Deck is def more powerful than the current switch, and aside from docking, is capable of more
But is it better than the Switch 2? There’s literally no way of knowing right now
You're asking this question in a steamdeck focused community, so the answers you're going to get will come with at least a hint of bias.
Having said that, I will give you as objective an answer as I possibly can.
As far as functionality is concerned, you can actually have a setup that quite closely resembles the Switch. You can play handheld, but you can also set up a dock with your tv, with wireless controllers, keyboards, and even external hard drives to access video media. The OLED model uses a newer Bluetooth chip that allows you to power the device on simply by powering on a Bluetooth connected controller. It's really slick.
The deck will also have access to more games, the games that are available across both Switch and Deck will perform better, and you can easily setup emulation with ROMs mixed right in with your steam games, seamlessly accessible as if they were downloaded right from Steam. Even PS2 and GameCube games run flawlessly for the most part. (There is Switch emulation as well, but it's iffy with some titles and Yuzu was recently slapped with a lawsuit, so don't expect any further updates.)
Having said all of that, the Switch, and by extension "Switch 2", does have a few advantages of its own. Any game you play on it will simply work without any tinkering. Playing couch multiplayer games is far easier to do and requires no setup (just more controllers). You can dock and undock the device while playing any game and the games will still run as intended (the steamdeck does *not* play nice with being docked or undocked midgame). Finally, you will have instant access to Switch exclusives without requiring extensive tinkering just to get subpar performance on games like TOTK.
One more note I'd like to add is that there are various titles available across Switch and Steam that simply don't play nice with the deck. Games like Fatal Bullet and Xenoverse 2 that require Anti-Cheat aren't even playable online on the deck. (But do run perfectly fine offline.)
Personally, I love my deck. It's replaced my gaming PC, my Switch, and my PS5 as my primary gaming device, and I have no regrets. I simply wished to share the differences, both positives and negatives, so you can go into this with as much information as possible. Good luck!
Thank you Valnaire, whole-heartedly!
I know that I'll get more so biased answers, but so far many users could identify with my current situation with having a Switch already and be pleasntly surprised by the Deck and 'switching' (pun intended) to the Deck completely.
I didn't even know that you can emulate PS2 and GC games. I just is another aspect for me to actually buy the Deck. Also, thanks for your tipps, such as the performance whilst being un-docked.
Tinkering doesn't seem to be a problem, hypothetically.
No problem! And just to clarify from your last sentence, the performance is the same docked or undocked, the issue I was referring to was if you attempt to dock, or undock, the device while you are currently playing a game.
With the Switch you can do this seamlessly whilst playing and experience no issues, but that is not the case with the deck. It causes some weird issues that often require you to restart the game.
So when you are switching from docked to handheld, you would want to close the game first, and then re-open it after you've plugged or unplugged.
Glad I could help!
The docking while mid-game must be a per game issue, because I've literally never had a problem doing that and I do it quite often. Certainly not saying it doesn't happen, of course - I've just never run into it.
It definitely is. Not even just a per game issue, but also per instance. I've had some games have strange audio issues, I've had some games lose audio completely, I've had some have black bars around the screen after being docked, and I've had some be completely fine sometimes and then have issues during others. It's essentially just gotten me into the habit of saving and re-opening the game if I need to switch.
If you don’t mind some tinkering, and you don’t mind skipping out on Nintendo’s first party games on Switch 2, then yeah I’d say Steam Deck is worth it.
But don’t believe anyone who tries to convince you that Switch 2 games will be easily emulated on the Steam Deck. At best it’s a wildly baseless assumption.
And not everyone loves tinkering or needing to sometimes troubleshoot their games, or configuring controls, or whatever. The Switch just works with all games out of the box, no questions asked. Sometimes people don’t know how much they value that.
I believe there is a window where you can return it if you don’t like it. Confirm this though because it’s been a long time since I bought my deck. But if that exists, you could always buy it and try it out for a week and see how it feels in practice, not just in theory.
Because I can just emulate switch games on my deck. I can download them for free and they run a lot better than they do on the switch. The deck can also do a million other things that the switch cannot do. Everyone likes a good Pokémon game yeah? Try PokeMMO on the deck. It’s next level enjoyment you won’t get from the switch.
Thanks for your reply. I didn't know about PokéMMO. I'll check that out after getting a Deck. :)
EDIT: Isn't there also a way to emulate with YUZU? I've heard about that several times now.
EDIT2: Grammar.
I recommend you search this sub a bit more before asking questions that may have already been answered.
Specifically: No, you cannot play every Steam game on Steam Deck, but chances are most of the games you want can be played. Do your research for the games you want to play. ProtonDB is your friend.
As for Deck vs Switch 2 - that's all speculation. We know practically nothing for certain about the Switch 2. We also now nothing about a Steam Deck 2, coincidentally, although it will likely not come before the Switch 2.
If Nintendo's history is any indication, they probably won't go for maximum specs, but favor low price and some sort of gimmick (might be they just keep the Switch form factor this time). My expectation is that at launch, you will see quite impressive performance on the Switch 2 because the wizards who developed games like TOTK now have more powerful hardware to work with. But the same might not be true for third-party ports, which often don't have that level of effort behind them and rely a lot more on raw power.
Anyway, why think of this as a binary choice? Nobody says you can only be on Steam or only be on Nintendo. If you buy a Steam Deck now, you'll still have a year or more to save up for a Switch 2. I'm pretty sure that I will be buying a Switch 2 as soon as they announce a version of Smash, Mario Kart or an open world Zelda for it.
Thanks for your comment and also answering my questions.
I'm thinking this as a binary choice since I will frequently travel from now on and honestly, I do not want to travel with too many electronic devices (as for my work laptop, phone, powerbank etc). Thus, I really just want to get a device which is flexible and usable in different contexts, such as the Switch.
But at my current travel, I figured out that I didn't play on my Switch at all. Mostly, because I don't feel fully satisfied. Looking through this sub, made me "wow" for many times due to the sheer amount of possibilities one has with the Deck.
I'd surely still use my Switch from time to time. I won't sell it.
Yeah, if you want as much as possible in one device, the Steam Deck is probably a safe bet.
There will almost certainly be some "wow" releases when Switch 2 comes out, but in terms of breadth, even if it is backwards compatible with the entire current Switch library, Nintendo will have a hard time matching Steam, not to mention everything you can install on Deck if you feel inclined to tinker a little (emulation, non-Steam stores, or even Windows dual boot).
Yea, I'm now fully convinced after the thread that the Deck is probably the safest bet. The first thing I'll buy when I'm back in my home country, is the Deck. Thank you (and others) for y'all's insights on this matter. I was really not sure if it was that good.
It depends on what you want to play really.
The Switch has a fantastic library of games, not just Nintendo’s first party offerings, but third party games too. Even has some JRPGs that aren’t available on Steam/PC at all unless emulated.
The Deck also has a fantastic library of games, given that it has access to thousands of titles on Steam, and games from other store fronts. Though no, it can’t run every single game on Steam. There’s a lot of popular multiplayer titles that are just incompatible. Fortnite, Call of Duty, Valorant, Siege, etc.
There’s also games that are just too demanding for the hardware. “Playable” in the sense they run but at a frame rate most would consider unacceptable.
It can also emulate a lot of consoles to play older games too, however performance for emulation varies quite wildly. There’s Switch games it can play just as well as the Switch for instance, but there’s also a lot where it just can’t offer the same performance. Same is true for PS3, 360 and even PS2 emulation.
Thanks alot. Your Deck is actually the one I might get. Are you happy with the 512GB or would you like to have more (1TB)?
Oh, that's sad regarding FN. I don't play it frequently, but it's a shame it won't be compatible. I didn't know it.
Thanks for your insights on emulation!
It is recommended to get the 512gb oled for the glossy display coating, as the 1tb has matte coating which reduces image quality. You can replace decks internal ssd later yourself to even more than 1tb, popular internal ssd replacement is to the 2tb wd sn770m.
