PC Games Are Outselling Console Games, According to New Industry Report
PC Games Are Outselling Console Games, According to New Industry Report
PC gaming has been a bright spot in an industry that has struggled against stagnation.
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Modern consoles are locked pre-built PCs. You have to pay for online. Why get a console at this point in time?
Because you can buy a consol3, plig it into the back of your TV, and be confident that it will work. You don't have to worry about system requirements, storefronts, launchers, driver updates fucking you up, etc.
Power Cable, HDMI cable, and connect to wifi - that's it.
I've been PC gaming since the mid-80s, and even I sometimes just want to sit on the couch, push the Xbox button on my controller, and get going. Is it lazy? Yes. But I work 2 jobs and get to be lazy when I get home.
Not worrying about system requirements just translates into the game not being sold for your generation of the console, and requiring multiple generations of one console to enjoy both new and old titles.
The optimization of console games really is impressive. If you took the best gaming PC possible from 2005 when the 360 launched and tried to run late-gen 360 games like Tomb Raider on it, it simply wasn't possible.
Having set hardware allowed devs to design to limitations and get a lot more performance out of the machines.
Heck - look at anything from Nintendo. I'm pretty sure my watch has more horsepower than a Switch, but Tears of the Kingdom is gorgeous.
Just want to second that. When you have predictable hardware you can do some extremely precise optimizations, timings and scheduling so you know that when a situation comes up it'll be handled and executed the exact same way. On top of that the game will always be preconfigured so that it handles almost all situations at 60fps.
It can eek out some performance even though generally having more powerful hardware always wins.
What does that have to do with now in the age of extremely cheap, large, and fast storage.
It wasn't just storage. A 2005 PC can't handle TR on minimum settings. 360 handled it on what was essentially medium despite being a less powerful machine because the devs were able to optimize for that specific hardware instead of trying to guess.
You know, like they're doing with the Steam Deck, which is absolutely a console.
Are you talking about the tomb raider that came out in 2013?
Console updates and game updates are a thing. It will work, true, it just might be downloading and installing updates for a day before it does.
And windows updates are done when you're asleep these days... There are tons of pre-built computers and laptops for people who don't care to get the best value or performance.
I haven't worried about a driver update fucking something up since before win XP.
I have however repeatedly encountered crashes of games on my ps5 in the last year, which kind of defeats your point. Consoles had that worry free stability factor to them in the 90s or early 2000s, but that's long gone.
Lol... You can do same with pc. Just needs configured 1 time.. Using a linux distribution you could boot into same interface like steam deck. You can emulate the consoles too well not newest gen but who cares. You can configure the whole PC for lazy using too...
Just install one of 300 distributions of an unfamiliar operating system not designed specificallyfor you use case along with drivers for all the hardware (that you also have to learn about), learn to use the OS to the point you can actually use it, install custom software so you can install games, then hope the games work or don't get updated with anti-cheat software that keeps you from playing.
Or just buy the "plays games" machine and play the games.
What nonsense. Yes, there are countless linux distributions, but of course the focus is still only on a few. These can be quickly narrowed down to how much you want to take care of the OS yourself. From arch linux to Bazitte/cachyos etc. At distrowatch.com you can also browse through the top 10. Drivers? out-of-the-box or with Nvidia 1-2 steps... even the biggest laymen can manage the changeover without any problems.
Software? Open the app store and install - done... Anti-cheat would be no problem and what a coincidence that after steamdeck has brought so much growth under Linux, publishers have thought "remove check mark and disable support, leagues that it is due to linux etc pp" which has all been refuted. Well if MS ... known for their market manipulating and criminal methods... didn't let black bags wander... without games Windows would have disappeared on private computers a long time ago...Console btw is a lie long time now... Preconfigured, extremely neutered and heavily DRM-infested PCs with no possibility of upgrading etc.
So what you're saying is that people who aren't interested in fucking around with Linux shouldn't play games, even if they have absolutely zero interest in fucking around with Linux?
Let periods enjoy hobbies the way they want to. All that setup shit that's easy for you isn't easy for everyone, and learning more computer stuff isn't something their interested in. They want to play a goddamned game, and they can unbox a Nintendo, plug in the game, power cable, and hdmi plug and be playing a game in less than 2 minutes.
That's what they want. Their gaming hobby consists of playing the games. For many of us, all the setup and tinkering is part of the hobby, but we're the outliers.
Again just Check top10 distros. There are distros with so easy GUI installation... with preinstalled packages like steam etc. So with Bazzite you have the console feeling... (Steam deck...) wanna change from desktop e.g. to the TV in the other room... Just stream it... steam link on mobile voilä the solution for people who don't want to configure. Otherwise there is much more and also with automation... Learning more computer stuff... ? so studying for console? Cause account creation enter anything with gamepad etc is way more... Oh your paid internet yea? anyway pls pay again or you can not play online... I don't care what you play with. But as one lie after another comes from you about PC and linux it was clear that you want to put false words in my mouth too.
