The arrival of the Steam Deck by Valve promises to disrupt a market long-dominated by Nintendo Switch.
After Sony pulled out its Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) from markets worldwide, people began wondering if another company would ever be able to occupy the vacuum left by PSP.
It isn’t so much that Nintendo Switch was a bad console. If anything, the Switch is a superb handheld product, but it has one fatal shortcoming – it doesn’t work with all games and that is precisely what gamers have been asking for.
When GamerHeadlines.com broke the news that Valve will be releasing a handheld console, skepticism mounted over this new device and whether it would prove of any value to gamers. Weeks after the announcement now, it seems like Valve is onto a good thing.
Where Does Valve’s Steam Deck Do Better?
Valve is leveraging a successful brand that it hopes will be one of the best-selling gaming devices. At least, that is the idea behind the company’s push into a brand-new space in which it doesn’t really have a ton of experience.
Yet, Valve has been an innovator. It has been able to innovate competitive gaming space and how we purchase and store games digitally. It should not surprise us then that Steam Deck promises to be an equally worthwhile product. Gamers Headlines has reported extensively on consoles, so they have some ideas about what the competition between Switch and Steam Deck may look like.
Steam Deck will not aim to become an AAA game platform from Day One. Rather, the platform will bid its time until that time when publishers and developers realize that it makes a great gateway to additional revenue.
In other words, Steam Deck will be far more “comprehensive” in terms of available titles, eventually. However, Nintendo Switch will have one advantage that may douse some fans’ ambitions to making the “switch” to Steam Deck.
The Switch platform has access to some of the most memorable games Nintendo has ever produced and continues to launch, including Legend of Zelda: Breadth of the Wild 2, Mario, Link or Samus. There are many excellent franchises that Nintendo can use successfully.
Not least, the company is currently running different Pokémon games, including ULTIMATE, and is even launching a dedicated Nintendo Switch Pokémon edition to celebrate the mobile release of the game.
Steam Deck Will Build on a Bulky Catalogue
Nintendo Switch definitely has exclusivity written all over it. However, Steam Deck is going to focus on pulling more games from PS4 and PC, meaning that some blockbusters will only be available if you were to go with the Steam Deck in the first place.
This could prove an important part of the decision-making process of a fan that will have to pick between one and the other. Switch is also launching a new platform, the Switch OLED, which means that Nintendo is not even close to relenting from its position in the handheld gaming devices market.
Since both platforms are arriving just within a few months of each other, many fans are now wondering if they should wait for the one that comes second to compare or just snap up the first one that hits the shelves.
Naturally, to some people there will be no toss-up. They will simply get both. The answer to this predicament though doesn’t seem to be too complicated. Switch and Steam Deck are equally powerful, but they have their “niche” markets that they will make sure to focus on.
If you find yourself coming back for more of Nintendo’s games and look forward every fresh release, you don’t have to worry about Steam Deck. However, if you prefer a broader selection of games, Steam Deck is your best bet.
