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Being a person who has only ever played on console, I love the steam deck. It has completely saved gaming for me In someways now that I have little free time due to college. My girlfriend has a switch and it’s pretty fun too. I don’t think you can go wrong with either, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to sit down at a TV or computer.
I sold my switch because I’m sick and tired of paying the Nintendo tax steam has more games and better deals free online. A more open platform the Nintendo Switch is a uncomfortable system to hold for a long period of time. Valve did it the right way somethings need to be approved but I happy with my deck.
The only Nintendo system that can't be replaced in a way is the n3ds between all the native emulation with,snes,gba,gb/gbc then there's no answer to the 2 screens and battery life, love my deck tho. I find it funny Nintendo made a online service for something the new 3dsxl could do by itself years ago lmao corporate Nintendo sucks
@@sp0re8900 There are ways to emulate it (I'm looking at Citra), but it's not the same as playing it natively. The design of the handheld alone makes it difficult to replicate that feeling. The Steam Deck can handle two screens though. For me, it's a bit of a pain, but doable. My assumption is that 3DS is also doable in the same fashion. www.pcmag.com/news/your-steam-deck-can-now-double-as-a-wii-u-gamepad
I've been looking at the steam deck more and more lately. As someone that travels for work a LOT (3 to 4 days a week for several weeks at times) it looks very nice. I often take my laptop with me for gaming when I'm sitting in a hotel in the evening but I find myself often not wanting to take the time to set it all up each night and pack it all up again in the morning. Having something to play all my steam games that I can just pick up and use is becoming a very attractive offer. Plus the price for the base model, which I can upgrade myself for storage, is almost unbelievable (only about 50 more bucks than a switch). Now that Nintendo has basically come out and said no new switch this year I think it's time to bite the bullet on the steam deck
Steam deck is double the price and its really heavy, big too so its a no no, after all i just want to play some casual games so nintendo fits better for me, and its smalled and the joy cons are very cool
Honestly I think valve hit a home run with the steam deck. Although there are similar options with better graphics cards, they are double the price. Also the ease to repair the steam deck is also awesome most repairs are a couple screws and a drop in replacement part. I’m hoping that in the future you are able to upgrade the graphics card to keep up with newer and next gen games
Totally agree. We (wife, myself, daughter) bought three of the things and use them constantly. So nice not having to buy a ton of games I already own for my gaming laptop.
That point you made in the end saying how it can’t be in competition with the switch until it’s in stores, was a real eye opener. You literally have to be a steam gamer to go and buy a steam deck from steam itself, while Nintendo has their switch in stores for all to see. Great vid my man appreciate the content.
Thanks! I may have gone at it from a real marketing/advertising/business-y point of view, but it's definitely something that I felt needed to be discussed. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. 🙌
I do like the Steam Deck, Valve are leaving money on the table by not marketing or distributing the Deck with the same means as Nintendo, still Valve know their audience. I think the Deck is good for people who want to play PC games without paying thousands for a rig. It would be interesting to see the Deck compete against the Switch in stores, at the same time quietly marketing the Deck (and Gabe giving IGN an interview) is probably keeping the price of the Steam Deck nice and low.
I think Valve was a bit surprised at how well the Steam Deck sold so far. I believe they said themselves that they didn't expect it to be as big of a success as it is. This is especially in comparison to the rest of Steams hardware offerings. If Steam actually put the Steam Deck in stores next to Switch units, I wonder how it would go in terms of sales.
@@baldlyrudy I don't think their will be much different in terms of sale to be honest. Apart from the handheld perspective, both the switch and steam deck serves different purpose. If you are a serious gamer and want to play some big triple A titles on handheld or on the go, steam is the one to pick. On the other hand, the switch can be play together as a family and have nintendo exclusives which people will buy the switch for that. Also the nintendo lovers or fan boy will buy their collector items as well. Myself has PC and PS5 but i also play on the switch alot because it have games like Zelda, Xenoblade and Fire Emblem that other platform don't have.
@@badboy250984 are you talking about sales in terms of units sold? Because of that's the case then you're way off. Nintendo is a household name. Like you said, the whole family can have fun with Nintendo's offerings. That isn't the same with Steam for most families.
@@baldlyrudy When I said not much different, I actually means the Steam deck probably won't affect the switch sales and vice visa for the steam deck as well. Casual gamers will probably pick up the switch or they rather spend the money on the like of playstation and xbox.
Great review, Rudy. I’m not a PC gamer myself, but I’m excited to see competition for the Switch (whether it’s direct or not at this point) arising for the sake of the free market and, in turn, us consumers. Hope you had a great Christmas and are doing well!
Thanks Rich! Agreed. Competition is good and healthy. In the end, the consumers (us) end up winning. I had a great time hanging out with family and friends. Hope all is well for you and everyone else!
A big thing you missed is the price of Switch games - they are very high and rarely drop by much or anything, even during the infrequent sales. You're locked into not just buying only ftom Nintendo's store, but if you want to play a game on the Switch that's already in your Steam library, you'll have to re-purchase it, usually at a much higher price. The value for money of the Switch is extremely low for me: weak hardware, monopolistic and very expensive e-store, you have to pay to play online, it has limited game library compared to Steam (which has far more "family-friendly" titles than the Switch will ever have) and uncomfortable/limited controls. It's quite embarrassing that the Deck can play far more Nintendo games (including Switch games) than the Switch itself can - that alone should tell you what a poor purchase a Switch is nowadays.
Ah. That is very true. You make a solid point. The first party titles very rarely drop in price and that "Switch Tax" of ports is quite annoying and not worth it. Third party titles I end up getting on Steam or PS5. XBGP on my Series S or PC as well.
Honestly, there's value in having both the Switch and Deck. My wife got me hooked on the Switch years ago, which has seen 100x more use over the past 3 years than my old gaming PC due to its portability. It also helps that it predates the Deck, and just so happens to have a lot of exclusives our family enjoys. Meanwhile, the Deck offers a wide selection of PC games we can take on the go as well, and honestly we're pretty tired of having to lug around a tower PC between rooms; but, it's battery can be atrocious at times. Considering we're always moving about, having 4 Deck Docs is incredibly handy and can bring the PC into any room of the house, with a spare to be used while traveling. In the end it all comes down to budget. If you have a 15+ year old steam library, the Deck is a no brainer. If you're newer to games like my wife was, the Switch OLED is a great pickup with quirky games, and makes a great entry point for beginners. If you want heavy hitters like Elden Ring, Mass Effect, or even a modded Skyrim, the way to go is the Steam Deck with a bit of know-how. If you want a bit of everything, then the cheapest Steam Deck paired with a Switch Lite will get you everything you'd want, minus PS5 exclusives.
Nice comment sir. Im new to this handheld. I just bought my oled. I love it since its fully hybrid. But if i want more definitely wont go for another handheld or sd. Will go for ps5 or xbox x. Just my opinion. Tls again sir.
I hadn't bought a handheld since the original PSP before the Steam Deck. To me, it's easy to use, and as a PC gamer, having access to most of a library of games I've already bought made it a no-brainer. I'd recommend it to anybody with a big Steam library.
Found this video at the perfect time. My friend bought a Steam Deck for me for Christmas and because I’m so excited for it, I’ve been watching RUclips videos about it to soak in all kinds of info about it while I wait for it to arrive in the mail. I already have a Switch OLED but for whatever reason I find myself getting bored of it quickly. I used to have a gaming PC and on my Steam account I own 667 games but when I gave away my PC, I lost access to all those games. At least I know that when the Steam Deck comes I don’t have to worry about having games to play.
The Steak Deck is great! You're going to love it dude. Even with the few issues that I brought up in the video, none of them really affect me to the point that I'm unhappy with the purchase.
@@linerangersjusticebrown6225 😒No. I’m sure you’re just joking but you do realize that sometimes friends do nice things for a each other. I once bought a friend a PS4 because they couldn’t afford one.
I got a Steam Deck bc I love handheld gaming and I am growing tired of the hardware limitations of the Switch. That said, I am also a casual gamer, so the Switch still gets the vast majority of my time. It’s nice to have the option to buy games on both platforms, often it’s much cheaper on Steam.
Oh yeah. Definitely understand where you're coming. I have both and have been gravitating more and more to the Steam Deck. That being said, first party titles feel right at home on the Switch.
I got a switch and i hated that games hardly went on sale. Steam always has sales. I also hated having to choose to buy a game on the Switch or Steam. For instance Personal 5 Royal. I wanted it Portable but also on Steam. When i bough it for the switch i didn't have a steam deck. But now i bought a steam deck I'm regretting buying Royal for the Switch. Now if i want Royal its 55 dollars Canadian on sale on steam if it gose's on sale again.
sold my gaming computer when I got the deck, I don't even drain the battery fully to notice the smaller battery life, I only get a quick hour on before my kids get home, then put it on charge and play a bit before bed
That's kind of what I've been doing. I've been chipping away at games on the Steam Deck that would've taken me much longer to get through on a regular PC. I'm glad that I got it.
I totally agree with most comments. Steam made a great platform and I wish the next Switch will learn from steam. Obviously Switch always lasts much longer in terms of battery- 7-8h but Steam deck only lasting 1h for taxing games is terrible for a handheld. The main thing for Switch - it has the best motion controls out there. Being able to move both hands separately for motion controls is far superior to having to move the whole device with both hands-thus moving the screen and making good aiming impossible. Also, Switch has the best exclusives among PlayStation and Xbox. So there is a lot of value there, but the power difference of a device from 2015 vs 2022 is clear. On another hand, SD has more flexible system and might be better for downloading diverse software. As an adult gamer I prefer Switch because it has more pure fun and unique gaming experiences- there is still no more fun racing game than Mario Kart, Smash Bros is also a blast, Breath of the Wild is now my favorite adventure rpg with the best physics out there, and game like Astral Chain has the best fighting system among any Heck and Slash games out there. I guess I wish the Switch was more powerful, but it has some exceptional games the competition doesn’t.
@@Joshua-by4dc I don’t want to say you’re wrong, but Dolphin has been canceled on steam, and there is no rom that would emulate recent Switch exclusives better than Switch-unless you show me a link with reference. The only Nintendo games working on Steam might be some games from Wii U-which was easily hacked, but not Switch.
Although more powerful, the Steam Deck doesn’t offer the seamless Switch like experience when switching between handheld and docked. The Steam Deck does offer a quick resume feature, but it only works well in handheld mode. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate well when switching to an external display. While playing a game, if you try to switch between handheld and docked, the Steam Deck doesn’t automatically change its 800p resolution to whatever resolution your monitor supports. If your TV supports higher resolutions, like most displays, it will leave black bars on the top, bottom, and sides of your screen. The only way around this, is to quit the game, restart, and then the Steam Deck adopts to your monitors resolution. This is undesirable because it ruins the quick resume feature, forcing the player to rely on save points when switching displays. Because of this, I only view the Steam Deck as a portable console only, and it cannot be compared to the Nintendo Switch.
