Hey guys! So, I’m trying to get my wife a handheld for Christmas as they would fit her gaming style very well (casual games are her favourite and she can’t sit at a desk for too long). I was wondering which option would be better between the Switch OLED and SD OLED?
For context, I just ordered an SD OLED for myself and I am super excited about it, but I am a variety gamer, and play a lot of different games on it, ranging from Cyberpunk 2077 to Card Shark. For me the choice was very simple between the two platforms because I had a massive Steam library already and wanted to play more demanding games that the Switch either did not have available or could not run anyway.
My wife’s favourite game is Stardew Valley and she gravitates to games with beautiful art styles and visuals, that are more chill and not very demanding in terms of gameplay. I know the Switch offers Animal Crossing, which is kind of the biggest game in this genre from what I can gather, and the general style of games on there seem closer to what she likes.
On the other hand, I do know that the SD is able to emulate the Switch and any other console after some tinkering (which I can do for her), but I am unsure how easy it is to access and play the games after initially setting them up so that she can just pick up and play without needing any help.
Lastly, there is also the big difference in price, as the Switch OLED sits at around £310, whilst the SD OLED is £480 for the 512GB version.
So, to summarise, I am looking for advice from people that own these consoles and have more experience with them, to see which is more appropriate for her. Bonus points if someone has been in a similar situation with a partner or loved one and can share their experience!
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Does she have any interest in the Sims? That would be the only major game I would think that she’d miss out on by not going Deck.
She has played the Sims 4 on her laptop, so I guess it is not an issue as she is able to always go there to play certain games.
Let her try your deck. Then buy the switch. Ask for her opinion.
- if she likes the switch: do nothing
- otherwise: return the switch and buy her own deck
To be honest, this sounds like the sanest way to approach things lol.
And I guess it doesn’t take that much out of the magic of the gift even if we do end up returning the Switch. Thanks!Just because is not secret anymore it doesn’t mean she will value the gift less. It just means you made sure the right decision was made!
My logic exactly, but as you may know, they often do not see things the same way :))
Emulation on the Deck is ridiculously easy. You download EmuDeck and press install. That’s it.
Sourcing the ROMs is only mildly trickier but still pretty straightforward. Reddit is key here.
What gets tricky is modifying your settings to get games to run smoothly. Most games pre-last gen (360, PS4, WiiU) will run flawlessly at default settings; I play a lot of GameCube, N64, and SNES games on it and never change anything other than occasional button remapping.
Anything last or pre-gen, the Switch in particular, will require some tinkering.
I’ve tried playing Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild and while they both run and are playable they also both have frame rate issues and stuttering and I simply don’t have the patience to tinker with settings all the time lol I just wanna play. I’ve heard that emulating Animal Crossing has issues.
If your wife is a super nerd and doesn’t mind messing with settings or if you have the knowledge and patience to optimize every emulated game for her, the Deck is the no-brainer.
If not, I’d still say the Deck is better. Non-emulated games on the Deck usually run fine at default settings as well. I’m a hardcore PS5 gamer but on my Deck I play super casual stuff; Dave the Diver, Backpack Battles, Dredge, etc. I’m sure Stardew Valley plays fantastically on the Deck.
Again Id say the Deck is the better choice unless she loves Nintendo games and really needs her Animal Crossings, Marios, and Zeldas. I had a Switch and all I played on it were those 3 titles.
I do believe the Deck is heavier than the Switch though so factor that in if she likes playing laying down.
Docking is also a question. The Switch comes with one, the Deck does not so if she wants to play on a big screen that’s an extra $50-$100 to cough up for the Deck. I guess you don’t really NEED the dock, a $5 USB-C to HDMI cable or mini dock will work fine but still.
