Topic: Genuine question: What makes you still buying a console in 2022?

• Exclusives (still fully relevant for Nintendo and partially relevant for Playstation atm)
• Hybrid play (one can play games on a Steam Deck, close out of them, allow the save to sync with the cloud, and then pick them back up on a proper PC, but this is a hassle, and a ton of games still need work done on them before they run well on that platform)
• You still get the occasional game that just doesn't run well on PC
• Playstation trophies are better than the achievements you can collect on PC (although it sounds like Sony is even addressing this in the near future)

@Ralizah The one thing I’ll say about Steam achievements is while it doesn’t have the same excitement as trophies, it’s so much easier for devs to add achievements in updates. They don’t need to create separate sets which often people don’t bother with. This is great for games like Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings etc as they just drop some new achievements with every update and can make hundreds of silly ones for doing things like taking over and decentralizing the Holy Roman Empire as Mulhouse called Everything’s Coming Up Mulhouse! These games are basically sandboxes so it gives you great ideas to play games. The Crusader Kings III trophies on PS5 are nowhere near as extensive as they have to be an achievable set and are limited with how many they can have, just like how Train Sim World 2 ran into the maximum amount of trophies.

@nessisonett " they just drop some new achievements with every update and can make hundreds of silly ones"

Yeah, see, that kind of takes away from it for me. Then you're just endlessly chasing after new trophies for games you had already completed. I like that default PS trophy lists which build up to a platinum are separate from ones for DLC campaigns and whatnot.

@Ralizah It works for a lot of PC games due to the nature of updates though. Steam games naturally evolve throughout the years of updates and have done for years now. Sony trophies being so static means that platinums in games like Destiny 2, ESO and stuff are either entirely unattainable due to the game barely resembling how it looked on launch or rely on outdated content.

@nessisonett I can see that perspective, especially for live-service and online centric games like the ones you mentioned. But I prefer Sony's approach for single-player games. I just treat my Steam games like my Nintendo games, where I play what I want to play and then move on, irrespective of whatever achievements might be available.

@Ralizah I think I have literally 1 game on the entirety of Steam that I’ve got every achievement in. At least I got that Confederate flag off my profile by earning rarer achievements, my bloody brother won a scenario in Civilization V as the Confederates and it was stuck on my profile for ages because obviously barely anybody had done that.

To be honest I was slipping away from buying consoles as I was finding less and less time to play them. I had a Switch which was great for on the go but over the last 5 years it's actually been cloud gaming thats kept me in touch with the hobby.
Stadia came at just the right time for me and I used that a lot. Then as the games started to dry up I looked into xCloud and ended up with an Xbox beside my TV. And then most recently I was lucky enough to pick up a PS5 and will be working my way through the back catalog I've missed out on since the original PS1, the last time I owned a Playstation. Sadly the Playstation streaming service is not as good for me as xCloud and Stadia but I'm hoping it will get better.

I still play some games on PC as there are games not available on console. But overall I favor the PS5 and if I had to choose one platform it would be PS5. PC gaming is a hobby, meaning you have to devote more time to it than just turning on the machine and playing. Almost every single game I play on PC I have to mess with to get it to run correctly. Then there is the cost. Gaming PC is much more expensive than a console which is a big issue for many people. I won’t be upgrading my PC for future games. I will be getting a PS5 Pro when it is released.

I switch to PC this gen, but i still own a PS5. I've been gaming on console since the Sega genesis but i find PC more comfortable to game on. I bought a PC on amazon that has a RTX 3050 and it can play so many games and steam sales are really good. Also, you can do so much on a PC beside play games. You can also upscale the game to how you want and play with mods.

Lower cost and convenience. I don't want to fiddle with dozens of settings to optimise a game before I can even start it. PC is gradually losing it's advantages. With 4K, we have reached the law of diminishing returns for resolution. The same will happen with performance in the future. The only benefit I wish for on consoles is mods.

@Thumper “ PC is gradually losing it's advantages.”

as someone who just got into PC around 3 months ago with a GTX3070 , i gotta disagree . maybe it’s the honeymoon phase , but i doubt it . between the immense amount of things u can do on PC and customizations , the social integration , and free online and the insane multitasking , it makes console feel extremely limited and dead imo . couple that with the fact that former “true” exclusives are releasing on it now from both consoles, i don’t see how it’s losing advantages ? it’s more affordable and accessible than it’s ever been with exclusive games and unbeatable price deals . the inevitable advantage of simplicity and convenience console has is countered by the inevitable freedom PC has , and since i future-proofed my PC by not buying a low-end im able to play all modern games so far & for years to come

edit - all this said , i still prefer console ; at most it’s like a 50/50 split between the two platforms .

@nomither6 Most people I know that work on a PC for their main job, are not particularly keen on coming home and gaming on a PC too. It maybe better in some ways, but for some that stuff won't matter as much for some people.

I certainly won't be going back to PC gaming after trying a few years ago, can't be bothered with all the faffing around that comes round to it,

Modern games generally detect your hardware and auto-adapt the settings to best meet those. If that fails, you can just click on a lower preset. Fiddling with settings is an option for people who want it, but, in practice, it's rarely needed for modern games, in my experience.

The cost argument is definitely valid, as consoles provide way more bang for your buck in terms of raw horsepower, but I'd also argue, with consoles becoming more PC-like over the years, they've lost their biggest advantage to date: plug-and-play appeal. It's really no more complicated to play a PC game than it is to play a console one, in general.

