1: you get to own your games
2: the graphics are way better
3: you can do other shit with a PC like work or school
4: All games from forever to now are compatible.
5: You can emulate any games from older non-pc systems.
Did I miss anything?
Mods? Unless consoles these days have that too, I’ve admittedly not used console since the ps2.
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I know Skyrim has a limited selection of mods over on Xbox, but it’s really tiny compared to the PC offerings, due to hardware and file size limitations. I think Fallout 4 has some, too?
Nothing on Sony or Nintendo’s side, as far as I’m aware.
Yeah, Nintendo is definitely not a fan of mods, so I would be very surprised if they ever allow it.
No SKSE either
On Xbox One at least, Skyrim and Fallout 4 both have 5gb storage caps for mods. True, no SKSE or SkyUI, but you can still get almost every other mod that’s available.
On oldrim I used 30 gigs of mods like a decade ago. 5 gigs seem super low.
At least in my experience, it was my first time really modding anything. I had had access to a PC years ago when I was a small child, and I played stuff like Garry’s Mod where I’d just build crazy contractions (dare I say I got kinda good at it, who knows how much better I’d be now if I was able to keep up with it).
After a while I lost access to the computer, but I still was able to play console games, so that’s what I mainly gamed on for a very long time, up until just a couple years ago when I finally got a PC.
So I’d say if anything, it’s a great introductory to the possibilities of mods to console players, and like me, it may push some to actually get a PC to do more with their games. In all, I’d say it’s a positive thing regardless.
No, not almost every other mod. Only small ones. Total conversions like Enderal are not possible:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/976620/Enderal_Forgotten_Stories_Special_Edition/
This mod is essentially a massive (50 hours just for the main story) free AAA RPG with its own world, story and mechanics. It even comes with professional voice acting in German and English.
At least in my experience, it was my first time really modding anything. I had had access to a PC years ago when I was a small child, and I played stuff like Garry’s Mod where I’d just build crazy contractions (dare I say I got kinda good at it, who knows how much better I’d be now if I was able to keep up with it).
After a while I lost access to the computer, but I still was able to play console games, so that’s what I mainly gamed on for a very long time, up until just a couple years ago when I finally got a PC.
So I’d say if anything, it’s a great introductory to the possibilities of mods to console players, and like me, it may push some to actually get a PC to do more with their games. In all, I’d say it’s a positive thing regardless.
This reminds me of so many Japanese dev only release their games on Switch because they don’t want people to mod them.
…especially for family-friendly games or something based off popular IP (e.g. SPYxFAMILY).
They are cash-grabs anyway.
Not really, some of them are actually well-crafted and has fun gameplay.
- you usually don’t own your games, you just own a license; they can’t take away a console disk, but they can revoke a digital license
I agree with the rest, and here’s a few more:
- games are typically cheaper because of #4
- lots of form factors - can use controller, kb+m, handheld PC, etc
- repairs are easy - if my PS5 breaks, I need PS5-specific parts; if my PC breaks, I can get anything off the shelf
- streaming is easy peasy (related to your #3) - I don’t stream, but on PC, you just install something and click “go,” on console, you need hardware capture cards and whatnot
- storage is a non-issue - can have multiple TB of space and store every game I own if I want to, whereas I’m stuck with whatever capacity the console comes with
All in all, it’s a way better experience for me, though it is a bit more complicated. It’s hard to beat “plug and play” like with a console.
If you buy DRM free games. you effectively “own” them not in a legal sense, but in a practical sense.
Sure, and that’s only mostly true if you back them up.
That said, I can’t sell a DRM free game, so I don’t really own it like I do with physical media.
Nothing’s stopping you from copying the game onto a flashdrive and selling it to a friend
What are you talking about selling it? We share our games with friends.
Before online DRM, we used to buy games once among friends, dividing the cost, and then share them. At first, everyone got the disc for a few days each, but then we figured out how to remove the copy protection…
So you’re going to put your USB stick on eBay? Because that’s what I do with old console games
they can’t take away a console disk,
Technically not but you still only own a license and those walled garden platforms of consoles can easily be used to block you from using that disk for anything meaningful.