Actually it can be totally compared to the Nintendo switch, steam deck have some con and the switch have some pros, and it's totally normal in a comparison. In my person opinion, the steam deck cons that you pointed, become really silly when you take into the account, all the steam deck pros over the switch, it's more powerful, it runs the switch games better there than switch, it runs games in general better either, the number of games that runs officially on the steam deck is over the double than the switch, of you take the account the total number of games that run officially and unofficially on steam deck the number is insane, the controller in steam deck is far superior and it's not so expansive considering what it's offer
A steam deck/OLED switch combination is very appealing. Possibly combined with a raspberry pi. I have 20 consoles - and they’re nice things to own and display, but it takes up so much space….I am thinking about selling them and switching to a more modern setup like this
I've always been a big Nintendo guy, grew up with SNES and N64, and I've bought every console they've put out since. I'm also a big PC gamer, I have a large steam library, and hold that the best version of most games are the PC version. I own a Switch, I don't own a Steam Deck yet, though I've used my brother in law's a little bit. I would love to get a Steam Deck eventually. That said, I would never not have Nintendo's current console because of their exclusive games. Nintendo Switch also has one big selling point for me over the Steam Deck: local multiplayer. Even undocked, the Switch can be easily played in multiplayer using the joycons that you have with you anyway. More Nintendo Switch games support local multiplayer (Nintendo exclusives almost always have some form of multiplayer, but even third party games sometimes will have a local multiplayer option on Switch that it doesn't on PC ie Diablo III), and the system is tailored for it. With local multiplayer dying on other consoles, Nintendo really is the last bastion of local multiplayer.
Switch: 1: Zelda BOTW & TOTK, ZELDA LINKS’s AWAKENING 2: Metroid Prime Remastered & Metroid Prime Dread 3: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 4: Bayonetta 1,2,3 & 4 5:all Kirby Games 6: Resident Evil 0,1,5, & 6 and Revelations 1&2 7:Paper Mario Origami King & Paper Mario Thousand’s Year Door and Mario Odyssey, Mario Rabbids 1 & 2 8: Pokemon Arceus & Sword and Shield 9: Animal Crossing New Horizon 10: Marvel vs Capcom and Street Fighters
So what i get from here is that steam deck is a handheld PC, but to effectively use it you need to have previous steam games and basically a PC gamer unlike the switch?? Correct me if im wrong on some of this things but i’ve never owned a PC so im buying the switch
@@Ares_pb I just bought the Switch for this reason. I can’t deal with tweaking the graphics and emulating on the Steam Deck…like, what?? I don’t know how to use a PC. Plus I want Nintendo games and I will not pirate games. Also I read you can get a virus on Steam deck just like on a computer.
For the antiglare screen, maglass sells a screen protector that's basically the same. I bought a 64 gb model, 1tb ssd, and the screen protector for cheaper than a 512 model
One thing that's annoyed me is between the comparison videos of the 512 and the other 2 they never put a showcase of anti glare protectors alongside. But I've heard from a few videos that it's not quite as good as the etched glass regardless and that's coming from people with both models to compare. Just wish they'd show the comparison on the videos because I really need good anti glare as the UK either gets direct sunlight or a white cloud ridden sky that lights up like supermarket ceiling lights off of reflective surfaces.
I see the switch as a bonus console if you have the money and if you want it. If I had to choose either or I’d choose the steam deck cause I’d simply get more use out of it. However I plan on getting both.
Great video bud just watched on my OLED Switch whenever I’d watch a Switch related video on YT with my Switch feels absolutely the right way than on my Phone imo..
You can say whatever you want, but the steam deck being able to emulate the nintendo switch without compromising much does makes the very definition of a switch killer. The only two main issues are the battery life (solvable by carrying a couple of powerbanks, and will be fixed on the later steamdeck revisions) and the lack of true online play, although the later one will be solved once private servers are (eventually) made. Games that aren't compatible at the start eventually start to get supported and others that don't receive any attention probably have a better version on pc anyways, and that is the important thing, on the steam deck you have complete access to the fountain of gaming, with barely anything holding you back, can't say anything about the switch either, because if you mod it you also lose the online play, not that it can do much else even if is modded.
They said the reason they never had diffrent screens or even colors at launch. They wasnt sure if people would pick up the deck. But it was way past there expectations. Now there talking about a steam deck 2 and might bring new decks every 2 years.
With the way its been selling, I hope that the next version of the Steam Deck has improvements that are worth it. That being said, if we get a performance boost, then I'd be happy as well.
I'm not a tech nerd, I just want to shove a game in and play. This is why I love The Switch, I don't know what "moding" or "emulating" entails. I just want to go to Coffee shop or Bar and run Mario Kart 8 over drinks with the boys in table top mode and run Tears of the Kingdom at home. A handheld that is bigger and fatter than a Saga Game Gear and doesn't have removable 2 in 1 controllers doesn't appeal to me. I like sleek and versatile. Also, I don't want the thing to crap out after an hour or two, I want the thing to at least last a long plane ride. Also, I like physical copies. Me and my daughter like to let each other borrow our games, and resell value in the future matters. What if the Steam servers go down? How could I sell the games I buy or let someone borrow it? It seems to "messy", technical, and restricted. The Switch is just simple and amazing.
Yup. You nailed it right on the head. If this is what you're looking for in terms of your own gaming experience, then I'd definitely recommend the Nintendo Switch for you.
Steam servers wont go down for a very long time besides any game that is not online can be played even when steam servers go down, you're just stuck in the past
Thanks! Yeah, there's definitely pros and cons to each handheld. But, I'd be lying to you if I said that I'm not reaching for my Steam Deck over everything else.
Ever since the steam deck came out there have been so many PC die hards claiming you cannot compare the Steam Deck to the Switch and other consoles. I always thought that was very silly, they are clearly very comparable. I think at this point the only people the switch is better for are diehard nintendo fans, and young kids. Definitely will be a little bit hard for young kids to hold the deck, but anyone older than 13 who isn't a complete die hard nintendo fan is better off with a deck imo.
That's definitely something that's worth considering. I personally have been gravitating more and more to the Steam Deck. Unless its a first party title, I'll play it on the Steam Deck.
I personally believe the steam deck is a better value compared due to how accessible the deck is and being able to play PC games with little to no issue. The switch feels so restricting compared to deck
The best part about Deck is that all your games on Steam carry over. No need to rebuy your games. Also it’s only a matter of time before Switch emulators become mature. Then you can even play Switch games on the Deck.
I have a ds game and PS1 game emulated on my phone and resident evil 2 the original and they all run perfect you can emulate on your phones too!!!!! Fiddle with the settings a bit tho for re2 😁
You earn yourself a new subscriber I already have a Steam account because I plan on getting a PC in the future but I just purchased a steam deck for 400 with double the space and I also playing Nintendo switch and many other consuls as well. I just love video games in general. Thanks for the great video.
sold my switch after i picked up the SD OLED, the game library on Steam is out of this world,, im playing prince of perisa WW on my SD,, something i could never do on a switch..i feed like Swtich is like an iphone,, everythig is locked down.. steam deck is like androind,, if you can dream it,, you can do it,, and i have been an android user all my life,,#fkaple..
I’ve used a switch since Christmas after launch, been something I used almost every day, after getting my deck, I’ve only turned on my switch to play a bit of mario odyssey, kart and breath of the wild
The Steam Deck is pretty cool and I’ll be picking one up once they release an OLED model since I game on a 4K OLED TV and have the Switch OLED. It’s hard to go back to gaming on an LCD display after going OLED 😂. That said, one of the reasons I like the Switch is that I can buy physical copies of the games that I like. There’s a real sense of ownership as I can hold it in my hands, lend it to a friend or resell it in the future. Sure the games on Steam are definitely cheaper but I always felt like I don’t really own them since I’m at the mercy of Valve and the Developers or Publishers. They can choose to delist it anytime when licenses expire and there’s nothing I can really do about it. At the end of the day, I feel like I’m just “renting” them since the storefront can just take it away from me whenever need arises.
Oh yeah. I definitely agree with you on that. I'll always prefer to own physical media over digital media. That's why I still have my older consoles and (thankfully) they still work. You nailed it though, I'm always afraid that a publisher or developer will pull something off of the storefront and then we as gamers are screwed.
The switch oled is so pretty with that screen I regot one for 300 of someone and yeah it would be hard to go to an lcd screen and re0 looks so great on it omg the beauty of that game and others and them colors after having lcd tho OLED is too pretty to pass.....but hey I had mp4 with lcd screens and it looked nice the walkman one at the time 😁
I don't even need to watch the full video to state that the steam deck is far superior to the switch, but I still think the switch is better, it's special to me and personally I don't think the steam deck is useful to me as it's just steam run on a larger/bulkier version of the switch. The switch was innovative and unique, the steam deck is just a thicc switch light with optimized games.
I own a switch and was far more impressed with the steam deck running elden ring and reddead 2 and I got emudeck was playing ps1 games and ps2 and game cube I own a xbox series x and a rtx 370ti gameing pc and I was blown away with the steam deck
You're right. The Switch WAS innovative at the time. It was a natural evolution of the Wii U. That was five years ago, and it launched with hardware from 7 years ago. Times has moved on and the hardware needs some form of refresh to keep up, but that doesn't mean that Nintendo cares. They've almost always run on older tech. They don't see the Steam Deck as competition. Like @Gav Rawlinson said, I'm far more impressed with newer games running smoother on the Steam Deck. It's much more than a thick Switch Lite.
@@baldlyrudy agreed, Nintendo should be fine considering the fact that the switch has sold over 114.33 Million Units while the steam deck sold 1 million. Also, valve has no interest in competing with Nintendo considering the fact that they port the portal games on switch.
I just got my OLED and I'm new to switch in general. The controls do not hurt. The only thing I hate is how the thumb sticks are like Xbox vs ps's symmetrical design. I hate holding one thumb higher than the other
Got steam deck for the large amount of travel I do yet I’ve found myself using it more than my desktop pc these days I was looking into the switch but not enough titles that interest me there are some but when the steam deck was announced I placed my preorder and so far as a can tell i definitely made the correct choice
Oh yeah. I can totally understand where you're coming from. Steam Cloud definitely makes the Steam Deck a great companion to a gaming PC. That being said, I've found myself gaming more on the Steam Deck than the PC.
Good content bro. Just recently found you through YT suggested. My daughter has a switch lite. I play the crap out of it and was thinking of getting one or possibly a newer generation switch. Didn’t know steam had a handheld. Decisions decisions 🧐🧐🧐🧐
Thanks bro. Much appreciated! 🙌 The Steam Deck is newer hardware, so there's definitely some perks to that. Nintendo is running on a 7 year old system on a chip, so it's starting to show it's age. That being said, Nintendo is phenomenal when it comes to optimization and hiding blemishes using clever visual tricks (aside from Pokemon.) Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an utter masterpiece. It also depends on the games you want to play. They each have extensive libraries, especially Steam since it spans decades. All in all, get the system that fits what you're wanting to play.
Steam deck is the bridge between PC and console. I am primarily a console player who also has a gaming PC and certain games I like to play on PC. That being said I play my steam deck way more than i play my PS5 or PC. It just feels better. I also believe that all of these reviews miss a HUGE asset that steam has an advantage over any gaming rig or PC and that is steam input with the steam deck controller. You can literally make buttons for your buttons, and what i mean is just by changing a few things you can make 1 button serve a multitude of functions! Lets not forget that your joysticks actually have sensors that know when you touch them and that is a button and four back pad buttons that honestly couldn't have a better placement. Steam deck also has gyro controls and with steam input you can literally aim or move with them. The outside ring of the joysticks is also a button making a run button a thing of the past. Radial menus and action layer sets making the deck literally have a seemingly infinite amount of map able buttons. I could go on forever but my point is steam deck brings the console player to the PC side of the world which unlocks a multitude of titles instead of being limited to a few AAA titles plus console exclusives. Not to mention the thing is an emulation machine in and of itself.. I have both the switch and steam deck and just in sheer content alone steam beats out switch for me.
I would like to buy the Steam Deck. But sadly the game shop (or maybe also the computer shop) has yet to sell them on my country. Meanwhile individuals who do online pre-order for anyone interested sell them twice the price of a Nintendo Switch pro (NS price on my country is $450+, while the 64GB SD is $900+). Not sure if its because of shipping price & for their profit, but that double price tag scares me a lot.
