Did you know that kids sometimes play video games?
The Steam Deck is great. Im playing more PC games than I have in a decade. But every couch session starts with me walking over to turn it on, manually setting the HDMI input despite being in the Input+ slot, starting my Steam Controller, hoping it connects, hoping the bug where it loses my controller configuration doesnt happen, rebooting if if does. Then I can start any of my thousands of Steam games, and a lot of them will work.
The Nintendo that sits next to it, my 4 year old picks up her unicorn covered pro controller from the coffee table, presses the little house button, and she can play Animal Crossing in her own profile in 2 button presses. It always works. Every game always works.
Technically you could use the unicorn pro controller to pair into the steam deck and you could press the little home button when the deck is paired and it’d turn the deck on automatically, but then there’s the inconvenience of pairing it back with the switch. Dunno if the steam controller support manual wake up though.
Nope. None of that works. And I end up with a new Pro Controller entry in the Bluetooth settings each time it pairs to the Steam Deck. And if I mess around with Bluetooth too much, all controller input stops working, including the joysticks on the Deck itself, requiring a hard reboot.
As a handheld device to play PC games it is amazing. As a day to day half hour on the couch after work relaxation, or let the kids play it to keep them quiet on a Saturday morning, it is not at all comparable.
oof, yeah fair enough. it’s quite easy to forget how something should work for a user that wants a 1-2 experience. But in my defense my pro controller stays on the same address and it does turn the deck on.
At this price point, I don’t see why average consumer would get Switch 2 over Steam Deck. Nintendo have to release some really good Switch exclusive.
Did you know that kids sometimes play video games?
The Steam Deck is great. Im playing more PC games than I have in a decade. But every couch session starts with me walking over to turn it on, manually setting the HDMI input despite being in the Input+ slot, starting my Steam Controller, hoping it connects, hoping the bug where it loses my controller configuration doesnt happen, rebooting if if does. Then I can start any of my thousands of Steam games, and a lot of them will work.
The Nintendo that sits next to it, my 4 year old picks up her unicorn covered pro controller from the coffee table, presses the little house button, and she can play Animal Crossing in her own profile in 2 button presses. It always works. Every game always works.
Technically you could use the unicorn pro controller to pair into the steam deck and you could press the little home button when the deck is paired and it’d turn the deck on automatically, but then there’s the inconvenience of pairing it back with the switch. Dunno if the steam controller support manual wake up though.
Nope. None of that works. And I end up with a new Pro Controller entry in the Bluetooth settings each time it pairs to the Steam Deck. And if I mess around with Bluetooth too much, all controller input stops working, including the joysticks on the Deck itself, requiring a hard reboot.
As a handheld device to play PC games it is amazing. As a day to day half hour on the couch after work relaxation, or let the kids play it to keep them quiet on a Saturday morning, it is not at all comparable.
oof, yeah fair enough. it’s quite easy to forget how something should work for a user that wants a 1-2 experience. But in my defense my pro controller stays on the same address and it does turn the deck on.
To be honest, as difficult as using a Steam Deck would be for a kid, using a Switch can also be difficult.
We often have struggles about which joycon to use, how to hold it, when to activate it when wére docking the Switch.
It’s difficult to describe and it’s related to the modularity of the Switch, but a Playstation is way easier in that regard.