Should I stick with my pre-order and get a PS4, or should I build a PC?

I think it really comes down to how much you want to spend and what specific games you want to play.

For a gaming PC, you're looking at around $800-$1500 for a solid build that will be able to play anything current as well as anything that will be made in the next 3 or 4 years or so. Throw in an extra $300 or so a year or two after the first build for a new GPU and you can easily extend that 3 or 4 years. Games wise, you'll most likely get most of the games out on consoles via PC ports as well as PC exclusive titles. In addition, you also have a working (and very powerful) PC to use for whatever you want besides gaming. Considering game price, you're looking at $50-$60 per game (not counting smaller games) but will get deep discounts later on via Steam sales. (For example me being primarily a PC game, I haven't spent full price on a game in over 2 years. Every game I've bought recently has been discounted to some extent).

A PS4 is going to be $400 up front, and that will last you until new consoles come out. Unlike the PC, at some point the consoles will be static, so there isn't really anything you can do upgrade wise. You're pretty much stuck with it. Games wise you'll get your console games as well as PS4 exclusives but you'll miss out on PC and Xbox One exclusives. Considering game price, you're looking at $60 per game in general (not counting smaller indie games and such).

The obvious answer is the get both. Putting the price aside, I think getting a PS4 now and possibly building a PC in a year or two down the line would be the best of both worlds.

I'd get a PS4, cheaper and will run things as nice as a PC for a few years plus it will have the usual console exclusives. Build the PC later, it's still certainly worth doing.

GB community seems to be very PC heavy so they'll for the most part just tell you to do that.

I'd suggest the opposite from the other posts, as you've already stated you have a pretty healthy gaming library already on steam & there's no ps4 titles at launch you're interested in so go for a pc now.

It might not be a terrible idea to wait a bit, see how this new generation actually shakes out, and make your decision then. I know this is impossible - but no one really knows how great/not great these systems will be when compared to a PC until they come out. Even then, they won't hit their full potential until some time after they are initially released, and by then their price could be less.

I would build a PC now, make sure you get as powerful a GPU as you can, and get a console after a year or two. I also think that having all three major platforms running on the same architecture will lead to unpredictable outcomes for the consoles versus the PC. If the market stays the same, you will end up with cross-platform titles that are indistinguishable from one another - but the PC versions will allow much more customization for performance and personal preference.

But if you can't afford it, you can't afford it - and the PS4 looks pretty fucking cool. You can't really go wrong, here.

I think you want to have both eventually, but PC would be my priority.

You'll probably have more fun sharing the controller with your girlfriend on the couch rather than shooting her in the face online anyway.

PC. You canuse it for other things but consider your budget first before going in.

Just depends on if any of the PS4 exclusives from here to the next 3 years interest you. I have found going with building a PC in between console launches is good. I built a new PC in 2011, great time and now that it is not top of the line, I could spend 400 on a new graphics card or new console.

Things to consider, prices of games. Steam sales and even buying a month after, prices come way down. Consoles, unless the game was bad, not so much. Last of Us is still 60 bucks and only been on sale for like 50. A game like Saints Row 4, already seen it on sale for 30, half off and only a couple months old. And as with new console launches, don't expect any serious price drops on good games.

But really, just go with where the people you play with are. I would stick with the PS4.

So, as you pit these things "against" each other you obviously do not play much PC-only titles (Civ, Total War, Dota, the Paradox-stuff). So PC is pricey, obviously. And when you can not afford a ridiculously tricked out PC, why even bother. So I say PS4, as a primarily PC-gamer.

Pace your purchases in a healthy fashion and get both in time.

There will always be good games for most platforms that will make it worthwhile at some point.

I would just go with a PS4 instead of spending twice that on a gaming pc.

It depends on the kind of games you like. Looking back on this generation most of my favourite games have been console exclusive. Whereas PC exclusives seem to be RTS's MMORPG's and MOBA's which dont appeal to me in the slightest. Not to mention most of them dont require great rigs either.

How much are you willing to spend on a PC? You're not going to get a PS4 level PC for $400, and even then I couldn't imagine building PC just for console level quality. If you're looking to play at near-max settings you're going to a have to drop at least a grand.

