- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
For a long time, the common wisdom was that game consoles would usurp PC gaming, leaving it a niche hobby, ignored by the greater gaming community. And indeed, for a long time consoles were the most popular way to play mainstream games. But recently, especially since the release of the current generation of consoles, the very opposite seems to be coming true. PC gaming has been expanding while consoles falter.
Looking forward to the next Xbox and PlayStation consoles, analysts are predicting $900 as the low end of possible pricing–and that number is seeming more and more optimistic. That’s a lot of money to spend for a dedicated machine that, for most console owners, is just used for playing Call of Duty or the latest football game. Consoles are becoming too expensive for all but the most dedicated gamers to justify–especially when gamers in their teens and early 20s have grown up in a world where a console is no longer needed to play the vast majority of games.
This. Everything’s more expensive.
The nice thing about PCs, though, is you can use the same machine for gaming and productivity. You don’t need to buy two different machines. If you have a PC, you can play games on it.
The best approach for most people right now is to play games on whatever they already have. If you already have a console, then you don’t need to buy one. If you already have a PC, then you don’t need a console. Play games on what you already have. PC gamers do have the advantage of new releases being available on computers built even two decades ago (if you ignore the more demanding releases), but there’s plenty of games to play on all platforms.