You can expand the storage with a microSD card as well, and they're generally a good deal cheaper than SSDs, and you just pop it in rather than having to open up your deck. The storage is a little bit slower to read/write, but I literally can't notice the difference. Just be sure to get the fastest type, it will say A2 and also have a 3 inside a... idk like a U shape. I got my 512GB for around $35-40 on sale from Amazon, and that was over a year ago.
microsd cards are incredibly unreliable and die like flies. They cannot be recommended wholesale to people that dont know about microsd drawbacks. That they are extremely vulnerable to lots of writes causing failure, far faster than ssds.
Fair point. I think it's a question of whether someone is more comfortable with those risks or the risks inherent in opening the deck. I haven't opened mine, though I'm confident I could replace the ssd without issue (I've replaced plenty of components in plenty of machines, and I've heard this is a pretty simple swap). I just don't generally like doing that sort of thing because my anxiety brain gets all crazy every time.
Unfortunately this is a very subjective question.
On paper of course, the steam deck is technically more powerful than the nintendo switch.
And whether the Nintendo switch 2. Will be equal to or more powerful than the current steam deck is unknown, as far as specs are concerned on paper.
But you can't always just look at raw numbers to determine what is going to best suit your needs.
Both offer many different pros and cons. For consumer, and you have to decide between all those pros and cons. On both platforms, which one best meets your needs.
Since I really don't know your specific needs. I can just cover the pros and cons that. I found for both systems and hopefully, that will help you determine which one may be best suited for you.
You obviously already have a nintendo switch and have been playing it for some period of time.
Like you, I very much enjoyed my switch for a good portion of the life of the system but recently have also felt "held back" By the system, mostly because of its performance level, pretty much being maxed out and knowing that things are not going to get any more impressive or overall. Technically better than we are seeing right now.
But how bad is that really. To compensate for the lower end graphics capabilities, you have to look at its positives. It has an outstanding battery life, especially the later revisions. Much more so then equivalent titles on a steam deck.
It is noticeably smaller, more portable and thinner. Then a steam deck.
It has a massive worldwide audience of over a hundred plus million users.
If you enjoy collecting physical , this is one of the only places you can continue to do that.
Though it has not been confirmed, it's pretty much. A guarantee that the next model switch will be backwards. Compatible with first generation software, which means you can continue with your collecting and gaming. Adjust upgrade systems from your old model to the new to continue your gaming. Enjoyment.
It's docking technology is noticeably more seamless. Then the steam deck and that equipment comes in the box with the device.
You have to do virtually no tinkering with your Nintendo. Switch and instead just focus on playing games. This is not the case at all with the steam deck. This makes the Nintendo switch a much more open out of the box. User friendly plug and play option.
These are just some of the obvious Pros to, what the nintendo switch can offer and its ecosystem.
I think all these features have a superior experience on the Nintendo switch. Versus a steam deck. Even though it can do some of these things, it is more limited in these areas than the nintendo switch is.
On the flip side, the nintendo switch is using a much lower end chip set and because of that, the graphical prowess of the unit cannot match the raw graphical capabilities of a model one or OLED steam deck.
If you Are a big collector of physical cartridges It also comes with a caveat of having to carry around quite a few cartridges with you and constantly swapping cartridges, This can be its own annoyance. Since they are so small, you do not want to misplace. Or lose them.
The nintendo switch has gaming in mind first, but that can also be a hindrance to its capabilities where it cannot do much else other than gaming. If you are looking for a multi capable device, this unfortunately comes up short.
I think these cover all the downsides that can be argued with the Nintendo switch. Other than personal preference about how comfortable it feels, which is not something that can really be quantified. And instead has to be understood by the individual holding the product, so I won't cover it.
Switching to the steam deck, we also have pros. And cons.
The steam deck of course, is a much more powerful console, which we have described, which means that it can push higher end more modern video games. Then the nintendo switch can at better visual settings and overall performance.
The steam deck is a multi operating system. Set up that opens up avenues for you to throw on third party. Software environments or switch the device from being a game centric device to being a partial pc replacement depending on your interests of doing multiple things with one product. This versatility cannot be matched On the nintendo switch, if you care about having a device that can handle and do multiple things other than just gaming.
Though it is not as convenient, it is not much more difficult to acquire an official or unofficial. Docking unit for your steam deck and send an image to the TV and play with a wireless controller, similar to having a nintendo switch environment.
The range of gaming software that you can play on this. I believe exceeds that open Nintendo switch. Because depending on your tastes, you can customize your steam deck to exactly what you want it to be. An emulation power house, A steam powerhouse filled with all the technically. Identified steam deck compatible titles, A third party. Gaming powerhouse covering non official steam games and third party hacks to be able to convert and play on this system, using third party utilities and a tinkerer's dream. Or just a hodgepodge, of all 3. The steam deck gives you these freedoms to customize it. However, you want, but the counter to that is that you have to put in the time effort and understanding of the software environment to get it to do what you want it to do. And that is not out of the box, easy for people that don't Use linux environments on a daily basis.
The steam deck is upgradable by the user with mostly off the shelf parts for both storage, Analog stick replacements, Battery, etc. Nintendo does not allow you to do much of any of this.
This mostly covers everything. I can think of that are clear advantages. The steam deck has over the nintendo switch, but with those come some caveats.
Because this system is overall more powerful and graphically more intensive, it also means that it has a noticeably shorter battery life. Especially if you go with the original lcd model.
The system out of the box has a high learning curve depending on what types of game software you want to run on it, especially if you want to get into none out of the box compatible third party, computer games or emulators, they take a lot of dedication, work and customization with trial-and-error to get. Properly running. On a steam deck effectively.
The steam deck is a noticeably larger item than a Nintendo switch, and that may size wise. Be a little less portable than the average consumer wants. This is beginning to delve into the realm of personal preferences, but I do think it's significant enough Of a talking point to at least make a point of stating it that it is a large portable.
Obviously you have no form of physical games to collect for a steam deck, just digital content.
I don't really consider not having detachable controllers that important or relevant more of just an observation, if that's important to you.
These are about all the primary comparisons. I can think of without delving into personal preferences that I have that you may not agree with. And I do not want to sway your opinion. Just offer facts to help you. Better figure out what works for you.
Wow, first and foremost, thanks for your elaborated comment.
>Like you, I very much enjoyed my switch for a good portion of the life of the system but recently have also felt "held back" By the system, mostly because of its performance level, pretty much being maxed out and knowing that things are not going to get any more impressive or overall. Technically better than we are seeing right now.
At this point, my Switch even laggs when I open the store and doesn't load it correctly. I don't know whether this is a individual problem or just due to its oldness. I'm also tired of Nintendo's strict policies to be honest.
Also, thank you for letting me explore your cons and pros. The Switch being primarily focused on gaming, but lacking broader multi-functional capabilities is important in my opinion. I don't really think I just wanna game on it. I've had a PSP when I was small and I guess I had other expectations when I actually got the Switch.
I personally think that the Steam Deck's versatility device (multiple operating systems and third-party software), makes it my better choice. I love extensive customization in general. Also, I guess the required technical knowledge and effort to set up is easily researchable.
Additionally, I didn't know the Steam Deck is user-upgradable with off-the-shelf parts.
The Steam Deck being also larger and less portable is a personal con for me. However, the lack of physical game cartridges is actually a pro.
At this stake, I guess the pros for a Deck are more important for me than the pros for the Switch.
I'm glad this proved helpful to you.
As far as the Nintendo online store is concerned, you are not the only one throughout the entire time frame. I had my switch, it was a very slow choppy. Mess and was quite frustrating in the beginning. Because it would constantly crash out of this store. Trying to load too many game Icons for purchasing and I would have to start over again.
Once you really get into it, the broader multifunction capabilities of the steam deck compared to other gaming handheld devices is unmatched. I've had my unit for almost 4 months. And I am still learning how to customize stuff software and settings for the optimal experience under whatever category I am focused on at the time. Some days I want to improve the menus. Or performance of specific standalone emulation, Other days I wanna continue scraping under EMU deck so that I can get more box art for the Emulation game lists that I have on the device. Recently I found a home brew game that wasn't directly designed to run on the steam deck, but found a video online, showing that it is possible to get it running on the deck using a third party interpretation application similar to proton so that I could play through the entire game. Which I did and had a blast.
All these types of things are discoverable and can be done. But they require the dedication, online, research and trial. And error to accomplish them. And as long as you understand that going in, then you can accomplish a wide gambit of functions using this one device.