@@baldlyrudy I live in Brunei. Well I guess I'm gonna save up and will wait for either Nintendo rumored new model, or getting the SD. In the meantime, my NS lite will keep me company. 🥲
Oh yeah fun fact about the deck if you're not used to the control scheme and just came from a switch you can change the control scheme to mimic the switch in the settings menu
The fact that I can run a switch emulator on the steam deck tells you everything you need to know. Only a few reasons I could justify a switch over a steam deck.
See, here's the thing. Everyone talks about the battery life without understanding that the switch is an upgraded Gameboy, and the steam deck is a handheld PC with much more power and capability. 😅 they are two completely different beasts!
I find the Steam Deck odd in its current form. It's a big chunky boy that is over the limit for me in terms of portability. It also just chews through its battery and just won't last a day for me when I'm doing bigger commutes or on the road. And as a PC gamer, I already have a PC that's more powerful so have no interest in docking at home. If it were a bit lighter, had a bit better battery, and maybe was a bit slimmer I'd be all in, but right now it's not really winning in any of the categories I'd want a portable second console to compete in. The Switch and the Deck may appear superficially to have similarities, but those fine margins mean that (for me at least) the two consoles don't really have any overlap at all in terms of key functionality.
It's definitely a big chonky boy, that's for sure. In terms of battery, it depends on what you play. I'm able to get 5-7 hours on specific types of games. I get around 2-2.5 hours of battery life playing Death Stranding, to give you an idea. Weight and size aren't that big of a deal to me. I've gotten used to it. I also agree that they don't overlap too much aside from the fact that they're both handhelds from major corporations, but that's why they're being compared at all.
I had a Deck and sold it. Battery for most decent games is too bad. Needs to be plugged which defeats it's portable purpose. It's also huge and heavy. Again taking it on a trip is difficult. And many Steam games can be played but not perfectly without a mouse. The Desktop experience is also not really good. It really depends on your use but for mine the Switch is much better. Yes, games are what they are. But some ports are incredible made, battery lasts constantly longer and it doesn't take much space.
That's understandable. The Steam Deck isn't for everyone. Similar to the Nintendo Switch not being for everyone. The last Nintendo Switch port that blew my mind was Nier Automata. Despite the file size being half the size as it's PS/Xbox counterpart, it feels like the same exact game.
Resolution of the screen. Not the games that are running on them. Those are two different things. But yeah, if it's not 1st party then it'll probably run sub-720p. And even then the Switch may struggle.
I am a pc player, personally I prefer Nintendo switch only because I don’t want to play the same games as I play at home and I want to play the exclusive Nintendo games and for the go the only bad thing in my opinion are the videogames price.
I realize this is a bit older but I have noticed a trend of reviewers saying the switch and steam deck more or less have the same resolution. This is fairly misleading in my opinion as while the hardware of the screen is virtually same in resolution, the actual experience won’t be. The switch often operates below the screen resolution for performance and battery saving reasons. On the steam deck this is a choice. This very functional difference is far more important than simply citing the native resolution of the two screens.
Great review, Rudy. Although, I’d add a few things. If you want more bang for your buck, go with the Steam Deck. Steam’s library of games far surpasses that of the Switch, games are discounted more often, and at higher discounts, and games run a lot better. It’s true that a casual gamer probably won’t care much about performance per se but it does matter when you feel the difference between 60 fps and 30 fps. Even a casual gamer would feel the difference. As you also mentioned, the customisation and modding possibilities of the Deck are also more extensive. The Switch, for me, and I do have one, is solely for playing Nintendo exclusives. Considering how overpriced they are though, emulating Switch games on the Deck would be a better option. Hopefully, we’ll get that soon. Again, great video. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Thanks! Much appreciated. I also play Nintendo exclusives on my Switch, but play other games on other hardware it really depends on where I'm at and the ecosystem. Not all my friends are on the same platform.
I’ve said this for years, owning a switch is more expensive than owning any other console. Why? Bc even tho entry is cheaper with the system, the games that matter rarely if ever truly fall in price. Freaking Mario odyssey, kart 8, and BOTW are still $60 MSRP. SCREW Nintendo and their Nintendo tax
I am a bit confused between the steam deck and nintendo switch. I am busy working and want to play some games, which is not too hard .I am a bit confuses witch device is good for me.
You can tweak the settings this generation to extend the battery life. Valve said the main two things they want to improve with the next iteration are the screen and battery life.
I feel like the battery life has improved on Steam deck I just got mine 3 days ago an I'm playing Skyrim and kingdoms of Amalur Re:reckong and getting 5-6 hours of battery life on high settings with 75 percent screen 50-75 percent brightness.
Having both consoles, I can say that for myself and many others, the Steam Deck is the Switch that we all wanted and deserved - to the point that Deck has permanently supplanted the Switch. Yes, there is value in having both, but for absolutely no money, you can play much more of Nintendo's library (virtually the ENTIRE library) on the Steam Deck than you ever could on the Switch. And this includes running Switch games - in many cases, better than they run on the actual Switch! Not only are Switch games more expensive, less prone to sales and much more limited in scope (and visuals/framerate) than the Deck, but Nintendo's idea of people preserving their old games is forcing their most loyal customers to pay a monthly subscription to have access to a subset of their favorite retro titles; games that they have likely already paid for! Nintendo demands that its fans pay for their favorite games not just once, but multiple times - and then once it releases a new console, the games that they purchased for the previous console don't follow them onto the new one, so they are forced to pay for their retro games yet again if they want to keep playing them on new hardware. This is anti-consumerism at its worst. By contrast, purchasing a game once on PC is all that is required to play it on Steam Deck or any other computer. And for retro games, they can be had for free, especially if you dump your own ROMs. You can play your entire pre-8th generation library of games across virtually all platforms on the go thanks to the Steam Deck. Were people doing exactly this with their gaming laptops prior to the Deck? Absolutely! I was one of those people. But now my library can be played anywhere I go without an outlet and flat surface. Nonetheless, I do think that the Switch and Deck are targeting two different audiences. The Switch is targeting unsuspecting children and families that just want to play games at whatever price, while the Deck is targeting everyone that is sick and tired of the shenanigans of greedy gaming corporations persistently pressing their thumbs on gamers. Could Valve decide to become the next gaming company to join the anti-buyer fray? It certainly could. Right now, the existence of the Steam Deck shows that Valve is firmly committed to consumers - for that reason alone, the Steam Deck is a much better purchase for gamers. Then when factoring the pure value that the Steam Deck provides to gamers per dollar and the freedom of choice of everything from its OS, game use and other free customization options, it is quite clear that the Deck is indeed the Switch's wasted potential.
I have a switch since 2017, the vent is making a lot of noise and I was wondering do I buy an oled or a steamdeck and try to change the vent when it will be broken ? I bought an oled because I could buy it in 4x and you can do that on steam you have to pay 419€ at once and I just couldn't pay that much at once but maybe someday I'll get a steamdeck. And my son is really happy with my 2017's switch.
It sounds like the fan needs to be replaced on your 2017 Switch. I haven't done that on a Switch yet, but I'd assume that the process isn't super complex and simply plug and play. Definitely work a go before buying anything else if you're willing to tinker with it.
I'm planning to get me an Steam Deck 512 GB + 1.5 micro SD card and Nintendo Switch OLED Pokemon Edition+ 1.5 TB as I prefer both my Nintendo Switch & Steam Deck being exclusively digital to me. 👍🤠👍
Here's why the steamdeck is crap. "This item is not available for purchase in your region". Fuck! You say you're the most powerful hand held gaming device but does crap for me. So my only option is shady af third party sellers that charges you double the price of switch. Think about that for a second
That's not a "Steam Deck is crap" problem, that's more of a Valve problem. The handheld is great, but I do agree that it should be more widely available this late in its life cycle.
A few things that I consider the Steam Deck to be an improvement of: 1- games are cheaper, the main Nintendo games hardly get any sales and discounts and when they do it's only a few bucks, a 5 year old game shouldn't still cost $60. 2- paying for online play and online backups is trash tier, subscriptions for access to a growing number of retro games I'm fine with, but if I want to play online with my friends it's shouldn't cost anything. 3- even Nintendo developed games have a tough time running at a consistent frame rate and offer no options to reduce the frame caps so they can at least hold a consistent 30 instead of overreaching for 60.
Hey! Extremely easily. You just need a dock to do it (similar to the Switch.) The feed goes through HDMI and you're pretty much set. The system should automatically switch to 1080, but if it doesn't, then you could change it in the settings. The platform as a whole is very customizable.
something nobody seems to mention. if you look the steamdeck at 30FPS you may get 3-5 Hours of battery life depending on the game. Got 3.5 Hours playing Monster Hunter World
Messing with my steam deck and owning a PC. I kind of appreciate how much the deck feels like a great compliment device. Even if I had an Xbox or PS5, I could stream my games to my steam deck when I’m away from my room while taking care of the pup. I also love the open nature of the device. It’s become my go to for indies. Not to mention with climbing GPU prices. I can always keep my PC library in some form. I don’t mind the performance sacrifices because I still have my desktop if that becomes more important to me.
Agreed! The open nature of the Steam Deck definitely makes it much more useable. You can install all sorts of launchers and platforms for PC on there. There are definitely some performance sacrifices that are needed to be taken into account, but there are very few things that really bother me with the size of the screen and the options that are available with games.
@baldlyrudy I game on the ps5 but im really thinking about getting this for on the go gaming is it as simple as downloading a game from the playstation store and will it be ready to play once downloaded or will you have to make adjustments if so or the adjustments hard I'm really not the tech savvy with pc and computers and thanks for the reply
Both are technically susceptible to drift since they both use potentiometer based sticks. Nintendo's is much more prevalent, of course. I have Hall sensing joysticks for both though.
I really like the idea that I can use already bought PC games and run them while lying on the bed, but I'm worried about reviews of poor battery life on Stam deck. An hour and a half - Is it so bad?
For me the most important thing about a hand held is the battery and unfortunately the steam deck's battery is mediocre at best which just defeats the purpose of being a portable device. Yes, you can play more games that requiere more power like elden ring but not for too long before the battery dies. It's a trade off that you are either willing to accept or not and for me an hour of gaming on a portable device is simply not enough. I think if the battery gets improved to around 3 or more hours for all or most games then the steam deck definitely becomes more attractive as a hand held/ portable console but as it stands right now I'd go for the switch simply due to the battery life and the great games on the system. It just comes down to a matter of preference regarding what you value more.
The battery time depends on the games you're running. And I would say that applies to the switch if it's running graphically intense games as well. If both systems run the Witcher 3 you can get 4hrs on steam deck compared to 2.5 to 3 hrs on the switch. This is just an example but with the steam deck you get way more in terms of options and all round freedom. So your battery issue is really a non issue. And if you do want to say the battery run time on the steam deck for a game like Elden Ring is not as good. I'd say it's better than most handhelds that can run it. Probably the best handheld at running it.
@@lima6441 Please refrain from telling other people what is and isn't an issue. What might be an issue for you might not be for me and vice versa. I am not the only person who has the same reservations when it comes to the steam deck. Another issue is also the portability. A switch light is way easier to carry around than a steam deck. This is another trade off between the systems that just comes down to preference as well. I'm surprised you got a heart from this channel. It just goes to show the bias towards the steam deck I guess since I believe my concerns are reasonable and I indicated that if the system would increase it's battery life it would definitely become a more attractive hand held device for me and I know I'm not alone in this.
@@kenethernandez6246 I have both systems and I don't think that there should be loyalty to a brand to the extent that we defend a poor product. To the brand we are nothing more than a $ and what they should be is the producer of a product or service. In my humble opinion the overall better product is the Deck and Steam is a better service.
