Yeah, this is my largest issue with them as well. This Christmas the wife and I finally decided to get our two boys a handheld gaming system. It came down between the steam deck and the Switch. The Switch became a non-choice when I showed my wife their catalogue and she saw the current prices. Then we looked at the sales history. THEN we compared it to steam... It became a non question after that alone. But then I discovered something even crazier after we got the steamdeck and I was setting it up.
Steam family sharing is incredible. Apparently it didn't use to be but they've updated/upgraded the way it works. I can't remember it all off the top of my head so I had Grok make me a list...
- Simultaneous Play: Multiple family members can play different games from a shared library at the same time, even if the library owner is playing another game. This means if you own "Hades" and are playing it, another family member can play "Half-Life" from your library simultaneously. However, if two want to play the same game at the same time, an additional copy must be purchased unless multiple copies already exist in the family.
- Offline Play: Shared games can now be played offline, unlike before when online connectivity was required. This is particularly useful for those without consistent internet access or for travel.
- Parental Controls: Steam Families introduces robust parental controls, allowing parents to manage what games their children can play, set playtime limits, monitor activity, and approve purchases. Children can also request game purchases from adults, enhancing safety and control over spending.
- Save Games and Achievements: Each family member maintains their own save games and earns their own achievements, ensuring personalized gaming experiences without interference from others.
- Sharing Mechanism: You can share your entire library with up to five other family members, making it easy to share your collection. However, games with specific restrictions like third-party authentication or developer opt-outs are not shareable.
- No More Library Lockouts: The new system eliminates the issue where you couldn't access your games if someone else was playing from your library, significantly reducing conflicts over game access.
- Household Intention: While intended for immediate household members, the system still allows for sharing within the same country, although there are restrictions that prevent sharing with accounts not showing similar household activity.
- One-Year Cooldown: If you leave a Steam Family, there's a one-year wait before you can join another family, which encourages stable family groups but might limit flexibility for those with changing family dynamics or friendships.
It's also just a great bit of kit. It even has freaking back buttons like the new xbox elite controllers!
Anyhow, I knew the Switch 2 announcement was coming and was crossing my fingers I didn't make a mistake with choosing the steamdeck. Thankfully nothing I've seen so far has me anywhere near worried it is going to blow the steamdeck out of the water. Literally the only things they are missing out on are the first party games, but like previously stated, those were a no go to begin with because of the price.
Having said that, I'm glad everyone is excited for the switch 2 and I really do hope everyone here and elsewhere saves their money and buys one...
So I can easily snag a 5080! 