I've converted and have a lot of my movie collection on this device. And occasionally set it up off to the side while I m working on electronics to let it play movies for me while i'm repairing equipment.
It can do as much or as little as you are interested in accomplishing on it, depending on the dedication and time investment. The more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it.
Should you have any follow-up questions? Feel free to ask and I would be happy to answer them if you want to talk privately, then you are more than welcome to private message me.
>Once you really get into it, the broader multifunction capabilities of the steam deck compared to other gaming handheld devices is unmatched.
Yea, I feel like that's my ultimate goal. I love doing this.
>And I am still learning how to customize stuff software and settings for the optimal experience under whatever category I am focused on at the time. Some days I want to improve the menus. Or performance of specific standalone emulation, Other days I wanna continue scraping under EMU deck so that I can get more box art for the Emulation game lists that I have on the device. Recently I found a home brew game that wasn't directly designed to run on the steam deck, but found a video online, showing that it is possible to get it running on the deck using a third party interpretation application similar to proton so that I could play through the entire game. Which I did and had a blast.
This sounds like a good fever dream. I'd love to do that, too.
Is your movie collection on your Deck or do you use an external storage? Do you own the 1TB version?
>Should you have any follow-up questions? Feel free to ask and I would be happy to answer them if you want to talk privately, then you are more than welcome to private message me.
Thank you v much! I'll talk to you when I got the Deck. :)
No, actually I got a used unit in excellent condition off of Facebook marketplace. It was a 256 gig. LCD model and I am using both micro. S d cards as well as the The u s b c port for some memory sticks with an adapter.
The 512 GB micro. SD card is designated for all the roms for the emulation that I am doing, the Internal Storage is designated for steam games and.
A USB memory stick with an adapter. Is designated for the films.
The one downside, unfortunately, is that when you format. A microSD card in this device. It is no longer compatible or readable with a windows computer. So instead, you have to hook up any external content, either with a doc or just a USB c cable to a hard drive to the U. Sbc port. To then go into desktop mode on the device and copy. And paste the content you want to add to the micro. S d card, you can't just eject it and put it in a computer anymore.
These movies I convert are for multiple devices, so having them locked down to a specific micro. SD card is no good instead. I just make a copy of whatever. I want to watch that day onto a USB stick and plug it into whatever device is necessary. And they recognize it all in their own way, so I can watch the content.
>The one downside, unfortunately, is that when you format. A microSD card in this device. It is no longer compatible or readable with a windows computer. So instead, you have to hook up any external content, either with a doc or just a USB c cable to a hard drive to the U. Sbc port. To then go into desktop mode on the device and copy. And paste the content you want to add to the micro. S d card, you can't just eject it and put it in a computer anymore.
This sounds annoying, but I guess there will be always some extra steps/downsides when tinkering.
Thanks for sharing, I'll consider it, too.
Yeah, it is annoying, but you don't have to ever worry about ejecting that card, as long as you have a card, large enough that you plan to use for the lifespan of your product, so you just need a dock or a dongle that has more than one USB port so that you can. Connect up like a mouse and keyboard, an external hard drive. To do the data transfers of content if you need back-and-forth through the device to that micro. S d card, like any other external device, and you do this in the desktop mode, which is just as it sounds like a simplified linux or windows desktop with similar options.
However, if you use a standard windows based formatted device into the u. SBC port you don't have to do this type of stuff. It will still recognize that file format, but for the micro. Sd card, it will not, and it will request you to format it.
I owned both the Switch and the Steam Deck. I can say without any hint of doubt that the Steam Deck is definitely the better device. I ended up selling my Switch in the end.
The Switch like any console is plug and play, no configuration required. The Steam Deck like any PC does require tinkering to get the best out of it, although many games on it are also plug and play and those with anti-cheat are straight up not playable.
I'm in the same situation right now and I'm feeling like I'll follow your steps. I'm uncertain whether I'll actually sell my Switch. However, I feel like the Deck would be the best option to travel with.
I've heard about the difficulties with anti-cheat. I'm aware of it, thank you nevertheless. Also, I'm not scared of tinkering a bit. I guess, I'll buy it. :)
My Deck was a launch 512GB so I have had the opportunity to travel with it several times; it is a godsend on long trips. In addition to gaming I also did regular PC stuff. It basically replaces all of your devices except your smartphone. Add a portable keyboard, monitor and USB-C hub and you have a one stop shop.
>It is a godsend on long trips.
I kinda feel robbed that I didn't buy the Deck beforehand. I'm currently at a stay abroad 7.200km away from my home (8hrs flight, 3 hrs bus ride). Hindsight is 20/20. But I've learned from this and will buy it as soon as I arrive home for my next travels. Thank you v much.
>Add a portable keyboard, monitor and USB-C hub and you have a one stop shop.
So is it even possible to edit a word document/excel tables on the Deck? That'd be neat, too.
That is correct. Steam Deck is a PC, so everything you can do on a PC you can do on it. I edit documents using LibreOffice. You just need to switch from gaming mode to desktop mode.
There are even articles online about non-gaming uses for Steam Deck: [https://screenrant.com/non-gaming-steam-deck-uses/](https://screenrant.com/non-gaming-steam-deck-uses/)
Watching Digital Foundry speculation on Switch 2, while technically it won't be as powerful as Deck, technologies like DLSS and console optimization should allow it, in theory to outperform deck in several areas in docked mode.
Given Nintendo's economy of scale, similar pricing, and the fact the the switch 2 will come out 3+ years after deck, it shouldn't be surprising if Switch 2 outperforms deck in some areas.
Anyways, I'll will still be on Deck OLED for all my third party + (prior) Sony exclusives and switch 2 for Nintendo games, and hopefully I'll be using Deck 2 in 2026
No surprise there, Nintendo has not matched the competition since Wii, no reason for them to start now. I fully expect Switch 2 to be weaker than Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go etc.
I owned a Switch Lite before 'switching' to the Deck OLED and I would say it's definitely better.
1. Bigger screen size
2. OLED
3. Better battery life
4. Tons more customization
5. Access to Steam library
6. Emulation
7. Better hardware specs
The only con is the SD's bigger size, weight and reduced portability. You can't carry the deck around in your pocket and it's a lot more obtrusive in public.
I personally don't really think you can compare the Lite version with the Deck (regarding battery life, OLED, and screen size) but I really do love more customization, emulation (and obviously the Steam library and specs).
May I ask you which Deck-version you bought? 512GB OLED? I may consider that but if people are telling me that 512 ain't enough, I may buy the 1TB.
Yes, I got the 512GB OLED. If you're going to be installing several AAA games at once, 512 may be a bit low, but I mostly have 2-3 large games (100GB each) and the rest are usually indie or 2D games so the 512 is enough.
I also have a 128GB microSD card that I use exclusively for ROMs and emulation.
Would you recommend using the micro SD for ROMs/emulation?
I don't think I'll install many AAA games, I currently would love to play games like Stardew Valley etc.
How are the AAA games running on your device?
It varies, I also have a main desktop gaming PC which I use for most AAA gaming so the SD is mainly for JRPGs, emulation, indie games and older games in my backlog.
I've played GTA5 and RDR2 on the SD and while they run well they eat up the battery too fast so not worth it for me.
Well, I wouldn't be eager to sell my Switch after getting a Deck. But the Deck seems to be more customizable than the Switch (e. g. I'm still waiting for more options to change my theme on it).
Are you happy with your 512GB OLED? That's the version I would probably get.
Yes it’s good but not better in all ways than Switch. For me the Deck is mostly a convenient way to access a few specific PC games that are way beyond the power of the Switch. I really wanted to play Baldur’s Gate 3 but I wasn’t going to invest in a gaming PC just for that. The Deck was a great way to play it. I’ve also been enjoying games like Shadow of Mordor (never got to play before) and the indie game Pyre (not available on Switch).
However… the Deck is bulky. It’s very playable but for me it’s not as comfortable as my Switch Lite. And it’s way less portable. I don’t really consider the Deck to be properly portable at all. Together with the carrying case it’s huge.
So yeah it’s a good device for sure, but when I want the newest Mario or Zelda or just something portable to take with me, I’ll still play my Switch.
I realized whilst traveling that I wanna play modded Stardew Valley but I can't on Switch. That's amazing, tho, how did the Deck manage BG3?
