesn't currently have any more to sell in the US.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/06/supply-chain-issues-are-making-the-steam-deck-oled-go-out-of-stock/

Also also... I realize this is a silly comparison, but the Switch 2 has not outsold all variants of the Deck, yet.

Its at about 3.5 million, Steam Deck is at about 4.5 million since 2022.

Also x3, the Switch 2 is apparently already sold out as well, as in no more units available at US retailers.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/nintendo-switch-console-record-sales.html

A yes, a very insightful and polite response.

Should have known trying to have a civil discussion about anything related to Nintendo would lead to trolls coming and brigading and insulting.

What kind of idiots are comparing the two? They're different things with entirely different markets. There was never a battle to be had lol

Having to buy from a certain store and being able to run anywhere on hardware of your choice is hardly more exclusive than being forced to buy from one vendor and only run on one system.

But you can’t…? It’s locked to OS, and it doesn’t run on ALL hardware. There’s minimum specs, and you can’t play modern games on windows 95.

Why do people ignore the glaring flaws while preaching the few okay ones? And the obvious lies too. The pros that people use, all fall flat when you follow them. You say all hardware, but it’s not, and never has been has it…?

You realize there’s been vast technical advancements since 1995, right?

that anyone would even have the thought of "killer steam deck game" amazes me. It's just a pc. You can run literally every game in existence that doesn't require a top of the line nvidia card as a minimum, have rootkit anti cheat, or is still exclusive to yet un-emulated console.

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.

able to run anywhere on hardware of your choice i

So if this statement is true, an OS wouldn’t be a limitation.

Of course tech is better, that’s why you can’t play on it anymore with anything modern. Do you seriously need this pointed out?

And lots of old windows 95 programs don’t run on modern hardware, so if you bought something back then, you’re SOL with modern hardware. Limitations everywhere.

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.

I’m not the OP, but the original statement wasn’t that you can run on all hardware—but rather the hardware of your choice.

There are many, many different PC models available, with a variety of form factors, with vastly different components. And you can choose whatever gives you value.

Nobody is claiming that you should run Black Myth Wukong on an old IBM Aptiva except you.

Right, but it’s not freedom, when it doesn’t run on everything. You need to keep your system updated to play modern games.

With a switch, any game released, you know will play.

So yes it’s MORE exclusive in some situations.

Nobody is claiming that you should run Black Myth Wukong on an old IBM Aptiva except you.

Where? Don’t put words in peoples mouth if you want to have a civil discourse, but of course with this being your post, we know your bias already.

The thing you are arguing for, literally has a list of games it CANT run… and it includes a lot of modern games as well as older, so it can’t even run them… nice non-exclusion eh? It limits on BOTH sides.

Right, but it’s not freedom, when it doesn’t run on everything.

I don’t think the word “freedom” means what you think it does.

You need to keep your system updated to play modern games.

We’re not in 1995 any more. If you want ray tracing, you need hardware capable of ray tracing.

With a switch, any game released, you know will play.

Only games officially licensed by Nintendo.

So yes it’s MORE exclusive in some situations.

In almost all situations.

Where?

You said PC gaming is flawed because you can’t play modern games on a Windows 95 PC. Which is insane.

Don’t put words in peoples mouth if you want to have a civil discourse

Civil discourse went out the window when you started using sock puppets. Most of us here can tell. You’re fooling no one.

but of course with this being your post, we know your bias already.

My bias is that Steam Deck and Switch 2 are an apples to oranges comparison? Okay.

You know what? I suspect you’re a teenager because this is how kids fighting console wars during recess talk.

There are actually thousands of games that run on Steam Deck with no additional configuration that aren't even available on Switch, and conservatively, hundreds of those are extremely popular. Plus a lot of Switch's library is on Steam Deck, where it tends to be a better version of the game for one reason or another, not the least of which is free online play.

Right, but it’s not freedom, when it doesn’t run on everything.

I don’t think the word “freedom” means what you think it does.

You need to keep your system updated to play modern games.

We’re not in 1995 any more. If you want ray tracing, you need hardware capable of ray tracing.

With a switch, any game released, you know will play.

Only games officially licensed by Nintendo.

So yes it’s MORE exclusive in some situations.

In almost all situations.

Where?

You said PC gaming is flawed because you can’t play modern games on a Windows 95 PC. Which is insane.

Don’t put words in peoples mouth if you want to have a civil discourse

Civil discourse went out the window when you started using sock puppets. Most of us here can tell. You’re fooling no one.

but of course with this being your post, we know your bias already.

My bias is that Steam Deck and Switch 2 are an apples to oranges comparison? Okay.

You know what? I suspect you’re a teenager because this is how kids fighting console wars during recess talk.

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.

Do you mean the millions of available games on PC? That easily far outweighs the switch.
Oh wait, and you can play switch games on PC too.

What was your point again?

You said PC gaming is flawed because you can’t play modern games on a Windows 95 PC. Which is insane.

I never claimed that. I said it was a limitation. Which it is. It limits its capability. Limitations are flaws, but that doesn’t make it flawed, it still works. Funny how words can have multiple definitions and you can choose which one to fit your narrative. Having to get a specific system to play the games you want, is cumbersome, it isn’t always easy, or even doable in some situations now.

Quite putting words in peoples mouth, and again with the insulting when someone has a dissenting opinion. You don’t agree with me, that doesn’t mean I’m a sock puppet. Just shows you don’t want to have a civil discourse and go to fallacies.

So yes it’s MORE exclusive in some situations.

In almost all situations.

… you agree the Pc is more limited in almost all situations now? That’s not my claim. I said some.

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.