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DATE: Thu 05 Aug 2021 17:57 By: HexDSL@Posteo.net
I don't want to become of of those tiresome 'content creators' (ewe) who is going to be banging on about the Steam Deck for the rest of the year and does nothing except build hype for Valve.
But I can't not talk about this topic. Just a little bit.
With the reveal of the Steam Deck came the announcement that Vale intend to 'fix' Proton. They told us that by the time the Steam Deck is released Proton will play every title in the Steam library. They also use Origin games in their marketing material giving us a silent promise that third party launchers will be less shit soon.
This means that we are essentially now on a countdown to Linux becoming the gaming platform that we have all wanted since the day Steam arrived in our repos way back in 2012.
Given that I use my switch mostly, almost entirely on my monitor. At my desk. I think its fair to say that I am not a standard Switch owner. There are two kinds of games I buy for my switch.
1) Exclusives.
3) Games that will be 'better' on Switch. (and by 'better' I mean not worse)
Other than that I default to PC/Steam for everything. I don't even buy games outside of Steam.
Obviously if its a Switch exclusive, I'll buy it on Switch. But if I want a game and its "platinum" rated on ProtonDB I'll buy it on Steam. Unless its a game I plan on playing entirely on controller, at which point I'll go and read a switch review to see if its a good port/version of the game.
For instance Monster Hunter Stories 2 worked perfectly in Proton on day one but I still brought it on Switch because it was going to be the exact same experience (I don't really care about resolution. Dont e-mail me) as I was going to play it with a controller at my desk. The switch version has slightly more appealing to be simply because I have the *option* to play it in bed or while I wait for appointments and such. The portability makes it just slightly more desirable. I probably won't ever play it hand held but the allure is there.
If a game isn't on Steam *or* Switch, I simply don't buy it. The reason for this is that I want the option to use Geforce Now whenever possible and even if a game isn't on there now, it maybe in the future.
My logic is that if I have a hardware failure I want to be able to play my games on much more modest hardware. A switch is easier to replace than a PC graphics card. The only exception to this is the occasional Itch purchase because they are often never going to be released elsewhere and I like their business model a lot. But it doesn't tempt me *super* often.
Now its changed though. I am in a world where soon(tm) anything I get on Steam will work fine in Proton (if we choose to believe Valves claims, which I do) including multi-player stuff. I will soon(tm) have a hand held dockable (is that actually a real word?) device that will run those same games. I'm now at the point where I don't want to spend money on Switch games because eventually the Switch will be replaced and I will have to move on. Where the Steam games should keep on working for many generations. While I'm not obsessed with game preservation, its a factor that I can't ignore. Also. Games are cheaper on Steam than they are on Switch.
Now there are literally no reasons for me to buy non-exclusive switch games. This has actually made me a little sad. I like my Switch but its telling that I went from 100% wanting the new, slightly improved Switch to quite literally not caring at all. This change happened over the five minutes it took me to read Valves press release. So yeah... Well played Gabe. Well played.