Ok so I know obviously this sub is in full support of the steam deck, but that’s why I’m asking.
I currently have a Switch OLED but am really considering adding a steam deck to my collection. Or even selling my Switch Oled and getting a Switch Lite + Steam Deck. What would you say are the major advantages to having a steam deck, as someone coming from a Switch? Do you think it’s worth it to have both?
Also, is it necessary to buy the new OLED Steam Deck or would the regular one work well enough? I know newer is better, but the old ones have a price drop. So I’m curious if the old ones are bad or will not be supported soon?
Thanks all!
Cloud sync, ease of use, ability to be a comp, massive catalog. I don’t use my switch anymore tbh.
The Steam Deck OLED is just a refresh, both models will still get updates ofc, even if they didn’t its just a PC you can do what you want with it.
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I have both: deck and switch oled. In terms of game prices they are the same for such games like Sea of Stars and many others.
Switch is great for battery life. Deck is great for new games like Baldurs Gate 3, Cyberpunk.
I just got a Steam Deck (LCD) and already had a Switch OLED. I’ve been very happy with the Steam Deck.
The biggest advantage is definitely being able to play the huge library of PC games. But the big plus is that they run much better than on the Switch. Or the games that wouldn’t have a chance of releasing on Switch. I’ve already double dipped into a few of the multiplatform games I had on Switch which just run so much smoother on the Deck. Though keep in mind this is strictly for handheld. I haven’t really messed with it Docked.
Also of note, I dipped a bit into trying emulation on the Deck and the Switch games I’ve tried that don’t have any issues seem to look and run a good bit better than on the Switch itself.
The LCD model still looks crisp with the right game settings and I’ve been very happy with it. But I do find myself wondering sometimes just how much better it would look on OLED. The price just isn’t on the table for me though.
One advantage of owning a Steam Deck is that you get access to games that the Switch doesn’t have, along with the fact that it’s more of a PC, where you can add emulators, third party launchers and Windows on it if you want. Also, you can stream your games over from another PC, PS5 or Xbox using the many programs that are available on the Steam Deck while the Switch doesn’t even do this at all.
Another advantage of the Steam Deck is that you can find a lot of cheap and good games on sale almost weekly from Steam and other legit keyshops. On the Switch, you have to pay the full price for indie games and ports of games like Batman Arkham Trilogy that play and look terrible while on Steam, you can get those same games for way less than that while having it play and look great as a bonus. Overall, it’s more versatile than a Switch without dealing with some of the nonsense that Nintendo is known to do with their games and online practices.
Of course, if you like playing first party Nintendo games, then you should stick with the Switch since the emulators are a hit or miss when it comes to emulating Switch first party games on the Steam Deck.
Now, for which model to choose from, I’d say go with the OLED if you can get it but if not, the LCD should serve you well.
I bought an LED Steam Deck that someone was selling after the OLED model came out just to try it out to see if I like it.
So far, I enjoy it and I do have a Switch as well (bought one not long after it was released).
The amount of stuff the Steam Deck (LED or OLED) can do over the Switch is crazy. It is a legit computer after all compared to the Switch. You can play Xbox or Playstation on it, surf the web, set it up as a desktop to do regular computer stuff, play Steam games or setup Emudeck to play NES to PS3 games.
The OLED has a little better battery life than the LED Steam Deck. Since you did ask about that. Maybe an hour or 2 more, depending on your settings.
The only advantage to having both is to play games that you can only play on the Switch.