this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
348 points (92.2% liked)

Games

39560 readers
1696 users here now

Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.

Rules

1. Submissions have to be related to games

Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.

This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.

2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil

No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.

We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.

3. No excessive self-promotion

Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.

This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.

4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts

This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.

We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.

5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW

Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.

No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.

6. No linking to piracy

Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.

We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.

Authorized Regular Threads

Related communities

PM a mod to add your own

Video games

Generic

Help and suggestions

By platform

By type

By games

Language specific

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

It’s silly to compare Switch 2 sales to Steam Deck sales.

The Switch 2 is a locked-down, vertically integrated platform. There are no ROG Switch 2s. No Lenovo Switch 2s. No Switch laptops or tower PCs with discrete GPUs. If you want to play Mario Kart World, your only option is to buy a Switch 2. Period.

Steam Deck, by contrast, isn’t a platform. It’s just one hardware option—one entry point into the sprawling, open ecosystem known as PC gaming.

Every year, around 245 million PCs are shipped globally. If even 20–25% of those are gaming-focused, that’s 49–61 million gaming PCs annually. Steam Deck is a sliver of that. So of course it won’t outsell a console that’s the only gateway to a major IP.

But that’s exactly the point.

PC gaming is too decentralized for any single device to dominate. The last “PC” that did was the Commodore 64, which sold 12.5–17 million units over 12 years because it was a self-contained platform, unlike modern Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.

That the Steam Deck has sold 4 million units despite competing with every other gaming PC in existence is remarkable. It didn’t just sell—it legitimized a category. Handheld PC gaming is now a thing. That’s why Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI have followed. Even Microsoft is getting in, optimizing Windows for handhelds—something they would never have done if the Steam Deck didn't hold their feet to the fire.

So no, Steam Deck didn’t outsell the Switch 2. It didn’t need to.

It won by changing the landscape.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 0 points 4 hours ago

...ok? Cool you're here on Lemmy, I guess, GabeN. Welcome!

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It's very likely that the Switch 2 will far outsell all other PC handhelds combined. And that is very much a loss. Not just to Valve, not just to PC gamers, but to everyone.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 4 hours ago

All the reasons listed in OP

[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 16 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

The funniest thing is that Nintendo buyers are not even part of this conversation LMAO 🤣

[–] thisisnotmyhat@programming.dev 3 points 5 hours ago

In a sense, this is also the point. They are different devices targeting different markets.

[–] Luckaneer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 13 hours ago

I loved my steam deck, but it was too chunky for me and certainly for my kid.

My compromise is Anbernic type devices. Long battery life, better form factor, lots of ported games too.

[–] Buske@lemmy.world 28 points 21 hours ago

Steam Deck is the winner, They don't even advertise.

[–] Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world 53 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'll emulate Nintendo games till the day I die because fuck Nintendo and their greed.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 22 points 22 hours ago

I won't even pirate their games

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 17 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

They make great games and they're a super anti-consumer company. Perfect combination for going out of your way to pirate their games.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 7 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Meh, personally I haven't enjoyed a Nintendo game since the GameCube. Every new game they release feels like a rehash of the same shit they've been shoveling down our throats since the Wii. Nintendo forgot how to innovate.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 6 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

BotW and TotK were both really good. Don't mistake this as me saying "Nintendo is good actually", more like a broken clock is right twice a day sort of statement.

[–] KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 5 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Personally I thought botw was pretty mid overall. The world is so empty and there's no reason to really ever fight anything for the most part. The weapons breaking so easily just cements that. Haven't played the second tho.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

There's not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest. TotK mostly fixed the weapon breaking mechanic in my eyes. They're much more durable now and last longer when fused (there is generally no reason to not do fusion). The only thing that's more fun in BotW than TotK is riding a horse through Hyrule field while dodging tons of guardian lasers.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 0 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

There’s not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest.

Hmmmm... that's a thinker.

In the older zeldas, you didn't especially need to fight stuff on the overworld. I'd usually just run by, or kill the ones that were in my way.

In most FromSoft games, you can run past enemies but that can quickly spiral out of control. Killing them gives you time to explore safely, on top of the XP rewarded.

In shooters like Doom, you could probably run past most enemies, but they'll keep attacking. Clearing them makes you safer.

Monster hunter it's the whole point of the game.

What games are you thinking of where fighting is pointless? I don't think it's "most" games.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

I don't get this line of thinking... If you're using arguments like "you can run past them but it's safer to kill them so they stop attacking" how does that not apply to BotW/TotK? Obviously some eneny camps you ignore because they're irrelevant, it is an open world game after all, all open world games are like that (many learned the hard way why you should ignore giants in Skyrim lol). But in areas where you're trying to accomplish something, you "need" to kill them because they're attacking. That's still true.

You can't say "I dislike the game because it doesn't give me a reason to kill enemies" while saying "in Doom you don't need to kill enemies but it's easier if you do" when BotW/TotK are both easier if you kill enemies. And I know you're not the one who said it, but you're changing the context of the conversation.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 1 points 4 hours ago

I was hoping you would explain what you meant by "There’s not a reason to fight most enemies in most video games to be honest". I don't think that's a true statement. I think most games do give reasons to fight enemies.

I haven't played enough BotW to really weigh in on it, specifically.

[–] KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

In Zelda One you definitely needed to kill them because there were several good items to purchase with the rupees.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 1 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

BotW and TotK are by far the worst Zelda games ever made. What's the point of having a huge open world if there's nothing to do in it? Plus there are no real dungeons and there's barely a plot. It honestly blows my mind that people enjoy those games. Hell, TotK was so lazily slapped together that they couldn't even bother creating a new map.

[–] KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Yeah, I think link between worlds is probably the best of them

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 hours ago

BotW and TotK are by far the worst Zelda games ever made.

"At last, vindication!"

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 6 hours ago

TotK didn't have real dungeons? Huh? I disagree with that criticism for BotW, but I can at least understand why people say it.

But I'm not gonna get into this. I like them. They're very popular. A certain vocal subset of the Zelda fandom hate them. A certain vocal subset of the Zelda fandom has hated a lot of more opinionated Zelda games on release only to view them more favorably later. People loathed Wind Waker on release, but now tons of people love it. I think these games will be viewed more favorably by fans long term. Yes, they're different from the others, but not all of them need to follow the same formula. Variety is the spice of life.

For example, I really enjoyed Link's Awakening HD.

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I remember when botw came out and some time after it was cracked and you could play it in 4k 60. So i did and i was just like meh. Do i really want to collect all the same shrines in a boring world?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 6 hours ago

You only think a game is fun if you're willing to 100% it?

[–] joel_feila@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago

There is a reason why i call all these handheld gaming pcs as decks or gaming decks.

[–] Stovetop@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago (11 children)

Console wars stopped being cool years ago. Everyone has their preferences and favorites, no need to shit on someone's fun because you think yours is better.

[–] GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world 0 points 5 hours ago

PC G*mers aren't known for being with the times.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 4 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Its unfair to call it a "console war" when one is a classic locked down console and another is a general handheld computer. This also means there are bigger societal stakes in this argument than just "which corporate flavor you like more" because one empowers people and the other does the exact opposite.

So no, "console wars" here are very much cool.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 6 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Competition is good. If the Switch didn't exist then I don't think we would've gotten the Steam Deck.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (9 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›