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[BeforeU]

I find PC expensive and inconvenient for my need. Also, Xbox sales sinking no doubt but PlayStation is making a killing. They are already ahead of PS4 numbers and there hasn't even been any price drop. So yeah, console gaming is far from over bruh. Nice try though

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

L

lol Xbox controller is way better than the dual sense

Keep smoking that crack buddy ...the only argument one could make regarding series x' controller is that the d pad is better but then you realize how loud and obnoxious the sound it makes is and you realize it's inferior in every single way.

To his original point the Dual Sense is not only better, its a significant factor in peoples decisions to buy a game on PS5 instead of SX, if someone owns both consoles based on the haptics alone. The controller is one of many areas Sony has outsmarted and outplayed MS this gen afa sales, contributing to more sales of both consoles and individual game purchases. I have both consoles and unless the SX version has significantly better performance, im buying the ps5 version of a game every time.

 

[Humdinger]

I do not know why this needs to be said over and over again but: there are many gamers, and I would say they are still the majority, that do not like gaming on PCs. As long that is the case, even if the games are being released date/day on PC, consoles still have a place. They are expanding to PC for more money due to a market being there, but there is still a console market.

Go to a house with multiple children, and tell me how many families are able to afford more than one gaming PC. You will not find too many of them.

Just because gaming on a PC fulfills all of your gaming needs, it does not mean it is the same for everyone else. For me, I could build a $3,500+ monster of a gaming PC right now if I wanted to, and it would not impact me financially. However, I prefer gaming on consoles, so therefore I won't do it.

Console gaming is alive and well. Just because you are no longer in that space and fill a need for yourself, it does not mean others are not still in that space.

Yeah, I'm baffled by the tunnel vision and why this keeps needing to be said. A lot of people don't want the hassle of PCs; they prefer the plug-and-play simplicity of a console. That's especially true of people who are not on GAF - the casual gamer - but it's true of many on GAF as well (including me).

The console market is a 40 billion dollar a year industry. It's not going anywhere.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Price of a gaming pc is literally all the consoles have left. I'm not sure that's gonna change tho. But for sure, if you can afford a pc, it's the way to go.

Which circles back to OP's original point
..people are rediculing him but he's right in that Sony and MS have both willingly made moves that have weakened their console platforms and made PC even more advantageous. As a console gamer ive felt like both Sony and MS have taken a big dump on us this gen and failed to live up to many of the "promises" they were making back in 2019/2020 ...

For example: lack of true next gen games that take advantage of the features of RDNA2. Not utilizing the SSD's in the way Cerny laid out ...not updating first party engines to behave similarly to UE5 to allow "next gen" games to have "next gen" features- like Ray Tracing, mesh shaders, etc

With both companies pivoting towards subscriptions and multiplat on PC, they're spreading resources thinner= less time and $$ to tap into a consoles ability to make next gen games. GaaS focus has contributed to this too, just look at Sony right now and how little they have to show for themselves coming up in 2024-2025.

Backwards compatibility. We all know how inferior BC is on consoles compared to PC. This was supposed to be a big focus this gen however, esp from the mouths of Microsoft with their touting of RDNA2 features and ai upscaling that never came. They were talking about FPS Boost and next gen optimization patches for games ...they even collaborated with Digital Foundry to show off the tech ...remember Minecraft with RT gi? Remember they showed DF a build of Gears of War Ultimate at 4k/60? Yeah, neither of those games ever actually got patched. They did FPS boost on a decent amount of games but completely forgot about updating RESOLUTION of these BC games! So we're left with a bunch of 60 fps games with shit resolution- who wants to play a game at 720p on a 4k tv? Then they shut down their BC program entirely.

Both MS and Sony never bothered to patch some of the most wanted pa4/xbox one exclusives like Sunset Overdrive, Driveclub, the Order, FH3, dead rising 3, ryse, gears 1 ultimate and Bloodborne ...meanwhile on PC most of these games can be played at higher resolution and 60 fps

Sony has also neglected the PS3 catalogue entirely but on PC these games can be emulated fairly well. It's embarassing actually but when you have people like Phil S and Jim Ryan running the company then it shouldn't be a surprise.

One final note as to why console gaming is being treated like a red headed step child is the refund/return policies of all 3 companies. Sony is easily the worst of the 3 but all 3 absolutely suck ..or not having a way for people who don't care about subscription services or monthly "free" games to be able to play online games for free.

All these things matter in this discussion of why consoles are looking worse and worse this gen!

