The best thing about a Steam Deck is the fact that with Emudeck, you can make your deck a much better Switch. The only thing you’ll be missing is lack of Internet features and the GUI.
I’m also always happy to try and convince anyone and everyone not to buy from Sintendo and buy hardware that isn’t inferior because I swear Sintendo hardware has absolutely been inferior compared to the competition since at at least n64.
I do get the impression that Nintendo has consistently had worse hardware for a long time… And I appreciate it. Instead of cranking up the hardware, they make games that are fun and run on weaker hardware, often with neat stylization.
While I agree that not chasing further hardware demands is refreshing, it’s also really frustrating to buy a nearly decade old tablet to play games. Many smart phones could run switch games at this point and seeing PCs emulate the switch better than the switch can run natively is exceptionally frustrating.
Those are fair points, I actually bought the switch pretty early on after seeing praise for Odyssey and BotW. I play on PC otherwise, but I enjoyed the experience, playing docked with joycons with motion controls.
I’m not personally frustrated, while the games definitely seem overpriced, I always felt like Nintendo is just sitting in their niche doing their thing, not trying to one-up others and instead providing various gimmicks with their devices. They’re selling consoles and games for a certain price, and it feels like if you think the deal is bad or unfair, you can just pass on it.
I don’t think I really have a point here, just saying my thoughts. I have my issues with Nintendo, but I do feel like their consoles and games provide value that is hard to get elsewhere.
But I like Nintendo consoles for their couch-multiplayer games. Like Wii-sport, Boom-blox, Just Dance, Mario party, Mario kart…
A Steam-deck is good for single players games.
You can play multiplayer with emulators, just hook up multiple controllers
With an USB-C dock/hub you can plug the deck into your TV and multiple controllers. Lots of wireless controllers are also supported OOTB, including joy cons.
I use my Switch to exclusively play Smash Bros with my friends using GameCube controllers with the switch adapter.
My Switch has been having lots of issues lately though. Anyway to replicate that with the Steam Deck?
If you’re playing offline with friends, Emudeck has Ryujinx available. All you’d need is to either dump your cartridge if you can (which I don’t know how to do) or get a copy and make sure you got a dock to hook up your deck to the TV. I don’t know what kind of port the GameCube controllers use or if they’ll work, though. I don’t have one, so I couldn’t tell you. I know the 3rd party wired pro controller I have works fantastically, though. Only other thing you gotta worry about it having enough ports to plug in to depending on the number of players and dock you got.
As for whether the game will be as smooth on Ryujinx as it is on switch, that’s something I don’t know considering I’ve never tried it on my deck.
This reddit post leads me to believe that it is doable. I have the official Nintendo USB GameCube adapter and a Steam Deck, and I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot if needed :)
It seems like it should work great! 👍
The only thing you’ll be missing is lack of Internet features and the GUI.
You can even run the Switch UI in Suyu (or other forks of Yuzu): https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOLoVZ_br9M
And both Ryujinx, as well as Yuzu (and Forks) offer local/online multiplayer:
https://github.com/Ryujinx/Ryujinx/wiki/Multiplayer-(LDN-Local-Wireless)-Guide
https://yuzu-mirror.github.io/help/feature/multiplayer/
Both of them offering online features is true, but as far as I’m aware, you ain’t connecting to any official servers.
You talk about convincing people into emulation, but can you even do that on moderated websites? I mean, helping them get ROMs without going into “wink wink nudge nudge” communication or risking Nintendo’s lawyers invading that site.
Speaking plainly, I still buy games and hardware the normal way because I don’t want that complication. It’s not worth the effort and hassle just to risk putting viruses on my computer.
I’d like to think Lemmy is still small enough that talking about piracy of their games and stuff is flying under their radar for now, which is why I don’t care. Also, fuck Sintendo. I ain’t afraid of their corporate stasi.
Also, on Steam Deck, Emudeck takes away the vast majority of complications regarding getting multiple emulators set up by having pre-configured configurations for each emulator you install to try and make sure game compatibility and running them is as smooth as can be for most games.
The emulators are generally easy to get. The struggle is in getting the games themselves.
Even if you’re unafraid of Nintendo’s stasi, you aren’t the one assuming risk. Takedown notices tend to go to the hosting / discussing sites, not individual users. It’s not very brave to order Lemmy hosts to battle those notices in court on your behalf.
I legit cannot remember the last time I got a virus pirating a game. Probably in the Limewire days, ~20+ years ago.
So, anytime people say this, I’m compelled to remind them: Unlike movie depictions, malware is generally incentivized to not be apparent.
You install something, they infect, and then they do their best to ensure you don’t know that for the next few months, if ever. Meanwhile, anything as subtle as key logging or checking wifi-connected devices can give them info for some other attack.
So, I can only say I hope I don’t have a virus right now - but I don’t really know. And I’m pretty sure those pirating groups have profit incentives beyond littering their sites with ads.
So glad I have a computer I can play games on so I don’t have to mess around with a smaller computer with a smaller screen and worse performance.
Edit: I pissed off the dad caucus with this comment. Steam decks are only for dads who can’t get more than thirty minutes of game time anymore and have no space for a legit gaming PC.
Maybe bring a book? Why not save gaming for when you can actually do it well, not on a tiny screen at sub-60fps?
But what when I wanna play some games that fit perfectly for such trips?
Cult of the lamb is like perfect for such a task and many many other games.
I fucking loved playing Titanfall 2 campaign here and then while on a trip. Fucking satisfying for some reason. Some games are not really enjoyable on the trip. But a Book? Idk. Its personal preference what you want and need.
I guess I will switch to books for now, but the bit younger me didn’t liked books and enjoyed it a lot to play on rides instead of at home, you know.
I love taking my whole gaming pc setup with me to go visit my parents or take a flight, or just lugging it out to the porch for a nice evening of outdoor gaming.
I guess I’m the only one in this thread that does other things when I’ve got down time away from the computer. When I want to play a video game, I don’t want to play a shittier version of it.
Naw no good PC games.
minecraft, fallout, celeste, half-life, DOOM, portal, what do you mean no games?
Man, I just bought a new gaming notebook, but I really want to get one. And I have almlst no time for gaming nowadays. Why are you tempting me, Gabe???
A good laptop running a stable and gaming-optimized distro like Bazzite with a good controller connected to it should be as good, if not better than the Steam Deck.
It is good enough for gaming with a standard distro as well. But you misunderstand, I WANT a Steam deck, I KNOW that I don’t need one.
