Does anyone else think Console gaming is too expensive?

I mean I like everyone else owns a Desktop or a Laptop because you need one to get work done or enjoy media without stupid restrictions and you just need a PC in your daily life. So for me I have a PC like every single person I know and I choose to game on my PC. The last time I upgraded was in 2010, it cost me £400, I got an I5, new mobo and and mid ranged GPU and it maxes out pretty much everything so I'm happy with that and feel like I still have no reason to upgrade today. I kept my PC case, I kept my DVD drive (cause that tech doesn't evolve and who uses them anyways?), I kept my old ram because it doesn't make any difference in games, on the speed or latency. Hard Drives I find I just buy one and it lasts me 3/4 years and then I buy another one for cheap and again the Monitor I've had since 2004, I love my sony CRT, it runs at 120hrz, higher resolution than the 1080p LCDs and nicer colours too. I'd probably spend a few hundred quid on an upgrade on my PC every 4/5 years or so and I'm still able to keep up so the myth of spending £2000 every year just isn't true.

The best thing for me with PC gaming is Steam and how it's generated this who sale revolution that you get on all services now. I can go to a cdkey website, buy a new game for £20 and get £10 off that it would cost me on Steam or £1000 off what Origin prices are lol. I'm able to just get so many games for under a tenner thanx to sales and these aren't even old games, they come out and 6 months later are so cheap.

However whenever I look into console gaming, the prices are always £45 and on the next gen games according to Amazon they're £55. Most the time you want to buy a game and they're all advertised with bonus content for £65-100........ it's like wtf? I tried to buy a game on the Sony store once through the PS3 I bought for MGS4 (haven't played anything on it since) and it was £60, more expensive than in the shop. Then I see the stupid prices they all charge for controllers or cables or hard drives because they all use their own technology so they can rip you off and it's ridiculous . The worst thing I hate though is how (even with the PS4 now) you have to pay a subscription to play your games that you've already paid for online. They don't make that clear do they, like the service is shit on Xbox Live, people go on about how amazing it is......... like no it's restrictive, the UI is slow as fuck, no mod support, Microsoft charges for patches so you have to wait ages for them and the servers are hosted by other peoples consoles....... what are you actually charging for Microsoft? It seems like you charge for everything else on top of Live and all the services I pay for already are what you seem to be charging me to use lol. I went to buy a 3DS XL the other day because I haven't played a Nintendo game since the N64 and it isn't even sold with the charger........ like you can fuck off Nintendo, what a con!

I just hate them, consoles are this massive money pit thanx to them being a closed platform where they can charge what ever price they want and it seems to me it costs way more than PC. I can get my games brand new for half the price it costs on consoles or just wait a few months for a Steam sale.

Gaming is an expensive hobby whichever way you slice it. Yes, in the long run it's cheaper to buy a PC, but there's also a lot to be said for an optimised experience that doesn't take a lot of setting up. Each to their own.

It's funny; so many people think it's the opposite and PC gaming is some massive wall that you have to drop tons of money on.

But yeah, I can't imagine being a console player who buys games on launch frequently. Then again, I can't imagine buying on launch (whether console or PC) much, period.

Pro tip: don't constantly by games at launch. 9 times outta 10 there will be some sort of sale weeks if not days after launch.

I think PC gaming value proposition is way better, you get much more for what you pay for.

@scaramoosh: Would you agree that "Rent-To-Own" is a dumb idea? Or leasing something? These are things that are generally frowned upon because financially they're a poor proposition over a period of time. However they exist because that barrier to buy that 50" plasma TV right off the bat is higher than if you just paid a portion of it every month. Granted, console gaming is not the same thing but a console is cheaper than a PC. A decent medium-tier rig would probably cost around $800. Hardware, you're probably within the same specs as a console. Software wise, we're running lots of overhead because it's a PC and not a console, so realistically you would spend more on a PC with better hardware to get the same performance out of a console. Compare that to the PS4's $399 price tag.

Yes, Steam sales are a wonderful thing and console manufacturers and publishers NEED to adopt that at some point - be retail stores have sales too. It's not as often or as much of a sale usually, but you can still get games for a fraction of their original retail price.

