Pachter on why consoles are becoming obsolete

[noiseredux]

he has a pretty cherry rig other than that.

except for his microphone?

[Ack]

he has a pretty cherry rig other than that.

except for his microphone?

The headset is a $20 POS with loose wiring. I keep it, but half the time I speak like every other word is missing just because. When you complain about not understanding me, then I definitely do it for the next hour.

Then again, if you were any good at video games, maybe you wouldn't need to understand what I was telling you to do.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I give up. The PC and Mobile elitists win, I'll quit gaming now.

If you didn't want help, you could have just said that.

It's more like he just doesn't want to like PC gaming at all.

I don't like PC gaming and that will never change. But since things are apparently changing and I'm in the wrong, it does mean I will have to quit gaming. One of the few things I have in life, and I'll have to drop it.

[MrPopo]

I don't like PC gaming and that will never change. But since things are apparently changing and I'm in the wrong, it does mean I will have to quit gaming. One of the few things I have in life, and I'll have to drop it.

That's life sometimes. You get into an internet discussion and take your ball and go home.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I hate sports too. That analogy has no meaning.

[MrPopo]

Turns out this is the second time I've linked this image; Google image search had Racketboy as the source for this.

[marlowe221]

Marlowe, this is why companies like Alienware and Cyber have started putting out their 'Steam Machines' though. These are gaming PC's that are made to look and act like traditional consoles. There's no research involved. No assembling of parts. Heck, in the case of the Alienware you don't even need a keyboard and mouse as it uses a custom UI over Windows 8 that is operated completely by wireless controllers. You won't even ever see Windows 8 unless you want to.

http://www.alienware.com/landings/steammachine/
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

And when the SteamOS and controller finally get a public release, I think you will see a lot more of this concept. You've got the openness of PC gaming but in a familiar "console-like" couch-ready package.

Yeah, Steam machines are a thing that exists.

I followed the links you provided.

The cheapest Alienware Steam machine I saw is either $479.99 or $499.99 depending on which page of their site you look at.

The Cyberpower PC link does not show anything labeled a "Steam Machine." I don't see anything on that site that is as powerful or more powerful than a PS4 or Xbox One at a price that is competitive with the consoles. Do you?

Meanwhile a PS4 is $399 and an Xbox One is $349.99. I think you can get a game with an Xbone at that price too.

All I'm saying is, a person can look at the prices involved and conclude that one of the consoles is the way to go for him/her and not be considered a crazy person. In fact, lots of people do.

People also have to buy a television for a console to work. Did you factor in the cost of that?

Since you're looking at this from the perspective of someone who doesn't own either a PC, a console, or any related parts whatsoever though, you also have to consider what else a PC can do. You also built yourself a device with access to literally thousands of more games, as well as access to everything else a computer is capable of, including all manner of software ranging from financial documentation to word processors, Internet access, email and other communication tools, the ability to develop your own games or programs, the ability to stream a wide range of media or save it on your own device, data storage, access to peripherals such as printers and scanners, image generation and modification tools, so on and so forth.

If you see your PC as a device for solely gaming...well, you're looking at it all wrong. You can build a desktop for cheap that does a variety of other functions to help in society that are completely not gaming related, one that doesn't have to be very powerful. And once you have already built a PC of some kind, you can upgrade it piecemeal, to spread the cost out over time at much lower costs than a new console. It may cost more overall, but you don't have to buy it all in a single go, like you do with a console. And you can continue to upgrade it over time in ways you cannot with a console.

Conceivably you could have built a machine capable of playing games from 2008 for reasonably cheap and then slowly upgraded your device over time based on your needs without ever taking the sudden financial spike that a console would have cost you. Unless you absolutely need the top of the line stuff to play your games...

...in which case you wouldn't be buying a console in the first place, because they're not top of the line anyway.

Well, then shouldn't we also consider the cost of electricity?

Dude. You are preaching to the already converted, man. All I am saying is that I don't see consoles going the way of the dinosaurs just yet and for one main reason - it's still easier and cheaper than getting into PC gaming.

