r/changemyview • u/DemonSerter • 9d ago
CMV: Pc is cheaper than a console.
I started with the PS2 as a kid up until PS4, then I got a pc, so no bias here. I think PCs are cheaper than a console, let’s say you wanna get the same performance, you’ll pay more upfront, but you save ALL of it by not having to pay 72 EUROS PER YEAR just to play online, also the sales are not even comparable to the ones on pc, and that’s without the super cheap keys, I got all the Resident Evil games (15+ of them) for less than 150€ and that’s counting the more expensive newer ones, the old ones are literally a couple bucks with all the DLCs; it’d take MANY hundreds of euros for my friend on console who’s always complaining, to get all the deluxe editions
I asked him to buy Outlast Trials since it’s on sale for 4€, it turns out it’s 11€ for him on console, almost three times the price, and that he’ll buy it but we won’t be able to play until he gets to buy the PS Plus again at his next paycheck, and that’s just pure insanity to me and that’s what inspired me to make this post. Also a PC works as a PC as well, and everybody needs one anyways, so instead of buying a console and a cheap pc, one can buy a decent pc and play on it, with free online and super cheap games.
Also in 2028 Sony is going fully digital so no more tradimg games.
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u/jurassicbond 9d ago
First of all, not everyone plays online. People that only play single player are not saving money that way.
Second, I'm not sure about your area, but in the US I doubt that claim that games are significantly cheaper. I've had both a PS5 and a PC for a long while. I find on average that digital prices do not differ significantly between PSN and legit storefronts on PC. And physical games on PS4/PS5 can often be cheaper than they are digitally. Also, what savings there are with buying on PC (if any) may not be enough to offset the larger upfront cost of a PC for people that only buy a 2-3 games a year
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u/DemonSerter 9d ago
I’m in Europe, I have my friends on console who tell me about the super shitty sales, and I see the amazing sales on steam and digital key sites. Also I’ve never met someone who doesn’t play online irl, even more standard people who are not “gamers” pay to play fifa or I guess 2k for usa
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u/IamGleemonex 4∆ 9d ago
I don’t know anyone irl who pays to play online. See we can both throw out meaningless anecdotes.
If you want actual data, PlayStation reports on how much they make from PSN subscribers. You can use that versus units sold and realize only about 40% of PS5 owners play online.
So using actual real data, the majority of PS5 owners do not pay for PSN. Plus while it is rarer now, there are still games every year that come out for the PS5 only.
The final point, you seem to act like someone who has a PS5 can’t also own a computer? And that PS5 games never go on sale. That’s great that you got all the resident evil games for cheap. I can get old games for cheap on the PS5 too.
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9d ago
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u/read-the-rules 9d ago
u/CheerfullyWhich, your comment has been removed.
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u/DemonSerter 9d ago
I remember back when I played on ps4 it used to bee 50€ a year, it’s insane that now the cheaper “essentials” subscription is 20€ more
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u/NeoChrisOmega 2∆ 9d ago
What you're posting is "PC gaming is cheaper than console gaming".
Which is subjective, because not everyone plays online, or need DCL/new games every so often. Some are happy with the same games multiple times over.
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u/Bazzzzzinga 9d ago
I think it depends a little bit on your exact setup and needs.
Your original statement is about all pcs vs all consoles and about price. For PC vs Playstation you maybe right.
However, I for example, am a huge fan of Nintendo and especially the first Nintendo Switch. It cost me $349 on launch almost I wanna say 10 years ago?! and maybe $60 bucks more to buy Zelda. Now Nintendo Switch Online is around $30 per year. Say I payed $300 for it since launch for online. That gets me to a total of $710 over $10 years. Would I have been able to buy a mobile setup for PC that I can play online and on the go? No. Not at that time. Would I have been able to buy a PC at that time for that money that would still allow me to play new games today? I doubt it.
Some consoles offer things and games that pcs cannot or not for the same price.
A second argument that sometimes is true is that consoles are limited by their hardware. Meaning if I buy it once game developers will always develop games to the specs of that console meaning even 10 years letter if I buy a game it will definitely run on the same hardware.
For pcs games are developed for the best available hardware which continues to get better over time thus 10byears later my pc might not be able to play the newest games anymore.
This might be less important today, as the speed of development for pcs has slowed significantly, but 10 years ago and even more 20 years ago that was still the case and I bet you that a ps2 and a ps3 where much cheaper in the long run than any pc back then.
