Valve has come swinging out the gates with its upcoming Steam Deck, offering players an entrance into the world of PC gaming at a great price. Ever since the Steam Deck's rumors originated, its handheld form-factors drove a number of comparisons to the Nintendo Switch.
Many of these Steam Deck and Switch comparisons could be a double-edged sword, but the way Valve seems to be presenting the Steam Deck is inviting fans to make such comparisons. It also seems to have solved one of the Switch's biggest problems, which if true could do wonders for the future of the handheld.
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Valve's developers recently talked about how the Steam Deck is capable of running almost every game available in the Steam library. Furthermore, Valve also promises that the upcoming handheld will be able to play almost all games coming out this year. Fans seem to be excited about this prospect, and the hardware Valve has put into its handheld is certainly promising enough to be able to deliver on this promise.
However, Valve's claims can easily be debunked by citing a number of examples of popular games such as Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, and Apex Legends which wouldn't work without official anti-cheat support. That being said, these problems mostly persist with Valve's choice of using Linux for the machine, and fans are entitled to install any OS they wish.
A fresh copy of Windows 10 will alleviate most of these issues, but incredibly taxing games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator would probably still struggle to maintain constant performance levels. This is just fan speculation, of course, as Valve's insistence on pushing for a competent 720p gaming experience does the Steam Deck some great favors.
This is directly tapping into some of the complaints raised by Nintendo Switch fans, a similarly promising handheld with a knack for hit-or-miss ports. The console's far-reaching popularity and enticing first-party output have allured many fans to purchase the Switch, but the quality of Switch ports are mostly inferior when compared to consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One, more so with next-gen offerings of the same. This is in addition to the fact that most releases don't even make their way to the Switch, including massively successful games like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Call of Duty: Warzone.
Valve's smart choice of hardware and accompanying resolution is a great step towards ensuring compatibility with most games. However, the claim does put it directly at competition with the Switch, as it's a platform with seemingly guaranteed compatibility with all games on the Steam marketplace.
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While Valve's current position with the Steam Deck does sidestep many issues pertaining to compatibility, its claims are mostly meant to be judged for the short term. Valve promises compatibility with all of its back catalog and games coming to the PC platform in the current year, but the relatively weaker hardware, when compared to traditional consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, does hurt its chances for the long run.
Even the Nintendo Switch, despite its even weaker hardware, is a console bound by arbitrary generations. Despite the fact that many third parties are struggling to deliver competent ports for the system, Nintendo itself delivers a flurry of content on a regular basis that runs great on the system. Games like the upcoming sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are great examples, which are by no means inferior in quality to games offered by other platforms such as Halo Infinite or Horizon Forbidden West.
This focus on delivering great first-party content is a great reason to stick with the Switch for an entire generation, and millions of fans can certainly agree with the sentiment. Valve doesn't have this advantage gunning for it, as the developer's only AAA release in almost a decade has been the VR title with Half-Life: Alyx – which isn't playable on its handheld. While it's understandable that Valve's strategy with the Steam Deck isn't reliant on making its own distinct platform with unique experiences, the fact that most content will run in a much better fashion on other platforms in the near future does give the handheld less redeeming factors.
On the bright side, the Steam Deck isn't bound by arbitrary generations following which the support for the handheld will be dropped out. It's quite common to see it happen to consoles, as smaller scope titles such as indies stop receiving ports to old systems that could very well handle the game. The fact that the Steam Deck is a PC at heart gives it an advantage, as fans will be able to enjoy games that aren't too taxing for quite a long time.
The Steam Deck's claims of being capable of running almost all games listed on Steam is inviting comparisons to the Nintendo Switch and other consoles in a similar vein. This is absolutely a double-edged sword, as Valve's handheld isn't a distinct platform capable of delivering experiences exclusive to the handheld. Although the handheld has a number of great features and specs for the price, it cannot offer the longevity Switch and other consoles have due to sheer market dominance and quality of first-party content. However, its multi-platform approach could prove beneficial.
Currently, the Steam Deck is doing a great job at sidestepping the problem of multiplatform games on the Switch being inferior versions of the real deal, though this could change in the near future as games start to become more taxing on the PC platform. Regardless, the Steam Deck will be able to run many games that the Switch cannot, providing users with a platform full of third party content that the competition is lacking.
The Valve Steam Deck is due for release this holiday.
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