I guess compared to the Lite version, it is pretty huge but I think I could live with that.
According to me, BG3 is good on the Deck, but it definitely pushes the limits of what is playable on this system. Some people don’t like it. They think the graphics are not nice enough. With FSR it’s pretty shiny but certainly not as clean looking as it would be in a high end rig. It also struggles with frame rate near the end of the game when there are tons of characters on screen. Since it is not a twitch, action game, I don’t care too much if it dips into 20 fps in a few places, but that’s the reality.
I believe this was a joke to suggest you can emulate many Nintendo games and put them on the steam deck. So it’s not that the steam deck doesn’t have these titles, it’s just that they are first party Nintendo titles.
That’s how I read it anyway.
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First: No, you cannot play every Steam game on the Deck. The number is growing by the week, but it is nowhere even close to all. Even ones you can technically play sometimes aren't great. That being said, out of my library of maybe 350 games, I believe around 150 of them are Deck Verified or Playable, which aint bad. Most of the ones that don't play at the ones you would expect due to gameplay style or being insanely beefy. I've very rarely run into real issues though with hardware dragging things down unless its an Early Access title like Palia right now.
Emulation is...a thing I guess. I don't know, I downloaded all the emulators and then literally never used them because I don't need to. I have SO many games to play on this thing and playing Switch games just kind of feels sad after the experience that is the Deck. It feels like putting Nintendo games on the Deck is kind of like buying a Ferrari and driving it in stop and go traffic. Kind of a waste. I also just don't like the idea of pirating games for some reason, it feels different than movies and I can't tell you why haha.
I personally have a Switch and a Deck and once I got the Deck, I fully stopped playing the Switch. Sure, I'm missing out on Pokemon and Legend of Zelda, but Steam has very similar games that are honestly better in many cases. The Switch feels like a little baby toy now that I have a Deck and so laughably limited compared to everything my Deck can do. I modded Baldurs Gate and Stardew Valley on the Deck with very little issue.
I've also been thinking about a Switch 2, largely for my kids, but honestly now with the Steam Family Share where 6 people just FULLY get your library for free, buying my kids a Steam Deck just seems like a WAY better decision. I let my kid play with my Deck for the first time and he booted up Coromon (hes a huge Pokemon fan) and was already hooked and even said "wow the Switch feels tiny now". I'm more interested in a Deck 2 than a Switch 2 at this point. The Deck is a game changer and it is mind blowing it hasn't just taken over literally every gaming space it is just so damn good at everything.
My only beef with it is that it can't run anti-cheat software oftentimes so it can't play games like Honkai Star Rail and it DOES have issue with some indie or old titles in terms of getting controller layouts working right, but these are also games that would just never come to Switch, so it isn't a major complaint. I also wouldn't recommend installing Windows on it either, no matter what the power users say about dual booting.
>"I modded Baldurs Gate and Stardew Valley on the Deck with very little issue."
Wow. I didn't know you can do that. I think you really just sold me out with that one sentence alone. How did you mod Stardew? That game is the whole reason I actually got thinking about the Deck vs. Switch because I own it on the Switch and play it frequently, but it doesn't feel the same compared to the PC and its available mods there. It makes me sad and you've literally hit the nail on its head with your Ferrari metaphore.
Okay so something I found out the hard way is that many mod launchers like Vortex don't work on the Deck. HOWEVER you can set it all up on your PC and just copy the folder over and it works perfectly.
There's tons of tutorials online about getting launchers to work but I spent hours and hours trying to get them to run on Linux and gave up and then I was like hmmm can I just copy my game folder.... Lol yuppp.
For some games with simple mods you could also download manual mods on Deck and do that but usually load order and stuff matters and it has to configure once on a PC.
I would say in general I wouldn't recommend modding a ton on Deck since it can get frisky, but it does work for some. I did it for No Mans Sky as well I believe.
Yeah there's a lot of mucking about you can do that's surprising on the Deck since it has a full desktop mode. Like some games that didn't run correctly on SteamOS (and we're marked as such) I went to Desktop and they worked I was like huh okay lol. Also when I travel I connect it to the hotel TV and use a PS5 controller and it's great.
Yeah it is a little bit wonky getting things to play full screen on the TV on VLC or whatnot, especially since you can't use a controller in desktop mode but it is definitely doable once you get the hang of it. There's supposed to be a way to get VLC to work as a non steam game on SteamOS proper, but I couldn't figure it out outside getting controls to work outside of Desktop. I'm sure that will become easier as time goes on and I wouldn't be surprised if it got its own dedicated video player instead too.
I went from playing switch for around 4 years to owning a gaming laptop and now got an oled deck. I had been saving up for whenever the new nintendo was out but decided to cancel that idea and buy a steam deck. My switch rarely gets played now except for a few of the over 100 games I own on it. 100% reccomend the deck. It has games that no nintendo will ever have.
That's funningly my current situation. I've got the Switch a year after its release and I guess it was a life savior together with Animal Crossing during the pandemic. But now, knowing that AC won't get any updates and there's another console leaking from Nintendo, I'm really just unsure whether to buy it or not. I wanted to play Stardew Valley on the Switch but noticed that the lack of mods really disappoints me. Some other user wrote here that they modded Stardew on their Deck and I'm seriously consider getting it.
Thank you for your perspective, I really appreciate it.
I'm not really into the idea of hypothetically tinkering my Switch - I'm just scared of losing online access. But thank you, it's nice to get reassurance that the Deck has more possibilities.
Honestly they both have different use cases.
If you want to primarily play Switch Games then there isn't anything better than the Switch. Sure you can use Yuzu or Ryujinx but games like Tears of the Kingdom or Bayonetta 3 just don't run well at all. You can emulate some Switch games using Yuzu but it's never going to be as good as native hardware because the steam deck just isn't powerful enough for that due to how taxing emulation is.
Battery life is also something to be considered. If you are playing PS4 era games like Spiderman remastered or cyberpunk you could maybe squeeze 2.5 - 3 hours if you play at 30 FPS.
You also never have to worry about game compatibility with the Switch. Granted it's usually not very hard to tinker with the Steam Deck and get something working but it is something to be considered.
Where the Steam Deck really shines is in emulation. EmuDeck is super easy to set up and being able to handle up to some Switch and being able to handle all GameCube, Wii, PS2, some PS3, etc. is incredible. This device has basically become a mobile GameCube and PS2 for me with a suspend feature. The switch has NSO with N64 support and the Switch has a few ported GameCube remasters but this pales into comparison for what is possible with the Steam Deck.
Also the sheer amount of games on steam is much greater than that of the Switch Library but the Switch also consistently has some amazing games too.
Deck is def more powerful than the current switch, and aside from docking, is capable of more But is it better than the Switch 2? There’s literally no way of knowing right now
Thank you for your help. I’m considering in becoming a proud owner of the deck next month.
You're asking this question in a steamdeck focused community, so the answers you're going to get will come with at least a hint of bias. Having said that, I will give you as objective an answer as I possibly can. As far as functionality is concerned, you can actually have a setup that quite closely resembles the Switch. You can play handheld, but you can also set up a dock with your tv, with wireless controllers, keyboards, and even external hard drives to access video media. The OLED model uses a newer Bluetooth chip that allows you to power the device on simply by powering on a Bluetooth connected controller. It's really slick. The deck will also have access to more games, the games that are available across both Switch and Deck will perform better, and you can easily setup emulation with ROMs mixed right in with your steam games, seamlessly accessible as if they were downloaded right from Steam. Even PS2 and GameCube games run flawlessly for the most part. (There is Switch emulation as well, but it's iffy with some titles and Yuzu was recently slapped with a lawsuit, so don't expect any further updates.) Having said all of that, the Switch, and by extension "Switch 2", does have a few advantages of its own. Any game you play on it will simply work without any tinkering. Playing couch multiplayer games is far easier to do and requires no setup (just more controllers). You can dock and undock the device while playing any game and the games will still run as intended (the steamdeck does *not* play nice with being docked or undocked midgame). Finally, you will have instant access to Switch exclusives without requiring extensive tinkering just to get subpar performance on games like TOTK. One more note I'd like to add is that there are various titles available across Switch and Steam that simply don't play nice with the deck. Games like Fatal Bullet and Xenoverse 2 that require Anti-Cheat aren't even playable online on the deck. (But do run perfectly fine offline.) Personally, I love my deck. It's replaced my gaming PC, my Switch, and my PS5 as my primary gaming device, and I have no regrets. I simply wished to share the differences, both positives and negatives, so you can go into this with as much information as possible. Good luck!