@@lima6441 Perfectly fine with you thinking that. Just don't apply your personal preferences onto me while telling me that my personal reservations regarding the steam deck are non issues. Like I said, there are trade offs with both systems and it comes down to personal preferences and what people value the most.
I really appreciated this video because I've been pooped on by hard care PC gamer snobs for buying a Switch Lite without them taking note of my personal situation. I'm a casual gamer at best. I didn't want to spend a ton of money, and if my 4 year old daughter wants to start playing video games in a few years, I think the Switch is a great entry level console to get started on. I thinking handing down a Steam deck to a child would be like handing the keys of a Mustang GT to a beginner driver, just so silly. Let them learn the ropes first. Personally, I'm waiting to see what Microsoft does in a year or so with the handheld market. If they choose not to enter the market, then I know the Steam Deck exists and might upgrade!
I really appreciate this comment. As a dad, I can understand where you're coming from. I also am curious to see how Microsoft is going to handle the resurgence of the handheld market.
Sold my switch after owning a stream deck. Only thing switch has going for it is oled screen and that's it. You can also play all switch games on Steam deck
I own both and I would pick the Switch Oled any day. Most people comparing the switch to the deck are comparing it with the og switch. The oled switch makes a huge difference. The screen is so damn good you just want to keep staring at it. Absolutely beautiful device.
@@baldlyrudy Steam Deck probably has the worst touch screen on any handhelds. I'm surprised no one talks about this. The on-screen keyboard is painfully laggy.
Steam Deck feels like a cross between a budget gaming laptop and a handheld, while Switch feels like a cross between a budget gaming console and a handheld. And like the dichotomy between gaming laptops and gaming consoles, the Steam Deck is way more in-line with the open-source ideals expected of PCs, compared to the Switch's more traditional closed down ecosystem expected of consoles. Even though Nintendo hasn't been interested in the PC gaming market that much, I hope this spurs them to release a dedicated emulator-focused device that can emulate ALL of their older consoles and titles... I imagine the nostalgia factor alone with ensure the success of something like that
@@baldlyrudy you misunderstood my question. I pay to be able to download games from the catalog in PlayStation. How much does a subscription cost for Steam Deck or it cost nothing and you only pay for individual game?
Ah. Sorry about that. A Steam Account is free. You don't pay a monthly subscription. Once you buy the game, you can play it online (given an internet connection) or offline.
Nothing wrong with that. I wonder how all that will go. I know they're working on a revision, but I wonder how it'll go. Or how improved the battery will be.
I get your point about the oled, but I don't think it needs to be any slimmer. It's really a lot more comfortable than it looks. I even put a protective case on mine, which made it a little thicker, and it feels great.
@@kevinmitchell766 100% correct (at least for me.) The Steam Deck feels amazing in my hands and I can play for long periods of time without my hands feeling tired.
The name at face value means something else to me. Maybe it's my work background that has my brain wired that way, but I immediately saw it being proposed as a "competing force." Lol
@@baldlyrudy I'm sure it is at least a competing force though. I have little doubt that a not insignificant amount of people have been driven to get Deck-like handhelds rather than Nintendo handhelds in the future. For me personally, I bought a GPD Win in 2016 and that's the biggest reason I never had a Switch despite having owned every Nintendo handheld before that, as well as a PSP. To be fair, Nintend's blunders, anti-consumer moves and paid online certainly didn't help, but still.
@@Thornskade Ooof. Don't even get me started on the many backwards decisions that Nintendo takes on the standards of gaming overall. I've never owned a GDP anything, but have been aware of them. Maybe a future video idea? My whole point is that they target two different audiences of people with some overlap. I don't think that either of them necessarily care per say, but we'll see what happens in the future. Regardless, the tech is hype! I'm glad that something is pushing the tech, handhelds, and everything else forward.
@@baldlyrudy Oh, I'm still feeling the hype almost a year later and I can't even hold my finger on why that is exactly. I look up updates and news for it almost daily, I've never done that with any kind of hardware before I think it's just the fact that it's a tightly integrated system with its own custom-tailored OS and everything at a low price like a console, and yet it's an open platform and plays PC games. Feels like it's breaking the black and white thinking where you seemingly couldn't have a PC operate like a console out of the box without it being locked down. And then there's also the fact that they're like "by the way, here's your fps and performance overlay, here's your power settings, all ready to go out of the box and accessible from the options button", that's such a fresh feel, too
@@Thornskade Yes! It's absolutely mindblowing at the options that are available to us. And I do agree with your second paragraph. It definitely blurs the lines a bit, and I'm all for it. I like it. I'm just glad that this exists and it seems like a great community to be in.
I think it's really, really simple. If you want something portable and you're a fan of playing almost anything anywhere and the freedom of almost any game, and maybe you don't have a PC and don't want a gaming laptop, get the Steam Deck. If you're a Nintendo or "retro" fan and want something different to the normal AAA games and can't be bothered with PC emulating, which doesn't always work, get the OLED Switch. If you HAVE a Switch already and it's not the OLED, don't upgrade as the jump isn't "worth it" really, and Nintendo are bound to release new hardware within the next 2 years or so but that will go OOS everywhere in seconds so...don't expect to get one whatever it may be. If you're a PC player and want Nintendo games on the go and play them now and again, get an OLED Switch as they can be grabbed basically brand new for barely £230 or $250. But the games are EXPENSIVE. Yo. Breath of the Wild is 5 years old and goes for like 40 bucks still, even used. BotW is £40 USED, USED, and the new Zelda releases in a few weeks for £55. Whereas games on PC are cheaper or "free" or heavily discounted. Nintendo stuff is an investment like a good quality car - they hold their value over time. So the Steam Deck is more expensive but cheaper to play, the Switch is cheaper to buy but more expensive to play, but you also get the TV dock so...yeah.
I will be travelling a lot and due to this factor I am looking to get one of these two. I’ve been looking in advance regarding every possible aspect and I still can’t decide what should I choose. Half of me already knows that after 2-3 months I will get bored of switch due to the E-shop, but also getting a Steamdeck is kinda the same situation as you would get a Nintendo Light isn’t it? If one button is fucked, well that’s it.
AFAIK, the Steam Deck is much easier to repair in comparison to the Nintendo Switch, but I haven't had a reason to open it up aside from me wanting to upgrade the joysticks to Hall sensing ones. In terms of what their respective shops can offer, Steam is the clear winner. They have decades of games in the store available for purchase, you can load other clients (GOG, Epic Games, etc.) Also emulation is a thing to consider. It all depends on how and what you want to game.
@@baldlyrudy Thanks for your response. I think I will look in advance to get a Steamdeck just to clear my mind out. The problem is the only version I can afford would deffo be the cheapest one for 64 gb. Do you think is it worth buying that and in the future maybe getting an extra ssd card? Or maybe just go for an extra mile and buy the second version with 256 gb?
No worries. I've played games on both the SSD and an A2 microSD and they both seem to run fine. If you're alright with opening up your Steam Deck, you can always upgrade the SSD yourself later on.
@@hokageeq I haven't touched my switch since I got my steam deck. The game selection, without even mentioning emulation, is what really stands out to me between the two devices. If you are going to be commuting a lot, the switch may be better because the battery life is substantially better. Both are great devices though aimed at two similar yet different demographics.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
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The witcher 3 ultimate edition price :
-steam 5$
-switch 60$
Preeeeetty much.
Modded Oled switch, free
@@MrRovoLova as if most switch users would mod it
Game resell value:
Steam : sell whole account
Switch : 80% from brand new cartridge
@@MrRovoLova regular steam deck also free
Being a person who has only ever played on console, I love the steam deck. It has completely saved gaming for me In someways now that I have little free time due to college. My girlfriend has a switch and it’s pretty fun too. I don’t think you can go wrong with either, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to sit down at a TV or computer.
Oh yeah. There are definitely pros and cons to both platforms. Both are great for taking gaming on the go.
Yup well put dude 😁
Both are great and have alot of games discount and free games
@@aqwsderxz 🤔 true
I sold my switch because I’m sick and tired of paying the Nintendo tax steam has more games and better deals free online. A more open platform the Nintendo Switch is a uncomfortable system to hold for a long period of time. Valve did it the right way somethings need to be approved but I happy with my deck.
All I'm seeing is Fact's
Yup. I'm definitely happy with my Steam Deck and have been playing more and more titles on there.
The only Nintendo system that can't be replaced in a way is the n3ds between all the native emulation with,snes,gba,gb/gbc then there's no answer to the 2 screens and battery life, love my deck tho. I find it funny Nintendo made a online service for something the new 3dsxl could do by itself years ago lmao corporate Nintendo sucks
@@sp0re8900 There are ways to emulate it (I'm looking at Citra), but it's not the same as playing it natively. The design of the handheld alone makes it difficult to replicate that feeling. The Steam Deck can handle two screens though. For me, it's a bit of a pain, but doable. My assumption is that 3DS is also doable in the same fashion.
www.pcmag.com/news/your-steam-deck-can-now-double-as-a-wii-u-gamepad
🤣 ah dude why would you sell your switch I'd keep it around just in case or as a backup in case your deck get messed up somehow
I've been looking at the steam deck more and more lately. As someone that travels for work a LOT (3 to 4 days a week for several weeks at times) it looks very nice. I often take my laptop with me for gaming when I'm sitting in a hotel in the evening but I find myself often not wanting to take the time to set it all up each night and pack it all up again in the morning. Having something to play all my steam games that I can just pick up and use is becoming a very attractive offer. Plus the price for the base model, which I can upgrade myself for storage, is almost unbelievable (only about 50 more bucks than a switch). Now that Nintendo has basically come out and said no new switch this year I think it's time to bite the bullet on the steam deck
Get it dude. It's definitely worth the price as well. As someone that travels a lot for my day job, I highly recommend it.
Steam deck is double the price and its really heavy, big too so its a no no, after all i just want to play some casual games so nintendo fits better for me, and its smalled and the joy cons are very cool
Honestly I think valve hit a home run with the steam deck. Although there are similar options with better graphics cards, they are double the price. Also the ease to repair the steam deck is also awesome most repairs are a couple screws and a drop in replacement part. I’m hoping that in the future you are able to upgrade the graphics card to keep up with newer and next gen games
I agree! The form factor, performance, and library of games are exactly what I want as an older than typical gamer. 😅
I’m sure u can bro I’m sure u can
The GFX is an APU last I checked, so it's integrated into the AIO on the MB. Now an upgrade which would be of greater interest is a better battery.
Totally agree. We (wife, myself, daughter) bought three of the things and use them constantly. So nice not having to buy a ton of games I already own for my gaming laptop.
But look at steam deck sales lol
That point you made in the end saying how it can’t be in competition with the switch until it’s in stores, was a real eye opener. You literally have to be a steam gamer to go and buy a steam deck from steam itself, while Nintendo has their switch in stores for all to see. Great vid my man appreciate the content.
Thanks! I may have gone at it from a real marketing/advertising/business-y point of view, but it's definitely something that I felt needed to be discussed. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. 🙌
I do like the Steam Deck, Valve are leaving money on the table by not marketing or distributing the Deck with the same means as Nintendo, still Valve know their audience. I think the Deck is good for people who want to play PC games without paying thousands for a rig.
It would be interesting to see the Deck compete against the Switch in stores, at the same time quietly marketing the Deck (and Gabe giving IGN an interview) is probably keeping the price of the Steam Deck nice and low.
I think Valve was a bit surprised at how well the Steam Deck sold so far. I believe they said themselves that they didn't expect it to be as big of a success as it is. This is especially in comparison to the rest of Steams hardware offerings.
