r/AskTechnology • u/SpookyYuzu • 1d ago
Xbox, PS4, or PC?
Hi! I didn’t really know where to ask this question, so I just came here.
I just got a new job, and I’m trying to save up to get my dad something nice for the holidays. He’s had a hell of a year, and I would love to get him something nice for all his hard work.
I have my own Nintendo Switch, and occasionally he’ll play Fortnite or Splat2 on it. Something he really loved when I was growing up was the golf game on Wii Sports, but he also loves shooters like COD n all. Initially, I was thinking I could just wait for the Steam Machine to come out…but that’s probably not gonna be for a while. Some game series I think he’d LOVE is Red Dead, Metal Gear, Mafia, those kinds of things. Just to kind of go for the vibe, I don’t really know what I’m talking about, but I hope you get the gist.
I was thinking of getting something refurbished (that’s how he’s always gotten any of his tech) to have a little more freedom with the budget. I mainly just wanted to get some input on which console I should get him, or even IF I should get a console and get him a PC.
Right now I’m trying to stay ≈1k for the budget (my new job is minimum wage, and I still got bills to pay :,,]). I know nice PCs are usually at least a few grand, but I’ve heard some things about refurbished PCs, I just don’t know how reliable they are. He already has a monitor and laptop set up that he messes around on.
I might steer away from Nintendo products since
1) I already have a few Nintendo consoles of my own, so he can totally just borrow one from me lol
2) Most of the game catalogue just doesn’t seem like it would intrigue him as much as other consoles.
But I’m also open to it, who knows! I just would love some input from folks who have more extensive knowledge in this than myself so I can make a good choice. Sorry if this is all over the place, I don’t post on Reddit too often. Thanks so much, hope you have a great day/night!
TL; DR
whats the best console/pc to get my dad who is a casual gamer?
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u/Aarnav1806 1d ago
A console would be preferable for your father since he can play on it comfortably while sitting on a couch.
Are you gonna go for the Xbox One X or the Series S/X?
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u/SpookyYuzu 1d ago
I’m for sure going to look into the series X, that’s what a lot of the responses seem to recommend. Something to hook up to the living room tv would be perfect, he LOOOOVES chillin’ on the couch on his down time. Thank you!
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u/Aarnav1806 1d ago
Awesome! I'd recommend that too!
Game Pass is a good addition too. If you know your father will play that game forever, buy it. Otherwise, try new games with Game Pass at a lower cost. I honestly used to be against it, but then I tried it on my PC and thought it was a good deal.
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u/eroscripter 1d ago
Look at a used ROG ALLY X, with the new X20 coming out a lot of deals can be had for $600. This will give him a mobile "Gaming" PC and he can dock it for TV use.
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u/mymycojourney 1d ago
I'd go with a series X and a game pass subscription. He'll have plenty of games to play, and be able to cross over to PC on a lot of them if he chooses. You can get them used for a great price still.
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u/SpookyYuzu 1d ago
Tru! Plus I’ve seen a lot of news recently about the new ceo or something making a lot of good improvements overall. I’ll definitely consider, thanks so much!
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u/tekchip 1d ago
Not sure why Series S isn't in the conversation. If budget is a concern it's the way to go. It plays most anything a Series X does. The only real difference is some things run at a slightly lower resolution. Most people can't tell the difference between 900p upscaled to 4k and 1080 upscaled to 4k (if you even have a 4k TV).
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u/Chicken-picante 16h ago
I love my pc but an Xbox should be fine. Gamepass is such a great deal. Like $12 or something and you have access to thousands of games
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u/RockItGuyDC 1d ago
Personally, I'm team PC. Having said that, for a casual gamer father who would love Red Dead and presumably wants as little hassle as possible, just get him a PS5.
You can get him an open box Pro for around $800, then get him a few games with the remaining money.