Nintendo Switch 2 Vs Steam Deck Handheld Specs And Features Compared
Straight up, before we even get into this, we have to acknowledge that the Nintendo Switch 2 has one huge advantage over all of the other game systems out there and that's simply that it is a Nintendo system. You won't be getting Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond on a Steam Deck, not even through emulation. You won't be getting the cool detachable joy-cons with mouse mode, either—although Lenovo's Legion Go has that feature, and actually did it first.
If you're okay with not having those specific games, though, the option is extremely compelling. The Steam Deck in particular offers an absolutely massive library of games, many of which you probably already own, and a great number of which you can reliably get on deep discounts in Steam sales. Gamers will be well familiar with memes of Nintendo games never dropping in price, but that's not a joke; it's based in reality. A copy of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for your current Switch will cost you $60 right now, same as in 2017—and at least $70 if you want to get the upgraded Switch 2 version when that comes out.
Comparison of handheld system specs. Click or tap this if you can't read it.
In terms of the hardware, there's a lot we don't know for sure yet. Almost everything to do with the hardware on the Switch 2 is only known through leaks, particularly the motherboard leak in January that showed us the core components of the machine. We're marking these specs as "not confirmed" because it's possible things have changed between that leak and the final retail design, but we're pretty confident in these figures.
In terms of performance, the Switch 2 is clearly more powerful than the Steam Deck before we even start talking about cooperation with NVIDIA, DLSS upscaling, and tighter game optimizations possible when developing for a fixed console hardware platform. The 12GB of memory is going to be painful for Switch 2 developers, though, and the 256GB of built-in storage is paltry compared to even a Steam Deck LCD.
Comparing the Switch 2 to other PC gaming handhelds, the comparison gets more murky. The ROG Ally, Legion Go, and MSI Claw machines all have newer and more capable CPU and GPU architectures. They often have more memory, and usually have at least double if not quadruple the storage. Of course, you will pay a premium for these features, but it's difficult to argue that you won't also have a more powerful and versatile machine, particularly with the top-end models like the ROG Ally X, the Legion Go, and the Claw 8 AI+.
Of course, with a recession in full swing, a big consideration has to be the pricing. Nintendo put down the Switch 2 for a $449 US launch price, or $499 if you want a game with it. If you're a PC gamer already, though, the price of a Steam Deck (or other PC gaming handheld) includes the dozens, hundreds, or thousands of PC games you already own. For less money, the Steam Deck LCD gets you a much more capable machine, albeit the game performance and screen are a bit worse as we've just discussed.
Likewise, battery life may be a bit worse, although Nintendo's official battery life claim for the Switch 2 is "2 to 8 hours", which sounds a lot like what Valve says for the Steam Deck. Nintendo gives a battery capacity in milliamp-hours and we don't know the number of cells or nominal voltage, so we're making a guess at a 2S configuration with two cells in series. That gives a voltage of ~7.4V, for a total capacity of a little under the circa-40 WHr you'll find in most of the other handhelds. Really, battery life in these machines depends as much on what you're doing with them as it does with the specifications.
Ultimately, this decision really is going to come down to whether you absolutely have to play the latest Nintendo games with your friends or if you are satisfied with what's available on the PC. Keep in mind that the Switch 2 plays some—not all—Nintendo Switch games, and if you want to play previous-gen Nintendo games, you'll need to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online. The PC-based platforms have free online multiplayer and compatible game libraries that literally stretch back 40 years, which is to say nothing of what you can do with emulation on an open platform. If you're price-conscious, a bigger investment now might save you money down the road, but if you've gotta have Mario, Metroid, Zelda, and Animal Crossing, then you've already made your choice.
