Would people still go to such lengths if Nintendo just released their games for the hardware people actually have, like the SteamDeck & PC ?

Still seems rather self-enflicted pain for Intendo due to still pushing locked-down consoles in 2026.

have you ever played first party titles on the switch?

the level of polish and stability on the open world zeldas is astonishing, i never experienced anything like that in third party AA/AAA games form the last 15 years or so, playing on the switch or on the pc.

According to wikipedia, they sold over 23 million units of the switch 2 and over 155 million of the switch. Not that I agree with their aggressive practices but it clearly works. That's a lot more than the Steam Deck btw.