Switch 2 is like a Mid-Range PC, easy to develop for, and better than Steam Deck

Link

Plenty of game developers were interviewed by Stephen Totillo regarding the ease of development with the Switch 2. They claim the power of the handheld is perfect for them. Dennis Shirk of Civ 7 stated that it's like a Mid-Range PC and enough power to run modern games and Former @gamespot Editor in Chief and now developer for Hades II @GregKasavin stated both Switch 2 and Steam Deck are able to provide similar experience, but Switch 2 provides higher resolutions

How many Switch 2 threads do we need in System Wars?

would assume so, steam deck is old hardware at this stage, behind the later pc hand helds by a fair margin at points too

@onesiphorus: we need to make sure everyone knows how awesome the switch 2 is going to be.

@outworld222: It was a trick question. We don't need any threads at all in SW.

Good

Being better than a Steamdeck isn't that hard considering it sucks, but then again so does the Switch 2.

@FireEmblem_Man: I came here, just to post about this in the Switch vs Steam Deck thread, but you kinda beat me to it.

Well, that's expected. Both steamdeck and Ns2 are based on the Nvidia custom chip so they share many similarities. Ns2 chip is newer and games will have better optimization to the metal, so we can expect greater performance than Steamdeck and midrange PCs for sure 🙂

What were they supposed to say?

That the system is limited and terrible?

It runs Cyberpunk at 1080p/30 while docked, it's not a mid ranged PC and that's ok.

It has a traditional Nvidia GPU, so yea it'll run modern games with decent compromises.

DLSS will certainly allow it to be more capable

Kay. From what I've gathered from Google:

Switch 2's screen is 1080p.
Deck is only 1280x800.

Switch 2's screen is 120hz.
Deck is only 60hz.

Switch 2 only has 12GB RAM.
Deck has 16GB.

Not much else seems to be known about the Switch 2 specs, except that its CPU might be slightly better than Deck's CPU. Pretty sure neither that or the RAM difference will matter though.

I think it's more viable to compare the switch 2 to the ROG Ally since it's the more recent release and similar price point ($50 more).

Ally Vs. Switch 2

Still, it's the games that makes the system, so it would be down to how much someone loves Mario Kart #17 compared to Steam's nearly 100K game library.

@Litchie: Deck is 90Hz

If it wasn't more powerful than steam deck I'd be shocked. There is not one other metric I can think of that makes switch 2 "better"... It's fiction.

If Nintendo does what they are saying (variable pricing per game), the Switch 2 deserves a hard flop.

If you spend $100 or $120 on a Mario game, you're a chump; plain and simple.

As powerful as mid-ranged PC? LMAO

That would put it in the same category as the PS5 Pro (which is already on the lower end of the mid range). Is the Switch 2 as powerful as a PS5 Pro? NO! So, STFU.

Yeah, no.

Yeah I'd say Nintendo has priced me out of their games. They simply don't make games I want to play at that price. They'll never have a sale worth a lick so it's an easy pass for what they're asking. I'll reassess options in a few years when a Zelda game gets announced. It's not a device I'd ever want for multiplat games as steam is infinitely more user accessible in every way. No service charges for online play and a deeper library with deeper sales. It's not even a comparison...

That said I'm glad switch 2 will exist for those craving the Nintendo library on portable... If not a fan of Nintendo offerings though, I can't imagine going for a switch 2 over a steam deck.

I don't think Switch 2 is a mid-range P.C. the Elden Ring footage was chugging, Elden Ring isn't demanding at all.

However Nintendo have not been the hardware of raw power for many years, it's not profitable, and majority don't care for it.

It just needed to be a Switch upgrade, sure the name sucks but that's the only real negative to the hardware.

Meh. Don’t really care if it is or isn’t. If it has games on it that I feel look great and that I want to play then that’s all I need. Fortunately they’ve already shown enough of that so that I want one.

Ah, my bad.

Should've been Super Switch..

@R4gn4r0k said:

@BassMan said:

As powerful as mid-ranged PC? LMAO

That would put it in the same category as the PS5 Pro (which is already on the lower end of the mid range). Is the Switch 2 as powerful as a PS5 Pro? NO! So, STFU.

Easy on Bassman, he's a bit insecure of himself

Lol, wut!!? No, the freaking Switch 2 is not a mid range anything. And it doesn't touch Steam Deck. Not even close.

Well, it's the Civ 7 developers claim, and yes it is better than a Steam Deck, because the Steam Deck SoC is old and outdated

Less games than the Steamdeck...😂

@Pedro: Technically, there are no Steam Deck games, they are just Windows games running on Linux.

Would love to see the definition of a "mid-range PC" within this context lol.

That literally doesn't change the truth of my comment.😊

The Steam Deck is 3 years older than it, it better be more powerful than it. The question is how much more powerful I'm curious. I want to see the comparison in more technically demanding games likes Cyberpunk 2077 and Monster Hunter Wilds. If it can play AAA games that are currently struggling on the Steam Deck and not have potato graphics then I'll be impressed. Still not gonna buy one over a PC handheld though.

