Back in 2017, we had never seen something like the Switch before. It has a screen. It has controllers that you can attach to the screen. It has controllers that you can detach from the screen. You can plug it into your TV to make (you guessed it) a bigger screen. It was revolutionary.
Now, there are a couple of other devices on the market that offer a similar experience. We have previously looked at the Aya Neo Air over on our sister site, Time Extension, and we have even weighed up the pros and cons of the Steam Deck right here on Nintendo Life. But no other device has struck us as quite so Switch-y as the OneXPlayer 2.
With a hefty amount of power packed into it, detachable controllers and a whopping great screen, we wondered whether we might have a blueprint for a Switch successor on our hands; in practice, however, the answer is not that simple.
Over on our YouTube channel, Alex has taken one of these devices for a spin and has made a video to explain his thoughts on "the Anti-Switch". We won't give too much away here, but we'd say that you are better off sticking with your Switch (or Steam Deck, if you have one) for the time being.
You can find all of the details about the OneXPlayer 2 and Alex's thoughts on the device in the video at the top of this article. So sit back, grab yourself a strong reviewing beverage, and let's find out everything there is to know about the latest 'not-Switch'.
What do you make of this bit of kit? Let us know in the comments.
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Comments 46
With the ASUS ROG Ally around the corner, I suspect it’s going to turn into a bloodbath on the portable PC side. Valve had a chance to really push Linux gaming, but they decided to focus on the Deck and leave Holo OS for desktops and laptops in the wind. Microsoft isn’t going to be losing their Windows monopoly on PC gaming any time soon, so ASUS will certainly put a massive hurt on OXP, Aya Neo and GPD; plus REALLY softening up the Deck sales too.
Nintendo will continue to run unopposed since the Switch’s real competitor is smart devices, tablets mainly.
Grest and honest views.
We're currently seeing quite a surge of these Switch "clones". I'm all for it if they offer something unique, but what will always make the biggest difference is the (exclusive) software available for the system and I think the Big N still wins by a stretch there
It is too big.
I have that same Pokemon aloha shirt as Alex. It is my favorite summer shirt.
Please don't make a joke with my username for having similarity with Anti-Switch.
My username is from DDR X2 Replicant-D-Action songs.
@NewAdvent The Steam Deck is not a threat to the Nintendo Switch. It's sales of an estimated 3M by the end of this year are dismal. It will be discontinued in a year or two. Valve is sure of one thing - they will continually fail at hardware and any current innovation they touch.
LMFAO at that white turd!! $1249!!! I can't stop laughing!! Trying to piggy back off of Switch and the controllers need an add-on just to work @that premium price!! Misleading marketing should stop you right there. HOT TRASH!!!
To be fair, the Steam deck is way too expensive for what it is.
I did never really understand the hype about it.However,this thing shown in the video looks like a handheld made for giants 😆
@Cashews I would say the Deck has been a relative success. It was always going to be a niche handheld device that doesn't need to sell 100 million to be considered worthwhile. I don't have one as I barely have time to play my Switch as it is.
There is something to the simplicity of the Switch that is really appealing. Pop in a game and play. No tweaking of settings or having to fiddle about downloading drivers etc. There will always be a market for that, regardless of how underpowered it may be. Convenience trumps power for a lot of people.
@Jey887 No one makes an expensive handheld device that takes years of engineering, countless man hours to find and implement manufacturing with the intent of being a niche product. PC gaming is not niche. Fortnite is not a niche game. Elden Ring was not a niche game. Hogwart's etc.
It does need to sell more than 3M units in 2 years to be considered a success and it did not meet that. It is an abject failure. Valve has been trying to break into the console market for years. Ever since they released their controller and failed miserably making an OS that could more easily connect to a tv.
I am prejudiced though. I so adore watching Valve fail - like it is a sport.
@NewAdvent Deck barely sold 3 million in its first year. Amazing sales for a handheld PC, but the Switch sold 13 million its first year. The comparisons between the Deck and Switch is apples to oranges: it isn’t an intuitive experience, PC vs a smart device and the battery life is a giant gamble per game. There are ZERO games built for the Deck, all of them are being emulated through a layer called Proton. Developers and publishers don’t lift a finger to build games for it, Valve handles all of it through Proton; which tricks the games into believing their running on a Windows machine since the Deck runs SteamOS (a Debian based Linux).
The ASUS ROG Ally is a real competitor to the Deck. It will hurt the sales, especially if it runs about the same or better than the Deck. ASUS is a top five PC maker around the world, they’ll easily slap Gabe and Valve across the face with the hardware. Windows will be its own problem, so I hope ASUS can work some magic to make it an easy experience. It’ll run every game made for Windows on PC, which is 98% of that market; including games on Epic, GOG, Battle Net and yes, Steam.
The Switch will still run unchallenged. It’s purely a gaming device. Stripped down smart tablet with a closed garden, which everything is built to run on its platform.
I'll stick with my Steam Deck and Switch thanks.
lol!
