The Steam Deck is dubbed as the “Switch Killer,” but Valve says they are aiming for a different market than that of Nintendo’s handheld console.
According to Valve in an interview with IGN, they did not intend to steal the Switch’s thunder with the Steam Deck. They note that everything boiled down to the design aesthetics for device. This speaks how hardware UX optimization may lead to same cosmetics.
Valve targets “high-end PC gamers”
When it came out, Valve’s portable PC receive several comparisons to the Switch. It doesn’t help that in the current and previous generation of consoles, the only mainstream handheld is Nintendo’s offering.
The comparisons between both devices come initially from the cosmetic side of the devices. Both have a 7-inch screen and use side-to-side controllers. Furthermore, the portable gaming space is something that Nintendo tried to keep for itself.
Even then, Valve says that everything stops on the cosmetic side of things. Rather than casual handheld, Valve wants to connect the with “high-end PC” market.
“We tried to make all the decisions really in Steam Deck that targeted that audience and that served the customers that were already having a good time interacting with the games that are on that platform, on our platform. That really was how we were making our decisions,” said Greg Coomer, a designer for Valve.
“We’ve ended up with a device that cosmetically shares some traits with a Switch, but that just was… it’s kind of an artifact of how we’ve proceeded down the design direction.”
Switch Pro rumors powered comparison
It’s hard to not compare the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch. It doesn’t help that Valve’s handheld came out during the time people expected the Switch Pro.
With Nintendo only releasing the Switch OLED, many dub Valve’s offering as the “true” Switch Pro. Even then, Valve CEO Gabe Newell dismissed these in another interview. He noted that the weight and feel of their device lean towards pro gamers.
“So I think Nintendo does a great job targeting the audience they do with the content that they have,” said Newell. “And that’s going to be different. Like when you pick this up, it feels much more like the ergonomics for somebody who’s used to playing with an expensive game controller, right? Because it’s bigger and it’s bulkier than a Switch. And if we’re right, that’s the right trade-off to be making for the audience that we’re going after.”
Valve is looking to innovate with the Steam Deck. So far, a good chunk of their focus comes into making SD card gaming viable for the device.
Featured image courtesy of IGN/Youtube Screenshot