Steamdeck vs Quest 2 vs Toilet

[monkeydog]

Need some help with a terrible consumer dilemma. 

 

I've about to receive a 10 yrs service reward through work, so I'm the unusual position where I can splurge some cash on some frivolous technology instead of kids and the house.

 

A Steamdeck is top of the list.  20 yrs of games + emulation without having to sit at a desk or kitchen table is awfully tempting.

 

On the other hand, I've fancied VR for ages. Can't think what I'd play beyond Half Life Alyx, via my just about capable Laptop, and Beatsaber.  I'd have a nosey at Elite but probably wouldn't play for long.

 

Switch is an outside choice. Id love a proper play of BoTW and Odyssey but then I'd really be done with it. 

 

Or I could put it towards a new toilet when we renovate the gross ensuite. 

[Gotters]

Get a Deck - i considered myself a lapsed gamer before picking one up and am now as excited as 12y old me about gaming again - both Steam newer stuff (indies mainly) and emulation (check the deck emu thread in Retro to whet your whistle).

 

The deck is honestly the best gaming hardware I've bought in decades.

[thesnwmn]

Obviously it's not the toilet. You can get one for so much less than the price of the other items you just need to turn the heating off for a few days/minutes to afford it.

 

I'd go Steam Deck. The best general use device in the list.

 

The Switch is stunning too. But if you're going into it thinking there's only those two things then why bother. You're not open to the idea of it. Same with VR really. No one should need to sit and convince you that these platforms have stunning experiences to offer.

[deerokus]

Deck for sure.  Quest 2 is fun but you won't get nearly as much use out of it.

[LowCostMonkey]

Never under-estimate the importance of a good toilet. It's where most of my mobile gaming occurs.

[ChewMagma]

Are you trying to buy a sentient toilet or something??

[Wiper]

As someone who owns everything you've listed, I can confidently say that the best way to spend that sort of money is on a toilet — specifically, a Japanese toilet. The benefits of their added comfort and hygiene can't be overstated.

[stir fry]

I'd hold off on VR purchases until we see what the steam deckard turns out to be, and the PSVR2 releases.

 

In fact if the deckard is a portable solution like the quest 2 there's a good chance it will run just about everything at least on 'low*' settings cause it will have to run HL Alyx, one of the most demand games (*which in VR terms, is just fine, graphics are not as important)

[T Pot]

Get a deck. You can emulate switch on it too so you can still play BOTW.

[Siri]

As someone who owns a deck and think it's the best thing since sliced bread, I would buy one of those fancy toilets with the built in bidet.

 

Heck, I'd use the money saved from not buying toilet paper to get a deck

[Shimmyhill]

I thought this was a comedy thread where @monkeydog was on the throne playing VR via the steam deck but managed to fall in head first drowning his Quest 2 and Steamdeck 😂

 

As for the question, I love the Quest 2 and having been playing Resi 4 on it of late I think the highs are much higher but for a more day to day use device the Steamdeck probably wins.

[AK Bell]

Do you have kids? For me there is no point in getting a decent handheld unless you have a comfortable bathroom and toilet to lock yourself in and keep everyone else out for a believable amount of having a dump time. 

[deerokus]

Buy a toilet with a gaming PC built in 

[monkeydog]

23 minutes ago, AK Bell said:

Do you have kids? For me there is no point in getting a decent handheld unless you have a comfortable bathroom and toilet to lock yourself in and keep everyone else out for a believable amount of having a dump time. 

 

Two of the lovely things, so can already disappear for some fairly legendary toilet time.  Mrs Monkeydog is probably already worried that I have gastro intestinal issues.

 

The kids are probably a mark against a Quest. I'd face constant interruption. 

[bumgut]

Go with a dirty arse and steam deck

[Broker]

Get a switch. Loads of the indies you’d play on steam deck are on there, Nintendo first party games are amazing, you can play fun multiplayer stuff with the family but also play single player stuff solo, it’s cheaper, which you could spend on Nintendo online to get some of the best retro console games ever made. 

[Lorfarius]

I used to do loads of loo gaming until I heard about poo particles. Now its a throw away mag and nothing more.

[jonamok]

WC > SD >>> VR

[Popo]

16 hours ago, deerokus said:

Buy a toilet with a gaming PC built in 

 

Water-cooled, I assume?

 

It sounds like opportunities to splurge on yourself are few and far between @monkeydog, so clearly it's Deck time.  The thing about VR is, unless you've had decent exposure already, you'll feel nausea quite strongly and frequently at first, which for me is a massive down side.

[jonamok]

20 minutes ago, Popo said:

The thing about VR is, unless you've had decent exposure already, you'll feel nausea quite strongly and frequently at first, which for me is a massive down side.

And a reason to have a functioning toilet.

[Siri]

15 hours ago, monkeydog said:

The kids are probably a mark against a Quest. I'd face constant interruption. 

 

That reminds me of a good point to raise - the Quest does need a fair bit of open space so you can flail around.

 

As others have said, VR is really something cool and some of the experiences really do scream next gen more then current consoles, but you do need the space, and eventually you might end up pining for a high-end PC setup to stream a bunch more games to the headset when you run out with what Meta offers. Which is, well, a lot more money down the road.

