If you LOVE Mario, the ceiling is much higher. I mean, it was still good, the Switch brought me joy, but it the relationship had a hard ceiling. The titles ported to the Switch were just shells of their PC versions (Crysis, Borderlands, Diablo II). The games were good, but the selection of great games (like AAA rated titles) was almost non-existent. The controllers seemed to contract drift. The screen resolution was good, but not great - definitely not great on my TV. BUT… over time, I started to fall OUT of love with the Switch. this is the one, this is the LOVE of my life. Games on cartridges and games available for download via the Nintendo eShop. There were hundreds of fun games available. It took COVID, my wife, and an unexpected Father’s Day gift to coax me off the sidelines and playing the Switch. I sat on the sidelines, afraid of being hurt again. The portability, the color screen, the content, the games, the connectivity to the Internet, the intuitive controls, and option to play on handheld or on a large screen. Everyone I knew owned one, and they all LOVED it. Oh my friends told me how much fun they were having. Fact of the matter is, I waited a few years before wading into the portable-gaming pool again. I didn’t go out and buy the Nintendo Switch on day one. That next big thing was the Nintendo Switch. I mean you know your heart is broken when you refuse to even consider the ‘next big thing.’ I took the PSPs apart, replaced the pads, fixed the sticks, but it was never the same. I heard the ‘death knell’ clearly when the buttons and game sticks on both PSPs started wearing out and eventually stopped working. Spending $40 for a game that wasn't playable on my computer or anywhere else wasn’t a winning proposition. In retrospect, I should have known the relationship was doomed to fail. I saw past the sandboxed connectivity, and even overlooked the fact that the proprietary cartridges couldn’t be played on anything else. I invested, because I was going to settle down and never consider another platform. I bought cases, games, movies, and storage systems. It had hundreds of compatible games and movies. Then in the early 2000’s, Sony's PSP became my go to device. Not to mention, connecting to the internet or synching it with a computer required a suitcase of accessories, so doing anything meaningful with the iPAQ was an arduous affair. Alas, there was a complete dearth of games and content designed for it. It was revolutionary it used a stylus, and had a touchscreen. There was the Compaq iPAQ, a full color version of the Palm Pilot PDA. Still, I was smitten with portable gaming, and I’ve courted each and every portable gaming platform since. The Gameboy was great - but it was a small, green screen device with a relatively limited number of fun games. It all started back in college… it was the early 90’s, Mariah Carey was dominating the Billboard Hot 100, and portable gaming became a ‘thing.’ Her name was Gameboy. In full transparency, portable gaming hasn’t always loved me back (or at the very least not as much I’ve committed to loving it). So, when I first heard about the pending arrival of the Steam Deck, I immediately fell in love (with portable gaming) all over again. My collection includes two Nintendo Gameboys, a Compaq iPAQ (their handheld touchscreen device - it was a 90’s thing), two Sony PSPs, a Nintendo Switch, and dozens of laptops and cell phones I am ‘pot committed’ on portable gaming. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on portable gaming over the years. The thought of playing a game wherever I am, whenever I want brings a smile to my face. I’ve been enamored with portable gaming since I was a 10-year-old. To be very transparent, I’m a HUGE fan of the Steam Deck.
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