A 1000+ USD device, and they couldn't even include batteries in the detachable controllers, renders them more or less useless in tabletop mode. xD
Yes!!! Sure it does. Do you know what else it can do? Play TOTK using Yuzu etc.. 😭😭
I will wait, for steam deck 2!! While I spend time with my steam deck!
@Cashews Fair enough. The constant praise of Valve/ worship of Gabe on places like Reddit can get a bit irritating.
We will have to agree to disagree on your point though. I agree that PC gaming is in no way niche, however I think a dedicated handheld for it is. I would imagine the Deck is already turning a profit for them and they are designing the successor.
I don't see the deck as a Switch competitor. They are aiming for entirely different markets and the difference in sales figures show that. As I said in my previous comment, simplicity is key for most mainstream gamers.
You know your product is successful when people are constantly trying to out-do it.
Hold on. Did someone say that this thing is 1000+ DOLLARS?
Yeah no thanks.
Another day, another handheld PC article, that is totally nothing like the Switch, or anywhere near a competitor or even alternative.
Switch 2 and Pro rumors incoming
Not going to bother watching the video about yet another overpriced, overpowered handheld made by minds that don't understand the appeal of handheld gaming. The device needs to be affordable, comfortable to hold and have good battery life; power is a lesser consideration. Nintendo has always gotten this which is why their devices have long dominated despite folks complaining about their inferior tech.
The Steam Deck comes a bit closer to bridging the gap. It's not perfect but it's a fine compromise (and I'll take its symmetrical analog layout over the asymmetrical style any day). Combine that with Emu Deck and a ton of great games I got on the cheap through Humble Bundles (like Devil May Cry 5) and I feel like the Steam Deck is a great addition to any gamer's collection, as long as you don't care about physical games.
@Cashews Valve continues to support devices with updates even after they're discontinued like the Steam Controller and Steam Link, I've literally never heard of another company doing that.
Also, because they have Steam to deal with there's no reason to drop the Steam Deck after a couple of years.
The Steam Deck has been good for me (and IS a competitor to the Switch at $399). But I'm over the "honeymoon" period with it (only so many PS3/Xbox 360 games I wish to revisit in "handheld mode")
Now it will interesting to see when and what Nintendo will offer as their Switch successor. Personally I hope for full backwards compatibility, 60 fps/at least 720p handheld mode, upgrade paths for (at least) the most popular games (could come with a small "fee" - I'd be fine with that), no "flimsy joy-cons" issues, an OLED screen as standard and capability of playing (somewhat) downgraded PS5/Xbox Series S ports.
If all of this, more or less, became a reality, I would consider buying a Switch successor (though I'd probably still keep my Steam Deck for certain games I doubt will come to the Switch successor)
Remember the good old NX days?
How would everyone feel if Nintendo kept their word about the Switch - that they weren't in any hurry to replace it. Instead of Making a Switch 2 they just had the Switch with it's 130M install base and the next console was a traditional to the tv model - just more beast mode, backwards compatible for games not requiring removable joycons and a few gimmicks here and there (it wouldn't be Nintendo without gimmicks)?
tldr it would become the true handheld while Nintendo creates a competitor to the xbox/ps5 in terms of power. But somehow more accessible to kiddie/indie games.
The Switch is cheap, has an extremely simple setup, and is backed by some of the strongest IPs in existence. That last one is the big kicker. There's alternatives for people who want Switch-like setups, but there's no real competition including this one. The only company who could approach Nintendo's stride would be Sony and they already burned their amazing handheld line to the ground.
@Cashews I gave away my Switch after Metroid Dread came out and I haven't touched a Nintendo game since...simply because I don't like playing games at below 1080p and below 60fps. If Nintendo wants to have a more powerful, dock-only Switch for the next-gen and milk the current Switch for another gen then I'm all for it, but my standards are much higher than whatever Nintendo is currently offering.
@Rpg-lover I think the ROG Ally is going to kill this handheld... and it'll eventually end the Deck. ASUS are hardware masters, I think this machine will not just spank the Deck in performance, but be efficient with battery life and features. All while taming Windows 11, which Gabe will not use.
@Wheatly funny I downloaded sonic adventure on steam and it played no problem so then I decided to get adventure 2 thinking it would also be no problem but omg was I frustrated last night! It took me an hour to get it to work after Googling looking for answers. But that’s pc gaming.
@Coalescence
I think thats why im hoping that the next Nintendo system is a more powerful switch because there's not really any alternative without going full portable-pc.
im not expecting some super high end system but considering the advancements in mobile tech since the switch launch i imagine it would at least close the power gap enough to make more games viable on the system while still keeping the price point/size more in line with switch.
Hopefully fully backwards compatible so hopefully the transition would be smooth though that "cross gen development" thing mentioned in an article a while back seems like we will have cross gen games meaning the current switch can still be supported while still supporting the newer switch.
@ArcticSin Apple does that and so does Sony and MS. These support devices after they been discontinued.
People have this "Valve can only do this" type mentality.
Again we get false equivalence again. The Switch isn't a tablet or smart phone. Why do people keep using bad analogy over and over knowing clearly that is false.
@Cashews when did valve try to release a console ?