"Just pick one of the top 10 distros" is in itself greek to most people. You exist in a bubble where everyone knows what a linux distro even is. 90% of people do not. Your simple, overly-simplistic description of how to do Linux gaming can't make it one sentence without losing normal people who just want to play a fucking game without having to learn anything new.
Oh, with consoles you don't have to find out about backwards compatibility? Or whether the performance is sufficient with all the different versions within the same generation? But all you can think of are the same nonsensical statements? The ones with distrowatch are more likely to be people who are interested... the others are more likely to be referred to Bazitte or chachyoa in the steam forums and they use steam to play anyway (before the bullshit statement comes that would be too complicated for people). A friendly community that is willing to help is not a problem either... For consoles, have fun with the non-thinking kiddy's filled with hate Especially since you're just trolling because you've been distorting the facts from the start anyway. Since I basically argued that you can do all that with the PC as well as with a console. In other words, it's just as feasible. With you it immediately became something like I want to tell people what they should play with... No, that's just you You want to tell people what they should use instead of letting them decide for themselves... but your behavior shows wonderfully what you have to be prepared for... The one who is so frustrated by his bad purchase right from the start that he basically wants to goad people against the other options out of frustration without any arguments.
Yes, a PC can do more. That isn't a positive for lots of people.
I have a small tractor with all kinds of implements. I can dig with the backhoe, grade with the box blade, cut grass with the mowing deck, clear brush with the bush hog, do all kinds of crap with the loader bucket, move brush with the forks, and much more.
I also have to know how to attach, maintain, and use all of those tools and the tractor itself if it's going to be useful.
For someone wanting to just mow their lawn on their 1/4 acre of land, a push-mower is all they want or need.
For people who want a console, it's ok and their choice anyway. But the justification because of the couch feeling and because it is kept so extremely simple (connect, update, play) is simply no longer up to date. Since there are linux distributions with which you can do this out of the box even without knowledge of OS and without knowledge of the tools. The cheaper acquisition costs for hardware would be an argument, exclusive titles would be an argument or for someone with win PC + Xbox gamepass would be an argument (although it is precisely gamepass + alternatives that have negative long-term consequences for game development... Just like e.g. epic's business method, but that's a different topic) So there are enough pros & cons on both sides. You have to stick to contemporary reasons. Especially since the (PC) SteamDeck has made it more than clear how suitable Linux is for gaming nowadays. If MS and publishers would not put obstacles in the way as they have done for decades. In the end, everyone should decide for themselves what they are happy with
If you put Bazzite on there, it's the "plays games" machine and plays the games. Now we've gotten rid of your choice paralysis. If you've ever used Steam Big Picture mode or a Steam Deck, it behaves exactly like that.
You're asking a lot from the average non- computer person.
Things that are "just do this simple thing" for you are specifically what people don't want to spend time fucking around with.
If you were buying a car with zero knowledge about cars and how they work, and the only purpose of the car was to get you from "a" to "b", would you buy one that required you to install the engine and calibrate the timing yourself, or the one that you could get in and drive?
I think the rise of PC over console is showing that more and more people are finding it to be not that tough of a hill to climb. And reducing some hypothetical 300 distros down to 1 that's easy is why that hill isn't as big as you make it out to be.
The Steam Deck is a huge part of the rise, and it's essentially a console. It's a specific dedicated, known piece of hardware that can't be meaningfully upgraded.
It launches into a custom OS designed for gaming using a launcher and game marketplace under the control of the manufacturer from which the manufacturer takes a 30% cut of all sales.
But that marketplace is also a PC gaming marketplace, so all its sales count as PC gaming growth.
It can, of course, run other software, but the dev mode on the Xbox lets it do the same thing. So if the deck isn't a console, neither is the Xbox.
You can get a steam deck then if you are worried about all of this and it would still be cheaper than console as well as portable.
The console argument just doesnt make any kind of logical sense.
A steam deck is a custom gaming device with a custom gaming OS, custom, pre-defined hardware, limited upgradability, and launches into a gaming interface for a specific company's game store and launcher.
How is it not a console?
Set it to boot to the Linux desktop and boom, laptop with gaming formatted shell for once, with a decent steam-big-picture thing you can choose to use if you want
Or reformat the entire OS and never use that steam mode again
It's a console in the same way a Windows laptop with the Xbox app pre installed is
You can launch custom apps on the Xbox. It's officially supported through Dev Mode. You can even install emulators and third-party app stores.
Is the Xbox not a console now?
That's not even close to the same thing and even you obviously know it
How is it substantially different from an everyday "I just want to play a goddamned game without jumping through hoops" perspective.
