Switch 2 Has to Face a Problem the Original Didn’t: Handheld Gaming PCs

The Nintendo Switch 2 is coming retired incredibly soon, and portion we cognize a batch astir it, its steep $449.99 terms tag and $79.99 games marque maine little apt to put than expected. After all, I’ve hardly utilized my Nintendo Switch since getting an Asus ROG Ally, and my problems with the archetypal console are lone exacerbated successful its successor, particularly successful a post-handheld gaming PCs world.

Asus ROG Ally Is All I Need

I’ve been a handheld gamer since childhood, having jumped betwixt the Game Boy, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. It's inactive my favourite mode to play games, arsenic there’s thing cozier than snuggling beneath a furniture of blankets and playing from the comfortableness of my bed. I was adjacent among the painfully fewer PlayStation Vita believers, and played it during my assemblage bid commute each day.

The Nintendo Switch blew my caput successful 2017, yet adjacent though I bought excavation adjacent to launch, I lone utilized it for exclusives. Playing connected PC isn’t comfortable, truthful erstwhile a crippled seemed mechanically oregon graphically suited for handheld, I wanted it connected the Switch. Those games entered a intelligence drawer successful my caput labeled “Reserved for handheld,” and it’s arsenic if my encephalon was incapable of letting maine play them elsewhere.

But if that crippled was disposable for escaped connected Epic Games Store, Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, oregon Humble Choice, I felt blameworthy repurchasing it connected Nintendo Switch. It didn’t assistance that Switch games are notoriously little apt to person discounts, and erstwhile they do, they’re obscurity adjacent arsenic steep arsenic connected different storefronts. This achy rhythm of “Why discarded wealth connected a crippled I already own” into “I privation to play this connected a handheld” yielded the aforesaid effect each time: I wouldn’t play the crippled astatine all.

The motorboat of the Asus ROG Ally successful 2023 broke my curse. It’s a handheld gaming PC that runs connected Windows 11, truthful it has entree to Steam, Game Pass, Epic Games, and more. Those games I’d ne'er play connected PC owed to discomfort could present beryllium enjoyed from the comfortableness of my ain bed.

Nowadays, I play a treasure trove of indie games connected my Ally, and I’m inactive catching up connected my backlog. If it wasn’t for the Ally, I would’ve ne'er played Celeste, Little Nightmares II, oregon Resident Evil Remake. Those are present amongst my favourite games ever, and I didn’t request to walk further wealth connected immoderate of them, whereas I would person had to repurchase them connected Switch. The Ally has go my go-to handheld of prime and has saved maine tons of money.

Regardless, I was inactive excited for the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, arsenic Nintendo games clasp a peculiar spot successful my heart. But aft the Switch 2 Direct, I’m uncertain wherever the console fits successful my beingness anymore.

When the archetypal Switch launched, it held value beyond exclusives. The versatility of its plan and little terms of introduction compared to the contention made it an fantabulous ecosystem to get into. It was the lone viable handheld astatine the time: It was cheap, had large exclusives, and thing other similar it existed.

The Switch 2 Isn’t Alone Anymore

Priced astatine $449 (to start), the Nintendo Switch 2 finds itself successful competitory waters. That motorboat terms brings it adjacent to the $499 PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. In fact, the PS5 technically launched cheaper with its $399 integer edition. What’s worse, successful the past 8 years since the Switch’s launch, its plan has inspired competition. Steam Deck started the inclination successful 2022, but manufacturers person released handheld gaming PCs similar the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. There are adjacent rumors that Xbox is moving connected its ain handheld. Switch 2 is nary longer one-of-a-kind, and it’s lone a large concern if you don’t already ain different handheld, and I do.

Handheld gaming PCs person almighty hardware, and are much than susceptible of playing indies and third-party games. With a acold larger library, and the quality to entree each of the games you already own, it’s an fantabulous spot for everything. The chipsets powering handheld gaming PCs are lone getting amended with time, too. The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme is waiting to beryllium implemented into thing powerful, and it won’t instrumentality agelong earlier Switch 2 finds itself outmatched by the competition.

Handheld gaming PC owners who privation to play caller Nintendo exclusives are faced with a steep terms of introduction and the committedness of small use. If a instrumentality similar the Asus ROG Ally is much than susceptible of playing everything from third-parties to indies, past handheld gaming PC owners investing successful a Switch 2 are lone going to usage it for first-party games.

The precocious terms of exclusives makes the Switch 2 an adjacent much achy endeavor, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza launching astatine $79.99 and $69.99 respectively. Considering Nintendo Switch games, particularly first-party games, are seldom discounted, it’s hard to get excited astir the imaginable of having to bargain them.

To beryllium fair, determination is plentifulness of worth to beryllium recovered successful Nintendo exclusives. The institution is liable for immoderate of the top games successful history, and for many, determination volition beryllium plentifulness of Switch 2 games implicit the adjacent fewer years to marque the strategy worthy its precocious price. But for handheld gaming PC owners similar me, we conscionable request a small more.

The Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t a worthwhile concern for everyone, particularly if you already person a handheld gaming PC. Systems similar the Legion Go present fantabulous performance, and an tremendous room of indie and third-party games. My Asus ROG Ally does everything I utilized to request a Switch for, and with a wide scope of storefronts available, it’s conscionable a amended spot to play games.

Claire finds joyousness successful impassioned ramblings astir her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s grade successful Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and 7 years of acquisition successful amusement journalism. Claire is simply a stalwart defender of games arsenic an artform and spends astir days overwhelmed with excitement for its past, contiguous and future. When she isn't penning oregon playing Dark Souls, she tin beryllium recovered eating chickenhearted fettuccine alfredo and gushing astir handheld gaming PCs.