You can always play the version shipped with the disk with the game unplugged from the internet.
On PC, you’d have to pirate if a game is taken down.
On PC, you could pirate, but you could also buy DRM free games from GOG.com and keep a copy locally backed up.
It’s also worth noting that optical media will delaminate over time, rendering them unusable.
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One thing GOG doesn’t do is allow me to sell older games. I can do that just fine with physical media on a console. AFAIK, it’s also legal to make physical backups of physical media you own, so it can theoretically live forever (not sure if you can sell backups if the original dies though).
That said, I’m still almost 100% on PC. Cheaper games and being able to upgrade on my schedule is way better than the overall experience on consoles.
I suppose not but every time I went to sell console games the prices were insultingly low at every store and not much better selling it online.
Idk, Switch games hold their value pretty well. I buy mostly used, and it’s rare to find anything under $30. If I wasn’t so lazy, I’d be able to play for just the cost of shipping.
The version that shipped with the disk? It’s not 2005 anymore gramps.
Either there’s no disk but a redeemable code (for a license), or there’s a disk but without even the day 1 patch (which requires a license and the game probably runs like shit without it).
Piracy is WAY superior in those aspects. At least a repack had all the game updates bundled in.
Pretty much every game released on console, even today, can be completed just using the disk. Check out the Someordinarygamers YouTube video about playing Cyberpunk 2077 all the way through on the disk version, and that game was “literally unplayable.”
Yeah, you could probably get the full pirated version for most games, but with physical media, you at least know you can play that version of the game. There’s value there.
That said, I mostly play on PC because I trust Steam enough.
No, you don’t own a license if you have physical media. This is a myth that’s totally unfounded and needs to die.
When you buy a physical book, you don’t have a license to read that book.
When you buy a physical movie, you don’t have a license to watch that movie.
When you buy a physical game, you don’t have a license to play the game.
In all cases you have a copy of the copywritten work that you can use under the copyright agreement, you can resell it, you can use it as many times as you like, they can’t take it away from you. This is all enshrined in various copyright protections throughout the years in every juristicion.
You own a physical production that is a copy of a copywritten work. It can’t be taken away.
Aren’t there games where the physical disc doesn’t have the entire game on it or won’t even run without a patch? Wouldn’t that effectively be the same thing if they decide to stop providing the patch?
The only one I can think of was the Spyro trilogy remaster, which had games 2 and 3 as downloads.
In any case I think there’s more chance of Valve going bust than Sony or Microsoft…
you usually don’t own your games, you just own a license; they can’t take away a console disk, but they can revoke a digital license
This is partially offset by the fact that most PC games are purchased through Steam, which stands above all other digital storefronts as the most trustworthy and customer-focused. Playstation is certainly no longer trustworthy after the whole Discovery debacle, Xbox is owned by Microsoft, so you know you can’t trust them, and Nintendo has infamously outdated online practices and subpar customer support.
Yup. I play almost exclusively on PC and I have absolutely no worries about my Steam games disappearing. Even if they do, they’re still way cheaper than on console, and I’ll have the piracy option available.
So it’s a mixed bag. If you’re buying digital, PC is better, hands down. If you’re buying physical, PC is essentially a non-starter because few games are still available on physical media.
So true. The only physical media I have for PC is the micro-SD card I have in my Steam Deck.
Streaming is easier on PS5. You hit the button on the controller, link your YouTube or Twitch account, and go.
You can also retroactively save a decent bit of gameplay and put it on your phone via the mobile app.
Interesting. I haven’t actually used a PS5 or XBox Series console.
Thanks for the correction!
They’ve really streamlined the process. I just checked, and it will let you save the last 30 minutes of gameplay after the fact. Random sample of quality, though streamable probably compresses it too It also has a a slot for just a standard nvme pcie 4 SSD that’s as simple as sliding a side panel off, and between the hardware decompression and the universal nature of using their APIs, loading is blazing fast. It’s not quite as fast for PS4 games without the software support for the new capabilities, but it’s a complete gamechanger for games that used to punish me with a 5+ minute loading screen when I died, making playing at the difficulty I prefer an extremely frustrating exercise at times.
