[InsideOutSanta]

By "a nail in the coffin", do you mean that people will stop buying Switches? Because I would be very surprised by that.

It's not like most people even know what a Steam Deck is. At the moment at least, the two devices mostly don't compete for the same audience. And if you want to play Nintendo's games - which a lot of people do, they're usually quite good - you don't have much choice anyway.

[ksymph]

Nintendo's core audience has always been children, their parents, and casual players, but with some console cycles they expand into other niches, as has (resoundingly) been the case with the Switch; the Switch appealed to virtually anyone interested in playing games on the go, including people who otherwise don't usually buy the newest Nintendo console/games for their polish and/or family-friendliness. For a long time it was by far the most convenient way to play Skyrim or Witcher 3 or what-have-you on buses, planes, at school etc.

The Steam Deck doesn't cut into Nintendo's core audience, but it does draw away people who would have bought the Switch 1/2 for those reasons -- the audience that made the Switch 1 such an overwhelming success. Anecdotally, I've had multiple non-techies bring up the Steam Deck unprompted, usually with an impression of 'the Switch but better' and/or 'more adult-oriented'.

Historically, when the market they created starts to become saturated, Nintendo starts looking to pivot. So the Steam Deck might not kill the Switch 2, but I'd be very surprised if it doesn't kill the Switch 3.

[seanmcdirmid]

I don't think Nintendo will put out a Switch 3, they would probably have something new by then. And...as a parent of a 9 year old, I couldn't imagine getting him a steam deck (he still has a Switch 1 though).

[gorjusborg]

> It's not like most people even know what a Steam Deck is.

Steam basically is PC gaming at this point, which is still a massive market that is almost as big as the entirety of console gaming.

I know there are those out there, but I would be slightly surprised if a PC gamer didn't know what a Steam Deck was in 2026.

As someone who has pretty much every console system and most handhelds, I didn't spring for a Switch 2, and it is for the exact reason the thread parent mentions. I do like Nintendo games, as they are consistently high quality, but they are not usually graphics reliant for fun, and the Switch is good enough still, and I don't love paying $90 USD for a single game when I can buy $5-20 games on Steam and play them across multiple devices.

[evilduck]

The Switch also followed a poor WiiU cycle that caused some pent up demand and launched with Zelda BotW which was an epic title. People bought Switches just to play that game and then stuck around to buy other titles on the platform. The Switch 2 doesn't have either going for it.

I'm in the same boat as you, I also don't feel the need to buy a Switch 2 yet. Also, game sharing on Steam with my kids is just so much more pleasant. Having multiple kids and multiple Switches was such a shit show of what felt like manual license and provisioning management that I'm not really keen on giving Nintendo more money at this time.

[uejfiweun]

Yes, Nintendo is essentially the futuristic version of Disney. And families will continue to pay a premium in exchange for a curated experience that you know will be OK for your child.

[ge96]

Breath of the Wild when that came out only reason I would have bought a Switch. But apparently if you own it can run it through QEMU on PC.

I have neither devices right now, only a PC.