Consoles made sense when they required specialized hardware. The $700 for a PS5 is probably better spent on a much better GPU for a PC, IMHO.
It’s cool if you like consoles! They still have a specific allure, so I get it.
I have a ps5. I dont think I’ll ever buy another console thats not a PC. I want to keep my library. I want a choice of places to buy games. I want no subscription for basic services. Consoles solved a problem that running high end games with specialized hardware was cheaper. Now its not, so they dont make financial sense.
I would assume my next games machine will be a steam deck type device that works like a switch for big screen, or that just streams over WiFi to my TV.
But it does make financial sense - for Sony.
Got a PS5 last year. My 13-year old computer died this year (used for old games, as it had a 960 in it lol), and it made me happy, cause I had a reason to buy a new one, which cost the same as the PS5 Pro. PS5 will also be my last console (can we call the Steam deck a console? I’m getting one next year anyway). Gaming on computers these days just makes more sense.
I’ve enjoyed my PS5 subscription, but that’s because I’m a patient gamer, so getting a gigantic library of games I wanted to play was easy to pay for, but a year later, I’ve gone through the games I wanted to play. I haven’t powered it on for the past 3 months 😂 not worth paying for, but my subscription ends in November 2025 (subscribed years ago, before the price hike), so I might get a few more games out of it.
I was in the same boat, frustrated with Sony stranding entire generations of games on aging hardware. Sold all of my boxed stuff sans exclusives that run on my PS4 Pro. Bought XSX and digital copies of everything I sold for a fraction of price in a third world store. This might be my last console if gaming industry continues on current path so no regrets even if Microsoft quits gaming tomorrow. It’s a nice life boat to carry those titles due to various improvements applied when played in backwards compatibility. XSX is the best platform to play Final Fantasy XIII these days which is quite bonkers when you think about it.
I might consider PC in the future if someone sells a reasonably priced prebuilt with an OS dedicated to gaming, be it from Microsoft or Valve & co. I actually have an old Steam Machine from ASU’s because I thought it would happen much earlier (it lives to this day as my home server). Right now Steam Deck ain’t it and any portable device will be too compromised performance-wise, not to mention entirely unpocketable compared to old handhelds.
There are also a lot of high quality games coming out from Japanese devs. Something about the culture and pc games has changed am I’m happy for it.
