There are both pros and cons to either, PC gaming for starters is expensive considering today’s economic landscape considering handheld PC’s a cheaper alternative. Console gaming (Switch, XBOX, PS) cost less than a full desktop PC (let alone a gaming laptop), there are consoles for indoor use only (PS5) and portable / hybrid (like the Switch). Each format has exclusive titles.
Console can be good value but paid online and no physical discs is destroying that. And thats the only thing consoles have… As a tech enthusiast a pc just does so many things that aren’t possible on a console including gaming related and not its not even a contest
PC versatility is unmatched by consoles and i can still play some of my favourite games from PS1 and PS2 using an emulator and the few exclusives aren’t enough for me to throw money at a console.
I used to be a console gamer, then switched to PC when I could finally afford a good one. I think PC is way superior to console gaming, but I’ve come around on handheld gaming. I didn’t like the Switch 1 back in the day but now I’m in love with the Switch 2.
I also have a Steam Deck but I’m not that attached to it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely amazing, but just being able to take my steam library on the go is not useful for me. It’s the Nintendo exclusives that make it for me.
But consoles like the PS5/XBox make absolutely no sense in my eyes.I prefer the steamdeck.
It run on linux arch and that’s a small desktop. It is less expensive than a gaming laptop.
And my current laptop has longer battery. It is lighter without gpu and has more relability than a gaming laptop.
The cons are Valve drm.
the cons are valve drm
I’ve heard gog is working on an official Linux client, so that will be that problem solved
I tried giving console gaming a shot but it’s not my thing. My PS4 is by far the most useless piece of tech I’ve ever owned. I probably haven’t started it in 3 years.
I’m not much of a gamer anymore anyway, but when I play I’m using a PC. Mouse + keyboard is far superior for aiming though for driving I prefer a controller - that’s the only useful piece of the PS4.
Except you can also use a controller on PC…
That’s why I said the controller was the only useful piece of the PS4.
I still have my old PS4. It’s now used exclusively as a dvd player for when I borrow blue ray discs from the library 😬
Well, to me the question comes down to where you want to play.
Consoles are arguably better in bed relaxing (and yes, there’s ways to do that on pc, but it isn’t the default setup). PCs have the advantage if you want a more fully immersive setting where you’re upright and focused.
Now, please remember that this is mypreference set, and doesn’t automatically apply to others, despite the use of the casual inclusive “you” up there. It should probably be “one” but sometimes I prefer to use you in the same way for my own pleasure.
Just like how, in my old age, I prefer the comfort of a couch or bed vs even the most comfy computer chair I’ve found. However, I generally dislike consoles themselves. The whole locked in ecosystem thing with limitations on gear and extra costs to play online just annoy the fuck out of me. I still prefer the experience of pc gaming overall, but end up not using my desktop hardly at all.
Luckily, the steam deck exists! Best of both worlds. With a docking station and controller, you aren’t even limited to the small screen size. It really is my preference for gaming now. If I really want m&k play, I have a great little mechanical keyboard an even greater friend gave me, and a wireless mouse that does okay for most games. Which, I do that sometimes, even if I’m playing in bed and not docked. It’s a little trifling to set up, but my arthritis gets tired of holding the deck, and aren’t happy with a controller either.
I’m going to be sad if/when my deck dies. No way I can afford to replace it, and parts aren’t guaranteed to always be available.
But, yeah, if limited to standard pc gaming vs a console, my body makes the console the default.
Which small mechanical keyboard do you use? I just got a steam machine and trying to figure a way to mouse and keeb on the couch. I have a small split keyboard that’s fine, and a wireless mouse and a little lap desk. It’s all fine, works well for Internet browsing and watching downloaded media on the TV. But I have yet to game with the setup as I find myself naturally choosing games that use the controller. I’d love to play BG 3 or seven days to die in the living room, but… Too many radials make my ADHD head spin.
It’s a kisnt kn85. It’s not tiny, but it’s compact enough to comfortably sit on my knee. 13 inches, plus a tad
https://kisnt.net/products/kisnt-kn85-wireless-mechanical-keyboard
Keys are gentle, but responsive; just enough clack to be pleasant. As a gaming keyboard, I like it better than my Logitech wireless, or my wired Microsoft natural ergo. As a general typing keyboard, well it’s my favorite non ergonomic because the key response really is perfect for my hands. I tend to prefer full size for serious writing, and need an ergonomic if I’m going to be at it for extended times (like editing a book), but for comfy typing around the house? Bang on.