I won’t buy a game on PS5 over PC or anything. Unless it uses the PS5 triggers, but only on PS5, maybe. The controller is the shit. But it’s sincerely a nice piece of hardware. You trade a couple freedoms I’d rather not, but it’s overall pretty nice and a big step forward for gaming (especially as the consoles set the standard for what developers do, and having real CPUs enables a lot more mechanics).
Well, you can use the PS5 controller on PC, so at least there are no downsides there. I use a PS4 controller myself.
My only console is a Switch, which I got for exclusives and family games, but the PS5 actually does sound really nice.
I know Sony supports the triggers on their ports (only wired, but I don’t like the latency of Bluetooth anyways, so that’s how I use them on PC anyways), but I don’t know if third parties offer parity between platforms. I haven’t been in a position to consider that yet. I’ve only had the PS5 a few months and my purchases have been exclusives and sports games that are windows only to run root kits on PC.
In terms of anti-features, you need plus for online, to back up your saves, and I think you can’t get digital keys for anything but the games they bundle with consoles.
I’ve mostly noticed Xbox controls for on-screen prompts, but a few have PS prompts. So I’m guessing most ports won’t take advantage of PS5 controller features.
However, Steam Input configuration is awesome so you can probably get a similar effect even if the game doesn’t have explicit support on PC.
need plus for online, to back up your saves
Yeah, I really hate that about consoles. Both are free on PC (at least saves are on Steam, not sure about others).
You can choose whichever input methods suit you best. I’ve always been a controller kind of guy. As someone left handed I always struggled with keyboard and mouse setups.
streaming games to other devices too.
you can make your phone into a poor man’s steam deck
I first streamed from PC to a portable device with my PSP way back when. It did not work very well, but it was a neat proof of concept.
That said, Playstation consoles have had this ability since the PS3 as well.
I think you missed the biggest one which is PCs don’t have a profit driven life cycle. You update hardware when it no longer suits your need. Not when some predetermined life cycle expires and its time for the brand new thing.
Life/support expectancy between console and PC, PC wins hands down. Consoles release the next $500+ish version every 8ish years where a PC can pretty easily outlive at least 2 generations of console with minor upkeep and maybe some minor upgrades that cost less then the shitty controllers you have to replace every 6-12 months for $50 - $80
Life/support expectancy between console and PC, PC wins hands down. Consoles release the next $500+ish version every 8ish years where a PC can pretty easily outlive at least 2 generations of console with minor upkeep and maybe some minor upgrades that cost less then the shitty controllers you have to replace every 6-12 months for $50 - $80
And they can get ‘downgraded’ into other purposes, such as a childs first PC (take that mf’r apart and make them build it again), or a home server, or a media console.
You can also emulate a lot of newer games and they run better than in their native hardware.
playing online games for free and not needing subscriptions is a huge one. these days they try to justify it with attaching free games or some other kind of live service so i don’t discount the value of them nowadays but it’s still mind blowing to me how for almost two generation they got away charging for online play without barely doing anything but being the monopoly man.
the great thing about PC is its flexibility and if you don’t want or need flexibility consoles are a good choice but i think more and more people are appreciating the flexibility PC platforms have.
You don’t own your games on PC, unless you mean gog. Which you likely do not. You have an account and you pay to add games to that account. That is all.
1: you get to own your games
*Citation needed.
You absolutely do not. Even GOG is just a license to the game.
And it’s only marginally more expensive.
The hardware, yes. You can build a console-equivalent system for only a little bit more. It is far cheaper in the long run though. Games cost less, after all.
A mid-low end GPU is the same price as a console right now.
Mixing used and new hardware is the cheat code. A used RTX 2080 beats Xbox Series X and PS5, yet it can be found for only about 200 bucks. The rest of the hardware can be new. That’s how I did it.
