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

@Ralizah For sure - factor in that "exclusivity" is becoming such a nebulous term and that physical games such as they are are on their last legs and can see myself having a high spec PC and whatever the Nintendo hybrid du jour happens to be (I don't see them moving away from that functionality) moving forwards. I think Xbox and PlayStation as actual current generation devices are done.

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...

It's more comfortable gaming with a controller. As for using a controller on PC, there's been the hassle of getting the controller to be re-configured with button mapping each playthrough over the years that turned me off. Not to mention the buttons are mapped out via the Xbox controller, even with PS5 controller compatibility. If anyone is familiar with the early sword fight mini-game in FFIX, that was a brain exercise getting to press the right buttons on my PS5 controller at a fast enough rate & accuracy to gain 100% crowd approval while it told me the Xbox buttons on the Steam version. Never again.

More importantly, I can sit longer with console gaming, able to move myself and get comfortable instead of sitting in a chair for more than a couple hours. I'd rather reserve my PC gaming to something like The Sims or an MMO where it began on PC and is tailored to your own gaming pace with the keyboard and mouse.

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.

I gave up drinking three years ago on April 8. I gamed before then, but I was mostly Nintendo. With the $$$$ I am saving, I decided to get a Series X, PS5 and also a Steam Deck.

I’m sure mods are a huge plus but I’ve never been interested in getting into PC gaming. I’m not tech savvy and I see what other gamers go through with things going wrong with a game and not knowing how to fix it or what’s causing it. I don’t want to go through that headache. Plus the headache of making sure my rig is powerful enough for the newest game etc. I’m sure it has its major good points but I just don’t have the patience. Plus it’s expensive. Those are just my thoughts.