Because you can buy a consol3, plig it into the back of your TV, and be confident that it will work. You don’t have to worry about system requirements, storefronts, launchers, driver updates fucking you up, etc.
Power Cable, HDMI cable, and connect to wifi - that’s it.
I’ve been PC gaming since the mid-80s, and even I sometimes just want to sit on the couch, push the Xbox button on my controller, and get going. Is it lazy? Yes. But I work 2 jobs and get to be lazy when I get home.
And windows updates are done when you’re asleep these days… There are tons of pre-built computers and laptops for people who don’t care to get the best value or performance.
It’s the “and much more” that’s the problem. A console is a deli slicer where a PC is a chef’s knife.
The knife can do so much more than the deli slicer, but if you just want to slice some meat and don’t care about the rest, then the deli slicer is perfect.
Huh? This analogy is wild. Deli slicers are a specialist, commercial-level piece of equipment. It’s basically the antithesis of everything a console strives for, other than the fact that it’s a unitasker.
I have a $60 deli slicer on the counter. I also have chef’s knives that cost way more.
The knives can do everything the slicer can, but the untrained person can slice meat faster and neater with the slicer. They don’t need to k ow how to use a knife properly or how to sharpen a blade. It just works.
That’s a console. They’re cheaper than PCs that can run equivalent games for a lot of their lifespan, and they’re specialist devices that just fucking work.
But they can’t run cad, use excel, or do anything else but play games and videos just like a deli slicer can’t debone a chicken.
I’ve been PC gaming since 8-bit computers. I eventually bought an Xbox One as my first console and a Switch some years ago. I just couldn’t get into either of them after the initial novelty wore off. PC gaming is so much more convenient for me. I’m already at my PC, I just need to start a game. And I can multi-task with other apps in the background or on my second monitor. Going to the living room to play on a console on the TV, or switching inputs if I keep it attached to my PC monitor, both are too much hassle. I only ever use the XBox for Just Dance (nothing beats Kinect for it) and I’ve played many more hours of Switch games on an emulator on my PC than on the actual Switch.
Another big thing for me is that I’ve worked on computers as part of my job for the last 15yrs. The last thing I wanted to do was come back home to sit again at a computer chair on another computer. Now that I work remotely, there is even less of a separation of my life since I am in my office a lot. I mentally can’t have my work station also be my gaming station, it’s just not healthy for me, I’d never move from the same place. Maybe one day when one of my laptops is old I’ll finally install steam, but for now having a switch and ps5 works wonders for the separation.
A steam deck is a custom gaming device with a custom gaming OS, custom, pre-defined hardware, limited upgradability, and launches into a gaming interface for a specific company’s game store and launcher.
Besides plug and play safety as mentioned, two other cool things:
Monthly Netflix-style rental service. For people who want to try a lot of games to find their niche, PS+ and Game Pass are great.
Sleep mode. Being able to pause a game for days on end is incredibly convenient. PCs have attempted to have this feature, but very inconsistently, and it often means you cannot web browse when finished playing.
I’m sorry, what? Windows yes, I used PC Game Pass for a while before swearing off Xbox. But for all its emulation advances, Linux has always had huge struggles running UWP apps, which accounts for everything on Game Pass. Even on Windows, Game Pass isn’t always the best experience compared to just using a console.
Game Pass works through streaming, unfortunately running natively is impossible due to UWP crap. But next to that there is also EA Play and Ubisoft+ as well as free games from Amazon, Epic, etc.
I definitely wouldn’t count Game Pass streaming as an option to validate PC gaming; since that can run on old Android Phones too. Plus, many of the games are only going to support controller, and you need to upgrade to Ultimate to get access.
I admit I’d forgotten about EAP and U+; to my knowledge they’re pretty unpopular because of their cost-benefit ratio.
Modern consoles are locked pre-built PCs. You have to pay for online. Why get a console at this point in time?
Because you can buy a consol3, plig it into the back of your TV, and be confident that it will work. You don’t have to worry about system requirements, storefronts, launchers, driver updates fucking you up, etc.
Power Cable, HDMI cable, and connect to wifi - that’s it.
