Update 11:21AM: it's possible the weekly global top sellers list is having issues, as it's been pointed out some clearly top selling games vanished from the last week. I've reached out to Valve to see what's up.
Update #2 8:07PM: seems Valve got the message, and they've updated it. The Steam Deck on the weekly global top seller for the week beginning January 14th was actually 4th, not 47th.
With that in mind here's an updated corrected version of the positions over time for you:
So we can back to saying I'm right, nothing will dethrone it except a Steam Deck 2.
Original article below:
Valve's Steam Deck with SteamOS has been consistently in the top sales charts on Steam since release, but recently it dropped down rather hard following the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement.
I've been tracking the sales over time and have posted a few times about how well it was doing. However, the week during which the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced, it really has dropped down massively to the lowest point since the original release back in February 2022.
Keeping in mind the global Steam sales charts are for revenue, not numbers sold, the Steam Deck is generally higher anyway since it's the equal cost of multiple sales of the most expensive games. Still, it's an interesting look into how the Steam Deck is doing overall and still means usually it's selling a lot considering the games it's up against sell often hundreds of thousands and millions.
Here's how it's position in the weekly global top sellers list has changed:
I guess I need to admit here I was wrong then don't I? Back in July 2024 when I last looked at this I said "Will anything dethrone the Steam Deck? Probably not", seems the Switch 2 did it.
Sales dropping was bound to happen eventually though, one way or another, and I do fully expect it to bounce back, but it's just surprising to see it drop down so drastically like that.
This won't cause any alarm bells to ring at Valve HQ though, they probably expected this to happen too. I don't expect them to speed up any work on a Steam Deck 2 due to this either. Valve clearly have a plan, especially with SteamOS coming to more devices, and they're still waiting for a truly next-generation APU to slot into a Steam Deck 2.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Mohandevir 11 hours ago
Edit: 2nd place in the world sales
Last edited by Mohandevir on 23 Jan 2025 at 11:57 am UTC
i hope its just an error.
I don't know if it's a regional thing or if it's already been corrected, but when I look at the top sellers, in my Android app, the Steam Deck is there, on the top spot.This is the Global list, not the regional list. It's also the weekly list, not the current list.
Edit: 2nd place in the world sales
ripper81358 10 hours ago
Besides beeing handhelds both devices have hardly anything in common in my opinion. A Steamdeck cant replace a Nintendo Switch and vice versa.I see it differently, both compete for the limited time you spend on your hobby. I cancelled my Switch OLED reservation the day after Valve dropped the Steam Deck announcement.
And for what it's worth the Steam Deck is still shown as number one in my Steam client.
Last edited by WYW on 23 Jan 2025 at 2:18 pm UTC
I don't expect them to speed up any work on a Steam Deck 2 due to this either. Valve clearly have a plan, especially with SteamOS coming to more devices, and they're still waiting for a truly next-generation APU to slot into a Steam Deck 2.
This is right here is one of the biggest reasons why I respect Valve so much. Too many companies insist on annual release cycles, with no meaningful changes beyond "new and shiny"
Claude_Lib 7 hours ago
Mohandevir 6 hours ago
ElectricPrism 3 hours ago
Hopefully Valve won't get any bad PR from what Lenovo, and ASUS do.
I'll never own another Lenovo device, and I've owned so many ASUS devices over the last 2 decades and I am pretty much unimpressed with their quality & done with them too.
I found out years later that OG Steam Machine's bad PR was due to Dell / Alienware's fuckups with the red ring of death.
--
I think the drop in sales on the graph probably is just indicative that customers have limited money and are probably saving up for Nintendo Switch 2.
If I want to offload heavy gaming I'm going to do it by streaming from a desktop not by attempting to buy a slightly more powerful handheld without the tried & true formula and trusted reputation of Valve.
And as for Nintendo, after they crybullied Emulators out of existence (Ryujinx) and then admits they are legal ( eg: https://androidauthority.com/nintendo-emulators-legal-3517187/ ) -- I avoid telling people what they should do -- but in this instance Nintendo might as well be an abusive wife beating spouse and I can't in good conscience let it through the gates of troy.
The same way that Chief Asshole Larry Ellison of ORACLE (O.ne R.ich A.sshole C.alled L.arry E.llison) wanted to copyright APIs in the ORACLE vs GOOGLE lawsuit which would make WINE illegal -- Nintendo is an enemy of ALL gamers. If they legally could they would END ALL EMULATION and GAME PRESERVATION.
The short term gains are not worth the squeeze -- the same as Micro-Transaction gaming -- these are blights, plagues, diseases on Gaming and they must be destroyed. I implore literally everyone to vote with your dollar against them.
I don't want to live in a world where Xenophobic Developers are actively hostile against gamers.
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