alt Hacker NewsShort term the argument that 'piracy exists yet doesn't affect steam sales' holds true.
Long term when someone makes emulating Switch 2 on your Steam Deck a 1-click install I'm not so sure.
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Very unlikely to happen via emulation, there's Switch 1 games that the Steam Deck struggles to run already.
What about putting Steam on your Switch 2?
Totally, convenience always wins. I think this is more of a hardware sales issue for Nintendo though — if what I understand is true, I'd bet that we see Switch 2 games running on other systems before we see a CFW/decrypt-encrypt stack for running pirated games on the Switch 2 itself.
Would people still go to such lengths if Nintendo just released their games for the hardware people actually have, like the SteamDeck & PC ?
Still seems rather self-enflicted pain for Intendo due to still pushing locked-down consoles in 2026.
I would buy a Switch if it were an open, hackable platform that I owned. If Nintendo put all of its games in stores on open platforms DRM-free, I buy and would own nearly every Nintendo title ever released.
Alas. Having a pleasant and moral game-playing experience falls on our and the community's shoulders.
I have no desire to buy Nintendo's hardware as I don't want to play their games badly enough to buy a dedicated console and deal with their practices. I have however enjoyed the last two Zelda titles on my PC where I was able to play them with performance and quality mods. Once it was just another application the barrier of entry was low enough to get my interest. If the games were available as actual PC titles I would have gladly paid for them
The Switch 1 sold about 150m units, the Steam Deck’s sold 6m.
Internet nerds like us aren’t really Nintendo’s target market, I don’t think. Installing emulators or jailbreaking a system isn’t something most of their customer base would have the want or need to do, IMO.