136

Are PC handhelds like Steam Deck really competitors for Switch 2? (www.polygon.com)

submitted 1 week ago by Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

146 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

live service games make up a significant amount of what the average consumer wants, and those customers largely play on PC for all sorts of reasons

You are leaving out the elephant in the room: smartphones.

So, so, so many people game on smartphones. It's technically the majority of the "gaming" market, especially live service games. A large segment of the population doesn't even use PCs and does the majority of their computer stuff on smartphones or tablets, and that fraction seems to be getting bigger. Point being the future of the Windows PC market is no guarantee.

[-] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

I don't think the people gaming on smart phones are the same demographic that would compete with the Switch 2 or a handheld PC. It's not a lot of data, but take a look at how poorly Apple's initiative for AAA games on iPhone has been going. There are more problems with that market than just library. The PC market has been slowly and steadily growing for decades while the console market has shrunk.

[-] LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I would’ve entertained this argument more in 2017 at switch’s launch, but smartphone gaming has not significantly eaten into console or PC gaming marketshares. Definitely not to the degree people were anticipating in the 2010s that’s for sure.

[-] koncertejo@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Really wild to go from this vibe at the end of the seventh generation of consoles to the one we're at now. For me, and many other people that like high quality gaming experiences, mobile games have completely vanished.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yeah, you and @ampersandrew@lemmy.world have a point.

I am vastly oversimplifying a lot, but... Perhaps mobile gaming, on aggregate, is too shitty for its own good? It really looks that way whenever I sample the popular ones.

[-] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I suspect it's more that the time people can and do spend playing phone games has just about zero overlap with PC games. You play phone games while on the bus or on the toilet, you play PC games while at home behind your desk.