• The fact is is that all 3 console manufacturers charge monthly subscriptions for you to play games you bought with anyone outside of your room. (Nintendo Switch Online, Playstation Plus, Xbox Live).

    Guess how much I have to pay Steam every month to play games in my $3000 library with my friends across the country? (A: nothing!)

    • Don’t forget, even if you bought the games, it’s entirely up to their discretion whether or not to take away those games if they feel like it.

      I have games in my Steam library the publisher removed from the store some time ago so they could sell remakes.

      Everyone else sucks and Gabe Newell knows it.

  • The mainstream consoles nowadays basically are locked-down computers anyway, so makes sense that people are skipping the live-services middleman and going straight to PC

    Unless you care about exclusives, then PCs are the better all-rounder IMO, and don’t need a yearly payment on top of your internet bill

  • If you consider hardware functionality, IDK why people buy consoles at all. The sky is the limit for what I can do on even a low end PC and there are significant limits to functionality on consoles. Not to mentioned the walled garden you’re forced into with consoles.

    Make money from software, there’s little profit in hardware.

    • For some people, the walled garden and the “it just works” is a feature, when compared to the potential mine-field of building your own PC (or the increased cost of a pre built).
      Some people have some money but not time, so a console a couch and a TV is easier to get into for the few hours a week they have.

      Value for money, a build-your-own PC is better.

      I don’t get why people buy iPhones. But if you go all-in on apple, the ecosystem is very attractive.

      • PC’s being better value is a new development too. Most current gen consoles were purchased while GPU prices were very inflated. It’s relevant for next gen (especially with consoles already being sold at a loss) but not so much the current one. Future looks bright for PC gaming, if we can manage to excise the tumor that is Denuvo

  • It makes sense to me. PC is just so much more versatile and can do so many more things than a console. Also, while the initial costs can be higher, you can play your games without fear of compatibility issues or online fees, etc. I can play games from 10-15 years ago without issues (generally).

    Just play on whichever device you have that can handle it.

    Switched to PC Gaming around the PS3 era and never looked back.

    It’s really nice to see the Sony titles coming to Steam these days as well.

  • I’d say one of the biggest things that kept people playing console games had to be the console exclusive games. If you wanted to play games like Ratchet & Clank, you’d need a PlayStation. But even that has changed, with the most recent release being available on Steam. Pretty much the only company holding out (Sintendo) is a company that no sane person should care about other than when it’s time to get angry about them.