31–40 of 96 posts
Honestly crazy to me that people will pay 700 for a Playstation instead of 8-900 for a pc
PCs are a lot more hassle if you just want to chill and play games. Not such a big deal if you’re using the computer for other stuff, but a 2nd living room PC just never made sense to me.
Interesting that Sony considers a Blu-Ray drive to no longer be a key feature of the flagship console model. They’re probably not wrong, given the long slow decline in importance of optical media. Feels like the beginning of the end when even Blu-Ray’s primary creator is walking away.
Sony & MS aided in the decline of discs by making a disc drive an expensive add on and having every game need an online connection or day one update to fix bugs. I'm sure they had a marketing plan of making $90 bucks off a $10 buck disc drive and then go "oh wow, look, only 30% of people spent an extra $100 bucks!"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. Keyboard and mouse? Desk? Software updates? Heaven forbid: Windows? PS5 on the couch is by far the better experience.
I mean, Steam Big Picture is pretty much the same as a couch console experience.. A console is still a more streamlined experience, but you get 90% of the way there with Steam BP, plus you have a general purpose computer as well. But you spent more for the PC.. Different priorities for different people, for sure..
Anyone bemoaning the loss of the disc drive hasn't used a recent gen console with a disc drive. If you buy a game on disc you still have to install it to the internal storage because the disc drive is incredibly slow. But you also have the downside of having to swap the disc when you want to change games. It's completely pointless unless you have super slow internet speeds.
Consoles are pricing themselves out of relevance when you can buy a Steam Deck and have access to a vast library of (frequently heavily-discounted!) content for $399.
This is where consoles remain relevant.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
PCs are a lot more hassle if you just want to chill and play games. Not such a big deal if you’re using the computer for other stuff, but a 2nd living room PC just never made sense to me.
Particularly if you want to play with a controller (as is common for a living room/couch setup). Windows somehow has the worst controller support out of all operating systems (including mobile OSes) and if it weren't for Valve patching things up with Steam, it'd be almost unserviceable in that category.
Windows gaming is unstable AF, games crash, peripherals don't work, wifi and firewall issues galore. You won't know until you install all 160 gigs.
Linux games work when they work. If its linux compatible or runs on Proton, you are fine. However, not all games are like this. Your favorite 22 year old game, probably wont run, even with proton.
Anyone bemoaning the loss of the disc drive hasn't used a recent gen console with a disc drive. If you buy a game on disc you still have to install it to the internal storage because the disc drive is incredibly slow. But you also have the downside of having to swap the disc when you want to change games. It's completely pointless unless you have super slow internet speeds.
Digital console purchases go on sale too but not (often) for the prices you'll sometimes see on Steam, Gamestop and elsewhere. You can't resell for a few bucks and lend to a friend. There are sometimes features to "play together" but that's it. In a market of $60-90 new games that makes a big difference.
Since consoles are glorified locked-down PCs at this point, and because server-side support eventually ends (which renders units useless for anything that isn't already installed), the market appeal may diminish in the face of an increasingly flexible PC market which has (basically) limitless backwards compatibility. Hardcore gamers this past decade have repurchased some titles multiple times, with PC usually being the last one. I expect Nintendo will take less of a hit from that than Sony/MSFT, though MSFT has its gamepass and leverages overreliance on Windows.
Sony is in a spot. There was speculation that it would style itself as the boutique/high-quality option. I don't think that would be enough, in the end consoles are both more affordable and approachable for average consumers, that is where most of the appeal lies.
Anyone bemoaning the loss of the disc drive hasn't used a recent gen console with a disc drive. If you buy a game on disc you still have to install it to the internal storage because the disc drive is incredibly slow. But you also have the downside of having to swap the disc when you want to change games. It's completely pointless unless you have super slow internet speeds.