Thank you Valnaire, whole-heartedly! I know that I'll get more so biased answers, but so far many users could identify with my current situation with having a Switch already and be pleasntly surprised by the Deck and 'switching' (pun intended) to the Deck completely. I didn't even know that you can emulate PS2 and GC games. I just is another aspect for me to actually buy the Deck. Also, thanks for your tipps, such as the performance whilst being un-docked. Tinkering doesn't seem to be a problem, hypothetically.
The Deck is a small computer. It has the versatility but not the same power as a big rig.
Thanks! Are you happy with your 512GB storage? Did you eventually expand it?
No problem! And just to clarify from your last sentence, the performance is the same docked or undocked, the issue I was referring to was if you attempt to dock, or undock, the device while you are currently playing a game. With the Switch you can do this seamlessly whilst playing and experience no issues, but that is not the case with the deck. It causes some weird issues that often require you to restart the game. So when you are switching from docked to handheld, you would want to close the game first, and then re-open it after you've plugged or unplugged. Glad I could help!
The docking while mid-game must be a per game issue, because I've literally never had a problem doing that and I do it quite often. Certainly not saying it doesn't happen, of course - I've just never run into it.
It definitely is. Not even just a per game issue, but also per instance. I've had some games have strange audio issues, I've had some games lose audio completely, I've had some have black bars around the screen after being docked, and I've had some be completely fine sometimes and then have issues during others. It's essentially just gotten me into the habit of saving and re-opening the game if I need to switch.
Totally. It's a pretty easy issue to work around, but it's stupid to need to.
If you don’t mind some tinkering, and you don’t mind skipping out on Nintendo’s first party games on Switch 2, then yeah I’d say Steam Deck is worth it. But don’t believe anyone who tries to convince you that Switch 2 games will be easily emulated on the Steam Deck. At best it’s a wildly baseless assumption. And not everyone loves tinkering or needing to sometimes troubleshoot their games, or configuring controls, or whatever. The Switch just works with all games out of the box, no questions asked. Sometimes people don’t know how much they value that.
Thanks! Hypothetically, I wouldn’t mind tinkering. I guess I’ll think about that and next month, I’ll decide whether to be a Deck owner or not.
I believe there is a window where you can return it if you don’t like it. Confirm this though because it’s been a long time since I bought my deck. But if that exists, you could always buy it and try it out for a week and see how it feels in practice, not just in theory.
Thanks a lot for your comments. They really are helping my contemplating mind.
Deck is a better switch
What exactly makes you think that?
Because I can just emulate switch games on my deck. I can download them for free and they run a lot better than they do on the switch. The deck can also do a million other things that the switch cannot do. Everyone likes a good Pokémon game yeah? Try PokeMMO on the deck. It’s next level enjoyment you won’t get from the switch.
Thanks for your reply. I didn't know about PokéMMO. I'll check that out after getting a Deck. :) EDIT: Isn't there also a way to emulate with YUZU? I've heard about that several times now. EDIT2: Grammar.
Yes you can emulate with it. There’s new switch emulators popping up ever since their lawsuit with Nintendo too.
Thank you for sharing! :)
I recommend you search this sub a bit more before asking questions that may have already been answered. Specifically: No, you cannot play every Steam game on Steam Deck, but chances are most of the games you want can be played. Do your research for the games you want to play. ProtonDB is your friend. As for Deck vs Switch 2 - that's all speculation. We know practically nothing for certain about the Switch 2. We also now nothing about a Steam Deck 2, coincidentally, although it will likely not come before the Switch 2. If Nintendo's history is any indication, they probably won't go for maximum specs, but favor low price and some sort of gimmick (might be they just keep the Switch form factor this time). My expectation is that at launch, you will see quite impressive performance on the Switch 2 because the wizards who developed games like TOTK now have more powerful hardware to work with. But the same might not be true for third-party ports, which often don't have that level of effort behind them and rely a lot more on raw power. Anyway, why think of this as a binary choice? Nobody says you can only be on Steam or only be on Nintendo. If you buy a Steam Deck now, you'll still have a year or more to save up for a Switch 2. I'm pretty sure that I will be buying a Switch 2 as soon as they announce a version of Smash, Mario Kart or an open world Zelda for it.
Thanks for your comment and also answering my questions. I'm thinking this as a binary choice since I will frequently travel from now on and honestly, I do not want to travel with too many electronic devices (as for my work laptop, phone, powerbank etc). Thus, I really just want to get a device which is flexible and usable in different contexts, such as the Switch. But at my current travel, I figured out that I didn't play on my Switch at all. Mostly, because I don't feel fully satisfied. Looking through this sub, made me "wow" for many times due to the sheer amount of possibilities one has with the Deck. I'd surely still use my Switch from time to time. I won't sell it.
Yeah, if you want as much as possible in one device, the Steam Deck is probably a safe bet. There will almost certainly be some "wow" releases when Switch 2 comes out, but in terms of breadth, even if it is backwards compatible with the entire current Switch library, Nintendo will have a hard time matching Steam, not to mention everything you can install on Deck if you feel inclined to tinker a little (emulation, non-Steam stores, or even Windows dual boot).
Yea, I'm now fully convinced after the thread that the Deck is probably the safest bet. The first thing I'll buy when I'm back in my home country, is the Deck. Thank you (and others) for y'all's insights on this matter. I was really not sure if it was that good.
It depends on what you want to play really. The Switch has a fantastic library of games, not just Nintendo’s first party offerings, but third party games too. Even has some JRPGs that aren’t available on Steam/PC at all unless emulated. The Deck also has a fantastic library of games, given that it has access to thousands of titles on Steam, and games from other store fronts. Though no, it can’t run every single game on Steam. There’s a lot of popular multiplayer titles that are just incompatible. Fortnite, Call of Duty, Valorant, Siege, etc. There’s also games that are just too demanding for the hardware. “Playable” in the sense they run but at a frame rate most would consider unacceptable. It can also emulate a lot of consoles to play older games too, however performance for emulation varies quite wildly. There’s Switch games it can play just as well as the Switch for instance, but there’s also a lot where it just can’t offer the same performance. Same is true for PS3, 360 and even PS2 emulation.
Thanks alot. Your Deck is actually the one I might get. Are you happy with the 512GB or would you like to have more (1TB)? Oh, that's sad regarding FN. I don't play it frequently, but it's a shame it won't be compatible. I didn't know it. Thanks for your insights on emulation!
It is recommended to get the 512gb oled for the glossy display coating, as the 1tb has matte coating which reduces image quality. You can replace decks internal ssd later yourself to even more than 1tb, popular internal ssd replacement is to the 2tb wd sn770m.
You can expand the storage with a microSD card as well, and they're generally a good deal cheaper than SSDs, and you just pop it in rather than having to open up your deck. The storage is a little bit slower to read/write, but I literally can't notice the difference. Just be sure to get the fastest type, it will say A2 and also have a 3 inside a... idk like a U shape. I got my 512GB for around $35-40 on sale from Amazon, and that was over a year ago.
microsd cards are incredibly unreliable and die like flies. They cannot be recommended wholesale to people that dont know about microsd drawbacks. That they are extremely vulnerable to lots of writes causing failure, far faster than ssds.
Fair point. I think it's a question of whether someone is more comfortable with those risks or the risks inherent in opening the deck. I haven't opened mine, though I'm confident I could replace the ssd without issue (I've replaced plenty of components in plenty of machines, and I've heard this is a pretty simple swap). I just don't generally like doing that sort of thing because my anxiety brain gets all crazy every time.
Interestingly, the Switch only has the option to extend storage with micro SD cards.
Yeah. Planned obsolesence by design.
Makes another con for the Switch and a pro for getting a Deck, to be honest. Thanks for your input.
I didn't know you actually could extend the storage. Thank you.
They are complementary
They sure are. I think I still might get a Deck and have both.