 

The Steam Deck (and the switch) are one stop shops to access a whole bevvy of games in an accessible format that don't require the space, but there's inherently a shelf life on the hardware (more so on the Switch).

 

Meanwhile, a good toilet lasts forever, and doesn't require games to enjoy.

[AK Bell]

1 hour ago, Lorfarius said:

I used to do loads of loo gaming until I heard about poo particles. Now its a throw away mag and nothing more.

 

Just shut the lid when you flush and have an extractor fan. 

 

I always have the lid shut when not in use too. I never understand why people keep it open all the time or these debates about seat up or down. Just shut the whole thing. Why do you want a constant hole in your bathroom for things to fall into? 

[Kevvy Metal]

21 hours ago, Gotters said:

Get a Deck - i considered myself a lapsed gamer before picking one up and am now as excited as 12y old me about gaming again - both Steam newer stuff (indies mainly) and emulation (check the deck emu thread in Retro to whet your whistle).

 

The deck is honestly the best gaming hardware I've bought in decades.

 

Out of curiosity, do you primerily play it in hand-held?

[g wings]

Get a deck.

 

I’ve been in and out of gaming for years. I buy the latest consoles but quickly realise I don’t have the time to play or have to try and get in before the kids

 

But with the deck I can just grab it and play while my wife is watching TV or I can play in bed or I can quickly play for half an hour during a work break.

 

The fact that it can pretty simply and very successfully emulate so many systems is incredible. I would say it’s worth it for that alone but then you’ve got the huge steam library to pick from.

On top of all that I can access Xbox cloud gaming! And because it’s a PC you can mod stuff too. Today I spent ages tinkering with DIY rosters, wrestlers and moves with Fire Pro Wrestling World and I’ve also modded Legend Bowl (non licences American football game) now with a full NFL team roster set-up. It’s all good fun to mess about with.
 

Oh, and because I’m an old git with failing eyes I can play on a big screen using the dock.

 

I haven’t played so much in years and I love it!

 

Edit: I adore the switch but the deck is far more comfortable for me when playing long sessions 

and BOTW and Mario Odyssey are two of my favourite games but you can play them on the switch emu!

[Gotters]

7 minutes ago, Kevvy Metal said:

 

Out of curiosity, do you primerily play it in hand-held?

 

100% handheld, it's next to me most of the day and whenever I used to pick up the phone for a quick go on something it's now the deck. Plus in the evening my other half can have the tv and I can still sort of take stuff in but deck at the same time. It's just perfect for me.

 

I have a Switch and only ever played that, for very limited periods of time, docked. It's not just form factor (though the Deck is far better for my hands) but how much the Deck can do. 

 

[Kevvy Metal]

14 minutes ago, Gotters said:

 

100% handheld, it's next to me most of the day and whenever I used to pick up the phone for a quick go on something it's now the deck. Plus in the evening my other half can have the tv and I can still sort of take stuff in but deck at the same time. It's just perfect for me.

 

I have a Switch and only ever played that, for very limited periods of time, docked. It's not just form factor (though the Deck is far better for my hands) but how much the Deck can do. 

 

 

interesting to know aye!

[JoeK]

I wish it could be seen in a shop somewhere. I'd love to give a whirl - I'm not much of a handheld gamer at all, but the prospect of having this little thing as a device to use for a pretty complete emulation machine that I could take to friends and hook up on the TV is a strong enticement!

 

 

[Siri]

17 minutes ago, JoeK said:

I wish it could be seen in a shop somewhere. I'd love to give a whirl - I'm not much of a handheld gamer at all, but the prospect of having this little thing as a device to use for a pretty complete emulation machine that I could take to friends and hook up on the TV is a strong enticement!

 

Wholly unnecessary for that specific purpose, though. £80-ish Retroid Pocket 2 and even Smartphones are capable for most of the games people attribute to emulation.

 

The magic of the Deck is that emulation is the side gig to all the mad shit you can play on PC. And, uh, being kinda good at playing Cyberpunk.

[JoeK]

8 minutes ago, Siri said:

 

Wholly unnecessary for that specific purpose, though. £80-ish Retroid Pocket 2 and even Smartphones are capable for most of the games people attribute to emulation.

 

The magic of the Deck is that emulation is the side gig to all the mad shit you can play on PC. And, uh, being kinda good at playing Cyberpunk.

 

Oh, of course it's unnecessary, but it's never stopped me from questionable purchases before and I'm damned if I'm gonna start now  

[Wiper]

36 minutes ago, JoeK said:

I wish it could be seen in a shop somewhere. I'd love to give a whirl - I'm not much of a handheld gamer at all, but the prospect of having this little thing as a device to use for a pretty complete emulation machine that I could take to friends and hook up on the TV is a strong enticement!

 

Of its many qualities, being a "little thing" isn't something I'd attribute to the Deck!

 

 

(alas that I no longer have a Gameboy Micro for the full scale range)

 

It is an excellent, dockable emulation machine though, no doubt. Definitely outperforms my old Pocket 2 for PS2 and Dreamcast emulation, happily rendering everything at high internal resolutions, before considering the convenience of docking it with the TV for local multiplayer. Though having to buy a dock separately for ~£30 did rankle somewhat.

 

(I still prefer the Anbernic for 16-bit stuff and the Vita for PSP/PS1, mind, thanks to their more comfortable sizes)