But performance to price can't be beat! We talk about this every day several times a day. Think amd vs. Intel 'discussions'. I wouldn't call console just good enough. Besides, did you see the console case vs computer case? Its like hunk o'junk covered in fans and leds vs a neat looking book sized box. It's wonderful!
Let's look at that price argument of yours, shall we...
I can buy PC games for half the price, on average, of a console equivalent. As time goes by, that price gap only gets wider and wider. Up to the point of key sellers and Humble Bundles for as little as 1 EUR/$. With
multiple games in it. The only games excluded from this are AAA shortly after and prior to launch. But who buys that on release, because you get bug infested, server downtime junk anyway. Pre-ordering was never a good idea anyway - not even on PC.
Backwards compatibility is another factor of price. Consoles lack it. In fact, you can expect to be paying once again for old games you want to play again on a new console. Oh yeah, 'they remastered it'... which is in fact just a lazy upscale. On PC, your 'upscale' is just a setting or a slider (!), you have near infinite backwards compatibility and your entire games library is available at any point in time, for as long as your machine is up and running. What's more, on PC I can even install an emulator like PCSX2 and enjoy legacy
console content. All included/possible within that single PC purchase. The more (diverse) you play, the more it pays back.
Durability/reliability of service. Consoles die. Much faster than a PC. I've had to buy three PS2's because something died at some point. I have two PS3's and both have problems, one has a repaired BluRay lens but defective tray, the other has a crappy fan. That's already a strong PC's worth of hardware,
just for a single console gen (keep in mind that backwards compatibility story). And let's not speak of RRODs, or damaged discs, or just servers taken offline either.
So: price argument = not really true - EVEN if you just consider it for gaming and not everything else. A PC isn't more expensive, and the more games you play, the cheaper it gets. And I dare say that replay value of a PC game - any PC game - is potentially much higher. Because you can tweak and mod content. You can replay it on a higher quality when you've upgraded. Etc. The only real price argument is that the cost of entry for a console is lower. That's great if you can't save money, but if you can, a console is the worst way to spend it.
As far as price is concerned, with GPU pricing through the roof it is obvious this question pops up, but consoles don't even dabble in the high end (expensive) range of GPUs so I don't see the point here. Any midrange GPU can surpass console (4K) quality and we all know that console 4K render is lossy, lousy and blurry. You're still looking at low res assets. Its a nice illusion they got going on, but put it next to native 1080p and you can see what's really happening. None of the new consoles truly does native 4K - fár from it. In fact most engines now even provide the 'console toolbox' which is stuff like dynamic resolution scaling through a simple slider. That is how the consoles do their 4K, too. Upscale low res or apply a TX(SS)AA pass and checkerboard rendering. That's that 'console magic' for you... PC games run efficiently regardless, that is why I can run mine at 120 fps locked while a console struggles keeping 30.
Second argument: control.
On a console, you have no control over anything. You can't repair things proper, you can't host your own game, you can't mod your content. If a publisher decides 'enough is enough' (look at every CoD to date and its servers, and you know what's what, hell BLOPS 4 ****storm with tickrates and MTX is ongoing as we speak) then you're just screwed. On a console, your control extends to being able to turn it on and off, and push buttons on your pad. Commerce rules you, and as a consumer, that is the worst position to take. Let alone take for granted.
In return for a lack of control (and a higher price, as we've seen above) you get something almost every content provider thrives on: ease of use, accessibility, plug and play. Its how Netflix and Spotify gained traction, and it works for a lot of people. But just like consoles, you don't 'own' anything. You're literally a plaything of the content provider and its shareholders. You're literally in the worst possible position in terms of consumer rights and options.
Third argument: looks.
Are you a PC enthusiast, because if you are you know that you can easily build a sweet low profile ITX system with a midrange GPU that will be more quiet and much faster than any console today. Or you go slightly bigger and add options you like. There is no ugly PC because you choose how it looks. If you choose a fat ATX build then yes, a console will fit under the TV better. But why would you?
So, TL: DR if you think a PC is worse than a console you really didn't think it through, or you're just too casual to worry about it. Neither is a problem, but lets call a spade a spade. If you think PC (gaming) is dying, get in line, thousands have come and gone before you and PC gaming is the
only growth segment in a
declining marketplace. And the lack of control over our content is something that will pop up in everyone's life at some point, and at that point, the promise of the PC is just around the corner. Similarly, if you are any sort of professional, you know why PC and its freedom matters. Content creation happens here. It will never die as the breeding ground of new content or the main tool to tweak it. PC is the only platform that doesn't need a stimulus to 'gain traction' like every other app store in the world. It is self managed, self inspiring, self motivated, mankind at its finest really. Look at mod communities for a great example of that. Its free, and its really, really nice, because people pour their heart and soul into it. None of that can ever happen on a walled garden console and I struggle to understand how people can think that is a better place to be gaming in.
Console gaming is like ordering fast food every day: yes its easy, but you get fat, your sense of taste gets lost and you can't handle much else because it takes you out of your comfort zone. And if you ever get in the kitchen, you don't know how to cook either.
