When Nintendo started the Switch in 2017, there was no competition in a committed handheld -gaming, a sector that he founded in 1989 with the Game Boy and has ruled since then. Sega had come and gone; After two trials, Sony had almost given up with the Playstation Tragable and the Playstation Vita.
When Switch 2 approaches in 2025, things look a little different – but only a little. The colossal success of the Switch has aroused the muddy giants. According to reports, Sony and Microsoft reported that Dedicated PlayStation and Xbox handhelds are prepared. However, it was unlikely the PC -Gaming sphere that took the first step. In 2022, Valve led the steam deck, which looked a growing ecosystem of similar PC-based handheld devices from manufacturers such as Lenovo and Asus. After a quiet decade, Nintendo handheld games are not one thing again. And that means that the Switch 2 is not executed unhindered for the supremacy of the handheld gaming.
In a way, Nintendo is the victim of his own strategic foresight. With the switch, it was the first to find that the narrowed gap in the processing performance between mobile and home devices had made it possible to standardize handheld and home players. After all, the same games can work in both contexts. The switch has emphasized this point, and now everyone wants a piece.
But with committed devices from Sony and Microsoft, which are still years away, this competition from Steam Deck and the other PC handhelds must come. My colleague Chris planned convincingly that these devices are “greatest threat to the present”. They whip the switch on the specifications and have closed the gap to contemporary AAA games in the household until it is almost not perceptible. With regard to the software, they offer the convincing value and the amazing area of almost everything in Steam and a large part of PC games, moreover, if they are ready to implement a little.
Photo: Nintendo
It is true that the price and technical data of the Switch 2 are put into direct competition in direct competition with the PC handhelds in the lower area. At 449 US dollars, there are 50 US dollars more expensive than the basic model -team deck. The Switch 2 is approximately comparable in force and storage, has a much better screen. With removable controllers and a TV dock contained in the price, it is much more flexible to use. The basic model of Asus' Rog Ally Handheld (499 US dollars or if) and the new Lenovo Legion Go S (549 US dollar) are also quite tight with regard to the technical data.
In raw hardware, these are all very similar devices. It is worth noting that the exclusive access of the Switch 2 to Nvidia's market-leading DLSS high-scaling technology should make it possible to beat something about its weight class. But realistically there is not much between them.
But – and it is a very, very big one, but – – compares the Switch 2 with the PC handhelds by downloading your finger to a specification sheet or finding that you can play all Civilization 7 And Elden ringDon't tell the whole story. PC handhelds are a big deal within an enthusiastic bubble, but they do not exist in the same universe as Nintendo consoles. To express it bluntly, PC handhelds are still niche.
The steam deck was a great success for Valve, but let us put it in the right perspective. Valve has not discussed sales, but market research estimates that this estimates this It sold around 4 million steam decks. And steam deck puts its competition in the shade; The same examinations suggest that in the three years since the steam deck have been sold onto the market. It is worrying that there are still no signs of strong sales growth.
Stack of the switch sold against the 150 million units of the switch and the wild yardstick is obvious. Of course it is not a direct analog comparison. PC handhelds have only been in existence for three years; The switch has been around for eight years and Nintendo has been in the handheld business for more than 35 years. Nevertheless, Nintendo predicts 11 million units of the aging counter in the current financial year – more than five times the predicted turnover of PC handheld during this time. In the meantime, analysts believe that the Switch 2 will surpass the size of the PC handheld market alone Almost immediately, with 6 to 8 million units at the start and up to 20 million sales in the first year.
Photo: valve
Valve is a big player in the game industry and a very rich company. But it is a newcomer in the world of retail by Consumer Electronics, and it has a lot to do – if it is at all interested. Steam deck is not available in stores. You cannot go to Walmart and pick you up. Valve does not buy any displays on TV or at bus stops. Companies such as Lenovo and Asus have more traditional sales channels, are tiny Minnows compared to marketing, retail and sales of Nintendo.
There are other factors that make the PC handheld products. The user experience of Windows-based handhelds such as the Rog Ally and Legion Go is notorious. Valves Steamos is much better, but it is still quite far away from the reliability and simplicity of Nintendo and the other console platforms.
You cannot give a new steam deck, switch it on and play a game immediately. It requires tinkering to get the best out. Although Valve's verification system is a helpful guide for games, it is not guaranteed that you will receive a good, playable experience in every game. The deck is also bulky and heavy. You would never buy one for a child or share one in a family – it is clearly not designed so that they are shared. Realistically speaking, it remains a difficult sale for everyone who is not a gaming hobbyist.
According to reports, there is supposedly an upcoming device that may change this narrative a little. Microsoft is said to be based on a system with a PC handheld manufacturer on a system with Xbox branding and a user interface that has a new version of the Xbox PC app. This has the potential to be a more user-friendly device that offers easy access to the PC game pass for on the go, which would be very convincing. Although Microsoft has been producing Xbox consoles for over 20 years now, it has fought consistently To use this experience to make PC games more seamless despite repeated attempts -and the device does not sound much more than a stop gap until the own handheld console from Microsoft is ready.
Nintendo will not have a real competition in handhelds until his colleagues include in the console room. According to reports, Microsoft 2027 observes for the publication of your handheld Xbox. The portable PS5 from Sony should also be removed for years if it is ever published. It is definitely heated for Nintendo, and at the end (or even in the middle) of the life of the Switch 2, the handheld -gaming market is certainly much more bustling than now. But the competition for the new console stays away for the next few years – at best.
