Switch saved handhelds, now Valve wants in on the action

Thought to be on the decline, handheld gaming seems to be undergoing a revival.

The Nintendo Switch has sold over 78 million units as of 2020, completely overshadowing its predecessor the Wii U, which sold a measly 13.5 million and is widely considered a failure. While it’s marketed as an all-round home console, the Switch’s portability is the chief appeal for most players: it inherits all of the non-gimmicky qualities of the old DS line, while offering a huge library of thirdparty titles, HD gaming and simple compatibility options.

That latter part is key: Sony’s PS Vita tanked for a lot of reasons, but one of these was that it was weighed heavily by its expensive proprietary connectivity. Want to expand storage? Sorry, you’ll need to pay through the nose for one of Sony’s expansion cards. Want to charge it on the go? Make sure you don’t lose your unique charger, which is expensive to replace. The Switch takes any old micro SD card and can be charged anywhere using USB-C. Easy.

This grubbing affection for proprietary guff is probably not what killed the Vita, but it made it a real pain in the arse. Seamless, convenient, fun handhelds can prosper, Nintendo has proven, and it looks like Valve has been paying attention. Last month its SteamPal handheld leaked, and while it lacks Nintendo brand power, the concept alone is promising. According to the leaks, it runs on Linux, boasts a touchscreen, gamepad and a “system on a chip” approach to its innards. The leaks also suggest easy USB connectivity with large screens.

It’s promising: Valve has invested a lot in Linux these past few years, and its Steam Play tool allows Windows games to run using its Linux client – that’s one big obstacle out of the way. It already has a UI in the form of Steam Big Picture mode (naturally, that will need an overhaul), and, well, the market for a SteamPal already has an extant Steam library, assuming access to that library is part of the offer – it’d be silly if it wasn’t.

Of course, a handheld isn’t going to run blockbuster titles at optimum performance, but that’s where Steam Remote Play comes in – in-home streaming of, say, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on a monster PC, straight to your handheld, is no doubt part of the dream. Of all of Nintendo’s platform competitors – Sony, Microsoft, and PC (ie, Valve) – the latter seems best equipped to issue a handheld that could take off. Steam is absolutely lousy with useful functionality, such as Remote Play Together, which basically makes every Steam local multiplayer game an online game by default.

Valve doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to hardware initiatives, though: Steam Machines never took off, mostly because they couldn’t nail the mass market ease of a console experience (and also because they were prohibitively expensive). The Steam controller, meanwhile, has its fans but is incredibly niche and anyway now discontinued. But if Valve wants to make the SteamPal a success it has the very best role model to ape – Nintendo – and frankly, all the tools at hand to better it. As always, the market will decide, but the market does love Valheim, maybe even more so while on the shitter.

“A handheld isn’t going to run blockbuster titles at optimum performance, but that’s where Steam Remote Play comes in – inhome streaming of, say, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on a monster PC, straight to your handheld, is no doubt part of the dream.”