My wife has never used my Deck but she plays Fortnite on her PS4 and also beat Horizon Zero Dawn and she prefers the switch because it’s “cuter” lol which I can’t deny. I suppose you could get a skin for the Deck but again that’s an extra cost. Games in general on the Deck are super cheap. Stardew Valley is on sale for $12 right now. Dave the Diver is also on sale and super fun and casual.
That was long winded, sorry lol I woke up mad early for some reason and couldn’t go back to bed. But yeah I lean towards the Deck but I think price, weight, and exclusivity is what the Switch is better in but that last one is a non-issue if you have the know-how on how to optimize emulation on the Deck.
I agree with the reasoning here, only thing to consider is something I forgot to mention, she already owns a gaming laptop so she will be able to play Steam games if she wants to on that.
I’d go with switch oled since its on its last cycle, its even better now ever since the breakthrough of using raspberry rp2040 chip to mod it to play free games on release day. Modchip costs only $20 for the oled.
Interesting, will look into that.
My switch oled is filled with party games 4-8 players splitscreen/local play, new mario wonder was great! Especially since its free, technically $20 but you get the idea.
You can’t do that anymore on any other modern consoles, ps5/xbox/pc. Especially when all the games are free, its a nobrainer.
I enjoy steam deck for my “alone” time gaming. Joycons are terrible for fps/aaa titles.
Definitely can underground this perspective. Had a blast playing towerfall on switch with 4 players local
Nintendo hate their customers, and if you gave your wife a switch they’d hate her. You really wanna give money to someone who hates your wife?
Sounds like it goes both ways, but i get your point
Hello! Casual gamer here who also likes SDV and cute, pretty and colorful art styles (like Animal Crossing, Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Atelier series, etc). I was gifted the Switch, so that’s where I started. Then I discovered I also liked jrpgs (I wanted to play the Trails series and the first 3 are on Steam) so I saved up and got a Steam Deck about 2 months ago.
I like both and rotate depending on the game I want to play. So like all my games on Switch just works (graphics not perfect, but it works) but the games are really pricey even during sales. Steam Deck is heavy for my small girl hands and I had to learn how to tinker with stuff like adding mods to SDV and Sims 4 :D (graphics are really better on SD tho I had to accept Harvestella is borked right now…) But Steam sales! xD
I think if your wife just wanna chill and game, maybe she’ll like the Switch more? I agree tho maybe ask her to try SDV on SD first if she likes it then go with it since it’s tons better :D Hth!
It seems in your wife’s case, the switch is better fitted. I have both SD and switch and I love the switch to play chill, short indie games. They run super well, battery life is great, the switch is super small, so it’s super easy to carry around.
Switch Oled so you have access to both systems.
I know you said you want to buy something for Christmas but the switch 2 was confirmed by Microsoft in court at the Activision Blizzard deal and there’s people saying it’s being released next year, I don’t know if this is relevant to you but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Definitely is! Didn’t realise it was so soon.
I’d recommend checking out r/CozyGamers, which is for games like the ones your wife plays. They discuss handhelds on there, mostly the Switch and Steam Deck.
Since she has a gaming laptop already, then I think it makes sense to go for a Switch so she’d have access to games exclusive to there (if she’s interested in them). But some points to consider:
- The Switch is near the end of its console cycle, so it might be better to wait for the next iteration.
- Even some “casual” games can be demanding on the switch (like Disney Dreamlight Valley, which I’ve had no issues with on Steam Deck). So it depends on which games she’ll want to play handheld, some will be better on her laptop.
- The Switch is cheaper upfront, but I believe the games are more expensive since they don’t have as good sales as on Steam.
- With Stardew Valley she could mod it on Steam Deck but not on the Switch, if that’s something she’s interested in.
- If you’re already getting one for yourself, then it might make sense for her to get a Switch and for you to share both?
Great points here. Based on some conversations we had today it sounds like aside from Zelda and Mario Kart there aren’t many games she is interested on Switch as of now. So I may hold off until the next gen comes around for that. But great tip with the subreddit, lots of good info there!