PC Games Are Outselling Console Games, According to New Industry Report
PC gaming has been a bright spot in an industry that has struggled against stagnation.
Is it weird that I'm about to go full circle? Started on consoles. Switched to PC around 2010, and now I'm kind of leaning towards consoles again. Maybe it's my setup for my rig, I can not stand headphones, a smallish monitor, or a computer chair to game in anymore. I've setup myself to be able to play games on my couch with my pc, but the fact that I never own a physical copy of a game bothers me so much - as I've gotten older I cherish the physical copies of games that I have and it's nice to go back and boot up my old console and play it no problem whenever I want. Can't really say that about PC barring GOG's attempt to preserve games. Because as it stands now, at some point a game played on PC will be rendered unplayable unless you really go through some hoops to get it running right. A small example would be Fallout 3 needs a mod to properly use RAM because it was only designed for a small amount (if I remember correctly).
It might still be best just to convert your desktop into a couch and tv device at that point. Or a steamdeck.
I still have my desk setup for when I want to use it, but I've ran a HDMI cable under couches and rugs to my TV to use as well. Variety is the spice of life I guess lol. I don't HATE playing certain things on my desktop setup, but I would much rather my couch setup if possible.
My next thing is to figure out how to use a keyboard/mouse while on the couch. Thought of making a little wooden contraption to sit over my lap with one of those bigger mouse pads glued onto it.
There's no way I will ever get rid of my desktop PC (and my 3DS I guess).
Also with things like Steam Deck now as well, consoles to me seem like one of the worst purchases for gaming you can make.
Huh, I'm kind of surprised that's a new thing. I would assume way more people own computers than consoles in modern times so you would think that would always mean more sales
Thoughout history a typical gaming machine could run you over $1000, game consoles often cost under $400. Consoles are very often sold as loss leaders to promote software sales, PCs are not. Oh and that's just the cost of the box itself; a console is usually designed to attach to a television which has built-in speakers and consoles usually have at least one controller packed in. Computer monitors are sold separately as are any sound equipment. Normie PCs like Dell Inspiron Basic Plus machines might come with a keyboard and mouse but gaming PCs sometimes don't because they expect you're going to buy premium peripherals. You've got a desk to put this on, right?
Oh also there just isn't much of a PC gaming culture in Japan. It may be increasing now but in the land of Nintendo, Sega and Sony they play console games.
On the other hand, a PC is good for things that aren't gaming, like work or something.
People are less likely to own a TV already these days though than they used to be so the price calculation for consoles favors them a lot less if you take that into account. Not to mention that console games tend to be more expensive than PC games, especially indie PC games now that triple A is more of a warning label than an indicator of quality.
I mean yeah but you don't need an expensive computer to play games. In the mid 2010s I spent loads of time playing games on my ~$200 something Asus netbook, and more recently I was using an old Dell Precision from 2011 I got for $25 and put a $75 GPU into from like 2018 until 2023.
I guess maybe the difference is that people who don't buy expensive consoles or computers also don't buy expensive games. For the most part I don't buy things unless they have a sale for like under $30, so even though I've bought a lot of games I've probably paid less total money for games than the average console player.
Piracy is a lot more accessible on PCs than consoles
If i count all the media I've consumed in the last 8-9 years as savings, piracy has paid the price of my 1000$ entertainment console PC so, so many times over.
Man i was just told pc gaming would be dead in 5 years
It's not like there needs to be a winner here. Console or PC gaming is just a personal preference and will always coexist.
Exactly. Consoles exist as a super low barrier to entry, value play for casual gaming. If you just want to have something on your living room tv, a console instantly achieves that, with no debugging or technical know-how required whatsoever.
I switched from a Series X to a living room gaming PC last year and absolutely adore it, but I'm also willing to spend hours tinkering with emulators, playnite, settings, etc. I actually enjoy messing with it, so this is way better for me, but I'm absolutely aware that it's been a massive amount of fiddling to get my experience this clean and integrated, and I'll never manage something like Quick Resume.
If you want it to "just work" absolutely go with a console. If you like to tinker, are bothered by nitpicky details, play a lot and need to cut costs, or just really care about features like higher refresh rates, and aren't put off by a lot of settings and performance testing, then 100% go for a PC.
I have a Series S and quick resume and backward compatibility are the best features. The current generation is generally underwhelming though so I'm not surprised if pc gaming is on the rise.
Modern consoles are locked pre-built PCs. You have to pay for online. Why get a console at this point in time?
Besides plug and play safety as mentioned, two other cool things:
Because you can just plug it in to your TV and play. That's the target demographic.
Because you can buy a consol3, plig it into the back of your TV, and be confident that it will work. You don't have to worry about system requirements, storefronts, launchers, driver updates fucking you up, etc.
Power Cable, HDMI cable, and connect to wifi - that's it.
I've been PC gaming since the mid-80s, and even I sometimes just want to sit on the couch, push the Xbox button on my controller, and get going. Is it lazy? Yes. But I work 2 jobs and get to be lazy when I get home.
I haven't worried about a driver update fucking something up since before win XP.
I have however repeatedly encountered crashes of games on my ps5 in the last year, which kind of defeats your point. Consoles had that worry free stability factor to them in the 90s or early 2000s, but that's long gone.
I call BS on this. This is only true if you include gambling proceeds like CS skins, etc.
There’s no way to trade loot boxes between players but there’s gambling on consoles in the same way as on PC. Even if you count Steam Marketplace transactions fee there’s definitely plenty of EA Football Club players on consoles offsetting this.
I had forgotten about EA. What has gaming become...
I’m not really surprised, you do not need the latest computer to play the latest games.
I can play almost any game released on low settings with an rx 470. I admit the games will not run at high fps, but they are still playable.
So think of all the people who live in poorer countries that still have access to older hardware but can’t afford a ps5. Especially with regional pricing for games.
Awwww shi 470 gang
I don't know, I only got into PC gaming about 3 years ago but my library is easily twice as large as it was when I only had consoles for about 20 years. The initial cost of getting a PC with all the peripherals is quite a bit higher than console but the games are almost always significantly cheaper. The most recent AAA games and some studios like FromSoft are usually the only games selling at $70. On console, the price of a game barely gets lowered. I have a switch and wanted to buy overcooked to play on the go and it's still $20 dollars and has very few sales. On PC it's hard not to find it for less than $5 and that's not even counting key shops.
Ya consoles suck. Not a surprise. It’s always been this way.