The Steam Deck is changing how I buy games

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

I used to buy multi platform games on the Nintendo Switch because of how easy it is to play them on a TV or portable device. The decision-making process has been disrupted by the steam deck The handheld gaming PC might be heavier, have worse battery life, and doesn't come with an easySwitch-like dock to throw my games onto a bigger screen, but because I feel like I can bank on Steam games being available much longer into the future, I'm having to

I should state up front that I didn't own a gaming PC until I got the steam deck. For a long time, I mostly played video games on Nintendo platforms, but with the beginning of the pandemic, I began to play games on the PS and XBOX. I got a PS4 to play Final Fantasy VII Re remake.

I only play a handful of games on old work laptops or my personal MacBook Airs, because I only buy a lot of games on sale or in bundles. The Steam Deck is more capable than any laptop I have owned. I had access to nearly 200 PC games that I had previously purchased or claimed, and I was able to play them on my couch or external display. When I made my reservation for the steam deck last year, I was aware that it would be the case, but seeing the games on my own device was eye-opening.

There is no guarantee that the games will work with Nintendo's next console. I hope Nintendo makes that console compatible with my Switch purchases. I don't think it will happen, Nintendo loves to find new ways to resell games.

To be able to play Mario Kart 8 with my colleagues during the Pandemic, I had to pay the full price of the game. The primary perk of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription is access to retro games, but all of the Virtual console purchases I made years ago aren't available on my Switch. Nintendo doesn't mind shutting down storefronts.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

As long as the game supports whatever operating system I buy, I can be sure that everything I buy that works on the steam deck will work on any future computer I buy. Valve seems to have a good thing going despite the fact that anything can happen in the video game industry.

Hotline Miami, Inside, and The Stanley Parable: UltraDeluxe are some of the smaller and independent titles I like on my steam deck. I think those games are the type of games I will want to return to at some point in the future, and it will be easier to just redownload them on PC instead of having to dig up my Switch once it inevitably loses its spot on my TV stand.

I haven't fully committed to Valve's ecosystem just yet because it's a hassle to play Steam Deck games on my TV, despite how much I love the steam deck and the potential that the steam platform will let me easily access games years and years down the line Although the Steam Deck can connect to external displays, there is still not an option that is as easy to use as the Switch experience.

I was looking forward to seeing the official steam deck dock, but it was delayed so I will have to keep waiting. It might be worth the hassle to be able to play decades of PC games on the big screen at home and to know that anything I buy now will probably work on the big screen.

I have a lot of games I want to play on the Switch. There are a lot of big games that are only available on the Nintendo Wii. Choices in the future may be even harder as Valve improves the Steam Deck, because what used to be a no-brainer is now something that I have to think hard about.