If Steam actually put the Steam Deck in stores next to Switch units, I wonder how it would go in terms of sales.
@@baldlyrudy I don't think their will be much different in terms of sale to be honest. Apart from the handheld perspective, both the switch and steam deck serves different purpose. If you are a serious gamer and want to play some big triple A titles on handheld or on the go, steam is the one to pick. On the other hand, the switch can be play together as a family and have nintendo exclusives which people will buy the switch for that. Also the nintendo lovers or fan boy will buy their collector items as well. Myself has PC and PS5 but i also play on the switch alot because it have games like Zelda, Xenoblade and Fire Emblem that other platform don't have.
@@badboy250984 are you talking about sales in terms of units sold? Because of that's the case then you're way off. Nintendo is a household name. Like you said, the whole family can have fun with Nintendo's offerings. That isn't the same with Steam for most families.
@@baldlyrudy When I said not much different, I actually means the Steam deck probably won't affect the switch sales and vice visa for the steam deck as well. Casual gamers will probably pick up the switch or they rather spend the money on the like of playstation and xbox.
@@badboy250984 Ah. Gotcha. Yeah. I talk about that around 10:28.
I’ve just gotta say, for a small channel I’ve never heard of, your production value is AMAZING!
Thanks! I've got a little bit of experience holding a camera. 😅
The best combo you can have is to have both consoles. I love both my Switch OLED as well as my Steam Deck OLED.
Great review, Rudy. I’m not a PC gamer myself, but I’m excited to see competition for the Switch (whether it’s direct or not at this point) arising for the sake of the free market and, in turn, us consumers.
Hope you had a great Christmas and are doing well!
Thanks Rich! Agreed. Competition is good and healthy. In the end, the consumers (us) end up winning.
I had a great time hanging out with family and friends. Hope all is well for you and everyone else!
Glad to hear it. Thanks, friend!
It’s a direct competitor by nature like Amazon is to Bestbuy, the only difference is time.
A big thing you missed is the price of Switch games - they are very high and rarely drop by much or anything, even during the infrequent sales. You're locked into not just buying only ftom Nintendo's store, but if you want to play a game on the Switch that's already in your Steam library, you'll have to re-purchase it, usually at a much higher price.
The value for money of the Switch is extremely low for me: weak hardware, monopolistic and very expensive e-store, you have to pay to play online, it has limited game library compared to Steam (which has far more "family-friendly" titles than the Switch will ever have) and uncomfortable/limited controls. It's quite embarrassing that the Deck can play far more Nintendo games (including Switch games) than the Switch itself can - that alone should tell you what a poor purchase a Switch is nowadays.
Ah. That is very true. You make a solid point. The first party titles very rarely drop in price and that "Switch Tax" of ports is quite annoying and not worth it. Third party titles I end up getting on Steam or PS5. XBGP on my Series S or PC as well.
Wut? More family friendly titles on steamdeck?
Nintendo is the definition of family friendly lol
Honestly, there's value in having both the Switch and Deck.
My wife got me hooked on the Switch years ago, which has seen 100x more use over the past 3 years than my old gaming PC due to its portability. It also helps that it predates the Deck, and just so happens to have a lot of exclusives our family enjoys.
Meanwhile, the Deck offers a wide selection of PC games we can take on the go as well, and honestly we're pretty tired of having to lug around a tower PC between rooms; but, it's battery can be atrocious at times. Considering we're always moving about, having 4 Deck Docs is incredibly handy and can bring the PC into any room of the house, with a spare to be used while traveling.
In the end it all comes down to budget.
If you have a 15+ year old steam library, the Deck is a no brainer.
If you're newer to games like my wife was, the Switch OLED is a great pickup with quirky games, and makes a great entry point for beginners.
If you want heavy hitters like Elden Ring, Mass Effect, or even a modded Skyrim, the way to go is the Steam Deck with a bit of know-how.
If you want a bit of everything, then the cheapest Steam Deck paired with a Switch Lite will get you everything you'd want, minus PS5 exclusives.
Exactly. Each of them have their pros and cons. And it really does depend on what the individual is into.
Nice comment sir. Im new to this handheld. I just bought my oled. I love it since its fully hybrid. But if i want more definitely wont go for another handheld or sd. Will go for ps5 or xbox x. Just my opinion. Tls again sir.
You can play switch games on the steam deck with some wizardry
It’s called emulation
What if we don't want to pay 400 dolars for each console? Deck is better in every way...
Thanks for the video man! I been checking the steam deck out and alot of the reviews aren't as specific as yours was appreciate it!
Thank you! Did you already order one?
Sold my switch oled. Bought it 2 months ago and had no clue steam deck existed until literally a week ago.
I hadn't bought a handheld since the original PSP before the Steam Deck. To me, it's easy to use, and as a PC gamer, having access to most of a library of games I've already bought made it a no-brainer. I'd recommend it to anybody with a big Steam library.
Found this video at the perfect time. My friend bought a Steam Deck for me for Christmas and because I’m so excited for it, I’ve been watching RUclips videos about it to soak in all kinds of info about it while I wait for it to arrive in the mail. I already have a Switch OLED but for whatever reason I find myself getting bored of it quickly. I used to have a gaming PC and on my Steam account I own 667 games but when I gave away my PC, I lost access to all those games. At least I know that when the Steam Deck comes I don’t have to worry about having games to play.
The Steak Deck is great! You're going to love it dude. Even with the few issues that I brought up in the video, none of them really affect me to the point that I'm unhappy with the purchase.
Is that really a friend or more than a friend xD
@@linerangersjusticebrown6225 He’s just a good friend from work. Really nice guy.
@@Angelus13AOV he is into you
@@linerangersjusticebrown6225 😒No. I’m sure you’re just joking but you do realize that sometimes friends do nice things for a each other. I once bought a friend a PS4 because they couldn’t afford one.
Wii emulation is something I wasn't expecting to use on the steam deck but it works so well!
I was honestly really surprised at how well WindWaker HD runs.
I got a Steam Deck bc I love handheld gaming and I am growing tired of the hardware limitations of the Switch. That said, I am also a casual gamer, so the Switch still gets the vast majority of my time. It’s nice to have the option to buy games on both platforms, often it’s much cheaper on Steam.
Oh yeah. Definitely understand where you're coming. I have both and have been gravitating more and more to the Steam Deck. That being said, first party titles feel right at home on the Switch.
I got a switch and i hated that games hardly went on sale. Steam always has sales. I also hated having to choose to buy a game on the Switch or Steam. For instance Personal 5 Royal. I wanted it Portable but also on Steam. When i bough it for the switch i didn't have a steam deck. But now i bought a steam deck I'm regretting buying Royal for the Switch. Now if i want Royal its 55 dollars Canadian on sale on steam if it gose's on sale again.
Where do you buy the Steam Deck?
@@teacherg28 Try Steam....
On the steam deck for you need to buy games or are they free?
bruh, how can u only have 2.2k subscribers? here, take mine. Your channel is super underrated. Should be recognized more
Thanks bro! Appreciate the support. 🙌
sold my gaming computer when I got the deck, I don't even drain the battery fully to notice the smaller battery life, I only get a quick hour on before my kids get home, then put it on charge and play a bit before bed
That's kind of what I've been doing. I've been chipping away at games on the Steam Deck that would've taken me much longer to get through on a regular PC. I'm glad that I got it.
I totally agree with most comments. Steam made a great platform and I wish the next Switch will learn from steam. Obviously Switch always lasts much longer in terms of battery- 7-8h but Steam deck only lasting 1h for taxing games is terrible for a handheld. The main thing for Switch - it has the best motion controls out there. Being able to move both hands separately for motion controls is far superior to having to move the whole device with both hands-thus moving the screen and making good aiming impossible. Also, Switch has the best exclusives among PlayStation and Xbox. So there is a lot of value there, but the power difference of a device from 2015 vs 2022 is clear. On another hand, SD has more flexible system and might be better for downloading diverse software. As an adult gamer I prefer Switch because it has more pure fun and unique gaming experiences- there is still no more fun racing game than Mario Kart, Smash Bros is also a blast, Breath of the Wild is now my favorite adventure rpg with the best physics out there, and game like Astral Chain has the best fighting system among any Heck and Slash games out there. I guess I wish the Switch was more powerful, but it has some exceptional games the competition doesn’t.
You can play switch exclusives on steam deck with better fps and resolution, it's hard to justify buying a switch
@@Joshua-by4dc I don’t want to say you’re wrong, but Dolphin has been canceled on steam, and there is no rom that would emulate recent Switch exclusives better than Switch-unless you show me a link with reference. The only Nintendo games working on Steam might be some games from Wii U-which was easily hacked, but not Switch.
@@Joshua-by4dc just curious how you gonna get better resolution on steam deck if the screen has the same HD resolution as switch?
Although more powerful, the Steam Deck doesn’t offer the seamless Switch like experience when switching between handheld and docked. The Steam Deck does offer a quick resume feature, but it only works well in handheld mode. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate well when switching to an external display. While playing a game, if you try to switch between handheld and docked, the Steam Deck doesn’t automatically change its 800p resolution to whatever resolution your monitor supports. If your TV supports higher resolutions, like most displays, it will leave black bars on the top, bottom, and sides of your screen. The only way around this, is to quit the game, restart, and then the Steam Deck adopts to your monitors resolution. This is undesirable because it ruins the quick resume feature, forcing the player to rely on save points when switching displays. Because of this, I only view the Steam Deck as a portable console only, and it cannot be compared to the Nintendo Switch.
Actually it can be totally compared to the Nintendo switch, steam deck have some con and the switch have some pros, and it's totally normal in a comparison. In my person opinion, the steam deck cons that you pointed, become really silly when you take into the account, all the steam deck pros over the switch, it's more powerful, it runs the switch games better there than switch, it runs games in general better either, the number of games that runs officially on the steam deck is over the double than the switch, of you take the account the total number of games that run officially and unofficially on steam deck the number is insane, the controller in steam deck is far superior and it's not so expansive considering what it's offer
A steam deck/OLED switch combination is very appealing. Possibly combined with a raspberry pi. I have 20 consoles - and they’re nice things to own and display, but it takes up so much space….I am thinking about selling them and switching to a more modern setup like this
I've always been a big Nintendo guy, grew up with SNES and N64, and I've bought every console they've put out since. I'm also a big PC gamer, I have a large steam library, and hold that the best version of most games are the PC version. I own a Switch, I don't own a Steam Deck yet, though I've used my brother in law's a little bit. I would love to get a Steam Deck eventually. That said, I would never not have Nintendo's current console because of their exclusive games. Nintendo Switch also has one big selling point for me over the Steam Deck: local multiplayer. Even undocked, the Switch can be easily played in multiplayer using the joycons that you have with you anyway. More Nintendo Switch games support local multiplayer (Nintendo exclusives almost always have some form of multiplayer, but even third party games sometimes will have a local multiplayer option on Switch that it doesn't on PC ie Diablo III), and the system is tailored for it. With local multiplayer dying on other consoles, Nintendo really is the last bastion of local multiplayer.
