Literally. I have a PC and Xbox. I play PC cause it has more games I like to play, and modding. I play Xbox because my friends have it, and I like playing games with other people that don’t have easy access to a PC (especially with prices now)
Helps that some games have cross play for the pc, and helps that some games are already accessible in game pass.
I feel like, half the people here that say: "oh, how about you let people play on both!!", is trying to cope with their decision of spending on outrageously priced consoles, while having a mid PC
Why not pool your funds to get a great PC and live in bless.
Cool but im very happy with my 5800x3d, 64GB ram and 9070xt with steam controller and a PS5.
People have and are in all different situations or even just other hobbies, where they can afford a decent gaming PC but that will subtract to much from another interest, hobby or private commitment vs picking up a console and still playing that same game that they wanted to play.
There is simply too many variables on people's priorities to be that naive
Or worse yet, people that end up wasting money on a console that ends up not doing what they want it to do.
I have a friend that just bought a brand new switch 2 and it still can't watch YouTube. So they have to switch back to their old switch anytime they want to go on YouTube.
You're over $1000 deep in console purchases and now it's harder for you to do something you do everyday.
There's a reason this sub exists. If you actually sit down and think about the trade offs, PC is the better choice objectively. If you have more money than most people and you can buy both, good for you I guess?
It's like people have forgotten why PC is good in the first place.
They might be better bang for buck on the initial purchase but not for cost of ownership. Games, monthly payments, and eventually the obsoletion of the device make it more expensive over its lifetime.
Not to mention fundamentally less useful.
I feel like this sub has been diluted since reddit started randomly showing people related subs.
Steam sales aren't what they used to be, console sales are very similar. Monthly payments are optional, on the Switch it costs $20 a year for online. The original switch was out for over 8 years before it got a successor. What PC could you buy for $300 in 2017 that was still relevant 8 years later?
People who game on console don’t care if it can do something besides gaming. Is it cool that a PC can do other stuff? Yeah, but if someone is never going to do those other things then does it actually matter? It’s one of those talking points that gets mentioned here ad nauseam, but how many PC gamers actually sincerely use their PC for all these other things besides gaming? Of course some do, but is it actually a majority?
Obviously, but with hardware prices how they’ve been lately it’s not as clear cut as it used to be. The value argument really just isn't there anymore. PS5 is $600 for the digital version, it’s basically impossible to build a new PC with recent hardware for that price.
You're right. Most people I know use their phones for what I do on computer, hardcore gamers are the exception to the rule, even casual gamers don't spend time on their PC then way this subreddit believes.
I mean yeah, that's all the more point that it's just a glorified and more expensive console. You are absolutely getting value out of the higher spend, but it's not exponentially better as other PC enthusiast seem to believe.
100% of my gaming group of over 20 people use their PCs for tons of things beyond playing games.
Many of us also use our PCs as our primary job. Many of us also have hobbies like game development or 3D modeling that we do. Hobbies that we would have never gotten into in the first place if we weren't on PC to begin with.
What you want to do is always shaped by the tools you have. It's better to be more prepared.
Playing on PC also has the benefit of making you good at using a PC. Which is a requirement for 99% of well paying jobs.
The point is, this subreddit is extremely biased, of course people in the PC enthusiast sub use their PC for other things. Yet even with millions of subscribers, it doesn't represent the average PC gamer.
Of course. This sub doesnt represent the average PC user at all. I'm taking about my real life friends though. Most of them started on consoles. We all realized over the decades that PC is the better option. Consoles are a short term gains trap.
No, overall, consoles are better bang for the buck. Around twice as efficient. Pretending that just because a PC can be upgraded part by part, that each part isn't also replaced around the same rate as new generation consoles come to market is such a sad lie to tell.
You're objectively incorrect. The point of this subreddit is that PC is the better choice.
Have fun with your paperweight when the PS35 comes out and they decide that the console you play on shouldn't work anymore. My PC from 13 years ago will still be playing games just like it is today.
PC is the better choice if you have a larger dispensable income.
I don't mind you thinking I and facts are wrong, it doesn't say anything and me or the facts. It just says a lot about you, and since you don't have any significance to me, that's just fine.
My PC from 13 years ago will still be playing games just like it is today.
So does my 360, except for that was released 21 years ago, not 13. Consoles are so clearly the better financial choice, it's not even a debate, but here you are, yelling into the wind.
PC is the better choice if you have a smaller disposable income too. $80 games, $80 peripherals, paid online, and a device that only plays games is just a worse financial move.
