- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
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The one holdout among the console makers is Nintendo, whose PC strategy is still to threaten fan projects with lawsuits. Perhaps I do not have to hand it to Nintendo for this, but as a result of its obstinance, the Switch is the only console I’d consider buying as a PC gamer. Nintendo remains a one-of-a-kind gaming company, whereas Xbox and PlayStation feel less and less distinguishable from gaming at large—aka PC gaming.
I’m not sure about this analysis of the Switch’s success. The “lawsuit” argument is pretty irrelevant; the console would sell regardless of whether emulation existed (as it has, for most of the big titles and for much of the console’s life). I think the “one-of-a-kind” argument is accurate, but I’d also suggest that the very wide library of games is a major reason why Nintendo has performed so well in this generation. The Switch appeals to almost every single type of gamer - there is so much variety there. Additionally, the portability is clear point of difference: for many, the Switch is more like a handheld that they can occasionally play on the TV, rather than a traditional home console. And finally, the Switch is just a more affordable option and that has mattered a lot since 2020.
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The money is in the users not selling the hardware. As long as Playstation has hundreds of million daily users they will continue to make insane profit. The people will move up a generation eventually.
I think what we’re seeing is that people aren’t choosing to move up a generation.
Yea because ps4 is still getting all the releases and ps5 is really expensive. I have friends who still play on ps4 and I went to their house and they’re playing games on like 20fps having a blast. It was kinda wholesome I just wish they weren’t getting scammed by Sony and chose pc so they could play games that actually run on their hardware.
Given how much PC has grown in the same time, statistically, they are moving to PC.
Apparently not enough, because Sony focuses on PC more than ever.
Focusing on PC more than ever isn’t exactly a high bar. Consoles (maybe not xbox) are still doing extremely well and consoles are more popular than PC by quite a big margin. I expect Sony and Nintendo to continue to grow their userbase even if the sales on the latest platform drop a bit.
consoles are more popular than PC by quite a big margin.
How do you measure this? Steam alone has 130 to 150 million active users, more than Switch customers at a whole. And that does not even include some of the most popular PC games at all. I also expect PC user base to grow, it has more potential than consoles.
So yes, its a big deal for companies like Sony to open up this big to PC and to be that successful. They don’t even need to sell a console to sell games. Off course consoles will remain popular and for good reason. But most popular games are mulitsystem games and not specific to consoles anyway. In my opinion it is remarkable how much Sony focuses on PC now. I hope they keep doing it; its only beneficial for the players, the publishers and for Sony.
The stats I could find compared pc and current and last gen consoles so ps4 and ps5 era and the split was basically 50/50. But if you think about it that’s not a fair comparison because pc has people who running on hardware worse than a ps3.
I mostly take issue with the smug tone of the article acting like it’s over for consoles just because they didn’t meet expectations and decided to bring some games to pc. Consoles are still extremely popular and far more powerful than the average pc according to steam hardware survey. They will still be around and successful no doubt about it.
I mostly take issue with the smug tone of the article acting like it’s over for consoles just because they didn’t meet expectations and decided to bring some games to pc. Consoles are still extremely popular and far more powerful than the average pc according to steam hardware survey. They will still be around and successful no doubt about it.
I agree with you here. These articles are stupid telling people it would be over for consoles. It’s just clickbait or they are uninformed. Maybe besides your point that the “average pc” is that weak as you say. Most are at a level of PS4 or stronger. But that is not all you need to compare if you want to an analysis. This topic is extremely complicated. You can’t just take the average. There are far more PC users than console players. Its like taking the Game Boy into account and saying that the average game consoles is weak. That’s not the full story.
In example most monthly active users on consoles play games that could be played on a potato PC or last gen consoles too and these people probably do not buy newest games. Similar to the situation on PC.
“Console sales are down. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella marked a 26% decline in spending on current-generation consoles this April compared to last April.”
We’re 4 years into the generation, sales declines aren’t uncommon, but this gen has had unique challenges:
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Covid fucked it all up. Supply chain issues screwed availability, software engineering ganked game development.
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Too much emphasis on “Cross Gen”. Why would someone scramble to get a hard to find PS5 or Xbox Series when the same game is out on PS4/Xbox One X?
Long generations are kind of the new thing, starting with Xbox 360/PS3. Previously they were around 5 years and people are looking for the next machines now.
And people cry when games like Elite Dangerous drop console support.
Microsoft and Sony force them to develop for the lowest spec gen, so no you cannot play on your PS5/X whatever because PS4 and One X cannot run new game engine.
They were never more than 20% of the player base.
Also get your free PC copy Here 🥹
Microsoft and Sony force them to develop for the lowest spec gen
No they don’t. If the developers wanted they could have dropped support for the last gen versions for newer updates (like what cyberpunk did).
Also for what it’s worth they even had a ps4 trailer for the Odyssey dlc.
I somewhat understand what you are talking about but the buggy and poorly maintained Elite Dangerous isn’t the best example to support your argument. BG3 getting a pass on some features for the series S is exactly what other games should be able to do if it makes sense for them.
