I stand by what I said on page 1.. software matters, the switch has exclusive software, thus it is my preferred system.

Actually no, and that is what I argue the whole time. First of all, putting 'objectively' and 'better' in one sentence does not make sense, because 'better' is always a question of 'for who' or 'for which use'. People play games, not technical spec sheets, therefore the technical specs while they might be interesting are not relevant. 'Better' means more value for that person and use. For instance: the fastest car is not always better than a slower car for people. Other considerations like practicality and comfort are much more relevant. To make it painful obvious: a formula 1 racecar is faster than any street car, but it holds no value for private users in daily life.

Nintendo didn't fool people to reach these sales with the Switch, the system has actually value for a lot of gamers. It also isn't down to brand-power or legacy, how much that does we saw with the WiiU. The value as gaming system stems from other things. Switch is both used as a home console and a mobile device. As it does both and seamlessly at that, that already has value. With Switch I can actually keep gaming while arriving at home with the same game. Steam Deck is only one, except I fumble around with additional cables.

But the more interesting part is on the mobile side. Steam Deck only supports mobile. And yet people that say they prefer Steam Deck over Switch usually don't own either, as they are dislike handheld gaming from the get go. So let's consider value for actual handheld gamers. People tend to have different tastes, but there are usually points they tend to gravitate towards. We can expect a bell curve going out from a sweet spot in values, with the most people liking stuff at this sweet spot and less and less people liking it as we move further away. People also are willing to accept a little deviation from their personal preferences, but usually choose something that is closer to their tastes.

If we look at size and weight, then the 3DS must have been hitting that sweet spot or being pretty close. It did had a lot of different models, which were different in size, so the sweet spot must have been somewhere in there, considering it's sales. If we also take the DS into account, it had similar (or somewhat smaller) model sizes to at least a few 3DS models. Switch moves away in one direction. The two models (or three with OLED) it does have are not much of a difference and both are bigger than any 3DS model, it is clear they are already away from that sweet spot for handheld gamers. But there is no current gen alternative, that is smaller, so handheld gamers are willing to take that or have to give up on current gen gaming altogether. The Steam Deck is even further away in size. While there may be gamers who prefer this form factor, they are at the outer end of the bell curve and therefore only few. Everyone closer to the sweet spot may find not an ideal form factor in Switch, but a better one than Steam Deck.

So yes, Steam Deck may be better for a few persons, but in the demographic actually willing to purchase a handheld gaming system, the Switch holds more value for much more people. So for them 'objectively' the Switch is better.

Now, there are always people mixing up specs with value. At all times some people declare: The Turbo-Grafx is better than the SNES! The N64 is better than the PS1! The Xbox is better than a PS2! The Vita is better than a 3DS! And they all seem again and again and again surprised, that specs don't actually equate to value for the majority of people, the same as the majority don't use a racecar to drive to work.

Someone start a SteamDeck sales prediction thread with a poll. Always fun to go back to these lol.

I propose a motion to overwrite this thread title and turn it into a full debate about copyright, emulation, law enforcement, console practices and discussion about what's the limit for commercial agreements and where they stand against law 

Cheers

We are already debating on this one, why create another ?

I stand by what I said on page 1.. software matters, the switch has exclusive software, thus it is my preferred system.

The SteamDeck is really shit for Switch games. Personally, I don't see what niche the SteamDeck wants/needs to fill, and Valve has tried its hand at hardware before, showing that they're not as attuned to the market as one might think. Then again; I find the Switch to be the least attractive current console, primarily due to its software pricing, which is the same issue every generation.
For what it offers and the niche it fills, I would still side with the Switch in this, despite owning only 6 games for it to this day. For me, the SteamDeck falls into the same category as tablets. Between smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, home consoles, and various handhelds, I have zero use for it and zero interest. Mind you, I never had a mind towards playing on the go and prefer to do my gaming at home, so I might not at all be the intended demographic (also; I'm old and bitter and you best not listen to me).

Make a new thread for that.

Because that is not the topic.

Steamdeck has exclusives not found on consoles.

If you are buying the Steamdeck to play Switch games, then you have just wasted your money... You would be better off buying an actual Switch instead.

But the Steamdeck is a fantastic portable PC, complete with some great PC exclusives... And even comes with a few benefits of receiving Sony/Microsoft multiplats that gets ignored on Nintendo's platform.

FarCry? Check.
Grand Theft Auto? Also Check.
Assassins Creed? Yup.
Call of Duty? Yep, that too.
Battlefield? Of course.

But then throw in PC exclusives like Homeworld, Company of Heroes and more... And you have the potential for a really really great handheld.

I think people tend to forget that the PC actually has the largest game library of any platform in existence... And I would like to thing everyone on this forum is a gamer, loves and adores gaming and could appreciate both the Switch and the Steamdeck for what they intrinsically are.

Someone start a SteamDeck sales prediction thread with a poll. Always fun to go back to these lol.

If you are buying the Steamdeck to play Switch games, then you have just wasted your money... You would be better off buying an actual Switch instead.

But the Steamdeck is a fantastic portable PC, complete with some great PC exclusives... And even comes with a few benefits of receiving Sony/Microsoft multiplats that gets ignored on Nintendo's platform.

FarCry? Check.
Grand Theft Auto? Also Check.
Assassins Creed? Yup.
Call of Duty? Yep, that too.
Battlefield? Of course.

But then throw in PC exclusives like Homeworld, Company of Heroes and more... And you have the potential for a really really great handheld.

I think people tend to forget that the PC actually has the largest game library of any platform in existence... And I would like to thing everyone on this forum is a gamer, loves and adores gaming and could appreciate both the Switch and the Steamdeck for what they intrinsically are.

The Switch part was a joke, I own a Switch. As for everyting else; like I said, I'm probably just outside the demographic. PC has been my main gaming platform since around 2003-2004 and I do all my PC gaming on my desktop. I never saw the charms of playing on handheld consoles with small screens and limited controls and the type of games I play tend to look and feel better on big screens, with great sound and good controls. It's simply a matter of preference. I did own an Atari Lynx at some point, but I gave it away since I never used the thing and spent all my time on various Nintendo, Sony and Sega home consoles instead.

The part about software library is easily the most overlooked on the PC. Not only does it have an immense library stretching from before I was born and into today, but all these games actually work on this platform. No BS about backwards compatibility or lost classics at the mercy of lazy devs or re-selling them at a sick premium.

OP likes to bait in reviews but this thread is genius. He achieved a feat here. I dont remember seeing nintendo and steam stans going at each other, usualy its pc fans and anti pirating/emulation nintendo fans but its rare. This is something else. Steam deck is a system that if you analyse it shows every flaw in nintendo switch, its a powerfull portable system with a insane library of games and a good store. Who would have thought ? Power can coexist with good games?!?! BUT does not have nintendo games and pc fans cant understand some people does not give a fucking shit about some random triple A from EA or ubisoft , they want to play mario kart , zelda , mario etc, lets be honest , these types of games with the quality nintendo produces are nowhere.

But a steam deck that emulates /pirates nintendo games ?!?!?!?! 🤭

We need these threads on vgchartz, its shit when OP baits in his reviews but these threads are great to spice things up because lately vgchartz is just a boring ass forum.

Mods should come in threads like these and instead of closing them like they do they should just ban the insults to the OP and kick those people out of the thread.