And some of us also generally prefer the intuitive comforts of console gaming to the perennially whimsical PC environment where you can barely even install an already downloaded game without sitting through the progress bar for what feels like the umpteenth copy/version of DirectX on your machine.
By the way, the screen is apparently just 7 inches big - meaning a legit free Windows 10 in the first place, right? I haven't heard Microsoft backing down on a significant performance boost for Switch would likely need proportionally better cooling and battery. In other notes, yes, whenever I actually manage to get SD (if at all?), Steam OS is likely getting yeeted in favour of the access to GOG, Uplay (wouldn't the latter need to be installed for some games anyway? The first Watch Dogs in my Steam library launches it by default?), RPCS3 and whatnot besides Steam itself. On the other hand, if SD had come out back in 2017 and already been in my possession with Switch (the 2017 Switch, not even revisions with blackjack and OLED) only coming out now, I would still aim to buy a Switch as well.Īnd people familiar with my library from past comments may already guess that Nintendo games and other exclusives, for all my appreciation thereof, wouldn't be the remotely primary reason for that. The competitive price among other gaming micro PCs and other perks sure land me in the prospective market for the machine as a valuable and most portable access point to any games not expected on Switch for. Which Nintendo has owned up to when it comes to customers but which remains a lot less excusable when it comes to journalists presumably PAID to do homework on the things they write ab- uh, wait, silly me, it's clearly NOT what their employers pay them for, is it.??Īs for Steam Deck itself, the release has left my stance on it unchanged. "Vita and Wii U's child on Linux" sounds weird and reiterates that even in 2022 some people still don't get the memo about what a Wii U conceptually is (a dual screen home console). Similar to the Switch, the screen is touch-enabled, so you can easily navigate through menus and even control some games with a quick tap here and a drag there." But it's still lovely, especially if you aren’t jumping back and forth between this and an OLED screen. I have to say, though, that the OLED screen on the latest model of the Nintendo Switch has spoiled me on handheld screens, and the Steam Deck doesn't live up to the vibrance and clarity afforded by Nintendo's latest update. I have no complaints about the resolution – at this screen size there’s a diminishing return on packing in extra pixels. "The Steam Deck’s LCD screen runs at 1200x800 at 60Hz, and it looks really good. Macy, summed up his thoughts with the following comments: The IGN "in-progress review" by its executive editor, Seth G. "A lot of people are going to compare the Steam Deck to the Switch, and that’s totally fair, but after spending more than a week with Valve’s portable PC, I think there’s a better analogy at hand: The Steam Deck is what happens when the Vita and the Wii U get drunk on Linux and make a big baby together." And the Steam Deck isn't completely immune to that jack-of-all-trades problem-after two weeks with it, it's not a replacement for my desktop PC or as portable as a Nintendo Switch."Įngadget senior editor, Jessica Conditt, awarded Valve's new hardware 81 out of 100 and while she believes the Switch comparisons are "totally fair" it's more like a hybrid of two older devices: The problem I've always had with Leathermans (please don't be mad at me, Leatherman guys) is that the miniature scissors and other doodads are never as good as the proper tools they replace. It was quite possibly designed by Leatherman guys at Valve, who decided that a handheld gaming PC would only work if it had a big screen, two big analog sticks, trackpads, and access to a proper Linux desktop underneath its friendly UI. "The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming system a Leatherman guy would love.
Wes Fenlon of PC Gamer gave the device 85 out of 100 and said it was a system a "Leatherman guy would love": That flexibility has encouraged me to play some games I might not have tried otherwise." But sometimes, I'm just more comfortable curled up on the couch under a blanket with a cup of tea in reach.
Sure, I can play games on my rig hooked up to a monitor or a TV. "There's a certain intimacy to playing games on the Steam Deck, the same way there is on the Nintendo Switch.