Valve's gaming platform, Steam, is used by gamers across the globe. Since its release in 2003, Steam has become one of the most dominant platform for PC players to buy, download, and play their favorite games. Becoming synonymous with giant sales and endless offerings, the platform is beloved. Though Steam has seen fierce competition from the Epic Games Store, Steam remains the gold standard for so many. However, Valve recently attempted to break into the handheld market with the newly-released Steam Deck, which has been an exciting thought for so many wishing to take their Steam libraries on the go.
In offering something new for PC players, Valve has inadvertently entered the firing line of one of gaming's biggest names. The Nintendo Switch is a hit, and its sales have reached far and wide. It caters to a huge audience, and over its five years on the market, the list of titles available is as impressive as it is eclectic. With the Steam Deck, Valve allows players access to their already purchased games, but without a poster child like Mario for Nintendo, or Aloy for PlayStation, it will always be missing one of the key ingredients of the Switch console's success.
Nintendo Switch's Iconic Characters
Nintendo have built an entire gaming empire off the back of Mario's stellar offerings. From the 1985 classic Super Mario Bros, to Super Mario Odyssey, one of the finest 3D platformers on Switch, he's been the flag-bearer of all things Nintendo. Of course, Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Samus from the superb Metroid series, among many others, are vital to the success of the company too. With any promotional material always seeming to place Mario at the forefront, it's safe to say that he is the company's greatest character. He can be the vessel for so much of Nintendo's marketing, being used to showcase new hardware to the masses.
Steam, on the other hand, is a platform for players to build their own personal library of games, with many of the titles being available on other hardware, so it's unlikely that any two players have a similar collection. There isn't one single character that defines the platform like there is for other companies, and in the console space, it's so important to have a character to build around. Aloy's recent feature on a recent Vanity Fair cover could have a significant impact on the success of the PlayStation 5 on casual audiences, and with the Steam Deck's focus being more hardcore gamers, its marketing doesn't quite have that luxury.
Steam Deck May Cast Aside Casual Audiences
Despite wielding a player base of over 120 million users, Steam is a platform that caters, largely, for more dedicated gamers. Many of the offerings require a suitable machine to even run, and considering the hefty prices for such PC parts, more ill-equipped audiences have a hard time finding a place in the Steam ecosystem.
Comparing this to Nintendo, it becomes apparent that there is a difference in philosophy, as Nintendo has always found success with more casual players and families alike. Reaching more passive players requires marketing that caters to their understanding of what games are and can be. Pushing sales with impressive specs, and fancy new hardware advancements, doesn't entice a significant portion of potential consumers.
Having a poster child that can greet casual gamers is an effective way to make the system feel welcoming. From Mario's signature smile, to Link's iconic outfit, the switch has been the go-to system for players everywhere, becoming a must-have handheld in the process. Boggling the mind with information on frame rates, load times, and the like won't be enticing to those who want to spend time on their morning commute tending to an island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, or teeing it up on the course in Mario Golf: Super Rush.
If the Steam Deck wants to compete with Nintendo's superb handheld hybrid, it will have to embrace more passive players, and creating an exclusive character to use on the side of the box can greatly help achieve such a feat.
The Nintendo Switch has half a decade head start on the Steam Deck, and in that time it has amassed sales that have eclipsed even the Wii, but it has done so because of the stellar first party offerings that have released on the system. Such games always seem to bring memorable characters to the forefront, which provide a perfect tool for advertising in the years that follow the hardware's release. Steam is a marketplace, and Valve have been sparse in the games it has developed or published in recent years. The shiny new Steam Deck is at a significant disadvantage over the Nintendo Switch, which may prove costly as the new handheld/PC system finds its footing.