Is the person who doesn't want to go through the trouble of activating dev mode and download an emulator or other custom software more likely to install a different operating system on their Deck?
You answered your own question.
It is a lot like a console, but there's a huge catalog.
PCs can do all of this and much more.
It's the "and much more" that's the problem. A console is a deli slicer where a PC is a chef's knife.
The knife can do so much more than the deli slicer, but if you just want to slice some meat and don't care about the rest, then the deli slicer is perfect.
Huh? This analogy is wild. Deli slicers are a specialist, commercial-level piece of equipment. It's basically the antithesis of everything a console strives for, other than the fact that it's a unitasker.
Deli slicer aren't all commercial.
I have a $60 deli slicer on the counter. I also have chef's knives that cost way more.
The knives can do everything the slicer can, but the untrained person can slice meat faster and neater with the slicer. They don't need to k ow how to use a knife properly or how to sharpen a blade. It just works.
That's a console. They're cheaper than PCs that can run equivalent games for a lot of their lifespan, and they're specialist devices that just fucking work.
But they can't run cad, use excel, or do anything else but play games and videos just like a deli slicer can't debone a chicken.
Steam Deck has turned that around somewhat. It's pretty close to an easy console experience, amd you can play on your couch, in bed, or on a plane.
That's because it's a console.
A console that's also a fully functional PC you can install mods on.
Another big thing for me is that I’ve worked on computers as part of my job for the last 15yrs. The last thing I wanted to do was come back home to sit again at a computer chair on another computer. Now that I work remotely, there is even less of a separation of my life since I am in my office a lot. I mentally can’t have my work station also be my gaming station, it’s just not healthy for me, I’d never move from the same place. Maybe one day when one of my laptops is old I’ll finally install steam, but for now having a switch and ps5 works wonders for the separation.
I've been PC gaming since 8-bit computers. I eventually bought an Xbox One as my first console and a Switch some years ago. I just couldn't get into either of them after the initial novelty wore off. PC gaming is so much more convenient for me. I'm already at my PC, I just need to start a game. And I can multi-task with other apps in the background or on my second monitor. Going to the living room to play on a console on the TV, or switching inputs if I keep it attached to my PC monitor, both are too much hassle. I only ever use the XBox for Just Dance (nothing beats Kinect for it) and I've played many more hours of Switch games on an emulator on my PC than on the actual Switch.
One rebuttal: Steam Deck.
Yes. The Steam Deck.
A dedicated piece of hardware with limited upgradablity designed and sold by the company that runs the marketplace/launcher/operating system that can't run all games because of its OS, but performs beyond its specs because developers are designing products with is exact, known specifications in mind.
How is the deck not a console?
Replying to your original points:
Because you can buy a consol3, plig it into the back of your TV, and be confident that it will work.
The Steam Deck has a dock that you can plug it into and have it hooked up to your TV via HDMI just like a normal console. Plus, any Bluetooth controller syncs with the SD, which makes plug and play even easier.
You don't have to worry about system requirements, storefronts, launchers, driver updates fucking you up, etc.
No real issue here on the SD either. The main storefront is Steam. You wouldn't be inclined to purchase PlayStation games from an Xbox or Xbox games from a PlayStation. Pretty sure that's not even possible unless you do some bootlegging. Drivers aren't really an issue either.
Power Cable, HDMI cable, and connect to wifi - that's it.
Same as the Steam Deck - with a dock. Although it does have a USB-C port so you might be able to do this without a dock by using a USB-C to HDMI or DP cable. The dock is probably the best way to go though as this is also how the Switch is marketed to be played while not on the go.
I've been PC gaming since the mid-80s, and even I sometimes just want to sit on the couch, push the Xbox button on my controller, and get going. Is it lazy? Yes. But I work 2 jobs and get to be lazy when I get home.
Welcome to the Steam Deck where the only time you don't have to be lazy is buying the "console"/dock, buying your games, setting shit up, and gaming on. None of the your issues here really affect the SD. I just highly recommend you try it, especially after doing PC gaming for years. Opened me up to all of those games I can't find on the Xbox store, being an Xbox native myself, while not needed to pay for Xbox Live. Such a great choice looking back
First off, Steam has LOTS of hands that aren't connotation with the deck. The storefronts on the other consoles don't have that problem.
Secondly, the Steam Deck is a dedicated gaming machine that runs a custom OS designed for gaming, had limited upgradablity, so users will just have to wait for the next generation for anything but a storage upgrade, didn't work with lots of PC games because of its operating system, and is designed and sold by the company that runs its storefront.
How is the Steam Deck not a console?
You're moving the goal posts. The original commenter posed the question asking why someone would purchase a console in this day and age given inflation. You gave some answers, and I gave some rebuttals.
Whether we can call the SD a console or handheld PC is moot to that conversation.