@FireEmblem_Man: bassman is just upset that he couldn't get the 5090 this time.

Anyways, he's not wrong to question the definition of mid range PC. I think they are talking price wise, it would do as well as a PC that is around $500 to $700 or so, which you can say is a fair. Given how expensive PC GPU are these days, that's a fairly low bar.

Would play with too many peoples heart strings, and then Nintendo would actually have to make a console to match one of the greatest in human history.

So DF have a video on this and I do agree with them this time (cause it's suits me and that's how the internet works :P).

TL;DW is basically as I have been saying. A PS4 in docked mode and lower than an X1S in portable mode in terms of raw raster perf. But then it does have some extra tricks up it's sleeve. RT support, access to the best Upscaler in the business at the moment, a fully moddern hardware feature set basically (mesh shaders and all those goodies too). It does have access to more ram too and much faster storage compared to the PS4.

What we saw at the reveal and the rumoured specs....it is all pointing in that direction. Anyone expecting PS5 or even XSS is going to be pretty disappointed.

Some 'system warriors' are funny folk.

Never has or can a handheld be anything approaching the equivalent of a mid range PC or any current generation console. It's always been this way, ever since they become popular with handheld's like the original Gameboy.

It's also about the battery life. This is supposed to be a hybrid handheld. What would be the point of putting in higher end components if the battery dies after an hour?

And a higher price... and a closed off platform... with higher prices games... and less games...

$500 for a portable PS4 with AI upscale and vrr? No thank you.

I did a little googling, and a mid range PC is between 800 - 1200 USD. No way in hell the Switch 2 can compete with that. Switch has always been for portability. I wouldn't brag about its hardware power.

Mid range?...

Just a heads up a RTX 3050 6GB mobile is not held back by the VRAM.

The Switch 2 is slower than the slowest gaming laptop GPU you can buy now, and that is while docked.

Having more VRAM wont save the console from its bandwidth and lack of power, adding lots of VRAM to this GPU is like adding a body kit to a Honda Civic and thinking it will help it race against a BMW M3.

Mid range PC of what year exactly?

Ignore the Nintendo fan boys, they did this with the Switch when it launched also.

They do not understand hardware, never have and never will.

Digital foundry already mentioned that Hogwarts is running at 720p and is barely better than a PS4 version.

They seem to think that Nintendo broke the mold with the Switch 2 using a heavily CUT down RTX 3050 mobile and a mobile phone ARM A78C CPU from 4 years ago... Just to play 1080p Elden Ring at 30FPS on LOW.

When developers say mid range, they are likely not referrign to what would be a mid range card among the modern GPUs, but rather what on par with your average GPU that is ACTUALLY being used.

Look at the steam charts. The 3060 is the most popular card still, despite being over 4 years old.

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/videocard/

This really doesnt say much about the Switch 2 as much as it says about the fact that PC gamers don't really tend to bother upgrading their hardware as much as some would like to believe.

Yeah the Switch 2 is not even close to a RTX 3060...

• 2x less Cores
• 3x Less Memory Bandwidth
• 1.7x Less Core Clocks
• 4x less the TFLOPS

A RTX 3060 is stronger than a PS5 and Series X.

Who ever said it lied in any way you try to spin it, a RTX 3050 LAPTOP GPU that has been cut down substantially to run on a 10w handheld is not even in the ball park of a mid range gaming PC.

@Grey_Eyed_Elf: I didnt say it was. Look at the other stuff on the list. There IS a lot of stuff on there weaker than a 3060.

The fact is, most gamers don't bother with upgrading their rigs. Between diminishing returns and lack of games demanding it. Most gamers just don't have much of a motivation to upgrade their GPUs.

I think you overestimate the power of a Mid-Range PC.

You guys need to use simple logic, Switch 2 is similar to PS4 in terms of power, the ps4 was like a mid range PC when released, therefore the Switch 2 is equivalent to a mid range PC.

The third most popular GPU on Steam, GTX 1650, looks the closest to Switch 2 specs.

Yup, and that is steam. I imagine it being quite a bit worse when you factor in outside steam too. As if you are only playing World of WarCraft., Gachas or League of Legends, you are likely not going to have much of a need to upgrade and keep your PC up to date.

The Switch 2 looks to be quite competitive against a pretty good hcunk of PCs. And as long as NVIDIA and AMD continue to disappoint, people are not exactly going to be motivated to upgrade their GPUs either.

True, most of the popular live service games outside of Steam can even run on low-end PCs, let alone mid-range PCs. There was that thread a while back that showed most PC gamers prefer playing older games rather than newer games... Which I'm guilty of myself.

Makes me wonder why I even purchased a 3080 Ti a few years ago when I barely even play new AAA games. But at least I get to play whatever I want at 120 fps with mods and custom shaders. That's what PC gaming is really about.

I'm hearing a PS4 is a good comparison point:

PS4 released almost 12 years ago and Switch 2 is coming out now. LMAO

Trash tier hardware.

A PS4 + DLSS and a hint of ray tracing with a screen running on a 10W battery is actually pretty wild. 🤷🏾‍♂️