 

[JayK47]

Between consoles being dead, and PC having died years ago, how will I play games?

 

[iQuasarLV]

Which circles back to OP's original point
..people are rediculing him but he's right in that Sony and MS have both willingly made moves that have weakened their console platforms and made PC even more advantageous. As a console gamer ive felt like both Sony and MS have taken a big dump on us this gen and failed to live up to many of the "promises" they were making back in 2019/2020 ...

For example: lack of true next gen games that take advantage of the features of RDNA2. Not utilizing the SSD's in the way Cerny laid out ...not updating first party engines to behave similarly to UE5 to allow "next gen" games to have "next gen" features- like Ray Tracing, mesh shaders, etc

With both companies pivoting towards subscriptions and multiplat on PC, they're spreading resources thinner= less time and $$ to tap into a consoles ability to make next gen games. GaaS focus has contributed to this too, just look at Sony right now and how little they have to show for themselves coming up in 2024-2025.

Backwards compatibility. We all know how inferior BC is on consoles compared to PC. This was supposed to be a big focus this gen however, esp from the mouths of Microsoft with their touting of RDNA2 features and ai upscaling that never came. They were talking about FPS Boost and next gen optimization patches for games ...they even collaborated with Digital Foundry to show off the tech ...remember Minecraft with RT gi? Remember they showed DF a build of Gears of War Ultimate at 4k/60? Yeah, neither of those games ever actually got patched. They did FPS boost on a decent amount of games but completely forgot about updating RESOLUTION of these BC games! So we're left with a bunch of 60 fps games with shit resolution- who wants to play a game at 720p on a 4k tv? Then they shut down their BC program entirely.

Both MS and Sony never bothered to patch some of the most wanted pa4/xbox one exclusives like Sunset Overdrive, Driveclub, the Order, FH3, dead rising 3, ryse, gears 1 ultimate and Bloodborne ...meanwhile on PC most of these games can be played at higher resolution and 60 fps

Sony has also neglected the PS3 catalogue entirely but on PC these games can be emulated fairly well. It's embarassing actually but when you have people like Phil S and Jim Ryan running the company then it shouldn't be a surprise.

One final note as to why console gaming is being treated like a red headed step child is the refund/return policies of all 3 companies. Sony is easily the worst of the 3 but all 3 absolutely suck ..or not having a way for people who don't care about subscription services or monthly "free" games to be able to play online games for free.

All these things matter in this discussion of why consoles are looking worse and worse this gen!

Preach it. Pretty much all that was how I felt at the tech conference back in 2019 for Sony. Cerny touted the SSD feature like it was going to revolutionize what had been there since 2012 to PC consumers. All Sony did was make SSD mainstream so that developers no longer coded for slow ass HDD speeds. Overnight the market re-positioned to games utilizing around 200MB/s transfers up from 66MB/s (30MB/s from PS4). Otherwise they did nothing new this generation.

Also, they went the 'Netflix of video games' route alongside Microsoft pushing features that were once part of the system purchase behind a paywall. While trying to have their cake and eat it too with $70 purchase exclusivity games. The problem this gen, that Sony figured out late in the PS3 into PS4 generation, is sticking to a single business strategy and honing it. Now they don't know what the f*** they want to do. They want to be Apple with its closed ecosystem but cannot figure out how to do it right.
The 15 WORST Decisions Sony Has Ever Made
Living through all of that makes it hard to buy into a product when you have all that hanging around driving purchasing decisions.

 

[avin]

People in this thread have repeatedly pointed out Sony and Nintendo are doing fine, while Xbox obviously isn't. That's true. But I think an important question is the overall number of consoles sold. If that number isn't growing, or is shrinking, then there is a real problem.

It's possible Sony and to a lesser extent Nintendo are holding strong by cannibalizing "Xbox sales", but the console market as a whole could still be failing to grow. No idea if this is true or not, but it seemed worth asking.

avin

 

[Woopah]

Seems like their plan is to make everything timed exclusive. Now there is talk about Indiana Jones coming later to PS5.
In short they’re copying Sony’s PC strategy.
And I don’t use my PS5 anymore so that’s how great that strategy is. People will stay on the platform they prefer, especially if the delays are half a year, that’s nothing,

They are trying to find a balance between making money from first party software, while still pushing hardware sales with exclusives.

Let's see how well they do.

Sony is doing something similar, but they are under far less pressure to boost hardware sales.

 

[Hudo]

Between consoles being dead, and PC having died years ago, how will I play games?

We're all doomed to play mobile games.