Switch: 1: Zelda BOTW & TOTK, ZELDA LINKS’s AWAKENING
2: Metroid Prime Remastered & Metroid Prime Dread
3: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3
4: Bayonetta 1,2,3 & 4
5:all Kirby Games
6: Resident Evil 0,1,5, & 6 and Revelations 1&2
7:Paper Mario Origami King & Paper Mario Thousand’s Year Door and Mario Odyssey, Mario Rabbids 1 & 2
8: Pokemon Arceus & Sword and Shield
9: Animal Crossing New Horizon
10: Marvel vs Capcom and Street Fighters
So what i get from here is that steam deck is a handheld PC, but to effectively use it you need to have previous steam games and basically a PC gamer unlike the switch?? Correct me if im wrong on some of this things but i’ve never owned a PC so im buying the switch
@@Ares_pb I just bought the Switch for this reason. I can’t deal with tweaking the graphics and emulating on the Steam Deck…like, what?? I don’t know how to use a PC. Plus I want Nintendo games and I will not pirate games. Also I read you can get a virus on Steam deck just like on a computer.
For the antiglare screen, maglass sells a screen protector that's basically the same. I bought a 64 gb model, 1tb ssd, and the screen protector for cheaper than a 512 model
Nice! Yeah. I want to get the anti glare screen protector. I also need a second microSD card. The one that I have I'm using with the EmuDeck.
One thing that's annoyed me is between the comparison videos of the 512 and the other 2 they never put a showcase of anti glare protectors alongside. But I've heard from a few videos that it's not quite as good as the etched glass regardless and that's coming from people with both models to compare. Just wish they'd show the comparison on the videos because I really need good anti glare as the UK either gets direct sunlight or a white cloud ridden sky that lights up like supermarket ceiling lights off of reflective surfaces.
I see the switch as a bonus console if you have the money and if you want it. If I had to choose either or I’d choose the steam deck cause I’d simply get more use out of it. However I plan on getting both.
Great video bud just watched on my OLED Switch whenever I’d watch a Switch related video on YT with my Switch feels absolutely the right way than on my Phone imo..
Thanks bud! 🙌
There's poetry in that comment.
You can say whatever you want, but the steam deck being able to emulate the nintendo switch without compromising much does makes the very definition of a switch killer. The only two main issues are the battery life (solvable by carrying a couple of powerbanks, and will be fixed on the later steamdeck revisions) and the lack of true online play, although the later one will be solved once private servers are (eventually) made. Games that aren't compatible at the start eventually start to get supported and others that don't receive any attention probably have a better version on pc anyways, and that is the important thing, on the steam deck you have complete access to the fountain of gaming, with barely anything holding you back, can't say anything about the switch either, because if you mod it you also lose the online play, not that it can do much else even if is modded.
They said the reason they never had diffrent screens or even colors at launch. They wasnt sure if people would pick up the deck. But it was way past there expectations. Now there talking about a steam deck 2 and might bring new decks every 2 years.
I just wish performance would be another priority for them. The reliability of Valve with the performance of GPD or Aya would be amazing.
With the way its been selling, I hope that the next version of the Steam Deck has improvements that are worth it. That being said, if we get a performance boost, then I'd be happy as well.
I'm not a tech nerd, I just want to shove a game in and play. This is why I love The Switch, I don't know what "moding" or "emulating" entails. I just want to go to Coffee shop or Bar and run Mario Kart 8 over drinks with the boys in table top mode and run Tears of the Kingdom at home. A handheld that is bigger and fatter than a Saga Game Gear and doesn't have removable 2 in 1 controllers doesn't appeal to me. I like sleek and versatile.
Also, I don't want the thing to crap out after an hour or two, I want the thing to at least last a long plane ride. Also, I like physical copies. Me and my daughter like to let each other borrow our games, and resell value in the future matters. What if the Steam servers go down? How could I sell the games I buy or let someone borrow it? It seems to "messy", technical, and restricted. The Switch is just simple and amazing.
Yup. You nailed it right on the head. If this is what you're looking for in terms of your own gaming experience, then I'd definitely recommend the Nintendo Switch for you.
Steam servers wont go down for a very long time besides any game that is not online can be played even when steam servers go down, you're just stuck in the past
Great breakdown. I went in thinking it would be a no contest in the Deck's favor but depends on the target demographic as you say 😊
Thanks! Yeah, there's definitely pros and cons to each handheld. But, I'd be lying to you if I said that I'm not reaching for my Steam Deck over everything else.
Nice video. You really well know differences between two platform!
Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun testing it all out.
Ever since the steam deck came out there have been so many PC die hards claiming you cannot compare the Steam Deck to the Switch and other consoles. I always thought that was very silly, they are clearly very comparable. I think at this point the only people the switch is better for are diehard nintendo fans, and young kids. Definitely will be a little bit hard for young kids to hold the deck, but anyone older than 13 who isn't a complete die hard nintendo fan is better off with a deck imo.
That's definitely something that's worth considering. I personally have been gravitating more and more to the Steam Deck. Unless its a first party title, I'll play it on the Steam Deck.
I personally believe the steam deck is a better value compared due to how accessible the deck is and being able to play PC games with little to no issue. The switch feels so restricting compared to deck
The best part about Deck is that all your games on Steam carry over. No need to rebuy your games. Also it’s only a matter of time before Switch emulators become mature. Then you can even play Switch games on the Deck.
This is great mu friend. You are finally booming !
Haha! Thanks man. Much appreciated. 🙌
@@baldlyrudy Anytime man. No, literally its my pleasure
Emulation is amazing on the steam deck. Game boy advance games have never looked better 👍
Agreed! The Steam Deck is the emulation darling at the moment.
Oh they have been looking better for a long time alright, check out the Anbernic RG552 screen.
I have a ds game and PS1 game emulated on my phone and resident evil 2 the original and they all run perfect you can emulate on your phones too!!!!! Fiddle with the settings a bit tho for re2 😁
Game boy advance games look better on a modded Oled switch
@@MrRovoLova yea bro they look so good on a 16:9 screen. Those black bars take the experience to the next level. /s
You earn yourself a new subscriber I already have a Steam account because I plan on getting a PC in the future but I just purchased a steam deck for 400 with double the space and I also playing Nintendo switch and many other consuls as well. I just love video games in general. Thanks for the great video.
sold my switch after i picked up the SD OLED, the game library on Steam is out of this world,, im playing prince of perisa WW on my SD,, something i could never do on a switch..i feed like Swtich is like an iphone,, everythig is locked down.. steam deck is like androind,, if you can dream it,, you can do it,, and i have been an android user all my life,,#fkaple..
I’ve used a switch since Christmas after launch, been something I used almost every day, after getting my deck, I’ve only turned on my switch to play a bit of mario odyssey, kart and breath of the wild
Makes sense. That's pretty much how I've been gaming lately.
It is amazing, I grew up with the game gear, Lynx, PC GT handheld. Back then I couldn’t wait for the future of hand helds ✌️
Seriously! There is so much potential here. I hope Valve keeps at it.
Now its time for Switch 2 vs Steam Deck
The Steam Deck is pretty cool and I’ll be picking one up once they release an OLED model since I game on a 4K OLED TV and have the Switch OLED. It’s hard to go back to gaming on an LCD display after going OLED 😂. That said, one of the reasons I like the Switch is that I can buy physical copies of the games that I like. There’s a real sense of ownership as I can hold it in my hands, lend it to a friend or resell it in the future. Sure the games on Steam are definitely cheaper but I always felt like I don’t really own them since I’m at the mercy of Valve and the Developers or Publishers. They can choose to delist it anytime when licenses expire and there’s nothing I can really do about it. At the end of the day, I feel like I’m just “renting” them since the storefront can just take it away from me whenever need arises.
Oh yeah. I definitely agree with you on that. I'll always prefer to own physical media over digital media. That's why I still have my older consoles and (thankfully) they still work.
You nailed it though, I'm always afraid that a publisher or developer will pull something off of the storefront and then we as gamers are screwed.
The switch oled is so pretty with that screen I regot one for 300 of someone and yeah it would be hard to go to an lcd screen and re0 looks so great on it omg the beauty of that game and others and them colors after having lcd tho OLED is too pretty to pass.....but hey I had mp4 with lcd screens and it looked nice the walkman one at the time 😁
Thank you so much this video is very helpful
You're welcome! Thanks for the comment. 🙌
I don't even need to watch the full video to state that the steam deck is far superior to the switch, but I still think the switch is better, it's special to me and personally I don't think the steam deck is useful to me as it's just steam run on a larger/bulkier version of the switch. The switch was innovative and unique, the steam deck is just a thicc switch light with optimized games.
I own a switch and was far more impressed with the steam deck running elden ring and reddead 2 and I got emudeck was playing ps1 games and ps2 and game cube I own a xbox series x and a rtx 370ti gameing pc and I was blown away with the steam deck
You're right. The Switch WAS innovative at the time. It was a natural evolution of the Wii U. That was five years ago, and it launched with hardware from 7 years ago. Times has moved on and the hardware needs some form of refresh to keep up, but that doesn't mean that Nintendo cares. They've almost always run on older tech. They don't see the Steam Deck as competition.
Like @Gav Rawlinson said, I'm far more impressed with newer games running smoother on the Steam Deck. It's much more than a thick Switch Lite.
@@baldlyrudy agreed, Nintendo should be fine considering the fact that the switch has sold over 114.33 Million Units while the steam deck sold 1 million. Also, valve has no interest in competing with Nintendo considering the fact that they port the portal games on switch.
I just got my OLED and I'm new to switch in general.
The controls do not hurt. The only thing I hate is how the thumb sticks are like Xbox vs ps's symmetrical design. I hate holding one thumb higher than the other
You can attach Hori controllers to the switch. They look so good.
Got steam deck for the large amount of travel I do yet I’ve found myself using it more than my desktop pc these days I was looking into the switch but not enough titles that interest me there are some but when the steam deck was announced I placed my preorder and so far as a can tell i definitely made the correct choice
Oh yeah. I can totally understand where you're coming from. Steam Cloud definitely makes the Steam Deck a great companion to a gaming PC. That being said, I've found myself gaming more on the Steam Deck than the PC.
You can play switch games on the steam deck with some wizardry
Good content bro. Just recently found you through YT suggested. My daughter has a switch lite. I play the crap out of it and was thinking of getting one or possibly a newer generation switch. Didn’t know steam had a handheld. Decisions decisions 🧐🧐🧐🧐
Thanks bro. Much appreciated! 🙌
The Steam Deck is newer hardware, so there's definitely some perks to that. Nintendo is running on a 7 year old system on a chip, so it's starting to show it's age. That being said, Nintendo is phenomenal when it comes to optimization and hiding blemishes using clever visual tricks (aside from Pokemon.) Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an utter masterpiece. It also depends on the games you want to play. They each have extensive libraries, especially Steam since it spans decades. All in all, get the system that fits what you're wanting to play.
Thanks 4 this video Rudy
No worries. Thanks for the comment. 🙌
Steam deck is the bridge between PC and console. I am primarily a console player who also has a gaming PC and certain games I like to play on PC. That being said I play my steam deck way more than i play my PS5 or PC. It just feels better. I also believe that all of these reviews miss a HUGE asset that steam has an advantage over any gaming rig or PC and that is steam input with the steam deck controller. You can literally make buttons for your buttons, and what i mean is just by changing a few things you can make 1 button serve a multitude of functions! Lets not forget that your joysticks actually have sensors that know when you touch them and that is a button and four back pad buttons that honestly couldn't have a better placement. Steam deck also has gyro controls and with steam input you can literally aim or move with them. The outside ring of the joysticks is also a button making a run button a thing of the past. Radial menus and action layer sets making the deck literally have a seemingly infinite amount of map able buttons. I could go on forever but my point is steam deck brings the console player to the PC side of the world which unlocks a multitude of titles instead of being limited to a few AAA titles plus console exclusives. Not to mention the thing is an emulation machine in and of itself.. I have both the switch and steam deck and just in sheer content alone steam beats out switch for me.
I would like to buy the Steam Deck. But sadly the game shop (or maybe also the computer shop) has yet to sell them on my country.