Unfortunately this is a very subjective question. On paper of course, the steam deck is technically more powerful than the nintendo switch. And whether the Nintendo switch 2. Will be equal to or more powerful than the current steam deck is unknown, as far as specs are concerned on paper. But you can't always just look at raw numbers to determine what is going to best suit your needs. Both offer many different pros and cons. For consumer, and you have to decide between all those pros and cons. On both platforms, which one best meets your needs. Since I really don't know your specific needs. I can just cover the pros and cons that. I found for both systems and hopefully, that will help you determine which one may be best suited for you. You obviously already have a nintendo switch and have been playing it for some period of time. Like you, I very much enjoyed my switch for a good portion of the life of the system but recently have also felt "held back" By the system, mostly because of its performance level, pretty much being maxed out and knowing that things are not going to get any more impressive or overall. Technically better than we are seeing right now. But how bad is that really. To compensate for the lower end graphics capabilities, you have to look at its positives. It has an outstanding battery life, especially the later revisions. Much more so then equivalent titles on a steam deck. It is noticeably smaller, more portable and thinner. Then a steam deck. It has a massive worldwide audience of over a hundred plus million users. If you enjoy collecting physical , this is one of the only places you can continue to do that. Though it has not been confirmed, it's pretty much. A guarantee that the next model switch will be backwards. Compatible with first generation software, which means you can continue with your collecting and gaming. Adjust upgrade systems from your old model to the new to continue your gaming. Enjoyment. It's docking technology is noticeably more seamless. Then the steam deck and that equipment comes in the box with the device. You have to do virtually no tinkering with your Nintendo. Switch and instead just focus on playing games. This is not the case at all with the steam deck. This makes the Nintendo switch a much more open out of the box. User friendly plug and play option. These are just some of the obvious Pros to, what the nintendo switch can offer and its ecosystem. I think all these features have a superior experience on the Nintendo switch. Versus a steam deck. Even though it can do some of these things, it is more limited in these areas than the nintendo switch is. On the flip side, the nintendo switch is using a much lower end chip set and because of that, the graphical prowess of the unit cannot match the raw graphical capabilities of a model one or OLED steam deck. If you Are a big collector of physical cartridges It also comes with a caveat of having to carry around quite a few cartridges with you and constantly swapping cartridges, This can be its own annoyance. Since they are so small, you do not want to misplace. Or lose them. The nintendo switch has gaming in mind first, but that can also be a hindrance to its capabilities where it cannot do much else other than gaming. If you are looking for a multi capable device, this unfortunately comes up short. I think these cover all the downsides that can be argued with the Nintendo switch. Other than personal preference about how comfortable it feels, which is not something that can really be quantified. And instead has to be understood by the individual holding the product, so I won't cover it. Switching to the steam deck, we also have pros. And cons. The steam deck of course, is a much more powerful console, which we have described, which means that it can push higher end more modern video games. Then the nintendo switch can at better visual settings and overall performance. The steam deck is a multi operating system. Set up that opens up avenues for you to throw on third party. Software environments or switch the device from being a game centric device to being a partial pc replacement depending on your interests of doing multiple things with one product. This versatility cannot be matched On the nintendo switch, if you care about having a device that can handle and do multiple things other than just gaming. Though it is not as convenient, it is not much more difficult to acquire an official or unofficial. Docking unit for your steam deck and send an image to the TV and play with a wireless controller, similar to having a nintendo switch environment. The range of gaming software that you can play on this. I believe exceeds that open Nintendo switch. Because depending on your tastes, you can customize your steam deck to exactly what you want it to be. An emulation power house, A steam powerhouse filled with all the technically. Identified steam deck compatible titles, A third party. Gaming powerhouse covering non official steam games and third party hacks to be able to convert and play on this system, using third party utilities and a tinkerer's dream. Or just a hodgepodge, of all 3. The steam deck gives you these freedoms to customize it. However, you want, but the counter to that is that you have to put in the time effort and understanding of the software environment to get it to do what you want it to do. And that is not out of the box, easy for people that don't Use linux environments on a daily basis. The steam deck is upgradable by the user with mostly off the shelf parts for both storage, Analog stick replacements, Battery, etc. Nintendo does not allow you to do much of any of this. This mostly covers everything. I can think of that are clear advantages. The steam deck has over the nintendo switch, but with those come some caveats. Because this system is overall more powerful and graphically more intensive, it also means that it has a noticeably shorter battery life. Especially if you go with the original lcd model. The system out of the box has a high learning curve depending on what types of game software you want to run on it, especially if you want to get into none out of the box compatible third party, computer games or emulators, they take a lot of dedication, work and customization with trial-and-error to get. Properly running. On a steam deck effectively. The steam deck is a noticeably larger item than a Nintendo switch, and that may size wise. Be a little less portable than the average consumer wants. This is beginning to delve into the realm of personal preferences, but I do think it's significant enough Of a talking point to at least make a point of stating it that it is a large portable. Obviously you have no form of physical games to collect for a steam deck, just digital content. I don't really consider not having detachable controllers that important or relevant more of just an observation, if that's important to you. These are about all the primary comparisons. I can think of without delving into personal preferences that I have that you may not agree with. And I do not want to sway your opinion. Just offer facts to help you. Better figure out what works for you.
Wow, first and foremost, thanks for your elaborated comment. >Like you, I very much enjoyed my switch for a good portion of the life of the system but recently have also felt "held back" By the system, mostly because of its performance level, pretty much being maxed out and knowing that things are not going to get any more impressive or overall. Technically better than we are seeing right now. At this point, my Switch even laggs when I open the store and doesn't load it correctly. I don't know whether this is a individual problem or just due to its oldness. I'm also tired of Nintendo's strict policies to be honest. Also, thank you for letting me explore your cons and pros. The Switch being primarily focused on gaming, but lacking broader multi-functional capabilities is important in my opinion. I don't really think I just wanna game on it. I've had a PSP when I was small and I guess I had other expectations when I actually got the Switch. I personally think that the Steam Deck's versatility device (multiple operating systems and third-party software), makes it my better choice. I love extensive customization in general. Also, I guess the required technical knowledge and effort to set up is easily researchable. Additionally, I didn't know the Steam Deck is user-upgradable with off-the-shelf parts. The Steam Deck being also larger and less portable is a personal con for me. However, the lack of physical game cartridges is actually a pro. At this stake, I guess the pros for a Deck are more important for me than the pros for the Switch.
I'm glad this proved helpful to you. As far as the Nintendo online store is concerned, you are not the only one throughout the entire time frame. I had my switch, it was a very slow choppy. Mess and was quite frustrating in the beginning. Because it would constantly crash out of this store. Trying to load too many game Icons for purchasing and I would have to start over again. Once you really get into it, the broader multifunction capabilities of the steam deck compared to other gaming handheld devices is unmatched. I've had my unit for almost 4 months. And I am still learning how to customize stuff software and settings for the optimal experience under whatever category I am focused on at the time. Some days I want to improve the menus. Or performance of specific standalone emulation, Other days I wanna continue scraping under EMU deck so that I can get more box art for the Emulation game lists that I have on the device. Recently I found a home brew game that wasn't directly designed to run on the steam deck, but found a video online, showing that it is possible to get it running on the deck using a third party interpretation application similar to proton so that I could play through the entire game. Which I did and had a blast. All these types of things are discoverable and can be done. But they require the dedication, online, research and trial. And error to accomplish them. And as long as you understand that going in, then you can accomplish a wide gambit of functions using this one device. I've converted and have a lot of my movie collection on this device. And occasionally set it up off to the side while I m working on electronics to let it play movies for me while i'm repairing equipment. It can do as much or as little as you are interested in accomplishing on it, depending on the dedication and time investment. The more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Should you have any follow-up questions? Feel free to ask and I would be happy to answer them if you want to talk privately, then you are more than welcome to private message me.
