For some insanely odd reason I’ve recently stumbled upon a few people who seem to treat Steam Deck users as zealots. One argued that it was out of date and the other tried to compare it to Switch. However, both treated me as if I was some sort of sheep.
Outdated?
The argument was about Valve should to get with the times and the Deck is getting “long in the tooth.” Claiming that it isn’t capable of keeping up with the latest round of AAA games. Naturally, I was, like, “huh?” The fact was able to successfully get Windows game to run on Linux with little to no issue is impressive enough as it is.
Of course, they also mentioned that I should just throw my Deck out and get something newer because Valve wouldn’t make another model. While I can’t clarify if that’s true or not, Look, most game console generations have a 7-8 year lifespan and the Deck is only 3 years. So, yeah, of course Valve isn’t going to throw money into a newer generation. Anyway, Nintendo has proven time and time again that specs only go so far. What matters is the game library.
Ironically, this person kinda destroyed their own argument when they mentioned that the Xbox Series was struggling with newer AAA titles as well. Which, that seems more of a publisher problem than the console maker. Glances at Cyberpunk 2077
The discussion was about Microsoft gearing up to challenge the Deck with their own handhelds. If their mainline consoles are struggling with AAA titles, then it seems kind of silly to pivot to a market where specs are limited by how much it consumes the battery’s limited power.
Switch vs Deck
The next person I ran into tried to claim the Deck and Switch were somehow equal. At least the previous guy was more understandable, since Microsoft is just slapping a full screen game launcher onto Windows, but this is just dumb.
The Switch is a game console that is more closely related to the Xbox Series. The Steam Deck is a portable computer. The latter practically has a desktop mode for hacking and developing which the former doesn’t.
They tried to argue that Homebrew somehow puts it’s in the same ballpark. However, just because it’s possible – humans are persistent – doesn’t mean Nintendo wants you to do that. They even tried to make the case that anyone can write a game cartridge. Which is, like, no…? While Homebrew as a concept has been around for ages, it only becomes more accessible for the DS and Wii thanks to SD card support. It allows people to share their games for their favorite platforms without shelling more money than they already did to Nintendo. This concept just doesn't exist on PCs, and by extension the Deck, because they were always open to begin with.
That being said, the Switch’s walled garden nature isn’t really a bad thing, since they’ve been making consoles long before the internet went mainstream. Quality control made sense before SDKs became widely available. Nintendo isn’t going to change their ways just because Valve and Microsoft are going in a different direction. They’ve been successful because they know how to make good games using their intellectual property, similar to Valve with Half Life and Portal.
Conclusion
It’s really quite insulting that simply liking and enjoying something that doesn’t affect anyone’s life automatically makes me a fucking zealot. Like, if you’re going to treat me like shit and pressure me to get a console I have no interest in then I’m just going to argue that you’re the sellout. You can like your Switch or Xbox handheld and I can like my Deck, 3DS, Xbox Series, and PS5.