I would get a PS4. It will be just as good as a PC for at least the first half of it's life span, plus you get console exclusives. Down the road if you still care that much about graphics and performance you can build a PC then.

I do my gaming on PC and consoles. They both have their strengths and weaknesses but overall I think I tend to prefer consoles. PC games are great in the sense that you can mod them, they often look and run better (depending on the developer that handles the PC version), and they are usually cheaper if you're patient. The reasons I'm not in love with PC gaming, though, are:

• There are SO many things that could cause your games to run weird, and diagnosing them is a huge pain in the butt. For instance, I was recently playing a newish game on my PC and every few minutes the screen would just freeze for like 3-4 seconds (sound kept going) and then go back to normal. Not too bad but still very annoying, and even after shutting down all sorts of other applications running in the background I was never able to figure out what it was. That doesn't happen on consoles.
• Unless you spend a LOT on your initial PC build (like $1200), the PC you build today will only be so-so in 3-4 years. I bought a new video card for my PC back in January 2011 (a GeForce 460 GTX) and by today's standards it's ancient. And don't even mention my dual-core CPU. People say you can spend $800 and not have to upgrade for 5 years but I don't know about that...I think you'll be feeling the slowness before then. Besides, $800 could buy you TWO PS4s.
• I enjoy playing games on my couch. Now, if you have your PC close to your TV then you could use Big Picture Mode on Steam. I don't, so I can't.
• I like having a centralized way to do voice chat with friends I'm playing with. Sure, if you play PC games then you and your friends can launch a separate program like Mumble or Ventrilo and talk that way. Or possibly use a game's in-game chat if it supports it (which few seem to). But I think it's way easier to just have it there, waiting for you, like it is on the new consoles.

Also, I think if you're patient with buying games then the price advantage PC has for games diminishes. Sure, Steam has some amazing sales but if you wait a year or so you can also probably snag the PS4 version of a game for $20 or less, too. Especially if Sony and MS get serious about competing with Steam on that front, like they (at least MS) has implied they want to.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll be happy either way. But me personally, I'd rather invest the money in a console. Just my $0.02.

Doing both personally.

An 800 dollar pc isn't going to last 3 to 4 years. Go look at the specs for watchdogs and tell me otherwise. Maybe it'll run it at medium to low in the next few years. Just buy a console

Now is the wrong time to build a PC. With the next-gen consoles coming out nothing is going to be better than them for a good few years and your PC parts to compete with next-gen is going to be fairly expensive. If you wait for the late end of the next-gen to build a PC that'd be best.

Since at the second half of the upcoming console generation thats when you'll start to see PC pull ahead again and PC parts will be cheaper.

Building one now just seems dumb.

PS4, You wanna get into the craze and experience all the fun aspects of a console launch.

If you have to ask or can only choose one. You aren't ready for PC. Stay a console only peasant a while longer.

PS4 price won't drop for a long time, I'd say if you plan on getting a console eventually, you may as well just get it now, and by time you do decide to build a PC, you'll just have a bigger better rig.

I would wait on a gaming PC, as you will be able to purchase one that supports 4k resolution at reasonable frame-rates in a couple years. The Steambox thing might be more of a thing at that point too. PS4 specs are fine for 1080p, and you'll probably want to get one eventually anyway, so that would be the one to pick first if your LCDs are in that range. And, if you have another PC, you could always toss a lower end video card in it to play most of the PC unique games.

And, while this is a bit of a social question, I would guess that your GF having a PS4 would make that a much more fun platform to have first if you enjoy playing multi-player / co-op games together.

Not particularly. System requirements are going to see a bump so you're going to need something a little beefier, but the cost of a suitable gaming PC isn't going to leap to $1500 minimum or something nuts like that. $800 should probably be the minimum if you want to prepare for the next generation, and even that might be a little high if you've already got a case.

This is still a lot of money, though. There's no reason to buy a PS4 at launch if you don't think there's a good enough lineup to support it. If at all possible, I would definitely suggest going for a PC if only because you already have a large library for it ready to go that you just wouldn't have with a PS4.

If money is an issue in either case, then I suggest simply holding off on both until you're comfortable buying one or the other.

There's going to be nothing to play on the ps4 for the first 6 months if not more. Build a PC

If those exclusives are really drawing your eye, then stick with the 4. Otherwise, go crazy and build that PC.