I feel you with radials getting a tad overwhelming. I cope well, and I’m not diagnosed, but it’s easy to get lost, especially since bg3 in particular likes to occasionally move things around. I’ve put in a few thousand hours on that game, and I still get a little frustrated running a wizard or cleric. Other casters, I tend to use a more limited range of spells, so I can just ignore anything past the first two radials.
Thank you very much? I’m going to check this out soon!
Pc hands down.
I was out of the console game when my PS3 died probably a decade ago. But I just picked up a ps5 for gta6 and I’m gobsmacked by how bad the experience is. A monthly fee to go online, a monopoly on digital games making games stupidly expensive. A very lackluster games library, no keyboard and mouse support, and in terms of cost it’s barely cheaper than a gaming PC which is obviously infinitely more flexible. A ps5 is a mediocre toy that says “fuck you” to it’s owner, every chance it gets
I just prefer playing good games. But when the game is on everything, I prefer PC for three reasons:
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Power. Even if I have a weak PC, I can upgrade it.
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Modding.
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No extra charge for online multiplayer.
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I used to be PC all the way, then I hurt my back and couldn’t sit in a chair for very long, so now I play console. Given the recent bullshit with Sony, I’m going back to PC on my laptop and hope for the best.
I mean it’s easy enough to hook a PC up to a tv and use a controller. I don’t know why people act like couch gaming is some console exclusive thing that can’t be done on PC. I have my PC hooked to the TV and a monitor at my desk so I can use either, and I have wireless controllers for multiplayer/coop games.
I’ve tried and it just doesn’t work for me, I can do that with my laptop though.
Hello fellow back problem person. I’m the same way, I can’t sit in my PC chair for hours like I used to, it doesn’t matter how comfortable the chair is. I have a sit/stand desk now and I tend to game standing more often. It’s really helped a lot! Otherwise, I’ll game on my Steam Deck in the comfortable living room chair.
That’s a good idea I may try that, thanks
No problem! I hope it works for you. I’m fused from T10-L3 and I prefer to stand whenever possible. I even stand while watching tv but hamstring stretches really help on moderate pain days.
More than ever, consoles seem like a worse PC. I had the displeasure of interacting with an xbox a week ago, it seemed kinda ass and wouldn’t recognize the controller i brought over.
I generally prefer general purpose devices over anything that is locked down. So I’d go with PCs and anything that can have a fully functional FOSS OS (Got an Android handheld that fully runs Linux, it’s a literal PC running ARM this way)
I have a decent PC with a long optical HDMI running from my office to the living room TV and a Switch 2.
The order I play from most to least is:
- Switch 2 handheld
- Switch 2 docked
- PC on the TV
- PC at my desk
Switch 2 handheld wins for me, because I can play in the living room while my wife watches TV. I very rarely sit at my desk to play games anymore.
I’ll always be a PC player, every console I’ve owned has just become a dust collector. The last console I seriously played over a PC was the Super Nintendo.
I’ve gone from 15 years of PC, to a few years on console, then back to PC.
I enjoyed gaming on the couch, but I missed the modularity and multi functions of PC’s.
If Sony follows through with removing discs, then I’m probably gone from consoles forever.I’m going to go with PC. Mostly due to the majority of games I play don’t agree well with playing with a controller and aren’t in consoles. I also feel like you get a larger variety of games in general when on PC that you couldn’t ever experience on console. That being said, there’s something to be appreciated about lounging on the couch and enjoying a favorite that is in a a console.
That being said, there’s something to be appreciated about lounging on the couch
I kind of feel like there’s a lot of room for the office chair to evolve.
And I don’t mean those “gaming chairs”. Like, how practical would it be to have something more like an easy chair on casters with a swivel “desk tray” for a keyboard and mouse?
Historically, one had to sit up at a desk to write and work on paper and keep a collection of related documents for whatever one is working on present. But…I don’t do much of that these days. I’m basically always looking at a computer screen. My documents are almost all electronic and laid out virtually, not on a slab of dead wood. I don’t need a big surface to lay them out on. Most of what I think most people are looking at could be handled by a monitor on an arm with a VESA mount—it’s why you see “laptop bars” and tiny standing desks.
Maybe you want to keep a traditional desk surface somewhere and a chair that can roll under it for times when you are working on physical objects. But I feel like the “computer work environment” has just kind of stagnated over the years while what many of us actually do there has changed an awful lot over the past 30 years or so.