I account for the online cost where you have to pay to play on servers the console creators don’t run.
How is point 1 in favor of PC? A physical console disc gives you far more ownership than a steam game. PC would be equal to consoles, but not better than them, if you exclusively buy games on gog. But then you miss out on most new games.
You don’t own games on Steam. You licence them - at any time they can be removed from your library.
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scout gaming
COVID Lockdown may have helped. PC has finally got a strong grasp on the eastern market over the last couple of years and the companies have followed suit. I think suggesting it’s due to the boom of vtubing may be a bit too specific but there seems to be a trend
The PC is the most important because everything else sucks and if you don’t make a Port of your stuff for it, some pirat will.
Pirates aren’t porting anything. The closest you could say are the decompilation projects, but they weren’t made with pirating in mind.
Pirates would probably just emulate it instead of going to the bother of porting.
Games like BOTW look pretty great in CEMU on a decent PC.
I mean in the end it does the same…
Not really, emulators can look better lol
Play better too.
And yet they are different things with different names.
And yet a non native speaker can mix em up sometimes when they ultimately do the same.
And this is your learning opportunity.
Well thanks PC Gamer, for that unbiased news.
Until GPUs get a sane price again, I’ll stick to my PS5 for anything that I want to look good.
Are there games for which you need a current GPU for to be able to play it with more than acceptable graphics? If you want to turn on all the fancy dongles to maximum, then there might be a few, but realistically, you don’t need that maximum fanciness to be able to enjoy the gameworld.
There’s definitely games where my 1060 really struggles even at minimal graphics. I even had to play Talos Principle 2 on PS5.
It’s rather telling that the most prominent PC exclusives (MMOs, etc) can run on a potato.
The Intel Arc GPUs looked interesting, but the lack of compatibility on older titles is off-putting. AMD lack the raytracing oomph and support isn’t as good as it is for DLSS. PC gaming has thrown all it’s chips in with Nvidia, and now it’s at the mercy of their pricing.
Eh, I game on AMD and it’s totally fine. I don’t use raytracing, but imo that’s a bit of a gimmick anyway and many people on NVIDIA disable it for better performance. FSR is pretty good as well, and it works in games that don’t support DLSS.
You can get a good AMD card for $300-400, and if you play a decent amount of older games (i.e. more than a year old), you’ll probably save a ton on games and that purchase will pay back for itself pretty quickly.
In fact, an upper mid-tier GPU from AMD will probably look better on average vs your PS5, especially on higher resolutions.
The 1060 is a 3 generations older mid tier card, released almost 8 years ago. Is it the 3gb or 6gb version? 3gb will be very gimped by now. If you want to keep playing demanding 3d games, then at some point you have to upgrade. I don’t think you need an overpriced current gen Nvidia cards to enjoy any modern title, but 3 generations might be pushing it a bit 😉
If you want to stick to Nvidia and want a reasonably priced option, then I would look for a second hand rtx 3060-12gb.
And yet still the third most popular card according to the Steam hardware survey.
Only the 1650 (similar spec to 1060) and 3060 above it.
I was hoping the 4060 would be the new mid tier go to card, giving good results at a good price, but Nvidia want the new normal to be a 4070 or higher.
By this point 4K screens are not some extravagance. They’re standard. You can’t even buy a modern TV less than that. PC gamers should not be accepting the price they have to pay to get what “lol potato console hurdur” gamers get out of the box.
The gtx 1650 only has 4gb ram, I wouldn’t call that similar to a 1060, I call it worse :). It’s an entry level + 2 generation older card, it’s going to be good enough for many titles still, especially indy ones, but new games that push graphics to new limits are just not going to work. Even when it was new, it was only really suitable for 1k gaming with compromises in the graphic settings.
Tbh, I don’t get why you’re so set on getting an Nvidia card. Unless you’re into vr or ai, amd and intel really aren’t bad choices. And since all current gen consoles are using AMD GPUs, all game engines + fancy games will be optimized for AMD gpus anyhow.
