Steam Deck threat to new Nintendo Switch

Valve is to release a portable PC gaming platform, soon after the launch of Nintendo’s revamped Switch games console


STEAM DECK (from $399-$649/€419-€679*, out Dec 2021)

D-pad
View 
Thumbstick  
Mic
Display: 7-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) LCD
Mic
Thumbstick
Control buttons
Touch pad
Speaker
Speaker
Touch pad

Critics dislike unwieldy-looking controls

Steam button: Takes user to online store with library of 30,000 PC games (likely biggest selling point for many gamers)
Being PC-based, other operating systems and even console emulators could be installed

Triggers
Power button
Cooling Fan 
Volume
Triggers
Grip buttons: User-assignable – add extra control

CPU: AMD Zen 2; GPU: AMD RDNA 2; RAM: 16GB; Storage: Up to 512GB* 
Battery life: 2-8 hours, depending on game being played

     
SWITCH OLED ($349.99/€364.99, out Oct 8, 2021)

Display: 7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) OLED – brighter colours than LCD
   
Sound: Better quality audio than previous Switch

Switch has slower processor, less built-in RAM and fewer games (4,000) than Steam Deck. But it is cheaper, can be played for longer and has better quality screen
Critics say Switch should have been updated with more powerful processor

CPU/GPU: NVIDIA Custom Tegra X1 processor; RAM: 4GB; Storage: 64GB 
Battery life: 4.5-9 hours, depending on game being played


*$399/€419 for 64GB storage version, $529/€549 for 256GB and $649/€679 for 512GB


Sources: Forbes, The Verge, Valve, Nintendo 
Pictures: Valve, Nintendo 
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