Is pc gaming going to become 2nd best now?

[McPhee]

Not really sure what's changed on the value front? £500 might buy a PC that can keep up with the Xbox One X (which sells for half that). The XSX and PS5 are just pushing that same value argument further up the PC gaming market.

Personally, PC will still be my main platform, with the Switch likely the second. My TV is only 1080p, and isn't likely to be changed any time soon unless it breaks. And my PC monitor is 3440x1440 UW. So the 4K argument doesn't add any value for me. Depending on price, I may be interested in XSS ("Lockhart") though for more Game Pass goodness.

It would take ultrawide support and TW:Warhammer 3 on console to tempt me over to an XSX or PS5. Then I'd have to at least consider selling my PC and going console-only (my Surfact can handle other PC tasks anyway).

That's fair enough, but there is no merit to the argument that PC gaming is cheaper. It's the opposite if you want it to be.

Seems like there's plenty of merit to the argument. But like your counter-argument, the point is largely circumstantial. Console gaming can be cheap if reselling and the second hand market are utilised. Or expensive if they aren't. Likewise, PC gaming can be cheap if you shop around and make use of sales/bundles/resellers. Or it can be expensive if you go straight to Steam and buy a new release.

One area PC does excel though is in providing an incredible amount of older or less commercially successful content for peanuts. My game library is now stuffed with older games, indie titles, and commercial flops, which were either given away, sold very, very cheaply, or thrown in with bundles (Humble, etc.). I could fill all of my game time just with the 100+ games Epic have given away over the past 16 months.

 

[Kreeeee]

PC gaming can be cheap if you shop around and make use of sales/bundles/resellers.

Console games can be as cheap as the cost of a console, plus postage costs for each game (which can be zero).

The “PC gaming is cheaper” fallacy relies on people being intentionally obtuse and avoiding these benefits, PC games simply can’t be as cheap as console games unless you break the law by stealing them.

Edit: I forgot about Epic game store, which I use weekly myself! The point still stands though that you aren’t getting the big AAA releases for the same price as on console.

 

[EdwardTeach]

If you don't require a PC for productivity tasks, and just want to game, then a console certainly represents great value for money. In that circumstance I'd have no hesitation to just purchase a console and be done with owning a PC. As I get older I find myself using consoles more and more ( mostly Switch, and also PS4 Pro ) to game because I like the comfort of being in my lounge, sitting comfortably on my sofa, and watching the action on a large OLED TV. Sure, I could hook up my PC or laptop to the TV and get a similar experience but it's more of a hassle to set up. The reality, however, is I do require a laptop and/or PC for productivity, and I can't see that situation changing for the forseeable future.

I feel the same. I also prefer gaming on my couch. My pc is linked to the TV with a socketed hdmi cable. However although it is very straightforward to use my pc with the TV, it is still more hassle than my consoles, so I normally play at desk. I find I game more healthily on the couch, as in I don't stay up so late, and on pc I also have the terrible habit, of wasting my time on the Internet when I am finished gaming.

I plan on getting the ps5 at launch. It will probably become my main device for Multiplatform games. I am planning to upgrade my pc, perhaps next year, but I will hold off as long as possible. My pc is 10yrs old this year! (I have upgraded the gpu a couple of times, and switched out the 930,for a xeon 5670.) It is getting long in the tooth, but as long as it can still run pc exclusives like total war, then I don't feel the need to replace it.

 

[McPhee]

Console games can be as cheap as the cost of a console, plus postage costs for each game (which can be zero)

I'm not arguing otherwise. Clearly console gaming can be cheap. And clearly this model works well for you, and others. But it's atypical behaviour. It has to be in order to work.

Which platform or format is cheaper will vary by behaviour. If you buy digital, or if you like to amass a game library, PC is generally cheaper. Then there's the middle ground where there's little difference; people buying at release and reselling months down the line for £15-£20 (less postage).

 

[Kreeeee]

I'm not arguing otherwise. Clearly console gaming can be cheap. And clearly this model works well for you, and others. But it's atypical behaviour. It has to be in order to work.

Which platform or format is cheaper will vary by behaviour. If you buy digital, or if you like to amass a game library, PC is generally cheaper. Then there's the middle ground where there's little difference; people buying at release and reselling months down the line for £15-£20 (less postage).

Fair enough.

 

[Calo]

For me, a console lives in a bright living room for couch gaming with a wireless pad. A PC lives somewhere dark, out of the way, with a designated space for a mouse, keyboard and kickass monitor - this is where FPS and strategy games come to life.

So the console can never be better, or the PC 2nd best.

