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356
What people miss about Steam Deck's "loss" to Nintendo (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
192 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.

The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.

Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.

Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.

But that’s exactly the point.

PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.

That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.

So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.

It won by changing the landscape.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

The funniest thing is that Nintendo buyers are not even part of this conversation LMAO 🤣

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 hours ago

In a sense, this is also the point. They are different devices targeting different markets.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 hours ago

...ok? Cool you're here on Lemmy, I guess, GabeN. Welcome!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago

I loved my steam deck, but it was too chunky for me and certainly for my kid.

My compromise is Anbernic type devices. Long battery life, better form factor, lots of ported games too.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

It's very likely that the Switch 2 will far outsell all other PC handhelds combined. And that is very much a loss. Not just to Valve, not just to PC gamers, but to everyone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

You must lived an incredibly charmed and comfortable life.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

...well that's an interesting (bad) presumption.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Did I miss a sarcasm tag, or are you seriously this histrionic about the biggest and one of the oldest names in video games outselling a niche product? Because it doesn't matter to almost anyone, even Valve. Multiple things/people can find success at the same time. It's not zero sum.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

I honestly don't even know what you're trying to say.

[–] Rekorse 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Not going to say why?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 hours ago

All the reasons listed in OP

[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'll emulate Nintendo games till the day I die because fuck Nintendo and their greed.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago

I won't even pirate their games

[–] samus12345 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They make great games and they're a super anti-consumer company. Perfect combination for going out of your way to pirate their games.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Meh, personally I haven't enjoyed a Nintendo game since the GameCube. Every new game they release feels like a rehash of the same shit they've been shoveling down our throats since the Wii. Nintendo forgot how to innovate.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago (7 children)

BotW and TotK were both really good. Don't mistake this as me saying "Nintendo is good actually", more like a broken clock is right twice a day sort of statement.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Personally I thought botw was pretty mid overall. The world is so empty and there's no reason to really ever fight anything for the most part. The weapons breaking so easily just cements that. Haven't played the second tho.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

There's not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest. TotK mostly fixed the weapon breaking mechanic in my eyes. They're much more durable now and last longer when fused (there is generally no reason to not do fusion). The only thing that's more fun in BotW than TotK is riding a horse through Hyrule field while dodging tons of guardian lasers.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

There’s not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest.

Hmmmm... that's a thinker.

In the older zeldas, you didn't especially need to fight stuff on the overworld. I'd usually just run by, or kill the ones that were in my way.

In most FromSoft games, you can run past enemies but that can quickly spiral out of control. Killing them gives you time to explore safely, on top of the XP rewarded.

In shooters like Doom, you could probably run past most enemies, but they'll keep attacking. Clearing them makes you safer.

Monster hunter it's the whole point of the game.

What games are you thinking of where fighting is pointless? I don't think it's "most" games.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

I don't get this line of thinking... If you're using arguments like "you can run past them but it's safer to kill them so they stop attacking" how does that not apply to BotW/TotK? Obviously some eneny camps you ignore because they're irrelevant, it is an open world game after all, all open world games are like that (many learned the hard way why you should ignore giants in Skyrim lol). But in areas where you're trying to accomplish something, you "need" to kill them because they're attacking. That's still true.

You can't say "I dislike the game because it doesn't give me a reason to kill enemies" while saying "in Doom you don't need to kill enemies but it's easier if you do" when BotW/TotK are both easier if you kill enemies. And I know you're not the one who said it, but you're changing the context of the conversation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

I was hoping you would explain what you meant by "There’s not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest". I don't think that's a true statement. I think most games do give reasons to fight enemies.

I haven't played enough BotW to really weigh in on it, specifically.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

In Zelda One you definitely needed to kill them because there were several good items to purchase with the rupees.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 day ago

Steam Deck is the winner, They don't even advertise.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago

There is a reason why i call all these handheld gaming pcs as decks or gaming decks.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 day ago (11 children)

Console wars stopped being cool years ago. Everyone has their preferences and favorites, no need to shit on someone's fun because you think yours is better.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 hours ago

PC G*mers aren't known for being with the times.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Its unfair to call it a "console war" when one is a classic locked down console and another is a general handheld computer. This also means there are bigger societal stakes in this argument than just "which corporate flavor you like more" because one empowers people and the other does the exact opposite.

So no, "console wars" here are very much cool.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Competition is good. If the Switch didn't exist then I don't think we would've gotten the Steam Deck.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Actually you will be able to play switch two games on PC. It's only a matter of time so no your only option isn't just switch two. It's patience 😜

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