 

[Fess]

They are trying to find a balance between making money from first party software, while still pushing hardware sales with exclusives.

Let's see how well they do.

Sony is doing something similar, but they are under far less pressure to boost hardware sales.

Let see how well they do? I think we’re already seeing it. 1 mil gamers rather ignored Sea of Thieves for 8 years than bought a Xbox to play it. Timed exclusives is not enough. The vast majority will stay on the platform they prefer.
And if they know the games will arrive in just 6 months then I guarantee that it won’t lead to more hardware sales. 6 months is nothing, just means the game will be patched up.

 

[BlackTron]

People in this thread have repeatedly pointed out Sony and Nintendo are doing fine, while Xbox obviously isn't. That's true. But I think an important question is the overall number of consoles sold. If that number isn't growing, or is shrinking, then there is a real problem.

It's possible Sony and to a lesser extent Nintendo are holding strong by cannibalizing "Xbox sales", but the console market as a whole could still be failing to grow. No idea if this is true or not, but it seemed worth asking.

avin

The issue I see here is there are two competitors doing very well, and doing it while having unique strengths and strong game releases. I'm sure some people "converted" from Xbox, but whose to say they wouldn't also be doing well with unique strengths and strong game releases? There are only so many gaming dollars to go around but we don't know we are at the upper limit of what total console sales could be if Xbox didn't suck.

 

[Matsuchezz]

At this point there is literally no reason not to be on your PC exclusively with Steam installed. Even with both today’s console, neither company is even technically playing to their strengths in terms of hardware and software design which has allowed the PC to be a far better experience. With out Nintendo, console gaming is essentially done (obviously there’s emulation sabotaging Nintendo’s latest console but for argument sake..). What’s the reason behind Sony and Microsoft throwing in the towel?

I hate windows OS.is so stupid and cumbersome.
I don’t like launchers so steam is a no for me.
I dont have the time nor patience to be dealing with so many updates.

I pass on Pc maybe when I retire I will have time to deal with pc.
And another thing I am
Behind a monitor all day long to be behind a fucking desktop some more.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Behind a monitor all day long to be behind a fucking desktop some more.

My favorite mental gymnastics.

 

[Fess]

I hate windows OS.is so stupid and cumbersome.
I don’t like launchers so steam is a no for me.
I dont have the time nor patience to be dealing with so many updates.

I pass on Pc maybe when I retire I will have time to deal with pc.
And another thing I am
Behind a monitor all day long to be behind a fucking desktop some more.

Don’t know if you’ve already tried. But if you connect your PC to a TV and boot into Steam, and skip other launchers, you only see Windows for maybe 5 seconds when you first power it up.
After that it’s like having a console and you can game from the couch as usual with a controller.
It’s how I do it. My PC in the living room is now my PS5 and Xbox Series X.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Don’t know if you’ve already tried. But if you connect your PC to a TV and boot into Steam, and skip other launchers, you only see Windows for maybe 5 seconds when you first power it up.
After that it’s like having a console and you can game from the couch as usual with a controller.
It’s how I do it. My PC in the living room is now my PS5 and Xbox Series X.

All concepts too hard for some warriors.

 

[BlackTron]

Who even needs big picture. Launch game with mouse from TV. Oh no, my experience

 

[Midn1ght]

Who even needs big picture. Launch game with mouse from TV. Oh no, my experience

You don't even need a mouse.
Hold PS / Xbox Button on the controller - move cursor with right stick - click with R2 / RT

I know...

 

[BlackTron]

You don't even need a mouse.
Hold PS / Xbox Button on the controller - move cursor with right stick - click with R2 / RT

I know...

Yeah I've used this but it's a finicky way to launch a game and if it was your only way I wouldn't blame you for wanting a console. It's like the backup plan lol. Mouse exists anyway just in case I want to do practically anything else with the PC other than be in-game. To make everything sexy and smooth in advance, you need quite a few shits to give in advance, which to me is the antithesis of console gaming in the first place. But anyone can just launch the damn game and play come on it's not that bad.

I use a desk for FPS games but there are some mouse games that work pretty well from the couch too like Kingdom Rush. At least on PC you can choose what controller you will use *in the game* where it matters. The second I run into a control problem in a console game I could solve on PC easily, the way it's launched becomes meaningless.

 

[rodrigolfp]

You don't even need a mouse.
Hold PS / Xbox Button on the controller - move cursor with right stick - click with R2 / RT

I know...

Can also use trackpads on DS4/DS5.