this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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PC Master Race

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

This is probably the only time Nintendo has come out of the gate with superior hardware and I actually don't give a shit, why on earth would I want to buy a steam deck that is locked behind corporate control and price gouging?

I don't give a shit how fast the scrreen refreshes or how fancy some of the features, I want a computer that can play games, I don't want a toy that is purposefully broken so I can't use it for things I want to use it for, ESPECIALLY if I drop hundreds and hundreds of dollars on it.

Nope.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 hours ago (3 children)

I understand why you think this, but its kind of wrong. Because Nintendo has had the upper hand with hardware many times.

  1. SNES was arguably better than Genesis system
  2. N64 has much more raw power than my favorite system the PS1
  3. GameCube was stronger than PS2 and Dreamcast

And yes, I'll just wait and use my steam deck until SD2, because I also just want a computer that I can play games on.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

SNES was arguably better than Genesis system

The SNES and Genesis were comparable. You could argue one or the other, but it was a tighter race than the Playstation 3 curb-stomping the Wii.

N64 has much more raw power than my favorite system the PS1

Playstation had CD-ROM, and that's all that needs to be said about that battle.

GameCube was stronger than PS2 and Dreamcast

Comparing the GameCube with the PS2, it had less VRAM, less RAM, a faster CPU, roughly equiv video processor. I would say they were about equal, and that's with GameCube coming out two years later.

The PS2 was also the strongest console to ever fight in any sort of console war, with its ridiculously large library of games. PS2 punished Sega so hard they permanent removed themselves out of the race, and Nintendo had to completely change strategies to fill a different niche and audience, which worked with the Wii. However, that came with the dumbing down of hardware that everybody is talking about. They have been pushing shitty outdated hardware ever since.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (2 children)

I stand corrected, I guess I was comparing the gamecube to an xbox, but yeah agreed, I just bought a second steam deck OLED when I already had the LCD model because honestly I think the economy is going to crash hard and it is going to be a long road to affordably getting a gaming device in the US for the foreseeable future.

It is a shitty situation to be in, but I didn't even hesitate because the current calculus is a no brainer. I have Blender on my Steam Deck and I am using it to create cool visualizations of Lidar data for Geology, Nintendo would respond to a statement like this with something like "yeah, that is cool but it sounds very niche, people don't need that" and my response is "Fuck you, you haven't even let people try".

I heard of another Geologist bringing in their steam deck to present a talk off of it instead of a laptop too, these kinds of interesting unusual use cases aren't trivial and hyper individual, they represent people developing the future of handheld computers in real time, and Nintendo has completely lost the plot here. The Steam Deck really isn't a gaming device, it is a gaming device that Trojan Horses you into having an awesome handheld linux computer that can also play your favorite games.

If Nintendo thinks they can compete with the Steam Deck by just selling a better handheld gaming console, they are so fucked.... or at the very least they are walking away from what will actually be the next big growth area in computers (that people were SURE AI and VR would be).

Nintendo execs are likely sitting there being like "damn we are going to make so much money selling the best handheld gaming console and completely dominate the handheld gaming console market so we can charge $100 a game" while missing the MUCH LARGER profit opportunity of evolving their handheld console into a handheld computer.

Think about it, Nintendo is in the perfect position to evolve their Switch into more and more of a computer, and it would give them a MASSIVE new horizon of growth opportunities especially since countless kids grow up playing on Switches and already know how to use them inside out... it would help Nintendo protect itself from encroachment by other big tech, and do any number of other longterm things for Nintendo's growth and profit.

Instead the idiots want to gouge people for more money by squeezing ONLY the gaming potential out of the switch, it is pathetic and I wish legislation around the world didn't allow massive corporations to behave this foolishly in trying to close down their systems so they don't accidentally create the "wrong" kind of value or innovation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

This is exactly why I purchased a steam deck. My gaming PC died (RIP to a real one), and I needed something for general use more than I did for gaming.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago

I need to check the price of broken steam decks, there are so many fun project's I could do if I had the motherboard or daughter boards in the steam deck, and no I need my current steam deck intact to play on

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

Ah yes, console released over 30 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

why on earth would I want to buy a steam deck that is locked behind corporate control

from context I think you wanted to write nintendo

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Yeah, I was trying to say the switch can be thought of as a steam deck that is locked behind corporate control.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

"Mouse mode"

Yeah, the Steam Deck has that. Its called dual touchpads, and unlike the Switch 2 you can easily switch from analog stick to touchpad (they also have more functionality and are actually utilized to their full potential with desktop mode).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

PCs literally had "mouse mode" gaming since the 80s. The Amiga/ATARI ST already had them, too.

Consoles have been behind the times for decades.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 hours ago

I have a Steam Deck definitely felt no need to get either the Switch 1 or 2.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I dunno what y'all are talking about, the Deck chip (Van Gogh, 7nm, Zen 2 but with Rembrandt-era SoC features, RDNA2) is "newer" than the Ampere chip (circa 2020) in the Switch 2.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

The display supports 1080p+120hz, games running at that res and fps will be rare I imagine. I mean, it would be amazing but Xbox also supports 4k 120 and it usually runs Up to 1440p upscaled 30fps so idk how much it will really differ from what we've already got.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 hours ago

I'm skeptical about 4 hour Elden Ring session.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 hours ago

Nintendo games never come down in price either.

BotW is still going for what it did on day one. Even second hand copies go for nearly that.

Although it does mean you can basically rent them for as long as you want for a few dollars if you sell it again afterwards...

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Soon as I heard about the price of games I was out

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

We have a switch 1 and the game price has been the driving factor preventing us from investing more in the platform. The games are too expensive, go on sale too infrequently and not for low enough prices. Just not the ecosystem for my family right now

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago

Yeah, I have a Switch too but it's not been turned on in maybe two years, getting a Steam Deck basically retired it

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