Since its release in February 2022, Valve's Steam Deck console has sold nearly four million units, which is an impressive number for a relatively niche handheld that focuses mostly on the current market of PC players. However that is a lot less than the Nintendo Switch.
This is why I always find direct comparisons between different consoles unfair, as one console is both a home console and a handheld, with a dedicated library of specific titles, while the other leverages a digital ecosystem that's existed for decades at this point. They're both playable in the palm of your hand and are great systems in their own right, but I don't think you can call them competitors without a big pile of stars.
Please stop pitting the Steam Deck and Switch 2 against each other
None of that stopped people from doing the same when the Nintendo Switch 2 was shown off last week as part of a long-awaited Direct, with some critics claiming it wasn't as exciting as Valve's handheld/PC gaming console and was a futile attempt to fill a gap in the market that Valve had long occupied. However, that's not true, and you need to look a little below the surface to see it.
Not all of the peoples I am also know who own a Steam Deck use this device as their main driver. Most owners chose it because it offered a potentially transformative perspective on their current PC gaming experience. You'd no longer have to spend long hours hunched over a desk playing video games at night, but instead get a functional, comfortable, and surprisingly powerful handheld device that would seamlessly give you the experience you want wherever you want it. Well, battery life permitting.
You can buy a dock, but it's not necessary for the experience, nor is it encouraged. I know the Steam Deck is capable of running more powerful triple-A games, but I and the platform's audience tend to use it for smaller indie and older titles, while home consoles and PCs are used for almost everything else. The Switch 2 isn't paired as a companion device to any other device, but rather holds its own with an exceptional install base.
They may be similar, but they couldn't be more different
Compared to the Steam Deck's meager 4 million units sales the Nintendo Switch has now shipped over 151 million since it is release in early 2017. Obviously, Valve has had a lot of years here, but this disparity is enough to tell you; one is a mainstream home console for people of all ages, and the other is a niche handheld primarily aimed at a single audience - and that's more than okay. What's most interesting is that two different handheld consoles can exist at the same time, not to mention the third-party competitors that have sprung up alongside them.
People who keep saying there's no reason to pick up the Nintendo Switch 2 instead of the Steam Deck are forgetting that they serve completely different audiences, while they have very different libraries, including games you can't get anywhere else. Nintendo Switch 2 is more expensive than the cheapest version of the Steam Deck and what we have seen so far it also proves that it is a to More powerful and has some exclusive features that we know won't be available on any other platform. As I mentioned earlier, it also ignores the fact that new users picking up the Steam Deck will be starting their library from scratch, whereas it clearly wants you to have at least one thumb in that complex ecosystem.
But I think that no matter what, whenever a new console releases, there will always be unnecessary tribalism in this medium, and there will be legitimate criticisms to address. However, it seems that Steam Deck users are upset that the Nintendo Switch 2 is able to play games that perform and look better than Valve's handheld. It's a good thing that the industry can currently support two very different machines, so please stop turning them into unnecessary enemies.
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