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!

  • FightSugarWithSugar@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Hello! Casual gamer here who also likes SDV and cute, pretty and colorful art styles (like Animal Crossing, Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Atelier series, etc). I was gifted the Switch, so that’s where I started. Then I discovered I also liked jrpgs (I wanted to play the Trails series and the first 3 are on Steam) so I saved up and got a Steam Deck about 2 months ago.

    I like both and rotate depending on the game I want to play. So like all my games on Switch just works (graphics not perfect, but it works) but the games are really pricey even during sales. Steam Deck is heavy for my small girl hands and I had to learn how to tinker with stuff like adding mods to SDV and Sims 4 :D (graphics are really better on SD tho I had to accept Harvestella is borked right now…) But Steam sales! xD

    I think if your wife just wanna chill and game, maybe she’ll like the Switch more? I agree tho maybe ask her to try SDV on SD first if she likes it then go with it since it’s tons better :D Hth!