Submitted by sev8288 t3_114hvpe in consoles

posting this on a couple subreddits. I’m looking for something new but cheap to game on that’s also portable (I travel a lot) since my school mac doesn’t run many games. I’m planning to buy it in June. I would go for a laptop, but my budget is only around $600-700. I heard the games on the switch are crazy expensive, but at the same time I like being able to sit on my bed and play or carry it around in my bag and since I already have a mac it wouldn’t be too bad since It’s not like I’m completely computerless. To add if I did get the switch my relatives are willing to gift most of the money for it on my birthday, so I could invest my own money in games, but is it really worth it in 2023? I’ve seen posts like this before but none really helped my situation, which one should I go for?

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Geekfest_84 t1_j8wems3 wrote

What about a steam deck? Is the deck available where you are?

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[deleted] t1_j8whjox wrote

too expensive in some markets that have low demand

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Geekfest_84 t1_j8whznn wrote

Do you mean the markets were it's not officially sold? In markets were it is officially sold it's definitely cheap for what it is, especially the 64GB version.

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[deleted] t1_j8wivbc wrote

>Do you mean the markets were it's not officially sold?

I guess so? neither the switch nor the steam deck are 'officially' sold on my country but the steam deck costs about 2x the price of a switch lite because there is no market for it, there's little to no demand for it

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Geekfest_84 t1_j8wkh2l wrote

Here in the UK the switch lite is £200 and the steam deck starts at £350, so it is nearly twice the price to be fair. The steam deck is still great value at £350 though if that makes sense?

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[deleted] t1_j8wmise wrote

it is indeed, but markets are a bit more complex than that. this concept is easier to grasp if you live in a country that has a bad economy, but it basically goes like this: £300 means less to you than it means to me, if that makes any sense. a regular switch costs about two times the current value of minimum wage in my country, and the job market is VERY bad at the moment. this means that, for a college student like me, even the switch lite is a big investment, while for a UK citizen it's pocket change. for someone who isn't fortunate enough to live in a country with decent economy, the difference in prices become larger. in my case, I honestly think that both consoles are great, but I'm a competitive smash bros player, so the choice wasn't much of a choice. I regret buying the regular switch because the lite version's price dropped a lot since then and I don't own a TV anymore

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Geekfest_84 t1_j8wmxh4 wrote

I see your point. Our economy isn't great and people are really struggling to make ends meet over here due to soaring increases in bills like electric and gas for example, but it sounds like it's worse for you which isn't good. Where about abouts are you from?

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[deleted] t1_j8wqif1 wrote

I'm from brazil. here, eletronics became more and more expensive due to our coin losing value (1 dollar = 5.21 reais currently) and some changes related to import taxes that took place in 2015 (that's when nintendo announced that they would end their activities in the country). the current state of our job market definitely doesn't make things better, it's hard to find a good job even if you have a degree

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S2WI3 t1_j8wi38m wrote

Do you like Nintendo games? Or indie games? If you answer is Nintendo games get the switch If your answer is indie games get the switch

Honestly there is no such thing as a "good" gaming laptop, you'll get maybe 2 years out of the thing before it conks out, they don't play high end games very well, can't be upgraded and if they live longer than a few years they will make the most ungodly racket and burn your lap

I've had my switch since launch it's still going really well, plus Nintendo games have been bomb this generation

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[deleted] t1_j8wjexp wrote

the switch was a big turning point for nintendo. back in the 3DS days, they rejected The Binding of Isaac because it was too violent, the devs had to make a less violent version just for the 3DS... even the indie games were getting turned off by the company, lmao

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S2WI3 t1_j8wjo2h wrote

It's crazy how things have changed, you can even get GTA on it now, that would have been unheard of 10-15 years ago

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[deleted] t1_j8wkygz wrote

yeah, for sure. from rejecting The Binding of Isaac to releasing Doom Eternal, talk about a change of values

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[deleted] t1_j8wiajb wrote

the decision really comes down to where you live (as in, the current status of your country's market). if you're on a tight budget I'd say go for it, the switch is the best choice in that scenario. it has a great library of games, specially when compared with the last few consoles from nintendo. it's also worth mentioning that every nintendo console has a big homebrew scene, so... paying for games is optional 8-)

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SageMuffin98765 t1_j90s4v7 wrote

The switch still has about 4 year left. And people are still buying older consoles

It's worth it

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BallsOfSteel86 t1_j9c0s58 wrote

Get a 3ds ? If not a laptop or steam deck

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sev8288 OP t1_j9z0fiu wrote

I’ve heard a lot of bad stuff about the steamdeck, is it better now? I would consider it but it doesn’t seem that trustworthy to me since it’s a newer device

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