Also, PC players finally have the option for hybrid/portable play experiences with Steam Deck, which is only possible on modern consoles with flawed streaming options.

Add in mods, practically infinite controller options, access to multiple storefronts, home console exclusives becoming a thing of the past, etc.? I'd say it's only home consoles that are increasingly losing their unique appeal.

@JohnnyShoulder understandable . though being able to use controllers helps with making gaming on a computer feel more comfortable or akin to console , so if you ever dive back in , i recommend it . no keyboard and mouse for me .

@nomither6 It is not really about playing with a controller as I'm well aware you don't have to play everything with a keyboard and mouse. It is more a feeling of being stuck working on a PC all day, then playing games on a PC when getting home.

I have a laptop which is hardly used these days as most things I can do on my tablet, mobile phone and TV/PS5. So I have even less of a reason to buy a new PC in the future.

@LN78 I do think, at this point, however home console tech evolves, we're at the endpoint in terms of seismic changes between models. The last potential differentiator is the adoption of SSD tech, which will be in everything going forward. Games take so long to make now that it'll take years before this happens, IMO, but you'll probably see some improvements in terms of how games are designed level design-wise at some point. Otherwise? As you've alluded to, we've pretty much hit the point where adding more triangles to a 3D model isn't really going to give you appreciable gains to image quality.

Nintendo has more time in that regard, since they're still fairly behind in raw specs, and there are a lot of improvements we'll be seeing in terms of mobile and battery tech in coming years, but it'll eventually hit them too.

For me, its the 'best' bang for buck option and its 'ease' of use. Gaming is a 'leisure' activity for me so its finding the right balance of Library, PQ/Performance of those games and the initial upfront costs.

The Cheapest route is probably Xbox Cloud gaming which has a 'limited' library and 'issues' related to not playing Locally. Its limited to 1080/60 too. No console needed so can play on any supported devices you already have for a 'small' monthly fee.

Next up, you have the Series S which offers improved PQ, much larger library etc but does have a 'higher' initial cost. Then, if you wish to spend more, you get the PS5 digital which offers 'improved' PQ for a bit more money and then PS5/Series X which add a Disc Drive too. The most 'expensive' option is the PC, but it offers the biggest library of games and the 'best' PQ/Performance - often related to how much you are willing to invest upfront. It obviously offers ALL the 'Xbox' console exclusives as well as a number of Playstation exclusives on top of the PC/Steam exclusives etc.

Point is, as a gamer, we all have the choice to decide the 'best' solution to suit you and your budget. If you can't afford or justify a high-end gaming PC build to play games on, then you have to decide what 'alternative' platform will offer the 'library' you want, the PQ/Performance you can live with and/or the benefits of being on a Platform (services/features/design etc). With Sony, if you don't want/need a disc drive, you can save on the initial upfront cost of a PS5.

I would assume that most people buy a Console because it suits them and their budget the 'best'. I know with Sony, you do get Sony's 1st Party games day 1 but would have to wait to see if they come to PC but with Microsoft, you don't. The fact that you don't need a Series S/X, yet they still 'sell' is testament to the fact that they 'offer' the right 'bang for buck' and 'enough' incentive to buy to entice customers.

Take the 'saga' of CoD and the 'fear' of it coming to Xbox Cloud, Nintendo etc - just because you 'could' play on Mobile or on Switch, doesn't mean that Playstation 5 owners would immediately jump to those devices to play CoD when PS5 will offer 'better' PQ (upto 4k resolution) and/or better Performance (upto 120fps) and pay more over a year than $70 it would cost to buy on PS5. The reason you 'bought' a PS5 was because it offered the Library of games you want at the 'best' PQ/Performance relative to upfront costs. If you wanted to play 'CoD' at the best PQ/performance, you should of bought a high end PC but PS5 offers a great PQ/Performance version for a lot lower cost. Just because you can play Fortnite on your mobile, you would still 'prefer' to play on PS5 to get the 'better' quality.

It comes down to the consumer deciding whether the upfront costs re worth it to them to access the 'games' they want at a PQ/performance level they can accept. With some consoles (|Switch/PS5), its the ONLY hardware that will allow you to play certain games - especially on release so that comes under 'Library' considerations too but in general, a console is often the 'entry' price to pay to be able to play certain games so its the cheapest option too...

For me its always been about simplicity and minimal update overhead.

Imagine PC gamers go through the following

• OS updates
• GPU updates
• Game updates
• Streaming software updates
• Potential viruses causing corruption of their system

Everything on a PC has some form of overhead which increases the margin of error. Don't get me wrong i record and rarely game on my PC but my PS5 is my workhorse.

I bought a digital PS5 in 2023.
I'm just lazy to figure out the specs for a gaming PC and worry about if certain games will run well with my configuration.

Also, I can move consoles easier than PC.

Exclusives mostly, for me. I don't have a family of my own to worry about, it is just me and I'm not like a heavy drinker or smoker and I'm also not very sociable. I'll go out with my friends maybe every couple of months, but that is about it. Because of that, I have a lot of spare money despite not being in a super well paid job, and so my one vice is videogames, really. I have the money to own everything, so I that is what I'll do, that way if an exclusive to a specific platform comes along, I'll have access to enjoy that experience day and date.