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After spending about a week with Nintendo switch 2I have to accept that this is a good console. It is impartially priced at its smooth form factor and the performance provided by it, and it sets the nintendo to stay relevant while gaming graphics are only more complex. And yet, for my own personal taste, it is still not the hand of my choice. Instead, I will stick to the steam deck of the valve, the first and still overall best handheld gaming PCs, least going to the price for money. And if you do not necessarily care about the exclusive games of Nintendo, then there is a good chance that this can be a better option for you.
Steam deck switch is cheaper than 2
Outside the gate, the most obvious reason for obtaining steam deck on nintendo switch 2 is the value. Starts at $ 400 for a new modelIt is only slightly cheaper than the $ 450 of Switch 2, but it is only part of the story. Valve also runs Certified renovated program It offers decks used with cosmetic blemishes only for low $ 279. Restocks are unnatural, as the valve is only able to sell as much as it is sent back, but when they do, it is a cat of a great deal.
He said, there is a catch. Steam deck OLED, which provides a large, more colored screen and a large battery, is more expensive than the switch 2, starting at $ 549. However, it is probably a bit inappropriate to compare both, as Switch 2 does not use an OLED screen and comes with low storage. If you care about all that are the basics (I am fully happy with my LCD model), the base steam deck is quite good – it has recently found the same performance as one. And that performance, by the way, at the equal value with switch 2 in my test, ended at least Cyberpank 2077 (One of my Go-to-Benchmark Games).
Steam deck is more comfortable than switch 2
It is a toss-up, based on your preferences, although I think the steam deck takes a slight lead here. While the aim of Nintendo Switch 2 is completely flat and some extent for compact profiles, Instead the steam deck allows itself to pull outAnd even if it is slightly big and slightly heavy for it, I eventually feel that it makes it more comfortable.
Switch 2’s 10.7 x 4.5 x 0.55 inch against 11.73 x 4.60 x 1.93 inch, and 1.41 pounds against 1.18 pounds of switch 2, I will not deny that it will be a non-star for something. But personally, I still feel that the steam deck comes to the top, and it is thanks to its ergonomics.
I have never been a great fan of nintendo’s joy-con controllers, and while Switch 2’s Joy-Con 2 controllers improve with large buttons and sticks on switch 1, as well as more room to hold them, they are still yellow than the control of steam decks.
Steam deck in profile (above) vs. switch 2 profile (below)
Credit: Mitchell Eharhart
On switch 2, there is no grip to wrap your fingers around. On the steam deck, there are there. The triggers also flare more, and because the console is widespread, instead of the knee on the device, your hands can spread slightly. It may be a bit heavy to keep the steam deck after a while, but I still like this approach overall, and if you have a surface to rest the steam deck (such as an airplane tray table), then weight is a non-dust.
In addition, there are some additional bonuses that come with additional space. The steam deck consists of large touchpads on both sides of the device, as well as four grip buttons behind it, which gives you some extra inputs. Good.
It is slightly less portable and slightly heavy, but for my adult hands, the steam deck is better for them.
Steam deck has a larger, cheaper library than Switch 2
This is a kicker. While there are cheap games that can run on the back side of switch 2 and courtesy of the third-party Eshop titles, The Big System Draws (Nintendo-Developed title (eg) Mario Cart WorldFor example) you can get the value as $ 80. Not to say steam is not in deck Expensive game Also, but overall, I think it is easier to get cheap and free games on steam decks compared to Eshop.
This is because, being a handheld gaming PC, the steam deck can take advantage of love to exclude many sales and freebes PC gaming stores. These are slightly more often on the PC than the console, and this is because there is more competition on the PC. For example, anyone can download the game from steam or epic on PC, while on Switch 2, a person can only download the game from Nintendo Eshop.
Therefore, even clinging to steam only, you will find regular weekends and middle-week sales, sales of quarterly phenomena, and sales of the developer or publisher. This will usually find it on Nintendo Eshop, compared to more sales events, and if you are looking for cheap first-apes games, forget about it. Nintendo’s own games rarely go on sale, even after years of release.
But this is just the beginning. Despite the name of the steam deck, the device can actually run the game from other stores as well. It is thanks to the easily installed Linux program Heroic launcherWhich is independent and gives you Download games and play games from your Epic, Gog and Amazon Prime Games Eat with a few clicks.
What do you think so far?
Credit: Veer Game Launcher
It is a game changer. Both Epic and Amazon Prime are underdog in PC gaming space, and so to increase their number, they both give regular free games. Especially the epic provides a free PC game every week, while if you are a twitch user, you can see a decent but more immoral notification that allows you to claim free Amazon Prime Games. Some of these are big titles, too – how it has been found Batman: Arkham Night And Star Wars Battlefront IIWith a simple installed and a wait of a few months, you can have a steam deck that may be filled with brims with games for which you did not pay. You cannot do this only on Nintendo.
And then there is an elephant in the room: your backlog. If you are anything like me, you already have a steam library that has hundreds of games big. Perhaps it was probably before the switch 1 came out – regular cells have a tendency to create your own game. By choosing the steam deck as your handheld, you will be able to play those games, immediately give you that there may be a full library with no extra cost for you. If you migrate to Nintendo Switch 2, you have to start with a fresh library, or at least a library that is only older as nintendo switch 1.
Basically, while the hardware of switch 2 is only $ 50 more expensive than the steam deck, it will be easier to fill your steam deck with high quality, compared to cheap games it will be on switch 2. If you do not care about access to ninthndo exclusive games, then this is a huge draw.
TV play is a mixed bag
Finally, I want to accept that steam deck is still not a better option for everyone than switch 2. So I am writing here from a personal point of view. Like all gaming PCs, it will be Take some feeding To run some games, so switch 2 is definitely a smooth experience out of the box. This is also less battery life, from my test. But the big point of departure is TV play.
Playing your portable game on a TV on Switch 2 is as simple as plugging it in its dock. With steam deck, you have to buy a dock separately ( The official is an $ 79), And yet, you have to connect it to your own controller and manually find the TV graphics settings suitable for each game on your own. It is not almost easy or flexible.
And yet, for people like me, I am ready to say that TV play is also better. Or, depending on what type of PC gamers you are, monitor play.
This is because you are not limited to playing your steam deck game on the deck or not. Instead, when you are away from your home, you can play on the deck, and then swap on your regular gaming PC when you come back. Your deck will automatically upload your sews to the cloud, and your PC will basically download them. While your switch 2 is not as comfortable as plugging into your dock, the advantage here is that your non-portable play is not limited by the power of your portable device, while Dockd Switch 2 Play is still held back on portable hardware.
The tradeoff is that it is more expensive to maintain a dedicated gaming PC in addition to the steam deck, but perhaps more importantly, more tinkering is required (its methods are Create a cheap gaming pcAfter all). And I think there is an important point here. If you want a simple-to-use, pick-up-and-play handheld, Switch 2 is a great option for you. But if you are like me, and you are not afraid to download some launcher and sometimes dive into the compatibility settings or swap between two devices, the steam deck may still be the best handheld gaming device for you, even after three years.