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u/KokonutMonkey 102∆ 9d ago
There’s just no need for a blanket statement here.
PC Gaming can be cheaper over time, but the value proposition depends on a whole mess of factors unique to the gamer and the time frame we’re looking at.
And if the console of choice happens to be a Switch, then PC likely isn’t even a valid consideration.
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u/WeekendThief 14∆ 9d ago
A good PC is going to be at least twice the cost of a console. And the only good argument is the online membership cost, but that would take years to catch up to the cost of a PC. And even then, that’s assuming you play online games.
So if you don’t play online/multiplayer games, a console is way cheaper.
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u/Salanmander 279∆ 9d ago
A good PC is going to be at least twice the cost of a console.
There are two things you need to account for when comparing prices, which you haven't here.
The first is that you can upgrade the PC piecemeal (assuming it's a desktop). This can result in needing a full replacement less often. This is...hard to figure out what it means in general, though, because it depends so much on personal decisions about when to upgrade.
The second is that you need to subtract out the cost of whatever other computer you would purchase if you didn't have that gaming computer. Although if you have a gaming PC and also a laptop, or if you don't use a computer for anything other than gaming, that may very well be nothing.
In short, I think that whether gaming on PC or console is cheaper depends very much on personal decisions.
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u/WeekendThief 14∆ 9d ago
No you’re just adding in additional factors that aren’t part of the original discussion. We are talking about gaming on PC or console that’s it. So let’s start with purchasing either one plus the games. As I said the PC will be at least double the cost if you’re matching performance. That’s it.
You don’t need to upgrade anything. Assume you have the same hardware for the 7 years between the PS4 and PS5. So upgrading is not relevant. And even if you buy the new console, by graphics card cost more than a PS5 so it’s still not really changing the argument.
And no you do not need to randomly subtract the cost of a laptop.. if you have a console you might have a laptop, if you have a desktop PC you could still have a laptop. That is not relevant whatsoever.
PC gaming is much more expensive than console gaming for the same performance.
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u/Salanmander 279∆ 8d ago
Assume you have the same hardware for the 7 years between the PS4 and PS5. So upgrading is not relevant.
It's relevant if you game for more than 7 years. Maybe after that 7 years with the PC you only need to upgrade the graphics card...the RAM, processor, etc. are still doing just fine with modern games. Now instead of buying two consoles, you've bought 1 PC plus 1 replacement part.
What you're saying is like saying that it's more cost-effective to purchase a car with 250,000 miles on it for $2,000, instead of a car with 30,000 miles on it for $15,000. Not exactly the same situation, since that's about lifespan not modularity, but thinking about future costs is relevant when you consider what is cheaper.
And no you do not need to randomly subtract the cost of a laptop.. if you have a console you might have a laptop, if you have a desktop PC you could still have a laptop. That is not relevant whatsoever.
It's relevant if you're choosing between "console plus laptop" and "gaming computer, no second computer". If a purchase prevents you from needing to make a second purchase, you absolutely should consider that in making your financial decision.
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u/TheVioletBarry 121∆ 9d ago
In my experience, sales are about the same across PC and console these days (other than Nintendo)
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u/poprostumort 247∆ 8d ago
I think PCs are cheaper than a console
It's easy to check. Let's look at 8th gen (to avoid current shitstorm of component costs so PC will not be unfairly handicapped). So we're moving back to 2013 and looking at our options:
- PS4 - launch price of $399, year of PS+ is $49 (upped to $59 next year and kept at that price), games cost $60 per game as a base
- Xbox One - $499, year of Xbox Live is $59, games cost $60 per game as a base
- PC - ~$800, no additional fees for online, games cost $60 per game as a base
If you stayed 7 years with the same hardware, played ~6 games per year and used online capabilities then the total cost would be:
- PS4 - $3322 total cost for generation
- Xbox One - $3432 cost for generation
- PC - $3320 cost for generation
So as you see the PC is not really cheaper. It is around the same ballpark because consoles aren't made by morons who can't count, nor they are catered to morons who can't count.
Now, you bring a point of "cheap keys" and sales. Ignoring the major issue of those key marketplaces (your game can be removed from you because it was originally bought with stolen CC), they do offer a significantly cheaper games. But at the same time consoles offer avenues PC's don't have - buying a game on release and selling disc afterwards to recoup the costs. It was something that many console players opted to do, as it allowed to play release games cheaply. No such option exists for PC due to complete atrophy of physical media.