I’ve been PC gaming since the mid-80s, and even I sometimes just want to sit on the couch, push the Xbox button on my controller, and get going. Is it lazy? Yes. But I work 2 jobs and get to be lazy when I get home.
Console updates and game updates are a thing. It will work, true, it just might be downloading and installing updates for a day before it does.
And windows updates are done when you’re asleep these days… There are tons of pre-built computers and laptops for people who don’t care to get the best value or performance.
Steam Deck has turned that around somewhat. It’s pretty close to an easy console experience, amd you can play on your couch, in bed, or on a plane.
That’s because it’s a console.
A console that’s also a fully functional PC you can install mods on.
PCs can do all of this and much more.
It’s the “and much more” that’s the problem. A console is a deli slicer where a PC is a chef’s knife.
The knife can do so much more than the deli slicer, but if you just want to slice some meat and don’t care about the rest, then the deli slicer is perfect.
Huh? This analogy is wild. Deli slicers are a specialist, commercial-level piece of equipment. It’s basically the antithesis of everything a console strives for, other than the fact that it’s a unitasker.
Deli slicer aren’t all commercial.
I have a $60 deli slicer on the counter. I also have chef’s knives that cost way more.
The knives can do everything the slicer can, but the untrained person can slice meat faster and neater with the slicer. They don’t need to k ow how to use a knife properly or how to sharpen a blade. It just works.
That’s a console. They’re cheaper than PCs that can run equivalent games for a lot of their lifespan, and they’re specialist devices that just fucking work.
But they can’t run cad, use excel, or do anything else but play games and videos just like a deli slicer can’t debone a chicken.
I’ve been PC gaming since 8-bit computers. I eventually bought an Xbox One as my first console and a Switch some years ago. I just couldn’t get into either of them after the initial novelty wore off. PC gaming is so much more convenient for me. I’m already at my PC, I just need to start a game. And I can multi-task with other apps in the background or on my second monitor. Going to the living room to play on a console on the TV, or switching inputs if I keep it attached to my PC monitor, both are too much hassle. I only ever use the XBox for Just Dance (nothing beats Kinect for it) and I’ve played many more hours of Switch games on an emulator on my PC than on the actual Switch.
Another big thing for me is that I’ve worked on computers as part of my job for the last 15yrs. The last thing I wanted to do was come back home to sit again at a computer chair on another computer. Now that I work remotely, there is even less of a separation of my life since I am in my office a lot. I mentally can’t have my work station also be my gaming station, it’s just not healthy for me, I’d never move from the same place. Maybe one day when one of my laptops is old I’ll finally install steam, but for now having a switch and ps5 works wonders for the separation.
You can get a steam deck then if you are worried about all of this and it would still be cheaper than console as well as portable.
The console argument just doesnt make any kind of logical sense.
A steam deck is a custom gaming device with a custom gaming OS, custom, pre-defined hardware, limited upgradability, and launches into a gaming interface for a specific company’s game store and launcher.
How is it not a console?
You answered your own question.
It is a lot like a console, but there’s a huge catalog.
Because you can just plug it in to your TV and play. That’s the target demographic.
Besides plug and play safety as mentioned, two other cool things:
PCs have all of this and much more.
Gamepass is on Windows and Linux too
I’m sorry, what? Windows yes, I used PC Game Pass for a while before swearing off Xbox. But for all its emulation advances, Linux has always had huge struggles running UWP apps, which accounts for everything on Game Pass. Even on Windows, Game Pass isn’t always the best experience compared to just using a console.
Game Pass works through streaming, unfortunately running natively is impossible due to UWP crap. But next to that there is also EA Play and Ubisoft+ as well as free games from Amazon, Epic, etc.
I definitely wouldn’t count Game Pass streaming as an option to validate PC gaming; since that can run on old Android Phones too. Plus, many of the games are only going to support controller, and you need to upgrade to Ultimate to get access.
I admit I’d forgotten about EAP and U+; to my knowledge they’re pretty unpopular because of their cost-benefit ratio.
I got EA Play for 20€ a year so the cost part wasn’t really that much of a factor anymore.
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