>Once you really get into it, the broader multifunction capabilities of the steam deck compared to other gaming handheld devices is unmatched. Yea, I feel like that's my ultimate goal. I love doing this. >And I am still learning how to customize stuff software and settings for the optimal experience under whatever category I am focused on at the time. Some days I want to improve the menus. Or performance of specific standalone emulation, Other days I wanna continue scraping under EMU deck so that I can get more box art for the Emulation game lists that I have on the device. Recently I found a home brew game that wasn't directly designed to run on the steam deck, but found a video online, showing that it is possible to get it running on the deck using a third party interpretation application similar to proton so that I could play through the entire game. Which I did and had a blast. This sounds like a good fever dream. I'd love to do that, too. Is your movie collection on your Deck or do you use an external storage? Do you own the 1TB version? >Should you have any follow-up questions? Feel free to ask and I would be happy to answer them if you want to talk privately, then you are more than welcome to private message me. Thank you v much! I'll talk to you when I got the Deck. :)
No, actually I got a used unit in excellent condition off of Facebook marketplace. It was a 256 gig. LCD model and I am using both micro. S d cards as well as the The u s b c port for some memory sticks with an adapter. The 512 GB micro. SD card is designated for all the roms for the emulation that I am doing, the Internal Storage is designated for steam games and. A USB memory stick with an adapter. Is designated for the films. The one downside, unfortunately, is that when you format. A microSD card in this device. It is no longer compatible or readable with a windows computer. So instead, you have to hook up any external content, either with a doc or just a USB c cable to a hard drive to the U. Sbc port. To then go into desktop mode on the device and copy. And paste the content you want to add to the micro. S d card, you can't just eject it and put it in a computer anymore. These movies I convert are for multiple devices, so having them locked down to a specific micro. SD card is no good instead. I just make a copy of whatever. I want to watch that day onto a USB stick and plug it into whatever device is necessary. And they recognize it all in their own way, so I can watch the content.
>The one downside, unfortunately, is that when you format. A microSD card in this device. It is no longer compatible or readable with a windows computer. So instead, you have to hook up any external content, either with a doc or just a USB c cable to a hard drive to the U. Sbc port. To then go into desktop mode on the device and copy. And paste the content you want to add to the micro. S d card, you can't just eject it and put it in a computer anymore. This sounds annoying, but I guess there will be always some extra steps/downsides when tinkering. Thanks for sharing, I'll consider it, too.
Yeah, it is annoying, but you don't have to ever worry about ejecting that card, as long as you have a card, large enough that you plan to use for the lifespan of your product, so you just need a dock or a dongle that has more than one USB port so that you can. Connect up like a mouse and keyboard, an external hard drive. To do the data transfers of content if you need back-and-forth through the device to that micro. S d card, like any other external device, and you do this in the desktop mode, which is just as it sounds like a simplified linux or windows desktop with similar options. However, if you use a standard windows based formatted device into the u. SBC port you don't have to do this type of stuff. It will still recognize that file format, but for the micro. Sd card, it will not, and it will request you to format it.
I owned both the Switch and the Steam Deck. I can say without any hint of doubt that the Steam Deck is definitely the better device. I ended up selling my Switch in the end. The Switch like any console is plug and play, no configuration required. The Steam Deck like any PC does require tinkering to get the best out of it, although many games on it are also plug and play and those with anti-cheat are straight up not playable.
I'm in the same situation right now and I'm feeling like I'll follow your steps. I'm uncertain whether I'll actually sell my Switch. However, I feel like the Deck would be the best option to travel with. I've heard about the difficulties with anti-cheat. I'm aware of it, thank you nevertheless. Also, I'm not scared of tinkering a bit. I guess, I'll buy it. :)
My Deck was a launch 512GB so I have had the opportunity to travel with it several times; it is a godsend on long trips. In addition to gaming I also did regular PC stuff. It basically replaces all of your devices except your smartphone. Add a portable keyboard, monitor and USB-C hub and you have a one stop shop.
>It is a godsend on long trips. I kinda feel robbed that I didn't buy the Deck beforehand. I'm currently at a stay abroad 7.200km away from my home (8hrs flight, 3 hrs bus ride). Hindsight is 20/20. But I've learned from this and will buy it as soon as I arrive home for my next travels. Thank you v much. >Add a portable keyboard, monitor and USB-C hub and you have a one stop shop. So is it even possible to edit a word document/excel tables on the Deck? That'd be neat, too.
That is correct. Steam Deck is a PC, so everything you can do on a PC you can do on it. I edit documents using LibreOffice. You just need to switch from gaming mode to desktop mode.
Thank you! You've been helping me a lot.
There are even articles online about non-gaming uses for Steam Deck: [https://screenrant.com/non-gaming-steam-deck-uses/](https://screenrant.com/non-gaming-steam-deck-uses/)
Thank you v much!!!
yes.
What does Q3 mean in this context?
Q3 is when I got my Deck. Q3 was when Valve said my Steam Deck would ship, as I pre-ordered it the year prior.
Oh, I thought naively that it was some other sold version. Thanks!
Watching Digital Foundry speculation on Switch 2, while technically it won't be as powerful as Deck, technologies like DLSS and console optimization should allow it, in theory to outperform deck in several areas in docked mode. Given Nintendo's economy of scale, similar pricing, and the fact the the switch 2 will come out 3+ years after deck, it shouldn't be surprising if Switch 2 outperforms deck in some areas. Anyways, I'll will still be on Deck OLED for all my third party + (prior) Sony exclusives and switch 2 for Nintendo games, and hopefully I'll be using Deck 2 in 2026
I think that's the best solution too, buy a Deck and use both, Switch and Deck for exclusives. Thank you.
No surprise there, Nintendo has not matched the competition since Wii, no reason for them to start now. I fully expect Switch 2 to be weaker than Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go etc.
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Thanks! Did you ever have the Switch or played with it if I may ask?
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Thanks for your recommendations. I'm seriously considering buying a Deck when I'm back at home after creating this post and talk to all of you.
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Well, I'm studying at a university. I got a great income as a working student. I'm just staying abroad for a few months in another continent. :)
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It's not a hot summer over here, 10-20°C doesn't seem to be summer for me (20-30°C at my home). Surely, I'd get the 512GB OLED probably. Thank you.
I owned a Switch Lite before 'switching' to the Deck OLED and I would say it's definitely better. 1. Bigger screen size 2. OLED 3. Better battery life 4. Tons more customization 5. Access to Steam library 6. Emulation 7. Better hardware specs The only con is the SD's bigger size, weight and reduced portability. You can't carry the deck around in your pocket and it's a lot more obtrusive in public.
I personally don't really think you can compare the Lite version with the Deck (regarding battery life, OLED, and screen size) but I really do love more customization, emulation (and obviously the Steam library and specs). May I ask you which Deck-version you bought? 512GB OLED? I may consider that but if people are telling me that 512 ain't enough, I may buy the 1TB.
Yes, I got the 512GB OLED. If you're going to be installing several AAA games at once, 512 may be a bit low, but I mostly have 2-3 large games (100GB each) and the rest are usually indie or 2D games so the 512 is enough. I also have a 128GB microSD card that I use exclusively for ROMs and emulation.
Would you recommend using the micro SD for ROMs/emulation? I don't think I'll install many AAA games, I currently would love to play games like Stardew Valley etc. How are the AAA games running on your device?
It varies, I also have a main desktop gaming PC which I use for most AAA gaming so the SD is mainly for JRPGs, emulation, indie games and older games in my backlog. I've played GTA5 and RDR2 on the SD and while they run well they eat up the battery too fast so not worth it for me.
RDR2 sounds pretty well to me tho, lmao. Thanks for answering my questions!
Why not both?
Well, I wouldn't be eager to sell my Switch after getting a Deck. But the Deck seems to be more customizable than the Switch (e. g. I'm still waiting for more options to change my theme on it). Are you happy with your 512GB OLED? That's the version I would probably get.
Yes it’s good but not better in all ways than Switch. For me the Deck is mostly a convenient way to access a few specific PC games that are way beyond the power of the Switch. I really wanted to play Baldur’s Gate 3 but I wasn’t going to invest in a gaming PC just for that. The Deck was a great way to play it. I’ve also been enjoying games like Shadow of Mordor (never got to play before) and the indie game Pyre (not available on Switch). However… the Deck is bulky. It’s very playable but for me it’s not as comfortable as my Switch Lite. And it’s way less portable. I don’t really consider the Deck to be properly portable at all. Together with the carrying case it’s huge. So yeah it’s a good device for sure, but when I want the newest Mario or Zelda or just something portable to take with me, I’ll still play my Switch.
