Would you ever consider abandoning consoles entirely for PC in the future?

If handhelds don't count I haven't bought a Console since the Genesis-Mega Drive.

I've had always friends with consoles so it has not been an issue, the games I tend to prefer are on PC anyway, except for some japanese games. The recent push of japanese developers on PC has been very welcomed.

If Gundam Versus doesnt come to PC in the future I will end buying a console someday.
 
I did maybe 8 years ago. Grew up on SNES and N64, was an early adopter on Xbox live on the OG xbox and spent a few years on the X360. Reasons why I completely adopted PC:

Limitless backwards compatibility. I can load up KOTOR, or Neverwinter nights, or Halo CE or FFX, or SWAT 4 or STALKER or Age of Empires with a click of a button with virtually non-existent issues.

FPS's have always been one of my favorite genres, and I appreciate the fact there is a HUGE range of shooters out there that aren't COD or battlefield-esque. Do I want an immersive MilSim with giant landscapes and a focus on authenticity? Arma 3. Do I want a shooter with massive teams in a heavily team oriented arena? SQUAD. So I want shooters that are movement oriented and have high skill ceilings? Tribes, Quake,Reflex. Do I want Competitive FPS-RTS hybrids that offer matches that are never the same? Natural Selection 2

Racing games. Like FPSs, it's another slam dunk. Not only do you have peripherals that don't expire when MS or Sony say so *coughFanateccough*, there is simply no competitions when it comes to sim racing. Rfactor, (an active community in ) Assetto Corsa and PCars, Iracing, Race room experience, Automobilist and dozens of other games in the past ten years.

Huge swathes of games that dont/can't exist on console. FTL, Civilization, Anno, Strategy games,RimWorld.

Gaming communities. Online PC games generally breed stronger community's versus console games. Be it MMOs guilds, FPS teams, or racing and MOBA leagues. When online games don't rely on matchmaking constantly, having online communities is a great catalyst for long lifespans for a game.

Ease of use. Yea, I guess that's blasphemy in this thread, but double clicking on one of your hundreds of games on steam/origin/Uplay to launch it couldn't be easier...On top of download speeds that aren't embarrassingly slow.After installing windows(which I do maybe every three years), you just have to update drivers which is a one-click download you gotta do every few months.

Lifespan of hardware. Unlike a lot of misinformed rhetoric around here, PC hardware lasts a LOOONG time, though it wasn't true in the early 2000s. I have a backup rig with a i5 2500, a GTX 470 and 8 gigs of ram that can run any modern AAA game at medium-ish settings, and it's older than both the Xbox One and PS4.
 
I don't think so, I prefer having a Playstation because of the games. I don't care much about graphics or performance (I think the PS4 is already awesome)... But I do plan on having a powerful desktop at home and a chrome book to have on the go, so that I can remote access the pic from anywhere and do whatever I want easily. That could include some gaming as well.
 
Yes, I think I'm done with consoles now.
  • There's no long-term backwards compatibility any more - you now have to buy all your games again, if they grant you that privilege. Many times these new versions they sell are changed from/worse than the originals. I have better backwards compatibility emulating my old console games on PC now compared to the newer systems from those same companies.
  • The PS4/Pro and Xbox One are just lower-end PCs running custom software now. I cannot bring myself to essentially buy two separate lower-spec PCs in addition to the PC I already own, just for a handful of games. I would much rather spend that ~$800 (more if you bought a PS4 and then a Pro) on games or upgrading my PC.
  • There are too many restrictions on consoles. You can't even do things like choose what input device you want to use.
  • Virtually no control over the game's performance, image quality, or resolution. I can't do 30 FPS any more. No/low anisotropic filtering shouldn't be a thing. You're at the mercy of the developers, and many have different priorities than I do. I'll take any degree of graphical downgrade if it means the game runs at 60 instead of 30.
  • No upgrade path other than throwing out your old system and replacing it with a completely new one.
I don't really care for the direction that AAA gaming has taken, so most of the console exclusives do not interest me at all.
At this point I think that SEGA are the only company whose games I feel like I'm missing out on.
If they would release all their games on PC, I don't think I'd have any lingering desire to buy a console at all.
Yakuza 0 and Persona 5 are the only games that I'd be considering a console for right now.
 
