The Steam Deck was released at the end of February, and it's generally been given a lot of praise not only for its ability to play Steam games on the go, but also for its versatility. With Valve saying that all Steam Deck orders should be fulfilled by the end of 2022, even more people are likely going to be happy with the company's new mobile device. On top of that, there's been an update to the system which allows gamers to plug in Nintendo peripherals.
A patch for the Steam Deck went live last week, which states that it now supports Nintendo Online classic controllers. This means that users can plug in their NES, SNES, and N64 pad, which should all be plug and play by now. These are the rebrandings of the controllers and not the originals, as the new iterations are USB compatible. The update doesn't say whether there will be support for the classic SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis controller, so it looks as though it's just the Nintendo ones for now.
There are some absolutely iconic Nintendo controllers out there, which go all the way back to the 80s. Older gamers will remember using these in their first instances, with later models being eye-catching in an attempt to be innovative. For example, the mid-90s saw the birth of the N64 controller, with its singular analogue stick, which was unique at the time, and Z trigger button underneath, as well as that central handle that made the pad look like a gray W. It was considered pretty bizarre at the time, but most gamers were able to get to grips with it eventually.
As for Valve's portable system in general, it seems there is plenty of room to accommodate a bit of nostalgia. For example, someone recently installed an original Xbox emulator on the Steam Deck with the intention of playing some classic games like Halo, TimeSplitters 2, and Ninja Gaiden. It's become pretty clear that the device is more than just a way for players to have mobile access to their Steam library.
Despite Valve's failed attempts at developing hardware in the past, the developer has shown that it has the ability to create a device that can strike a chord with the gaming industry. The fact that the Steam Deck can also have Windows installed on it and be used almost in the same way as a PC is one of the reasons why it stands out against something like the Switch.
Source: Steam