The Steam Deck and ROG Ally will soon know what the competition from handheld gaming kings, Nintendo, looks like

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Nintendo may not let you play PC games, but It's still the biggest player in the handheld gaming space. Soon we'll know what the Switch successor looks like.

Nightingale ROG Ally and Steam Deck.
(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • The Steam Deck and the ROG Ally (and all PC-based handhelds) will soon know what the competition is up to. 
  • Nintendo has confirmed that it will reveal information on its successor to the Switch before the end of this fiscal year. 
  • Before the next Switch is announced, we'd expect to see upgraded versions of at least the ROG Ally and the Lenovo Legion Go. 

In the most casual way possible, the kings of handheld gaming, Nintendo, has today revealed that information on the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be revealed before the end of this fiscal year. So that's not necessarily before the end of the 2024 calendar year, since Nintendo's fiscal year runs to March 2025. 

Why is this important to us? After all, we don't cover Nintendo in these parts. It's important because the Switch is the most popular handheld gaming console on the planet, and in PC gaming land we're just getting started. It's always prudent to keep one eye on the competition, and we recognize the Switch as one of the best gaming handhelds you can buy today. 

The one thing we do know is that the Nintendo Direct planned in June won't be talking about hardware. Presumably that'll be another chance for Hollow Knight: Silksong fans to be disappointed, instead. 

The Switch, and certainly its successor, is also going to be an important battleground for Microsoft's Xbox and its new focus on cross-platform availability for its first-party games. Grounded recently hit the Switch, Minecraft (and its spin-offs) has been successful on the Switch, so it's absolutely going to be relevant. And of course, it's a handheld, which means that handheld buyers may still end up deciding between it, and one of the Windows (or Linux) powered PC consoles. 

The Switch was first revealed back in 2015, nine years ago, which feels like a lifetime. It's true that one of the benefits of going in on PC gaming handhelds is that there will be a more frequent upgrade cycle, so the hardware limitations on newer games can be negated as things progress. Let's face it, the Switch doesn't come close to the Steam Deck or the ROG Ally on hardware. 

Upgrades expected to the ROG Ally, at least, before the Switch successor appears

We already know that ASUS is working on a successor to the ROG Ally.  (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

With PC makers like ASUS and Lenovo in on the handheld action, you can guarantee that things won't sit still for long. We already know that ASUS has a sequel to the ROG Ally in the works, and likewise Lenovo is also getting to it with a successor for the Legion Go. 

This is something that Nintendo will never do, and frankly, never has done. The company generally succeeds behind its first-party games, not on boasting about performance. Next to Xbox, PlayStation and PC gaming, the Switch is greatly underpowered. 

But Nintendo always draws eyeballs, and until hell freezes over and Mario comes to PC, it's going to be the biggest threat to PC-based handheld consoles. Some will have both, but realistically, that's not how average people buy their tech. 

So, we'll be keeping a close eye on this one. It's an exciting time in the handheld gaming space, and it doesn't look like it's slowing down. 

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Richard Devine
Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • fdruid
    Nintendo is an absolutely overrated company with quirky policies an who have made a craft out of mistreating their fans and franchises.

    Personally I don't think lightning will strike twice for them. Switch was a lucky hit precisely because their competitors dozed off. Handheld gaming is back not because of them but despite them. So I don't know what a new Nintendo handheld would need to have to wow the world again but I can tell you what their competitors have: thousands of games that aren't locked behind a razor sharp picket fence.
    Reply
  • Nemo37
    fdruid said:
    Nintendo is an absolutely overrated company with quirky policies an who have made a craft out of mistreating their fans and franchises.

    Personally I don't think lightning will strike twice for them. Switch was a lucky hit precisely because their competitors dozed off. Handheld gaming is back not because of them but despite them. So I don't know what a new Nintendo handheld would need to have to wow the world again but I can tell you what their competitors have: thousands of games that aren't locked behind a razor sharp picket fence.
    Nintendo is certainly not overrated. They are by far the only platform holders that have managed to workout a formula where they have been able to put out a variety of quality games at a steady pace and not fall trap to the endless issues that the AAA-chasing industry is now facing (looking directly at Microsoft and to a lesser degree Sony right now, where they are laying off staff and unable to maintain a steady release of titles). Outside of tiny players like GPD and such, Nintendo were the only major player taking a risk in the broader handheld space with the Switch which was the only major handheld gaming console on the market from 2017 until the Steam Deck arrived (and the 8 year old Switch has continued to outsell the Deck since the Deck's release in 2021, showing how Nintendo's software is capable of propelling their platforms). Much like the Switch, the next system will be dependent on if Nintendo can continue to release games at the same pace and quality that they have on Switch; if they are able to do that, they will have no problem selling the system. This strategy has worked well with all of their previous handheld systems as well (certainly not a case of lightning not hitting twice when Nintendo handhelds have included successes like the Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, 3DS, and now Switch). And this competition will be good because Valve and Nintendo and other gaming companies entering the handheld space will push each other to prevent things from becoming stale.

    Also, if consumers do not mind buying Playstations, Xboxs, and iDevices which all have walledgarden eco-systems, then why would they turn away from a similar device from Nintendo.
    Reply
  • thehinac
    Nemo37 said:
    Nintendo is certainly not overrated. They are by far the only platform holders that have managed to workout a formula where they have been able to put out a variety of quality games at a steady pace and not fall trap to the endless issues that the AAA-chasing industry is now facing (looking directly at Microsoft and to a lesser degree Sony right now, where they are laying off staff and unable to maintain a steady release of titles). Outside of tiny players like GPD and such, Nintendo were the only major player taking a risk in the broader handheld space with the Switch which was the only major handheld gaming console on the market from 2017 until the Steam Deck arrived (and the 8 year old Switch has continued to outsell the Deck since the Deck's release in 2021, showing how Nintendo's software is capable of propelling their platforms). Much like the Switch, the next system will be dependent on if Nintendo can continue to release games at the same pace and quality that they have on Switch; if they are able to do that, they will have no problem selling the system. This strategy has worked well with all of their previous handheld systems as well (certainly not a case of lightning not hitting twice when Nintendo handhelds have included successes like the Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, 3DS, and now Switch). And this competition will be good because Valve and Nintendo and other gaming companies entering the handheld space will push each other to prevent things from becoming stale.

    Also, if consumers do not mind buying Playstations, Xboxs, and iDevices which all have walledgarden eco-systems, then why would they turn away from a similar device from Nintendo.
    Nah Nintendo hardware is over rate. The only good Nintendo title is a emulated one.
    Nintendo will always be the cheap hardware option with expensive software sales. But a parent can buy a child a steam deck and buy their kid 10 games during a steam sale and spend 15$. The worse the world's economy gets the more cheaper options for gaming will become popular.
    Nintendo and Valve have nothing in common. Nothing Nintendo makes has anything to do with Valve. Unless it is emulating a Nintendo game at better frame rates.
    Reply