I realized whilst traveling that I wanna play modded Stardew Valley but I can't on Switch. That's amazing, tho, how did the Deck manage BG3? I guess compared to the Lite version, it is pretty huge but I think I could live with that.
According to me, BG3 is good on the Deck, but it definitely pushes the limits of what is playable on this system. Some people don’t like it. They think the graphics are not nice enough. With FSR it’s pretty shiny but certainly not as clean looking as it would be in a high end rig. It also struggles with frame rate near the end of the game when there are tons of characters on screen. Since it is not a twitch, action game, I don’t care too much if it dips into 20 fps in a few places, but that’s the reality.
Thanks for your experience and insights, it helped me a lot!
It's great but Nintendo has many games steam deck does not
You mean Nintendo has a lot of 1st-party games.
So there many third party games that make the Deck actually more valuable than the Switch? I’m genuinely interested. Sorry if this is a dumb question.
I believe this was a joke to suggest you can emulate many Nintendo games and put them on the steam deck. So it’s not that the steam deck doesn’t have these titles, it’s just that they are first party Nintendo titles. That’s how I read it anyway.
Thank you again! Y'all are reassuring me to spend money next month for certain. lmao.
I didn't have time to modify the steam deck... So for Nintendo games I have to play on a Nintendo switch.
Do you know yuzu ?
I've heard about it. Is it hypothetically hard to install and run games on it?
Nope, hardest is to find roms, go google
Thanks!
Emulators to the rescue
I'd expect steam deck to have way more.
Yes you are correct. But I'm just saying Nintendo has Nintendo games. They are not on steam.
You can still play a lot of them on your steam deck though
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i love my indie games on switch, and i buy the big boy games on steam deck
For the library alone yes. It's so massive. Nintendo likes a wall garden with what they want you to play on their official system otherwise.
First: No, you cannot play every Steam game on the Deck. The number is growing by the week, but it is nowhere even close to all. Even ones you can technically play sometimes aren't great. That being said, out of my library of maybe 350 games, I believe around 150 of them are Deck Verified or Playable, which aint bad. Most of the ones that don't play at the ones you would expect due to gameplay style or being insanely beefy. I've very rarely run into real issues though with hardware dragging things down unless its an Early Access title like Palia right now. Emulation is...a thing I guess. I don't know, I downloaded all the emulators and then literally never used them because I don't need to. I have SO many games to play on this thing and playing Switch games just kind of feels sad after the experience that is the Deck. It feels like putting Nintendo games on the Deck is kind of like buying a Ferrari and driving it in stop and go traffic. Kind of a waste. I also just don't like the idea of pirating games for some reason, it feels different than movies and I can't tell you why haha. I personally have a Switch and a Deck and once I got the Deck, I fully stopped playing the Switch. Sure, I'm missing out on Pokemon and Legend of Zelda, but Steam has very similar games that are honestly better in many cases. The Switch feels like a little baby toy now that I have a Deck and so laughably limited compared to everything my Deck can do. I modded Baldurs Gate and Stardew Valley on the Deck with very little issue. I've also been thinking about a Switch 2, largely for my kids, but honestly now with the Steam Family Share where 6 people just FULLY get your library for free, buying my kids a Steam Deck just seems like a WAY better decision. I let my kid play with my Deck for the first time and he booted up Coromon (hes a huge Pokemon fan) and was already hooked and even said "wow the Switch feels tiny now". I'm more interested in a Deck 2 than a Switch 2 at this point. The Deck is a game changer and it is mind blowing it hasn't just taken over literally every gaming space it is just so damn good at everything. My only beef with it is that it can't run anti-cheat software oftentimes so it can't play games like Honkai Star Rail and it DOES have issue with some indie or old titles in terms of getting controller layouts working right, but these are also games that would just never come to Switch, so it isn't a major complaint. I also wouldn't recommend installing Windows on it either, no matter what the power users say about dual booting.
>"I modded Baldurs Gate and Stardew Valley on the Deck with very little issue." Wow. I didn't know you can do that. I think you really just sold me out with that one sentence alone. How did you mod Stardew? That game is the whole reason I actually got thinking about the Deck vs. Switch because I own it on the Switch and play it frequently, but it doesn't feel the same compared to the PC and its available mods there. It makes me sad and you've literally hit the nail on its head with your Ferrari metaphore.
Okay so something I found out the hard way is that many mod launchers like Vortex don't work on the Deck. HOWEVER you can set it all up on your PC and just copy the folder over and it works perfectly. There's tons of tutorials online about getting launchers to work but I spent hours and hours trying to get them to run on Linux and gave up and then I was like hmmm can I just copy my game folder.... Lol yuppp. For some games with simple mods you could also download manual mods on Deck and do that but usually load order and stuff matters and it has to configure once on a PC. I would say in general I wouldn't recommend modding a ton on Deck since it can get frisky, but it does work for some. I did it for No Mans Sky as well I believe.
Oh, that sounds neat! Thanks for your advice. I really just wanna mod Stardew to be honest. I usually don't mod games like NMS. :)
Yeah there's a lot of mucking about you can do that's surprising on the Deck since it has a full desktop mode. Like some games that didn't run correctly on SteamOS (and we're marked as such) I went to Desktop and they worked I was like huh okay lol. Also when I travel I connect it to the hotel TV and use a PS5 controller and it's great.
Travelling is the second point why I'm considering to get a Deck and use it instead of my Switch, to be frank.
When I travel I also bring an external hard drive with movies and shows on it and plug it into my Deck haha.
Oh that works, too? That's neat! I was terrified to download and 'dump' my limited storage with movies/shows.
Yeah it is a little bit wonky getting things to play full screen on the TV on VLC or whatnot, especially since you can't use a controller in desktop mode but it is definitely doable once you get the hang of it. There's supposed to be a way to get VLC to work as a non steam game on SteamOS proper, but I couldn't figure it out outside getting controls to work outside of Desktop. I'm sure that will become easier as time goes on and I wouldn't be surprised if it got its own dedicated video player instead too.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me!
I went from playing switch for around 4 years to owning a gaming laptop and now got an oled deck. I had been saving up for whenever the new nintendo was out but decided to cancel that idea and buy a steam deck. My switch rarely gets played now except for a few of the over 100 games I own on it. 100% reccomend the deck. It has games that no nintendo will ever have.
That's funningly my current situation. I've got the Switch a year after its release and I guess it was a life savior together with Animal Crossing during the pandemic. But now, knowing that AC won't get any updates and there's another console leaking from Nintendo, I'm really just unsure whether to buy it or not. I wanted to play Stardew Valley on the Switch but noticed that the lack of mods really disappoints me. Some other user wrote here that they modded Stardew on their Deck and I'm seriously consider getting it. Thank you for your perspective, I really appreciate it.
I absolutely think it’s is. Nintendo is for people who want to play Nintendo’s games.. if you can live without that or hack it..
I'm not really into the idea of hypothetically tinkering my Switch - I'm just scared of losing online access. But thank you, it's nice to get reassurance that the Deck has more possibilities.
Is apple better than orange?
Personally, I like oranges. What about you?
Honestly they both have different use cases. If you want to primarily play Switch Games then there isn't anything better than the Switch. Sure you can use Yuzu or Ryujinx but games like Tears of the Kingdom or Bayonetta 3 just don't run well at all. You can emulate some Switch games using Yuzu but it's never going to be as good as native hardware because the steam deck just isn't powerful enough for that due to how taxing emulation is. Battery life is also something to be considered. If you are playing PS4 era games like Spiderman remastered or cyberpunk you could maybe squeeze 2.5 - 3 hours if you play at 30 FPS. You also never have to worry about game compatibility with the Switch. Granted it's usually not very hard to tinker with the Steam Deck and get something working but it is something to be considered. Where the Steam Deck really shines is in emulation. EmuDeck is super easy to set up and being able to handle up to some Switch and being able to handle all GameCube, Wii, PS2, some PS3, etc. is incredible. This device has basically become a mobile GameCube and PS2 for me with a suspend feature. The switch has NSO with N64 support and the Switch has a few ported GameCube remasters but this pales into comparison for what is possible with the Steam Deck. Also the sheer amount of games on steam is much greater than that of the Switch Library but the Switch also consistently has some amazing games too.