While that may be true, I still use my Steam Deck in desktop mode for a bunch of stuff besides gaming. Writing, job applications and interviews, using reddit because it’s the only device I have that isn’t detected for ban evasion, watching shows/Youtube. Maybe I’m atypical, but I don’t see why the Deck would offer a desktop mode if it wasn’t meant to be used.

Yeah, I misspoke lol. I meant to say Arch but I shortcirced or something.

How? SteamOS is still Linux.

It’s also recursive.

Wine Is Not an Emulator

Is

Not an

Emulator

It’s a combination of exclusivity and IP. Mario, Zelda, etc. are beloved IPs with multiple great games based on them. They’re also bound to Nintendo consoles. People will buy Nintendo consoles because they want to play those games. Fortnite, on the other hand, can be played on anything except Linux. It’s not driving sales for anything except Windows keys. Furthermore, Epic exclusives aren’t even fully exclusive (certain titles barred). Hitman 3 was exclusive on Epic Games for all of two minutes before it launched on Steam.

What it boils down to is that if you own an IP that is in high demand, you can gate that IP behind another product because you have what’s effectively a guaranteed market. If Epic pulled Fortnite from Xbox, Playstation, and PC and then released it on the Epic Games Assblaster 5000, I’m sure people would buy that to access Fortnite. Maybe even Fall Guys, though I doubt it.

But, I suppose it could go a different way. Imagine the uproar if Valve released Half Life 3 as a Steam Deck exclusive lmao.

Fall Guys != Mario, simple as

When did I say that “it plays everything” was a bad thing? I said it has no exclusives. And that’s 100% verifiably true. Nintendo is all exclusives. Couldn’t give a fuck about Skyrim on the Switch. But I wanna play Mario Kart. So I’ll buy a Switch. Sure you could pirate it but depending on how you obtain that ROM then you could be breaking the law. Most parents don’t really want their kids doing that, so they’ll buy a Switch. And yes, Valve and Nintendo are likely the two most recognizable names in gaming. In gaming. In the surrounding culture at large, who even knows what Valve is? Sure, most people have probably heard of Steam. But your parents still call your Playstation a Nintendo. So they’ll buy a Switch.

And I want to make this very clear: I think the Deck is great and, as you’ve stated, is a huge innovation in handheld gaming. The only point I’m trying to make is that the Deck and the Switch are not readily comparable because of the aforementioned key differences.

As for the Switch 2, I don’t think it’s going to feel much pressure at all. Again, the presence of exclusives basically guarantees sales. It’s why the Wii U sold 13 million units despite its marketing woes and generally being underwhelming. But I also don’t think that the Switch 2 is going to see as many sales as the Switch because many won’t see a need to make the switch unless the Switch 2 is significantly innovative.

Except for the fact that the Switch is largely an outlier in terms of total sales when it comes to all consoles and additionally has the benefit of having a strong list of exclusive IPs that require the purchase of the device to (legally) play. It was also a full $100 cheaper at launch than the Deck, allowing it to be sold to more people with less disposable income. And it has the benefit of being the first to innovate from a company with a good reputation for quality. The Deck, on the other hand, will never reach the same level of sale as the Switch, has no exclusives to draw greater adoption, is more expensive, and may be seen as a “knockoff Switch.” I think that the form factor is really the only apples to apples aspect of the two devices - there are differences between the two devices that are too confounding for an accurate comparison.

I’ve nuked my bootloader entries a handful of times. I wouldn’t trust a 12yo to know how to fix that. But maybe I’m not giving 12yos enough credit 🤷

The Switch is a bad metric to measure against since it’s on track to be the highest selling console of all time. Even if they have similar form factors.

Better than having Win on it. Anyway, it’s a smart move. Cap more userbase in the high-end market while still providing a low-end option yourself.