I'm in the process of doing it. I sold my PS4 and bought myself a decent computer + Steam link for couch gaming. I don't have plans of buying a Switch and the only modern console I own is a 3DS. The Wii is mostly there for visits and parties.

I just don't have the time to justify having more than one platform, and if I am going to have only one, better have the best. The only thing I feel I will miss is Persona 5, and I hope somebody can lend me a PS4 for that. Unless it gets ported to Switch in a future, kinda like Persona 4 Golden.



The backstory is that from the moment I could afford a good PC consoles such as PS3 became auxiliary devices for exclusive titles. I tried using PS4 as my main gaming device due to a difficult economic bump and the experience was regrettable due to the mediocre framerate and big load times.
 
Not when a console is getting the likes of The Last Guardian, Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Nioh, Horizon and Persona 5 within the span of a few months, no.
 
I built us a gaming PC, and it's certainly awesome, but I literally can't play games like Bloodborne, Uncharted, God of War, Nioh, Persona 5, Horizon, The Last Guardian, Ratchet and Clank, etc, etc, on PC.

If Sony ever makes a move exclusively to PC, I'll go exclusively PC. Since I don't see that happening anytime soon, I'm sticking with the combo of PS4, PC, 3DS, and Vita. High resolutions and 120+FPS framerates are great and all, but I'm in this for the games. I go where the games go, and more than just a few fantastic games aren't on PC.
 
Melchiah said:
That's not a very smart thing to say.
Click to expand...

If developers don't want to support the millions of people that buy physical games by releasing a digital only console, why would I just let it be and pay for overpriced digital games? It's not worth it. granted the 'everything' part was hyperbole.
 
I haven't bought a console since the Wii U, and I have no plans to buy another one. It doesn't mean I won't, but at this moment in times it's very unlikely. PC is right for me.
 
I did just that about 4 years ago. A console only gamer since NES to the 360.

Now a PC only gamer and I love it. I don't feel like I'm missing much.
 
Not as long as they have exclusives. I considered giving up Xbox with all their games coming to PC, but Windows Store was an enormous hassle to get working, so not using that again.
 
I'm like a 95% PC gamer but as long as consoles has exclusives I don't see myself going 100% exclusively PC.

Now, if hypothetically every console game was on PC? Hell yes. Imagine never having to worry about backwards compatibility or 30fps ever again.

MindGamingMantis said:
PC is great for multiplats or mobas or shit like that.

That's reason enough not to get one. It has no exclusives that entice me.
Click to expand...

Do you mean this literally?
 
I did during the PS360 era. I used to own all available systems in addition to a pc but when I started playing World of Warcraft I started to move more towards the PC side and my PS3 was basically a Rock Band machine. I'm also not that into the exclusives and the whole sequels thing. When I played the first two Modern Warfare games they where just enough for me, same with the Uncharted games. I tend to gravitate towards games that I can play for longer periods of time and the games-as-a-service thing. When I started to get into Dota I was actually surprised by how many people around me were playing on PC, I got to know a lot of people around here through friends, and the most of them see playing on consoles as more of an anti-social activity than playing on the PC. That's probably because most of them played one MMO or another on PC and associate the social aspect of that more with PCs.

Whatever though, I do think people overthink the PC vs console stuff. I've never consciously switched 'sides', it just happened and I'm not ruling out that I could go back whenever something comes out that grabs my interest.
 
If Sony and Nintendo ever took up crossplay I would. Although honestly, even though I have a powerful and expensive PC and a vast steam library, its still more work to just play games on PC. Settings, tweaks etc. Every game reacts differently, one game will default to ultra and crush 100fps and then another will default to high and stutter until one setting is disabled. Lack of options on consoles is nice sometimes, even if it means settling for some middle ground.
 