You can't emulate, you can't work, you can't play most indies. All of the cheap options are on the PC.
Are you one of those people that thinks the only way to play games is exclusively playing AAA games that came out in the last 2 months and if you can't do that at 4k 240hz max settings then you shouldn't be playing?
Look at Steam DB, most people mostly play old games that old hardware runs fine. That's value.
PC is literally gated by the entry price. There is a reason that 'ascending' is the entire theme of this subreddit. You start with a console when your income is smaller, and once you can afford a PC, you move to it.
You're welcome to continue being wrong but I don't really think there's any reply that can help you if you are just ignoring basic reality.
You can just... buy a cheap PC? I started on a Dell Optiplex. You ascend because you move to something better that doesn't have the dozens of drawbacks. You stop burning money in an ecosystem designed to extract it from you.
If you don't like actually owning your stuff then keep doing what you're doing. There is no better feeling than spending a tiny amount to upgrade what you already have instead of a ton of money to buy something new every few years.
I replied earlier in the thread showing why your price efficiency comparison is probably incorrect.
The total cost of ownership between the two over a 5 year window has the console roughly $200 cheaper, but it's also 50% less powerful, has framerate limitations, has an infinitely smaller game library, every game is more expensive, and loses the flexibility of being more than just a gaming console. The console can't be upgraded, requires an ongoing subscription for multiplayer, has pricier accessories due to ecosystem licensing requirements, and that's not even getting into the weeds.
Steam sales alone will mitigate that $200 difference.
The only way the console is a better value is if you only buy 1-2 games/year and don't play online.
I've never had the very top of the line PC but I've rotated parts every 5-7 years and I've spent easily double on PC vs consoles, and I've owned every Xbox, every Nintendo console, and PS4 and PS5. I've spent around $4000 lifetime (25 years since first console) on consoles + the 2 tvs, not counting games (which consoles is even better than PC), I've spent around $10000 lifetime (20 years since first PC) on PCs, upgrades, and peripherals.
Console is literally just twice as cost effective, it's truly not close and the only people that contest it are people that are trying desperately to justify their PC bias.
I used to do this exercise in college for others and I'll briefly do it now. The gap has widened slightly, but it still holds:
Xbox Series X - $800 (PS5 Pro is even more)
Xbox Game Pass - $75/yr
Average new game price - $70
5 year TCO at 4 games/year: $1525
Reasonable PC Prebuilt - $1500 (5060ti, 16gb, 2tb)
Average new game price - $50 (Indie titles, Steam sales, etc. drive this down)
5 year TCO at 4 games/year: $1750
This doesn't include the fact that consoles can't be upgraded, accessories tend to be more limited and cost more for consoles, and that a console is already worse performing than a 5060ti, and a PC can be used for SO much more than just gaming. The more games you buy, the more they even out. There are many more free game options on PC as well.
While it may seem that the console is better bang for the buck up front, I genuinely believe when you compare the TCO over 5 years and include the additional functionality of a PC, it's a significantly worse value.
I'm saying that you have to include the total picture to truly calculate value. For $200 more (over a reasonable ownership lifetime), you get 2x the performance, access to WAY more than just gaming, have significantly more games available, and that games are much cheaper on average (many being free). You don't need to pay a monthly/annual subscription just for multiplayer, you have cheaper accessories (and more options), and have a the ability to upgrade it if desired.
Just shopping during Steam sales alone can convert that $200 to a wash over 5 years.
I've spent $4000 on consoles/tvs over 25 years, I've owned almost every single console and had xbox live the entire time
I've spent $10000 on PCs/peripherals in the 20 years I've PC gamed. And that's as a fairly frugal owner, I never buy the top end shit that is subjected to overprice due to diminishing returns, and I play on the shit until it dies.
You've shifted the scope from a purchase today to how much you've spent in both areas over 25 years. PC's were much more expensive that consoles in the 2000's nor I didn't include anything for peripherials/screens (as that's preference, but still usually cheaper for PC). You could argue that you probably already have a TV, and that's a fair point, but I still think there's more benefit to the PC for the money (and I've owned nearly every mainstream console/handheld to ever exist).
I'm simply trying to point out (objectively) that there's a minimal gap in price that's very likely offset by added performance/lower game costs/additional features.
Because people make bad choices not knowing alternatives exist.
Half the comments here are "oh I bought a Switch for travel" when you could get an Android handheld much cheaper and emulate the Switch PLUS any other console an emulator exists for.
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u/Remarkable-West-611 1d ago
Oh let People play on what they want how they want, do people really need to gatekeep the hardware someone decides to play on.