Hacker News Reader

Comment by brokencode | Hacker News Reader

May as well get a Switch 2 at this point. Then at least it’s something new.

I got the switch 2 and day one and I've mostly been playing the deck since then. There isn't much on the switch (besides mario kart and donkey kong), and the stuff that is cross-platform doesn't run well (the new "it takes two" is really laggy).

A Switch and a Steam Deck are orthogonal purchases.

Not really. The Switch 2 has many of the most popular games available on other platforms. Plus a lot of Nintendo exclusives. They are not the same for sure, and YMMV for specific titles.

I have both and I would agree with GP on that, the switch is really exclusively for Nintendo games. Cross platform games don't run really well, I just get them on the deck instead.

> Cross platform games don't run really well

Wouldn't that depend heavily on the game and developer in question? The Switch 2 has more than sufficient hardware to compete, with a particularly beefy GPU for a handheld.

I'd be more ready to blame the game and developer in question than this console, unless there are a lot of examples from capable developers performing measurably worse.

So why does it matter?

On Switch, I had to expensively rebuy games at high prices, which then ran poorly and didn't support any kind of settings to try to fix the situation.

On the Deck I get all my desktop Steam library and I can change game settings until they run as I like (within reason).

I don't see how those two are comparable purchases - I either get a console which runs poorly and demands 40$ for games that are like 5$ on Steam... or a console that already supports my existing library AND on top of that allows me to stream games from main PC at full detail and framerate.

"Cross platform games don't really run well"

Leaves the question who is to blame completely out.

And as a consumer I couldn't care less why it doesn't work. I paid for it, it doesn't work: I am not recommending it.

Easy as that. I don't have to write thesis about such stuff.

You're probably right though, if it's any consolation.

It doesn't change the reality though, that currently many of the cross platform titles don't work well on the Switch 2.

I have no clue, but I've had enough experiences to know better now. I just got Split Fiction, you'd think as a starting title that's made for couch coop it would run pretty well. No, it's horrible. We stopped playing it and we'll just buy it on a different platform.

Cross platform games tend to run better on Switch 2 than the Deck, which is showing its teeth. E.g., Cyberpunk

The Deck is amazing but a hardware refresh would be helpful

wat

The Deck can play most of those Nintendo exclusives better than the Switch itself ;)

If you like indie games, the selection is generally better on Steam. And everything that is available on both runs better on the steamdeck. The Switch only makes sense if you particularly want to play Nintendo games.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with my Switch 2, but due to its size I find it far less ergonomic than the original.

I spent like 98% of my playtime on the original in handheld. That has switched completely. It’s not just the size but especially the weight I think.

May as well replace all of your apples with oranges while you're at it.

The Switch 2 and the Steam Deck are hugely different machines, despite sharing a form factor.

To some people, they are like xbox and playstation. Both are different machine with different game store, but still, they are console.

Obviously SD can be more than just "handheld console", but a lot of people won't need that.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com