I'm not really beholden to any one platform. I go were the games are. Since I switched from Xbox 360 to PS3 for Rock Band back in '07, it just so happens that Playstation is were the games have been. And looking over the next 3-4 years that really doesn't appear to be changing much.

At some point the PS4 will reach the end of it's life cycle and I'll have the same old choice to make - XBox? PS5? Switch? PC? - And which one I choose really does depend on my view of the upcoming gaming landscape at that time.

If Nintendo can get their shit together with Switch then, perhaps a Switch-2 would be the most interesting option. Microsoft continued play anywhere policy for XBox and PC means that with the right exclusives on offer then a Alienware Alpha might be a good alternative to a Scorpio or it's successor.

Time will tell.
 
No, too many exclusives still, especially with Nintendo. Exclusives from MS that interest me is nearly zero, so I probably won't get another MS console.
 
Yup. I've always primarily been a pc gamer and over the last few years spend less and less time on consoles. UMVC3 was the only reason I kept my 360 setup and it just dropped on pc. I still have my wii u set up in the bedroom for gamepad in bed but I'm going to stick in a steam link soon.
 
Sure, there's little keeping me playing on consoles (namely Xenogames on Nintendo) and 3/4 of my backlog is PC anyway. Which doesn't mean that I don't find enjoyment on consoles, actually I love handhelds, but my tastes are more aligned with the PC market and there's little fundamental exclusive for me elsewhere.
 
Last 3 games i bought are Yakuza Zero, Horizon and Zelda Breath of the Wild. In a few weeks it will be Persona 5 turn.
Until console exclusive games of this caliber will exist, there is no chance i would abandon consoles.
 
Purple_Orchid said:
If developers don't want to support the millions of people that buy physical games by releasing a digital only console, why would I just let it be and pay for overpriced digital games? It's not worth it. granted the 'everything' part was hyperbole.
Click to expand...

You aren't entitled to enjoy games without paying, just because they're digital. I take it, that you don't play much indie games, since most of them aren't available on retail?

Actually, the digital deluxe edition of Horizon Zero Dawn was cheaper than the physical limited edition (69,90€ vs. 74,90€), and the contents were the same.
 
Yes. As a software engineer I can't think about going home and fiddling with settings for hours (I made retro pie last week and spent 5 hours configuring and overclocking only to play for 30 minutes and at a significantly worse PS1 performance than any other Sony console provides
even 4, not working is better than working like that
).

Once I don't get to program at work anymore (if I go over more to the management side), I might want something to tinker with, so I might start playing on PC again. Abandoning consoles would require every console I own to stop working and me giving up any hopes of ever fixing them.
 
No but I'm bored to tears with my PS4 now. I think I'll play Uncharted 4 and Horizon and then stick with PC / Nintendo from then on.

Nothing pulls me in for the PS4 anymore.
 
back when 360 was pretty much "the" console i was gaming exclusively on PC because virtually everything was available on PC anyway. this gen with ps4 being the default console go-to i've gotten back into console gaming. i'll give it to sony, they really stepped up their exclusive game

traded in some games the other day, first time i've done that since 2005 or something.
 
Melchiah said:
You aren't entitled to enjoy games without paying, just because they're digital. I take it, that you don't play much indie games, since most of them aren't available on retail?

Actually, the digital deluxe edition of Horizon Zero Dawn was cheaper than the physical limited edition (69,90€ vs. 74,90€), and the contents were the same.
Click to expand...

I usually buy stuff off LRG if they get good/interesting indies. And I don't buy limited editions so I don't really care and I use the £.

I don't really want to argue I just hate digital games and the notion that console games are going down that path when it doesn't need to go down that path. The reason why digital took over on PC was because there isn't a standard when it comes to optical drives (some people still have DVD drives, others blu-ray) This isn't the case for consoles. and also you shouldn't have to pay 70 euros for a bloody digital game that's just beyond stupid.
 
