[Hardware]Steam Deck vs Nintendo Switch

[Ronaldskk.]

 

The automatic comparison you will likely make when first clapping eyes on Valve's Steam Deck is the Nintendo Switch. That's the most po[CENSORED]r handheld gaming device right now of a physically of a similar design (and no, I don't count phones). Indeed, the Switch is the console Valve had at the forefront of its mind while designing the Steam Deck, whether from that physical standpoint or because of its pricing model.  

 

 

But, if you're looking for some handheld gaming action, which of these two pocket rockets should you buy? And yes, I do have big pockets.

 

I'm looking at the positives and pitfalls of the two devices and weighing up which of them deserves your hard-earned money. And there are many things to consider, from the underlying hardware, to the design, the use-cases, and finally what they actually feel like to own.

 

 

There are many similarities between the Deck and the Switch, but also significant differences, which it can be argued make such comparisons somewhat unfair on one or the other device. But Valve clearly had the Switch in its target from the outset, as Gabe himself has told us: "The $399 price point was sort of written in stone. And we had to do a bunch of stuff, like make massive min commits [minimum order commitments], and other kinds of things in order to get to the volumes that would allow us to hit those sorts of price points."

 

That target for the most affordable Deck puts it damned close to Switch OLED pricing. And, from the look of the Steam Deck prototypes released in its press review kit, Valve had even been considering aping the removable controller design of the Switch for a fair amount of the development process, too.

 

 

 

Outside of that, though, the Steam Deck is its own thing. It's a full PC after all, and one of the best budget gaming PCs around, too. The Switch is as closed an ecosystem as the Deck's is unbelievably open.

 

Steam Deck vs Switch: Price

The pricing of the Steam Deck is one of the most impressive things about it. This is a full handheld gaming PC that costs less than a third of the price of some of the other Switch-a-like PCs we've seen thus far. That said, at its $399 cheapest it's still more expensive than the priciest Switch, the latest OLED version at $350.

 

But Valve has bent over backwards to make sure it was able to nail a price point for its entry level Deck that was at least close to the Switch, with Gabe himself stating that pricing was "painful."

 

 

The fact you can bag a Steam Deck for just $50 more than a Switch is mighty impressive, made more so by every tier of Valve machine having otherwise identical specs. 

 

This is a new, highly sought after gaming machine that's launching in the midst of a technology supply crisis, where prices are ubiquitously sky-high, and yet Valve has stuck to its original, aggressive pricing strategy. And because pricing is so fundamental to the device, for the love of Gabe, please don't spend over the odds on an Ebay Steam Deck.

 

Steam Deck vs Switch: Design

I have to admit to not touching my Switch for nearly two years. The pandemic and necessary lack of travel has meant I'm tied to my home, and therefore my desktop PC. And if I want to sit on the sofa and play games I've got GeForce Now plumbed into my Shield so I can game on my big screen TV.

 

But pulling the Switch out of its carry case after its long sleep, I'm still just as enamoured by its overall design. It's such a slight device, especially in comparison with the chonky Steam Deck, and I love the fact it's practically all screen.

 

The innovative design, which allows you to detach the controllers to either use independently or by dual-wielding them, is something that Valve looks like it tried out with various iterations of Deck prototype. You can see from some of the weirder designs that Gabe's gang wanted to closely follow the Switch design.

 

And I'm not surprised, as it does make the handheld actually function as a portable gaming device for multiple people and not just solo-play. Whip off the Switch pads and set the device up on its kickstand and you can be having a blast in Mario Kart with a mate in no time.

 

The compromise, however, is in the overall solo ergonomics, something that I would assume Valve has seen as a priority. Realistically the Deck is not a multiplayer device, and so styling it to fit around the comfort of a single player is the smart move.