It’s meant for children so, yeah, as an adult it fucking sucks to hold. But that is still the case when it’s docked and you’re using the joycons. The joycons are just incredibly small. They also suck in terms of construction and get drifting sticks super fast.

Well it’s the only handheld that hasn’t given me cramp after 20 minutes, so at least there’s that. DS and 3DS were limited to stylus games for me.

Everything Nintendo sucks.

Yeah, it is basically impossible for me to use the stock switch for anything more than an hour handheld with my hands cramping up. I ended up having to get some rubber grips with a palm bumpout in order for it to be remotely comfortable.

The steam deck is a huge upgrade in that regard. Significantly more comfortable to hold. Plus, the steam deck is capable of emulating pretty much anything on the switch full speed :). On top of all of that is barely even costs more lol.

Wait, the games in the cartridge need to be installed in the main memory as well? Effectively just a drm gimmick?

They can’t read the resources they need from the cart like in the past?

It’s no Gameboy, that’s for sure. I use it resting on a pillow on my lap, so I don’t actually have to hold it up. Works very well that way actually

Not a hot take at all. It was revolutionary for the first year it was released and then was quickly surpassed on every front by any company that put slightly more effort (and more cost) into any part of the switch: graphics, sensors, controllers, expandability, etc. Pretty stock for any Nintendo product, because they only focus on hardware that be produced mass-market and get good profit margins on. Which means it’s often made with current-to-dated components that can get overlooked because it’s the only platform you can play Nintendo games on. Also, not sure why they are so allergic to ergonomics, all the way back to the NES controller, the least comfortable controller of its peers

I completely agree that the switch is genuinely painful to hold on handheld mode for more than ten minutes. The controllers and buttons are too small, it’s flat, and generally not ergonomic. It’s definitely designed for child sized hands in mind and not adults. I do my best to avoid using it in handheld mode.

Meanwhile, my steam deck is a much superior design. The ergonomics are excellent, it fits my hands, the buttons are spaced apart well, and are adequately sized, and I can play for hours with no hand cramps.

However…

The switch absolutely trounces the deck on portability. The fact that it’s flat and small means that, even while in a case, it’s extremely easy to slip into a backpack and take on the go. The deck while in a case, however, is bulky and doesn’t fit in a backpack if I want to put anything else in there (like a book and my laptop).

They were each designed with different goals in mind. I hate the ergonomics of the switch, but really do appreciate how easy it is to take on the go. I love the ergonomics of the deck, but hate how cumbersome it is to take anywhere. Nintendo made the choice to sacrifice ergonomics, and valve made the choice to sacrifice portability. Unfortunately, no solution will be perfect, and I accept that.

Yup. I got a grip accessory for mine to mitigate it.

Yes, I didn’t and still don’t understand why they didn’t make the joycon buttons and “d-pad” more comfortable. It’s Nintendo’s least comfortable controller and it’s the biggest reason I hate using the Switch portable mode.

Everyone’s saying it’s old here - the Game Boy was more comfortable to hold and had better buttons. It’s not about age.

One small thing but I’m surprised nobody points it out - the charging port location. I like using my switch/steam deck in bed or otherwise laying down, and the fact that the charging lead is at the bottom of the console rather than the top sucks. It just gets in the way and stops you resting the console on you. Whereas the Steam Deck just has it on top where you can just plug it in while playing.

I know the technical reasons behind it because of the dock and all that, but it’s annoying.

In general, I think the steam deck is better than the switch in almost every way - The switch is just an expensive ticket for the right to play Nintendo games nowadays.

I find I very rarely use it as a handheld. I find it kind of heavy and awkward to hold after longer periods of time. I kinda wish Nintendo made another 3ds, lol. I’m extremely curious about what they’re going to do for the switch successor

This is something I think a lot, how portable gaming kind died. I don’t mean the devices itself, yes the switch and the deck are amazing devices, but I miss games designed and meant to be playable on small devices, like the games we got until the 3DS, games that fit the portable device if that makes sense.

It’s amazing but I simply can’t play a game like Elden Ring on a portable device the same way I used to play my DS.

The Joycons were an absolute disaster and ruined the portable experience. I got 4 of them repaired. When they inevitably broke again, I gave up and bought a pro controller. Precariously balancing the Switch on your lap or setting it on furniture so you can use a pro controller is not a handheld. Still had lots of fun with the games on it, but the experience should have been better. Nintendo has building controllers for decades, you would think they could at least begin to approach competency.

Caused me hand pains playing handheld with the switch that it became absolutely necessary for me to get grips to make it usable. Terrible ergonomics.