And really, the reason PC gaming isn't as mainstream as console gaming I feel has something to do with this. "Oh no! What are you doing? Don't wander into that File menu at the top of the window! You're gonna break my computer!" People have some weird irrational fear that if you mess up the smallest thing on a computer it dies forever.

@evilnights: I get where you're coming from, but I'd argue that console games are far from "optimized" when comparing them to their PC variants (assuming ports are done properly). How many games dip frame rate on consoles, but can be powered through on a PC? Edge case, sure. Also, I will fight you.

PC hardware is still more expensive than console hardware, but PC gamers make that up eventually with cheaper games, generally free online play and more uses for their PC.

Oh another PC gaming is "superior" circlejerk. Well have fun patting each other on the back.

I could build a more powerful desktop PC for the same price as an Xbox One. I hate this idea that it's more expensive on the hardware side. A bit of experience and being willing to spend time shopping around can save you a lot.

Onto the main topic. I haven't spent more than £20 on new releases this year, buying my games within a week of release. Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, Grid 2, and Metro Last Light are a few games that I've managed to grab this year for less than half the console alternative. "PC circlejerk" for the win?

It's a tradeoff. With console gaming, you don't have to deal with a ton of bullshit and hassle you do with PC gaming (building/maintaining the damn thing, driver updates, crashes and the troubleshooting thereof, etc).

Another major point is some people have the majority of their friends tied to a specific platform. If all of your buddies are getting the new Battlefield on the XBONE, you're going to have to follow suit to play with them.

While you may accrue a monetary savings with a PC, you probably will sink more non-gaming time into one.

I should have just quoted you in the first place xP

I've stopped buying console games on launch and will only buy them when they are on sale. Very few games are worth 60 dollars these days. Often times, I will just buy a bunch of games during holiday sales at the end of the year, and 2013 will be filled with playing the top games from 2012. That means I am a year behind for many games, but I saved a bunch of money and have plenty of games to play.

Technically you're right, but how long would that sub-$500 PC last you before it becomes a glorified paperweight? Most people who build their own PCs are going to commit to more money to get better performance and that won't change. Regardless, we're in agreement that the games are cheaper most of the time and that balances things out at the very least.

I got a new PS3 + 2 retail games + 2 years of PS+ subscription (which got me about 20 PS3 games so far) for about $600-$700 last year, and this is in Australia. It's not that bad.

Console gaming has gotten progressively cheaper on average in the past thirty years. Especially so if you adjust for inflation.

@scaramoosh: wow that was quite the ramble. If you don't buy your 3DS XL out of the back of a van it comes with a charger.

Not really, if anything it's a lot cheaper. Like... 150 bucks for a used console, and like 30 bucks for most older games, half that if you get 'em used.

I mean if you spend 500 bucks on a PC and can play stuff that comes out this year, that's nice but you won't be able to next year. Sure that's the same case with buying an old console but at least you payed less than half of the price of the computer. The argument that everyone needs a computer doesn't exactly apply anymore either, I know lots of people who avoid computers entirely and just use smartphones for social networking and emails or whatever. Or they just have been using the same computer for a decade and see no real reason to upgrade.

I cut video so I'll always need a powerful computer, but that's not the case for everyone and it's hard to justify the price of a nice or even half-decent computer for a lot of people.

Gaming isn't very expensive at all as hobbies go, which is partly why it's so popular.

@o5ris: I don't know a single PC Gamer that's actually paid for Windows. Also, you can get perfectly usable mouse and keyboard set up for around 20 dollars. Current desktop I'm using was approximately $500 to build and I've had it for three years now. It runs everything I play perfectly.

(I already had a copy of windows)

@hunkulese said:

wow that was a pointless reply. If you don't pull your information out of your ass, you'd know that the 3DS XL doesn't come with a charger in Japan or Europe.

See what I did there?

Nope. You might need a PC or laptop for every day life, but you don't need anything close to a gaming PC for those things. The price difference can easily be as much as or greater than the cost of a console. And guess what, you have to pay for a mouse and keyboard. And a controller, too, since a lot of games are absolutely fucked if you try to use M&KB controls. And a copy of WIndows. On a console the extraneous costs are almost always nil. Maybe you need an HDMI cable, but that's it.

