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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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.
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.