Meanwhile individuals who do online pre-order for anyone interested sell them twice the price of a Nintendo Switch pro (NS price on my country is $450+, while the 64GB SD is $900+). Not sure if its because of shipping price & for their profit, but that double price tag scares me a lot.
That's called scaling. It's not because of shipping. It's because of profit. Just be patient and it'll get there. Where do you live?
@@baldlyrudy I live in Brunei.
Well I guess I'm gonna save up and will wait for either Nintendo rumored new model, or getting the SD. In the meantime, my NS lite will keep me company. 🥲
The Switch Lite is nothing to scoff at. It's a solid handheld.
@@baldlyrudy I agree with you. Just that I recently stumbled upon some YT vids about SD including yours, which piqued my interest.
Oh yeah fun fact about the deck if you're not used to the control scheme and just came from a switch you can change the control scheme to mimic the switch in the settings menu
Yuuuup. Absolutely love the customization that's available.
@@baldlyrudy oh man definitely I'm guessing you already figured it out🤣
Lol. Yup. It's definitely a game changer.
@@baldlyrudy definitely no doubt 😁
The fact that I can run a switch emulator on the steam deck tells you everything you need to know. Only a few reasons I could justify a switch over a steam deck.
@@gangatalishis What reasons?
@ online play for Nintendo IPs, smaller lighter form factor, cheaper price used, 1st party games, That’s about it.
See, here's the thing. Everyone talks about the battery life without understanding that the switch is an upgraded Gameboy, and the steam deck is a handheld PC with much more power and capability. 😅 they are two completely different beasts!
I find the Steam Deck odd in its current form. It's a big chunky boy that is over the limit for me in terms of portability. It also just chews through its battery and just won't last a day for me when I'm doing bigger commutes or on the road. And as a PC gamer, I already have a PC that's more powerful so have no interest in docking at home. If it were a bit lighter, had a bit better battery, and maybe was a bit slimmer I'd be all in, but right now it's not really winning in any of the categories I'd want a portable second console to compete in.
The Switch and the Deck may appear superficially to have similarities, but those fine margins mean that (for me at least) the two consoles don't really have any overlap at all in terms of key functionality.
It's definitely a big chonky boy, that's for sure. In terms of battery, it depends on what you play. I'm able to get 5-7 hours on specific types of games. I get around 2-2.5 hours of battery life playing Death Stranding, to give you an idea.
Weight and size aren't that big of a deal to me. I've gotten used to it.
I also agree that they don't overlap too much aside from the fact that they're both handhelds from major corporations, but that's why they're being compared at all.
I had a Deck and sold it. Battery for most decent games is too bad. Needs to be plugged which defeats it's portable purpose. It's also huge and heavy. Again taking it on a trip is difficult. And many Steam games can be played but not perfectly without a mouse. The Desktop experience is also not really good. It really depends on your use but for mine the Switch is much better. Yes, games are what they are. But some ports are incredible made, battery lasts constantly longer and it doesn't take much space.
That's understandable. The Steam Deck isn't for everyone. Similar to the Nintendo Switch not being for everyone.
The last Nintendo Switch port that blew my mind was Nier Automata. Despite the file size being half the size as it's PS/Xbox counterpart, it feels like the same exact game.
Thats why pc is superior to all handheld and console
@@gzafra nintendo propaganda
Thank you for this video!
You're welcome!
Can you play all steam games on the steam deck?
No. But the amount that you can't play is less than a handful. Mainly multiplayer games like Destiny 2 because of anti-cheat software.
@@kingdollop-head743 most but not all
"Resolution don't make a difference", What about the Same Games On the Deck & Switch ? Hooo Well, Switch run mostly between 360p & 540p...
Resolution of the screen. Not the games that are running on them. Those are two different things.
But yeah, if it's not 1st party then it'll probably run sub-720p. And even then the Switch may struggle.
@@baldlyrudy Even first party struggle to hit 720p...
@@Zer01neBDTDev you're not wrong. My whole point was to focus on the hardware and not the software.
I am a pc player, personally I prefer Nintendo switch only because I don’t want to play the same games as I play at home and I want to play the exclusive Nintendo games and for the go the only bad thing in my opinion are the videogames price.
Nothing wrong with that.
THAT PART.
The Deck is so comfortable on playing long hours, you don't even realized your biceps got pumped.
Don't forget the forearms.
I realize this is a bit older but I have noticed a trend of reviewers saying the switch and steam deck more or less have the same resolution.
This is fairly misleading in my opinion as while the hardware of the screen is virtually same in resolution, the actual experience won’t be. The switch often operates below the screen resolution for performance and battery saving reasons. On the steam deck this is a choice.
This very functional difference is far more important than simply citing the native resolution of the two screens.
Fair point.
My switch fell behind my bed 3 months ago it’s still there
@@NickPCage chat just remembered mine was under there I think it’s been there Since Christmas 😂
@@ChadEssxnce epic bro
Great review, Rudy. Although, I’d add a few things. If you want more bang for your buck, go with the Steam Deck. Steam’s library of games far surpasses that of the Switch, games are discounted more often, and at higher discounts, and games run a lot better. It’s true that a casual gamer probably won’t care much about performance per se but it does matter when you feel the difference between 60 fps and 30 fps. Even a casual gamer would feel the difference. As you also mentioned, the customisation and modding possibilities of the Deck are also more extensive. The Switch, for me, and I do have one, is solely for playing Nintendo exclusives. Considering how overpriced they are though, emulating Switch games on the Deck would be a better option. Hopefully, we’ll get that soon. Again, great video. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Thanks! Much appreciated.
I also play Nintendo exclusives on my Switch, but play other games on other hardware it really depends on where I'm at and the ecosystem. Not all my friends are on the same platform.
I’ve said this for years, owning a switch is more expensive than owning any other console. Why? Bc even tho entry is cheaper with the system, the games that matter rarely if ever truly fall in price. Freaking Mario odyssey, kart 8, and BOTW are still $60 MSRP. SCREW Nintendo and their Nintendo tax
Exactly Nintendo are scammers charging full price for 8 year old games
I am a bit confused between the steam deck and nintendo switch. I am busy working and want to play some games, which is not too hard .I am a bit confuses witch device is good for me.
Which one you recommend for first shooter like Halo and Call of Duty?
Steam Deck. Switch doesn't have access to those titles.
1:06 "I've played tons of games" i see (top left) XD
When are improvements expected to come out for the battery life of Steam Deck?
You can tweak the settings this generation to extend the battery life. Valve said the main two things they want to improve with the next iteration are the screen and battery life.
I feel like the battery life has improved on Steam deck I just got mine 3 days ago an I'm playing Skyrim and kingdoms of Amalur Re:reckong and getting 5-6 hours of battery life on high settings with 75 percent screen 50-75 percent brightness.
Having both consoles, I can say that for myself and many others, the Steam Deck is the Switch that we all wanted and deserved - to the point that Deck has permanently supplanted the Switch. Yes, there is value in having both, but for absolutely no money, you can play much more of Nintendo's library (virtually the ENTIRE library) on the Steam Deck than you ever could on the Switch. And this includes running Switch games - in many cases, better than they run on the actual Switch!
Not only are Switch games more expensive, less prone to sales and much more limited in scope (and visuals/framerate) than the Deck, but Nintendo's idea of people preserving their old games is forcing their most loyal customers to pay a monthly subscription to have access to a subset of their favorite retro titles; games that they have likely already paid for! Nintendo demands that its fans pay for their favorite games not just once, but multiple times - and then once it releases a new console, the games that they purchased for the previous console don't follow them onto the new one, so they are forced to pay for their retro games yet again if they want to keep playing them on new hardware. This is anti-consumerism at its worst.
By contrast, purchasing a game once on PC is all that is required to play it on Steam Deck or any other computer. And for retro games, they can be had for free, especially if you dump your own ROMs. You can play your entire pre-8th generation library of games across virtually all platforms on the go thanks to the Steam Deck. Were people doing exactly this with their gaming laptops prior to the Deck? Absolutely! I was one of those people. But now my library can be played anywhere I go without an outlet and flat surface.
Nonetheless, I do think that the Switch and Deck are targeting two different audiences. The Switch is targeting unsuspecting children and families that just want to play games at whatever price, while the Deck is targeting everyone that is sick and tired of the shenanigans of greedy gaming corporations persistently pressing their thumbs on gamers.
Could Valve decide to become the next gaming company to join the anti-buyer fray? It certainly could. Right now, the existence of the Steam Deck shows that Valve is firmly committed to consumers - for that reason alone, the Steam Deck is a much better purchase for gamers. Then when factoring the pure value that the Steam Deck provides to gamers per dollar and the freedom of choice of everything from its OS, game use and other free customization options, it is quite clear that the Deck is indeed the Switch's wasted potential.
I have a switch since 2017, the vent is making a lot of noise and I was wondering do I buy an oled or a steamdeck and try to change the vent when it will be broken ? I bought an oled because I could buy it in 4x and you can do that on steam you have to pay 419€ at once and I just couldn't pay that much at once but maybe someday I'll get a steamdeck. And my son is really happy with my 2017's switch.
It sounds like the fan needs to be replaced on your 2017 Switch. I haven't done that on a Switch yet, but I'd assume that the process isn't super complex and simply plug and play. Definitely work a go before buying anything else if you're willing to tinker with it.
Get a steamdeck OLED
I'm planning to get me an Steam Deck 512 GB + 1.5 micro SD card and Nintendo Switch OLED Pokemon Edition+ 1.5 TB as I prefer both my Nintendo Switch & Steam Deck being exclusively digital to me. 👍🤠👍
I prefer getting physical games, personally. But the Steam Deck is just fine as a digital only platform.
Here's why the steamdeck is crap. "This item is not available for purchase in your region". Fuck! You say you're the most powerful hand held gaming device but does crap for me. So my only option is shady af third party sellers that charges you double the price of switch. Think about that for a second
That's not a "Steam Deck is crap" problem, that's more of a Valve problem. The handheld is great, but I do agree that it should be more widely available this late in its life cycle.
A few things that I consider the Steam Deck to be an improvement of:
1- games are cheaper, the main Nintendo games hardly get any sales and discounts and when they do it's only a few bucks, a 5 year old game shouldn't still cost $60.
2- paying for online play and online backups is trash tier, subscriptions for access to a growing number of retro games I'm fine with, but if I want to play online with my friends it's shouldn't cost anything.
3- even Nintendo developed games have a tough time running at a consistent frame rate and offer no options to reduce the frame caps so they can at least hold a consistent 30 instead of overreaching for 60.
Does the Steam Deck hook up to the tv easily and how does that work?
Hey! Extremely easily. You just need a dock to do it (similar to the Switch.) The feed goes through HDMI and you're pretty much set. The system should automatically switch to 1080, but if it doesn't, then you could change it in the settings. The platform as a whole is very customizable.
“The strongest handheld of today vs the strongest handheld of history”
I'll take it.
Even if 800p is low to some people, definitely beats the hell out of alot of switch ports that run under 540p in handheld.
No need to make fun of the Switcher. I joke, but you're right.
something nobody seems to mention. if you look the steamdeck at 30FPS you may get 3-5 Hours of battery life depending on the game.
Got 3.5 Hours playing Monster Hunter World
100% depends on the game. Playing Death Stranding with only the 30 fps lock, I'm looking at 1.75-2 hours of battery life.
@@baldlyrudy 100% agree.
Messing with my steam deck and owning a PC. I kind of appreciate how much the deck feels like a great compliment device.
Even if I had an Xbox or PS5, I could stream my games to my steam deck when I’m away from my room while taking care of the pup.