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I’ve never been into this pc vs console cringe fest of an argument. I’ve always been a pc gamer, but guess what, some exclusives only come to consoles. If I want to play that exclusive enough and I have expendable cash, I’ll buy it. I still prefer to play on pc over any of the consoles, but a ps5 is a solid system.
Seems most don’t live near a Microcenter and it shows!
Consoles forever crappy spec PCs.
At least I can stream my Desktop to my Steam Deck OLED with HDR even with Moonlight 🌕 + Sunshine ☀️
I picked up a Steam Deck to get into PC gaming and frankly, I don’t get it. So many games not even worth the bandwidth to download much less actually play.
Edit Example:
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/24173617/banana-clicker-game-steam-egg
Steam users aren’t known for great taste in games.
And yeah, since Fry’s shut down, I haven’t thought about building a PC again. No Microcenter around here either.
You have discovered sturgeon’s law. 90% of everything is crap. Judging a medium or genre by the crap isn’t useful.
Maybe you’ve just grown out of gaming. The Steam Deck has it’s issues, but the sheer amount of different great games playable on it is debatably it’s greatest strength. Hades, Armored Core, Persona, Dark Souls, pokemon romhacks, etc.
Steam is a platform that works best for word of mouth. Yes, 90% of it is crap if you just browse around. Hang around gaming forums and YouTube channels that highlight top indy games, and you’ll soon have more games than you can play in a lifetime.
Those of us who rave about it have been doing this for years and have a big backlog. Now that I think about it, it would be difficult to jump in cold.
Some of us are not PC gamers and have no desire to be. I prefer consoles and will always do, though I miss the simple -no-install required- consoles of yesteryear.
I still don’t understand why would I want a PS5 when I have a PC
I could see the appeal of consoles back in the day, when they were weaker specs but much cheaper and the games just worked right out of the box. But nowadays it seems like they’re just as expensive, still not as good for specs and the games are just as bug-riddled as PC games half the time. And Sony has been releasing all their big hits on PC anyway so yeah really no reason for me to get a PS5 that I can see.
But nowadays it seems like they’re just as expensive, still not as good for specs and the games are just as bug-riddled as PC games half the time.
No they aren’t ‘as expensive’, LTT did a video a while back where they tried to build a PC that could beat a PS5 for a similar price. They had to buy used parts to match the price and the PC did not include a controller ($69). If you’re going to use used parts, then also compare it to the price of a used PS5.
And Sony has been releasing all their big hits on PC anyway so yeah really no reason for me to get a PS5 that I can see.
Sure, if you want to play old-ass games, get a PC.
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. Gaming PC’s are expensive and a luxury! It makes sense economically. With consoles there’s an incentive to sell hardware cheap to get people into the ecosystem. With the exception of the steamdeck, there’s no such incentive for PC’s: if the hardware is worth x amount, you can bet your ass you’ll have to pay at least that. Yeah games are generally cheaper on PC, but not by much, and the barrier to entry is much lower for consoles. Hell, the PC I just built from used parts and Amazon deals cost me $800 (not including accessories), and while the processor and ram is almost certainly better than the ps5’s, the graphics are about on par, if anything slightly worse. You can find used ps5’s for less than $400. Is there really a used PC out there that can touch that?
I don’t understand why I would buy a PC when I can get a PS5.
It has a library going back 30+ years.
It is useful for other things.
Because my pc uses 4-5 times the power to run the same ps4-era game. (Especially nice when it’s hot in summer)
So I play it on my ps5, which offers me quick resume as well.
I love pc gaming, been building pc’s for over a decade at this point, but I do also see the advantages my ps5 has over my pc.
Could I build a more efficient and quiet pc, attach it to my tv and use that? Probably, and it’d be quite good with steamOS on it, but it’d be finicky to get sleep/resume working on it, and it’d probably cost me more.
just wait till arm becomes mainstream
ARM isn’t more efficient than x86 at that scale. Below 15W or so, it is, but not scaled up. I think there are other good reasons for it–like having more than three companies that can produce them–but not that.
Couch gaming.
I’m a technical person and I’ve tried a lot of different methods to do couch gaming with a PC. From having some sort of lap tray to various wireless mice and keyboard solutions. I’ve currently landed on having my gaming desktop just stream with Steam Link to my living room. As long as I’m selective about which games I want to play, I can usually get a good experience. But I still have at least 60% of my steam library that isn’t a good experience doing that.
Having a dedicated piece of hardware with a custom OS that is designed around a controller is a huge difference maker. Plus you add in how ridiculously expensive it is to get either a USB external optical drive or internal SATA drive to watch DVDs and Blu-Rays. Heck, even just watching Netflix or YouTube in the living room is easier on PS5 than a media PC for the average user.
There’s a reason Valve tried to make the Steam Machine.
Exclusives, simplicity, ease of use. I had a gaming PC, but switched to the PS5 only because I realized I’ve been using my PC like a PS5. I only play like fifa and gta now since most new games don’t even excite me anymore.
Consoles are great if you want the same thing you can get on your computer but with worse graphics, shittier framerate, and a terrible device for input.
true, but try making a half decent PC for the price of one console