Once you get over the cost of entry then I think there is a good argument to be made that PC gaming is significantly cheaper (i.e. Steam sales), though the consoles are fighting back (i.e. PSN sales).

But cost of entry for playing modern games? Consoles still win that contest. Yeah sure, you need a TV but if you don't already have a TV you aren't buying a console anyway so...

But what about PC gaming (I can already hear you asking)? Who doesn't already own a computer?

Sure, most people own a computer of some kind these days. But increasingly, those computers are laptops and tablets - not desktops. Why does that matter? Because if you own a laptop or a tablet then you don't have a nice monitor that you can re-use when you build your gaming PC. You have to buy one. Then again, most of the gaming PC build guides that I saw and read either completely left out the cost of an operating system or came right out and assumed that you had a spare Windows license sitting around or one that you could re-use (which doesn't always work). If that's not you, then you have to buy a copy of Windows.

All of this increases the cost of entry for PC gaming - not for everyone on the planet, but for lots of people.

And yeah, you could build a circa 2008 PC and slowly upgrade it but what does that have to do with the question of whether or not gaming consoles are going to die off as Mr. Patcher predicts?


tl;dr - If you want to play modern, "current gen" games as they are released the cheapest point of entry is still gaming consoles. PC is getting more and more accessible to the masses as time goes on but it doesn't have the consoles beaten... yet. My personal opinion is that there will be a market for gaming consoles as long as they are the easiest, cheapest way of playing CoD/Madden (or whatever replaces them in the future).

[noiseredux]

Yeah, Steam machines are a thing that exists.

I followed the links you provided.

The cheapest Alienware Steam machine I saw is either $479.99 or $499.99 depending on which page of their site you look at.

The Cyberpower PC link does not show anything labeled a "Steam Machine." I don't see anything on that site that is as powerful or more powerful than a PS4 or Xbox One at a price that is competitive with the consoles. Do you?

Meanwhile a PS4 is $399 and an Xbox One is $349.99. I think you can get a game with an Xbone at that price too.

All I'm saying is, a person can look at the prices involved and conclude that one of the consoles is the way to go for him/her and not be considered a crazy person. In fact, lots of people do.

sorry, I linked the wrong Cyber. I was thinking of this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-s ... Id=9787177

or this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/syber-vapor ... Id=9787113

Just to give some examples.

My point wasn't anything about price really. I was more speaking of the console experience. I think more and more we're seeing a market emerging of prebuilt PC's that aiming to be more console-like. So it's more this ease-of-use I'm thinking about. Small boxes meant to sit in the living room and be operated w/ wireless controllers much like a console.

I know that for some (mjmjr25 is my example here) the thought of dealing w/ a PC that is more console than desktop appeals to him.

Now to touch on price briefly, I agree that those are a bit more expensive than a console. Though the Syber one is $350. But they come in different configs of course. My feeling on an "open" (PC) console vs. a "closed" (Xbox/PS4/Wii) though is that as we see more and more games appearing across platforms, I'd rather spend $500+ on PC that plays thousands of games rather than pay $400 for an Xbox One that only plays Xbox One games. But that's just me.

I'm not wishing consoles dead or being some sort of elitist. I'm just saying that in watching the hobby grow lately, it feels like consoles are more like PC's nowadays, and PC's can be more like consoles. It feels like to a degree it's heading toward a direction of a more unified platform. Maybe?

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'm not wishing consoles dead or being some sort of elitist. I'm just saying that in watching the hobby grow lately, it feels like consoles are more like PC's nowadays, and PC's can be more like consoles. It feels like to a degree it's heading toward a direction of a more unified platform. Maybe?

Until the pre-built PCs essentially become the consoles they attempted to usurp, and hardcore PC gamers start complaining that those are holding them back when developers start making games on the lower end to hit a bigger market.

[noiseredux]

But pc games have lots of graphical options depending on your hardware.