Nah. I definitely see the logic if you're an xbox one or Ps4 owner not fussed with exclusives, the experience isn't that bespoke on either any more. As a huge Ninty platforms fan though, it's just a non starter. There is so much good stuff on 3ds, Wii U and fingers crossed the switch from both Nintendo and third party, drawing the line at pc would be mad. I do have a competent gaming pc and use it, but I wouldn't consider locking myself down to just it.
 
I'm closer to being PC only then I ever have been but I still end needing a console around for a decent amount of games. If consoles where to win me back to being more then an occasional purchaser again I'd want to see a much better effort towards providing as comprehensive as possible back compatibility then we have now. All the graphical extras on PC weren't what moved me there. It was being able to have most of my collection playable in the same place.

PC would certainly be the best one for me to stick with if I ever do go single platform.
 
Not entirely but I have thined out my spending habbits for a variety of reasons including financial constraints and being more critical when asking myself if I really see myself spending a lot of time with a certain piece of machinery.

I used to just get every console out there because why not.
This gen I decided not to get a Xbone because it doesn't apeal to me and I've recently sold my ps4 (the first time I've ever sold a console) because even though there are some cool things out there that are ps4 only there simply wasn't enough of it for me to justify keeping it.
Also, my nephew wanted one.

So, for now at least its just pc + Switch.
I love Nintendo's first party output far more than that of any other company and I'm a big fan of portable systems. I plan on using it as a Nintendo + Indie machine.
Being able to play those games both on the tv and portable all on the same system is a really big deal to me.
PC for everything else.

In other words, neither the ps4 or the Xbox One have enough exclusives that I want and the systems themselves don't do anything to make them stand out to me.
 
Unless consoles stop getting exclusives I like and my friends decide to migrate to PC, not really.

I am honestly quite happy with being on Ps4 for the time being. It has all the big third party games which look and run Fine IMO (even more so since I got a pro) , it has a good selection of indies (not as much as PC, but still a lot) and it has great exclusives that fit with my taste in games. The last game I played was the Last guradian, the one I'm playing now is Nioh and the next one I will play is Horizon.
Also the people I play online with are all on Ps4. Sure Battlefield 1 runs and looks better on PC, and yeah it's free to play online, but if my friends wouldnt be there to play with I wouldn't even bother playing the game.
 
Purple_Orchid said:
I usually buy stuff off LRG if they get good/interesting indies. And I don't buy limited editions so I don't really care and I use the £.

I don't really want to argue I just hate digital games and the notion that console games are going down that path when it doesn't need to go down that path. The reason why digital took over on PC was because there isn't a standard when it comes to optical drives (some people still have DVD drives, others blu-ray) This isn't the case for consoles. and also you shouldn't have to pay 70 euros for a bloody digital game that's just beyond stupid.
Click to expand...

Considering the variable internet speeds, and bandwidth caps, in different areas around the world, I don't think the digital future is going to be here next gen. It would work where I live, but I still prefer to buy certain games in physical form as well.

I dont think 70€ for a special digital edition, that has all the contents of the more expensive physical one, is too much. I was tempted to buy the digital version, as HD concept art that can be used as wallpapers is better for me than a small art booklet.
 
Nope, built a PC last year and still play on consoles, just cant be bothered messing round with setting and been told games run on my gpu /cpu (980ti 6700k) for them to run like crap.
 
Yes I am slowly pairing down.

I went from pc, 360, ps3, and wii to

PC, wii u and ps4 with no plans to get an xbone.

Now I have no plans to get a switch.

Might check out the next playstation depending on the exclusives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Xbox bet that Game Pass would be the future of gaming, and we're all paying for it - PC Gamer
2 3 4
188
3K
Yoda replied
  • Poll
What’s Cooler: Consoles or PC?
2
96
679
hououinkyouma00 replied
  • Poll
What outdated component would you put in a console?
2
76
1K
ForAcademicPurposes replied
What would you do if playing online on PC became paid?
Opinion  2
84
223
OLED_Gamer replied
Blood: Refreshed Supply - coming to PC & Consoles
24
238
SeasonedInTheAbyss replied
Top Bottom