@Coalescence "The Switch is cheap, has an extremely simple setup, and is backed by some of the strongest IPs in existence"
This can be said for almost anything nintendo makes, it aint really switch exclusive & frankly that whole "cheap & simple" thing comes with a price (no pun intended). you'd be surprised how many people would rather play nintendos games basically anywhere else instead of on a switch or nintendo device.
The Handheld PC and Switch are aimed at two different and only occasionally overlapping adiances. The Switch is fine in it's own corner and doesn't need to worry. Not everyone has the time or desire to jury rig games into working all the time.
That said, that price point and with the ASUS Rog coming soon? That thing's dead at birth. Steam Deck beats it on price, the ROG beats it on price and compatibility.
@nomither6 they tried to make your pc a console. Steam Link. Steam Controller. SteamOS. Circa 2016. Roughly the same time Steam was trying to sell trading cards to addicted gamers, sell creator content not made by Valve on Skyrim and failing at making a Magic TG game.
I hate them.
@Cashews They seem really hard to get a hold of which would mean demand is far outpacing supply and that they are not being manufactured sufficiently. I don't know too much about it cause I haven't been following it, but I'd be inclined to believe it is an abject failure if they are not selling, not if they are out of stock.
@ArcticSin
You said you got rid of your Switch (after Wednesday last week or before then?) so do you have a Steam Deck? Because it struggles hitting 1080p/60fps with a hell of a lot of games too. Hell PS5 and Series X have games that can't hit that (Jedi Survivor).
You also want TotK running at 60fps on Switch apparently. How is that gonna happen?
Frankly you seem to live in cloud cuckoo land chief and are hard to take seriously. And I am being polite here cause really I think you are just full of it.
@roboshort Your information is incorrect.
either one of us can buy one right now with no problem - any size. There is no demand what-so-ever for the product and has been that way since chip demand eased Fall of last year.
I don't like videos and rather read articles but instead of calling it an anti switch just call it a portable pc or handheld pc because that's what it is more than being a weaker price comparable plug and play console you touch on that in the video ..had to hop around a little to find what i was looking for but the market for hand-held PCs has definitely blown open but more so as the advancements they make in say laptops in that price range its reasonable to expect an even more slimmed down version to come to handheld... Those compete against one another the Switch is still a loner in its category with the steam deck probably being the closest and probably the biggest competitor to Nintendo's bottom line. As long as Nintendo makes its own games and doesn't deviate too much from the switch concept but with more powerful hardware they'll continue to sell for the next decade. Handheld pcs are cool no doubt but I can't see myself investing since i already have a asus rog 14 in laptop which is quite portable and a switch..and my tablet which can do GeForce now and ps remote play pretty decently... quite an era for gaming we live in
@ArcticSin that's a shame if graphics and frames are more important than content, story and gameplay...what usually, people play Nintendo games for ,but to each their own
1) As someone whom has carpal tunnel issues for a decade now, I doubt such a beast would be acceptable.
2) Review didn´t mention cooling noise. Switch (and especially OLED which is more silent than my 1st gen and two 2nd Switches) is very silent, even if you play it at evening in bed. It´s certainly one of the good perks. And I would hate to have portable vacuum cleaner in my hand.
3) Friend bought a Steam Deck and used it literally for one day. He was fiddling with it, installed some games, tried it and then put it off and year later I was said he never took it out again. We are often of the same mind, so I will rather stick to my gaming PC and Switch combo. At very least Switch has some really good exclusives. And you don´t have to fiddle with it either.
@Cashews Okay. Thanks for the info. I hadn’t really been paying attention to it.
@roboshort I hadn't either really - until this article - but that initial FOMO on the deck's release got me interested enough to do a few minutes research.
on a fun note - this thread has me finding the asus rog being mentioned as an interesting unit.
take it easy.
@SBandy1 what I want is for Nintendo to release a system that can run their games at (at least) 60fps and preferably above 1080p. I don't care if the Switch can't run it at those frames but I'd like Nintendo to throw those of us that want something more powerful a bone.
OR, implement current technologies such as DLSS/FSR, future AI frame generation, and VRR like freesync into their docks and displays (like the ROG Ally, and something I wish the Steam Deck had) to mitigate dissatisfaction with poor visuals and performance.
There are so many avenues for Nintendo to explore hardware and software-wise for the system itself that everyone else has already, but Nintendo just doesn't care.
Also, I got a steam deck to support Valve and the Linux community, and you can turn the refresh rate down to 40hz to make lower framerates more bearable. I mainly use it for older games and indies though I like benchmarking and writing ProtonDB compatibility reports for those who might have a steam deck as their first PC.
For actually playing games to completion I prefer playing on my main PC.
@ParadoxFawkes I consider them equally important.
Or Nintendo could just release their games on PC, I'd be completely fine with that too. Prefer it even.
@ArcticSin
From what i gather mobile tech has improved quite a bit since the switch launch so a "next gen" switch i imagine could still in theory run more demanding games at 1080p 60fps.
Considering how much some devs were able to get out of the switch it does feel like they could do a lot with a "switch 2" even if it ended up less powerful than a lot of these portable PCs
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