But, if a console can have top end PC power, then its win win all round! If you've loved PC gaming for all these years, i doubt a console will end that because its more powerful that your current rig.

 

[EdwardTeach]

It's a difficult question. PC hardware is more expensive but the games are cheaper and you don't have to pay for multiplayer access. Flip that for the consoles. I've spent about £500 on PC games and got about 400 of them. On my PS4, I've spent £1000 and own just 70.

On consoles however it is possible to resell or trade games which brings the cost down considerably.

 

[ttaskmaster]

A console will never even match a PC until the day I can connect up a mouse, keyboard, joystick, throttle, pedals, sim-instruments, VR headset and/or whatever other gubbins, run a top-end flight sim and still ALT+TAB between the game and internet browser while I go look something up.. all at the same time!

 

[dragonslayer]

To me pc will always be best though not because the graphics look better but because there's more genres more games and you can do more with a pc than a console for instance when I used to have a 2nd monitor I used to watch a movie whilst raiding or have something to read on the 2nd screen whilst gaming on the other which you can't do on a console and I doubt you'll ever be able to

 

[Raymond Lin]

To me pc will always be best though not because the graphics look better but because there's more genres more games and you can do more with a pc than a console for instance when I used to have a 2nd monitor I used to watch a movie whilst raiding or have something to read on the 2nd screen whilst gaming on the other which you can't do on a console and I doubt you'll ever be able to

If you can buy 2 monitors you can buy 2 TVs?

Won’t fit? Bah, get a bigger house.

 

[Yaayuh!]

Graphics aren’t everything.
Do you want to game in a rigid console environment with a controller or a flexible PC environment with mouse & keyboard or a controller? If you're not bothered by either, then go with the cheapest option

 

[bakes0310]

PC Gaming will always win for me until pricing for even the low end hardware gets stupid, but even then i think ill cave. I cant ever imagine having a console in the living room attached with a keyboard and mouse to play total war on the sofa. Nintendo switch is the best console since the dreamcast for me though and if thats the way Nintendo stay and just bring out more powerful versions of it then they are onto a winner.
If Sony release the last of us and uncharted series onto pc then i think i wouldnt bother with a playstation 5.
The tv makes a huge difference to your console experience, i had a hardly touched ps4 pro god of war edition which i swapped for a switch, big reason was the tv i got which is a cheapo 34" 1080p and i could hardly see what was going on. saving up for an OLED though.

 

[V F]

A console will never even match a PC until the day I can connect up a mouse, keyboard, joystick, throttle, pedals, sim-instruments, VR headset and/or whatever other gubbins, run a top-end flight sim and still ALT+TAB between the game and internet browser while I go look something up.. all at the same time!

Indeed. I love PC for twitch/precise/shooters. Console for story/rpg type games like Control/Mordor games/Uncharted/Spider-Man and the likes. I'll always have both.

 

[BongoHunter]

Every time a new console is announced you get threads like this

PC will always be king

 

[V F]

Every time a new console is announced you get threads like this

PC will always be king

Indeed. I remember it from the PS3/360 days.

 

[Ayahuasca]

I find playing shooters on a console to be awful due to having to use an analog stick to aim. I understand there's KB+M devices but hasn't official support for this been canned due to issues of fairness? Basically, you would just get PC players moving to console to cane all the controller users.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I find playing shooters on a console to be awful due to having to use an analog stick to aim. I understand there's KB+M devices but hasn't official support for this been canned due to issues of fairness? Basically, you would just get PC players moving to console to cane all the controller users.

It’s fairness, in the early days of Dreamcast people used KB on Quake and it wiped the floor vs joypad.

I used to play COD on PC and avoided FPS on consoles because I just don’t like to wait for the turning with a stick. It feels unnatural to me.

 

[ExoMale]

gaming isnt the be and end all and while xbox one/ps4 etx offers web browsing its still a device sourly aimed at games, you will still need a pc/laptop for other things if you require technology at all plus with you being able to play xbox games on pc via the app and also ps4 having that option you dont really need a console unless you want easy setup at much cheaper costs than a decent gaming pc.

i have gaming laptop, pc, xbox one and ps4 to which i mostly play on xbox, but thats only certain games as some games are better to play on pc and cheaper to buy too without a game pass just not in the mood to play them and use my computers for other stuff, so to me all is equal as they all serve a purpose to me.

 

[Grim5]

We've had this convo before and consoles never win. PC ain't going no where and will always be the best because it's the most expensive

 

[chrcoluk]

best platform for me has always been about the gaming library and modding.

for those reasons alone, console's will have a hard time to become my favourite platform.

the advantage consoles have is the convenience, which for some people is everything, I understand that, I am just offering my own perspective.