What's more important is how you don't have to pay anything above a monthly internet bill to play multiplayer games, talk, etc. on the SD. With other consoles, you have to pay an internet bill plus network fee (e.g. Xbox Live, PS+, etc.) which raises OPEX costs.
With gamepass including online play, that's not really a big deal. If I play 2 new releases a year on gamepass, I've saved money even with the online fees.
Game Pass doesn't give you ownership of games however. Microsoft can rotate games out of Game Pass in a matter of weeks to months. If you want to keep those, pay out CAPEX in addition to your ongoing OPEX costs via Game Pass.
And if those games you liked that you went out and bought have online multiplayer, well then you're locked into ongoing OPEX via Game Pass Core in order to get at least multiplayer access. This is regardless of whether you use Game Pass to explore new games.
Subscriptions also induce FOMO and create uncertainty costs. Microsoft can choose rotate a game out of Game Pass, which then forces you to make a decision about whether you play it to 100% completion before it's gone, or buy it. And because Game Pass is a subscription, Microsoft can choose to raise its prices for access to the same games for no real reason.
With Steam, I "own" my games so I know I can always play them for the foreseeable future. With Steam, if some of my games have multiplayer, I only need to pay my telco utility bill to gain access. With Steam, I don't have FOMO because my games aren't going away, and I limit my uncertainty costs because I only need to consider my telco utility raising prices and not my telco + Microsoft.
Ultimately though, I think the top comments of this reddit post speak to the pros and cons of both platforms. If there's an expensive AAA game coming out that you want to play, it's cheaper to do the Game Pass route to play on Day 1. If you want to own that game long term, you can stop Game Pass payments until the next Steam sale to get the game discounted (else you run into the above issues). Game Pass to try, Steam to "own". Plus with a Steam Deck, you can dual boot Windows and SteamOS, so you can do Game Pass PC and Steam on the same device. No need to really buy into the Xbox ecosystem.
Steam games are also 100% a license, and Steam has both removed the ability to download previously-purchased games and removed games from people's libraries in the past.
And my main route to Steam AND Gamepass is my ROG Ally, since it's basically a Deck that runs Windows, so it has greater game and marketplace compatibility.
No I agree with you on the Steam license thing. That's why I used quotations in my previous comment.
But Game Pass isn't any better. It's worse than licensing games because, again, Microsoft can choose to remove games from Pass at will.
The Steam Deck can do what you describe as well. Some prefer SteamOS for it's sleekness, where Windows can become bloated over time. Then you also don't need to factor in how Windows machines need to have the price of Windows built into their purchase price. The SD runs off of SteamOS, which is a free OS provided by Valve. And yes, dual booting to run SteamOS and Windows is possible, allowing users the same game and market compatibility as the ROG Ally.
SteamOS is the key factor for a lot of people here. Linus just did a video on it. Consider giving that a watch!
Because you can just plug it in to your TV and play. That's the target demographic.
I do that with my steam deck
Edit: I actually never bought a steam deck have a PC set up to be like one but you can just dock the steam deck and use it that way
I've thought about getting a dock for my Steam Deck, but honestly, I just either play on my desktop or Steam Deck, almost never on my TV. I also have a Switch for the TV, and I only really use it for party games.
Is a steam deck not a console?
Nah it's a PC running Linux
Besides plug and play safety as mentioned, two other cool things:
- Monthly Netflix-style rental service. For people who want to try a lot of games to find their niche, PS+ and Game Pass are great.
- Sleep mode. Being able to pause a game for days on end is incredibly convenient. PCs have attempted to have this feature, but very inconsistently, and it often means you cannot web browse when finished playing.
PCs have all of this and much more.
Gamepass is on Windows and Linux too
I’m sorry, what? Windows yes, I used PC Game Pass for a while before swearing off Xbox. But for all its emulation advances, Linux has always had huge struggles running UWP apps, which accounts for everything on Game Pass. Even on Windows, Game Pass isn’t always the best experience compared to just using a console.
Game Pass works through streaming, unfortunately running natively is impossible due to UWP crap. But next to that there is also EA Play and Ubisoft+ as well as free games from Amazon, Epic, etc.
I definitely wouldn't count Game Pass streaming as an option to validate PC gaming; since that can run on old Android Phones too. Plus, many of the games are only going to support controller, and you need to upgrade to Ultimate to get access.
I admit I'd forgotten about EAP and U+; to my knowledge they're pretty unpopular because of their cost-benefit ratio.
I got EA Play for 20€ a year so the cost part wasn't really that much of a factor anymore.
Sleep mode. Being able to pause a game for days on end is incredibly convenient. PCs have attempted to have this feature, but very inconsistently, and it often means you cannot web browse when finished playing.
The fuck are you smoking? My parents PC from the 90s had a sleep mode that worked exactly like a modern console's would