I also love the open nature of the device. It’s become my go to for indies. Not to mention with climbing GPU prices. I can always keep my PC library in some form.
I don’t mind the performance sacrifices because I still have my desktop if that becomes more important to me.
Agreed! The open nature of the Steam Deck definitely makes it much more useable. You can install all sorts of launchers and platforms for PC on there.
There are definitely some performance sacrifices that are needed to be taken into account, but there are very few things that really bother me with the size of the screen and the options that are available with games.
It’s is a great pirating machine with lutris too
Just bought a steam deck. I bet I’ll use it all the time whereas with switch I used it less than 5 times then left it for a year and sold it
Can i play ps5 games on the steam deck and do i need a pc for it ?
Sort of.
And no. The Steam Deck is a handheld Linux PC.
@baldlyrudy I game on the ps5 but im really thinking about getting this for on the go gaming is it as simple as downloading a game from the playstation store and will it be ready to play once downloaded or will you have to make adjustments if so or the adjustments hard I'm really not the tech savvy with pc and computers and thanks for the reply
How about issues? Like drifting analog stick?
Both are technically susceptible to drift since they both use potentiometer based sticks. Nintendo's is much more prevalent, of course. I have Hall sensing joysticks for both though.
@@baldlyrudy a separate controller you mean?
I really like the idea that I can use already bought PC games and run them while lying on the bed, but I'm worried about reviews of poor battery life on Stam deck.
An hour and a half - Is it so bad?
For me, it's really not. And you can change settings to extend your battery life another 30-90 minutes.
Steam deck is very versatile, and their price tag man, if this device officially launch in my country they will sold out less than a day.
Definitely agree with you. If you don't mind, where do you live?
@@baldlyrudy im from indonesia
Gotcha. Hopefully it gets your way soon. Seems like they're expanding where they're shipping the Steam Decks.
The SteamDeck may have a larger library of games, but Nintendo has the best games in my opinion.
Can I play both Botw and Totk on the Steam Deck?
For me the most important thing about a hand held is the battery and unfortunately the steam deck's battery is mediocre at best which just defeats the purpose of being a portable device. Yes, you can play more games that requiere more power like elden ring but not for too long before the battery dies. It's a trade off that you are either willing to accept or not and for me an hour of gaming on a portable device is simply not enough. I think if the battery gets improved to around 3 or more hours for all or most games then the steam deck definitely becomes more attractive as a hand held/ portable console but as it stands right now I'd go for the switch simply due to the battery life and the great games on the system. It just comes down to a matter of preference regarding what you value more.
The battery time depends on the games you're running. And I would say that applies to the switch if it's running graphically intense games as well.
If both systems run the Witcher 3 you can get 4hrs on steam deck compared to 2.5 to 3 hrs on the switch. This is just an example but with the steam deck you get way more in terms of options and all round freedom. So your battery issue is really a non issue.
And if you do want to say the battery run time on the steam deck for a game like Elden Ring is not as good. I'd say it's better than most handhelds that can run it. Probably the best handheld at running it.
@@lima6441 Please refrain from telling other people what is and isn't an issue. What might be an issue for you might not be for me and vice versa. I am not the only person who has the same reservations when it comes to the steam deck. Another issue is also the portability. A switch light is way easier to carry around than a steam deck. This is another trade off between the systems that just comes down to preference as well. I'm surprised you got a heart from this channel. It just goes to show the bias towards the steam deck I guess since I believe my concerns are reasonable and I indicated that if the system would increase it's battery life it would definitely become a more attractive hand held device for me and I know I'm not alone in this.
@@kenethernandez6246 I have both systems and I don't think that there should be loyalty to a brand to the extent that we defend a poor product.
To the brand we are nothing more than a $ and what they should be is the producer of a product or service.
In my humble opinion the overall better product is the Deck and Steam is a better service.
@@lima6441 Perfectly fine with you thinking that. Just don't apply your personal preferences onto me while telling me that my personal reservations regarding the steam deck are non issues. Like I said, there are trade offs with both systems and it comes down to personal preferences and what people value the most.
@@kenethernandez6246 you are right, it does come down to personal preference and a bit of give and take when it comes down to certain things.
I really appreciated this video because I've been pooped on by hard care PC gamer snobs for buying a Switch Lite without them taking note of my personal situation. I'm a casual gamer at best. I didn't want to spend a ton of money, and if my 4 year old daughter wants to start playing video games in a few years, I think the Switch is a great entry level console to get started on. I thinking handing down a Steam deck to a child would be like handing the keys of a Mustang GT to a beginner driver, just so silly. Let them learn the ropes first.
Personally, I'm waiting to see what Microsoft does in a year or so with the handheld market. If they choose not to enter the market, then I know the Steam Deck exists and might upgrade!
I really appreciate this comment. As a dad, I can understand where you're coming from.
I also am curious to see how Microsoft is going to handle the resurgence of the handheld market.
Sold my switch after owning a stream deck. Only thing switch has going for it is oled screen and that's it. You can also play all switch games on Steam deck
I own both and I would pick the Switch Oled any day. Most people comparing the switch to the deck are comparing it with the og switch.
The oled switch makes a huge difference.
The screen is so damn good you just want to keep staring at it. Absolutely beautiful device.
That screen is absolutely gorgeous. There's no denying that. But that's just one aspect out of everything that both handhelds offer.
@@baldlyrudy Steam Deck probably has the worst touch screen on any handhelds. I'm surprised no one talks about this. The on-screen keyboard is painfully laggy.
You're probably right. I use the touchpads when I'm playing handheld.
Steam Deck feels like a cross between a budget gaming laptop and a handheld, while Switch feels like a cross between a budget gaming console and a handheld. And like the dichotomy between gaming laptops and gaming consoles, the Steam Deck is way more in-line with the open-source ideals expected of PCs, compared to the Switch's more traditional closed down ecosystem expected of consoles.
Even though Nintendo hasn't been interested in the PC gaming market that much, I hope this spurs them to release a dedicated emulator-focused device that can emulate ALL of their older consoles and titles... I imagine the nostalgia factor alone with ensure the success of something like that
How much does the Steam account cost?
$400-$650 depending on the model.
@@baldlyrudy you misunderstood my question. I pay to be able to download games from the catalog in PlayStation. How much does a subscription cost for Steam Deck or it cost nothing and you only pay for individual game?
Ah. Sorry about that. A Steam Account is free. You don't pay a monthly subscription. Once you buy the game, you can play it online (given an internet connection) or offline.
Id rather wait for the steam deck revision.i want a bit slimmer more battery life and oled screen.
Nothing wrong with that. I wonder how all that will go. I know they're working on a revision, but I wonder how it'll go. Or how improved the battery will be.
I get your point about the oled, but I don't think it needs to be any slimmer. It's really a lot more comfortable than it looks. I even put a protective case on mine, which made it a little thicker, and it feels great.
@@kevinmitchell766 100% correct (at least for me.) The Steam Deck feels amazing in my hands and I can play for long periods of time without my hands feeling tired.
The Deck is a Switch killer in terms of its hardware and value proposition. Marketing is not something people really care about when they say that
The name at face value means something else to me. Maybe it's my work background that has my brain wired that way, but I immediately saw it being proposed as a "competing force." Lol
@@baldlyrudy I'm sure it is at least a competing force though. I have little doubt that a not insignificant amount of people have been driven to get Deck-like handhelds rather than Nintendo handhelds in the future. For me personally, I bought a GPD Win in 2016 and that's the biggest reason I never had a Switch despite having owned every Nintendo handheld before that, as well as a PSP.
To be fair, Nintend's blunders, anti-consumer moves and paid online certainly didn't help, but still.
@@Thornskade Ooof. Don't even get me started on the many backwards decisions that Nintendo takes on the standards of gaming overall.
I've never owned a GDP anything, but have been aware of them. Maybe a future video idea?
My whole point is that they target two different audiences of people with some overlap. I don't think that either of them necessarily care per say, but we'll see what happens in the future. Regardless, the tech is hype! I'm glad that something is pushing the tech, handhelds, and everything else forward.
@@baldlyrudy Oh, I'm still feeling the hype almost a year later and I can't even hold my finger on why that is exactly. I look up updates and news for it almost daily, I've never done that with any kind of hardware before
I think it's just the fact that it's a tightly integrated system with its own custom-tailored OS and everything at a low price like a console, and yet it's an open platform and plays PC games. Feels like it's breaking the black and white thinking where you seemingly couldn't have a PC operate like a console out of the box without it being locked down.
And then there's also the fact that they're like "by the way, here's your fps and performance overlay, here's your power settings, all ready to go out of the box and accessible from the options button", that's such a fresh feel, too
@@Thornskade Yes! It's absolutely mindblowing at the options that are available to us. And I do agree with your second paragraph. It definitely blurs the lines a bit, and I'm all for it. I like it.
I'm just glad that this exists and it seems like a great community to be in.
I think it's really, really simple. If you want something portable and you're a fan of playing almost anything anywhere and the freedom of almost any game, and maybe you don't have a PC and don't want a gaming laptop, get the Steam Deck. If you're a Nintendo or "retro" fan and want something different to the normal AAA games and can't be bothered with PC emulating, which doesn't always work, get the OLED Switch. If you HAVE a Switch already and it's not the OLED, don't upgrade as the jump isn't "worth it" really, and Nintendo are bound to release new hardware within the next 2 years or so but that will go OOS everywhere in seconds so...don't expect to get one whatever it may be. If you're a PC player and want Nintendo games on the go and play them now and again, get an OLED Switch as they can be grabbed basically brand new for barely £230 or $250. But the games are EXPENSIVE. Yo. Breath of the Wild is 5 years old and goes for like 40 bucks still, even used. BotW is £40 USED, USED, and the new Zelda releases in a few weeks for £55. Whereas games on PC are cheaper or "free" or heavily discounted. Nintendo stuff is an investment like a good quality car - they hold their value over time. So the Steam Deck is more expensive but cheaper to play, the Switch is cheaper to buy but more expensive to play, but you also get the TV dock so...yeah.
I will be travelling a lot and due to this factor I am looking to get one of these two. I’ve been looking in advance regarding every possible aspect and I still can’t decide what should I choose. Half of me already knows that after 2-3 months I will get bored of switch due to the E-shop, but also getting a Steamdeck is kinda the same situation as you would get a Nintendo Light isn’t it? If one button is fucked, well that’s it.
AFAIK, the Steam Deck is much easier to repair in comparison to the Nintendo Switch, but I haven't had a reason to open it up aside from me wanting to upgrade the joysticks to Hall sensing ones.
In terms of what their respective shops can offer, Steam is the clear winner. They have decades of games in the store available for purchase, you can load other clients (GOG, Epic Games, etc.) Also emulation is a thing to consider.
It all depends on how and what you want to game.
@@baldlyrudy Thanks for your response. I think I will look in advance to get a Steamdeck just to clear my mind out. The problem is the only version I can afford would deffo be the cheapest one for 64 gb. Do you think is it worth buying that and in the future maybe getting an extra ssd card? Or maybe just go for an extra mile and buy the second version with 256 gb?
No worries. I've played games on both the SSD and an A2 microSD and they both seem to run fine. If you're alright with opening up your Steam Deck, you can always upgrade the SSD yourself later on.
@@hokageeq I haven't touched my switch since I got my steam deck. The game selection, without even mentioning emulation, is what really stands out to me between the two devices. If you are going to be commuting a lot, the switch may be better because the battery life is substantially better. Both are great devices though aimed at two similar yet different demographics.
JoyCon feel fine to me after hours of use! I love em. Also thank you acknowledging JoyCon is the plural form of the word JoyCon.
Except when they eventually brake because of poor controller design.