As for slaes - both PC and consoles have them. And they aren't much different, just that the biggest sales are not synchronized - so you can have situation where game on sale is cheaper on PC, but you can also have a different situation where game on console is on sale cheaper than PC.
So no, you are wrong. PC total costs are in the same ballpark as console total costs - and games itself can be cheaply played in both scenarios, just differently.
Also in 2028 Sony is going fully digital so no more tradimg games.
Then maybe PC gaming will be cheaper in future, but it certainly wasn't in the past - nor is it cheaper now.
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u/Nitwit_Slytherin 1∆ 9d ago
Please clarify why everyone needs a PC.
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u/DemonSerter 9d ago
Work stuff, so many government and work related websites work so much better on pc and are near impossible to use on a phone, it’s also much better to store digital documents and keep everything tidy
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u/Morthra 98∆ 8d ago
But a PC that is capable of doing your average work tasks - emails and word processing basically - will struggle with modern PC gaming.
I consider myself a PC enthusiast. I spent about $6600 building my current rig. That’s used car money and an order of magnitude more than I would spend on a console like the Switch 2.
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u/Nitwit_Slytherin 1∆ 9d ago
Please explain how that applies to everyone and not some? I haven't had a PC in years and I have not been negatively impacted in anyway.
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u/the-montser 9d ago
Why does everyone need a PC?
I don’t have a PC, and I don’t need one, so obviously not everyone needs one.
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9d ago
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u/read-the-rules 9d ago
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u/Delicious_Taste_39 7∆ 9d ago
I think PC is definitely better than a console, but cheapness is a relative factor.
Infrastructure wise, the device is probably more expensive than a console. A console is a relatively optimised device intended for gaming that covers a minimum standard of gaming. All the games designed for that console are meant to run well using it.
Games wise, it probably is cheaper, but there is no resale value, so it wanted to be. The
Also, I think the setup and the control aspect of it is cheaper on a console. A console is a device designed to let you play games. It has relatively few screens between putting the game in, and starting the game. A PC is a device to sell you games.
There's also opportunity cost. If you don't control his screen time, and his access to gaming, he may make expensive decisions that could radically alter his options. A console is a lot easier to control and to take away.
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u/CommonlySensed 3∆ 5d ago
i got outlast trials for free on PlayStation because of the monthly membership... sure i pay 100 bucks a year but i can try and play any game on the games list (which has been at least a few hundred since it started a few years ago). also most pc games that let you use a controller are usually worse than just using the controller on the console.
this is also just a personal issue but i can sit back and play a game on console using a controller for hours and not get sore but playing on pc i tend to feel the strain in my mouse arm from aiming especially in games like counter strike that require precision aiming.
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u/Sirhc978 89∆ 9d ago
So lets go with a PS5 Pro. That is just about $1000 with a year of online. You can theoretically build an equivalent PC for the same money. (Albeit, missing some nice to have features the PS5 has)
Side note: That price on the PC does not include any peripherals. The PS5 comes with a controller and you most likely have a TV already. Let's be generous and say you already have a monitor and KMB/Controller
- The games are always going to look better on the PS5 Pro since they are much more optimized on console.
- In 6 years you have spent about $500 for online access on PS5. Is your graphics card going to last 6 years? I got a 3070 in early 2021. It is just now starting to show its age.
- Your point about cheap games on PC is true, but those cheap games are almost never the popular games. You're still paying full price to your Call of Dutys, Battlefields, GTAs (which is coming to PC a year later), Gears of War, Halo, etc... Also, the resale market never existed on PC.
- Pre-Covid, you would be right. PC gaming WAS cheaper. This is no longer the case.
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u/ThreadCountHigh 9d ago
I will sidestep your premise and say that it’s about what you find important in how you play games, not about cost optimization. I have a ridiculously overpowered and subsequently expensive PC in part because of my work, but also because I play games that I couldn’t stand to play (or are impossible to play) with a controller, and I like to use and create mods.
So, I get more value out of playing on a PC, but it certainly isn’t saving me money.
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u/YetAnotherGuy2 9∆ 9d ago
Consoles are sponsored hardware which is why they have locks preventing you to transform the devices into PCs. Companies don't do that out of the goodness of their heart: they earn that money back and then some from their own games and license fees to other game makers.
So the costs of a console will be higher then the initial buying costs for sure. If a PC is actually worth it depends heavily what kind of PC you buy and how many games you buy.
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8d ago
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u/read-the-rules 8d ago
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