My kids got a hand-me-down PS4, and I found out that we had to pay a connection fee to play online on top of my existing ISP internet fee. I had a what-the-actual-fuck moment. You're forced into the walled garden of the console maker's store and forced to pay more to play with friends? I built them both PCs and they've never really looked back.
I've never been a console fan simply for the proprietary nature of the devices along with the walled garden concept (and fuck controllers lol, I'm too used to mouse and keyboard) , but it really cemented my further rejection of the systems when it became apparent that online play was extra $.
Certain games feel better with controllers. So I got myself a cheap 3rd party controller, that has been working solid for 5+ years. Don't need to support the big console companies.
If you use the subscription for like a single console generation, you find out most of the cost of the console was hidden in the find print via those installment payments. At least with the PS5Pro, thanks to the really high console price and relatively short time til the PS6, the cost of the subscription isn't that much if you intend to upgrade to the PS6 immediately. But if you got the original 5 and planned to keep it until the 6, then you might be spending more on your PS5 basic-tier subscription than the MSRP of the PS5Pro (and double if you used premium the whole time).
It doesn't really matter as a PC does so much more than play games. It's like arguing that a Nintendo Switch is cheaper than an a flagship smartphone. Ok, have fun trying to file your taxes, run blender, write code, browse the web, or backup media on your playstation.
I guess if you don't want to support the company/devs. I did pirate call of duty cold war, cause they don't sell single player separate, and i didn't didn't want to spend $90 CAD.
More importantly, PC has significantly more and better exclusives. Factorio, Dwarf Fortress, Ostranauts, and Squad off the top of my head that I've been playing lately. There are so many incredible games, frequently that are $20-40, that will never be on a console. They're never advertised as "PC exclusives" because there's no marketing budget to push that stupid concept, but they are. People always talk about which console to buy because they have better exclusives, but any reasonable person would choose a PC if they cared about that.
Yes -- and just to add, many of the console AAA exclusives aren't "exclusive" at all, because a significant number end up on PC anyway. They're only exclusives if you're in the PS/XB bubble. (Switch is a standout because Nintendo)
It's also generally legal if you own the games on the console or physically and can dump them yourself (with the MIG dumper hardware). Of course though you don't actually have to do that, you can but you don't have to.
They can be at first too, all you need are some bandanas and a fake parrot (some people may tell you this is not necessary, those are just typical Internet lies).