And I'm someone that prefers playing games on PC.

everything looks expensive when compared to the generosity of steamland.

With steam and a looming pay for multiplayer with the ps4/xbone. It mean PC is currently the most attractive it has looked in the last ~10 year in my opinion.

Edit: Not saying its now cheaper but the gap has definately narrowed.

@toxeia said:

Yes, but with consoles you can (generally) be assured that the developer did their best to get it running as well as possible on the platform. My PC can run rings around my 360 at the moment, but if I bought Assassin's Creed 3 on the 360 I can be sure it more or less works as intended, whereas on the PC things were looking good until I got to Boston and the whole thing went to shit. My attempt to run Deus Ex: Invisible War involved all manner of compatibility settings and eventually booting Windows on a single core until I had to give up, but I could dig up my O.G. Xbox and that version would work just fine. Granted, these are also edge cases (and I lot of the responses I got online were along the lines of "why are you even bothering?"), but still...

And, top of the line graphics cards can cost $500 alone.

Sooo... thats like saying a 4k tv cost thousand of dollars most people won't buy it/need it.

...what?

I've primarily been a PC user, and I've also build a couple myself. At the moment I've only got a light laptop and a PS3. For a while I have considered building a new PC, but for a number of reasons I decided against it.

For one thing, it is expensive, at least the one I would build would cost around 1400 USD (mind you I live in a country with fairly high tax rate, and a likewise high average income, so it isn't as much as it sounds). I also realized at lot of the games I enjoy are Indie games, which are rarely very graphically demanding. I recently upgraded the same laptop with an SSD which meant I now had a spare 500 GB hard drive. As it turns out it is exactly the type recommend for a PS3, and a PS3 super slim without hard drive would only cost me 227 USD. Besides I had seen footage from the upcoming The Last of Us, and it had really caught my attention. This couple with the prospect of playing Journey sold me on the idea.

Honestly though, I just have other things I would rather spend my money on, and I feel like building a powerful PC is like a commitment to gaming I just don't want to have.

Anyway, with a PS3 and a Plus membership, and its apparent focus on indie games, the PS4 seems an intriguing prospect. Also I've really come to love the console style of gaming, sitting comfortable away from the screen. And I also feel it is a much less excluding, even when playing single player.

As I've mentioned I've been primarily a PC user so I'm well aware of the benefits of a PC, like steam sales, and just the general openness of the platform. But I think with the inevitable digitization, these benefits will be coming to the consoles too (though maybe not as much the openness). In the meantime PS+ is still pretty good.

evilNIGHTS kind of hit the nail on the head. I like console gaming for the ability to put in a game and know that I'm not going to be tinkering with anyhting more than a gamma setting (maybe) before playing.

There are a lot of games that are not on PC, and some of them are really good:

Uncharted 2, Red Dead Redemption, Dragon's Dogma, Demon's Souls, Marios, Zeldas, Forza Horizon, Persona 4 Golden, Last of Us, Journey, Vanquish, MGS, etc, etc...

And there are other games that you have to wait years for a port:

Fez, Spelunky HD, Trials Evolution, Dark Souls, etc.

For me it's about the games. I just checked the list of upcoming games on this site: more than half of them are not on PC. That's why I think I need PC and consoles.

Oh, and I never have to fiddle with video drivers. Which is the greatest thing on the planet.

my last pc build a few years ago is power wise better then both the new consoles coming out I quit playing 360 and ps3 because a AC or Call of Duty, Halo each year is just not doing it for me any more.

but I like both but steam is hard to beat now days.

Absolutely. Anything that I can get on the PC that isn't super clunky with a mouse and keyboard, I buy it on Steam or go through the gauntlet of the Origin UI to earn it. Heck, I would go as far to say that, given a year or so, PC is almost always cheaper to play on than a console due to a number of factors. The sales, namely. Games on consoles for some reason are always ridiculously marked up and stacked against the consumer all the way to the ceiling and It's about to the point where if you want all the big hits of the year, you're looking to shell out around $400-$700 a year.

Thank you I will!