Will you head back to the consoles, or double down on PC gaming ? Fall 2013 - The Great Decision

I'm sure that many of the guys here are hardcore PC gamers, and they are in it for the long haul. Of course, there are probably other guys, that are more like me. Console rejects that left the comfy confines of the console world, to step into the realm of PC gaming. For me and others, I'm sure that this generation has dragged on for a very long time, and we had an itch that we needed to scratch. We built a gaming PC, in lieu of no new consoles since 2006 (PS3).

It's been a long, long time with just the Xbox 360 and PS3 (and Wii), so it's hard not to imagine early adopter console type gamers getting a bit bored with the same ol same ol. So, some of us heard the chatter about the "PC Master Race", and we figured that we might as well see how the other side lived. So, we built a decent gaming rig, and started playing our games in "true" 1080p, with 60 frames or more. The improvement was definitely there, but it wasn't a total night and day proposition.

Fast forward to 2013, and we are still enjoying the spoils of our gaming PC's, but our champions are about to return. Most likely a new Xbox system is coming, as well as a PS4. Both to be introduced at e3 and launched in November. The whole reason some of us built our gaming PC's, was that we got tired of waiting for "next-gen" to get here again. We wanted to see something new and cool. Well, Next-Gen is finally coming. Now, the way I see it, there are 3 choices we can make....


Choice 1 - Buy a new console (or two), and return to the realm of simplified gaming (although PC gaming is pretty simple nowadays) It will cost about $400 or more, but the good news, is that you really won't have to think about new hardware for at least 4 or 5 years. You can forget about upgrading any PC hardware for a long while, and basically just migrate the vast majority of your gaming back to the console world.

Choice 2 - Why put $400 or more into a console, when you can save that money, and use it in 2014 for a video card that will make your PC games look even better than the exact same games coming out on PS4 and Xbox Next. Sure, there are going to be console exclusives that don't show up on PC for a very long time (some even never ?), but those will be few and far between. Most of the huge games will hit PC, and you'll be playing them at a higher level of fidelity. Plus, you'll be paying less for your games (long term), than the console guy, as PC games normally dip in price much faster than the console counterparts.

Choice 3 - Buy new consoles and new graphics cards ! Well, if you got the money to burn, then I guess just don't compromise at all. Still buy the new consoles, but at the same time, why not upgrade your PC rig as well. Get the best of both worlds and enjoy the multiplatform games on PC, running at an even higher performance level, and enjoy the exclusive console games on the Next Gen systems as well. The more the merrier! Hey, nobody said this was an inexpensive hobby...




For me, I can't decide between Choice 1 and Choice 2. I'm not overflowing with money, so I don't think I'll be making choice 3. I think what I might do, is go ahead and jump on one of the console bandwagons, see how it is over there for a year or so, and then re-evaluate the situation. I think I'm going to let my PC gaming rig's stay at the level they currently are, and just look to the new consoles for the cutting edge stuff for a bit, then I can return to the PC realm once the dust settles in 2015....

This is an interesting take. Yeah, if I return to the land of consoles, then I have to deal with all that bullcrap as well, and yes, it will probably get worse if anything.


Here's an interesting thought to ponder though... what if things start to go bad on PC as well ? One of the main reasons I'm really liking PC gaming is the prices of the games. The prices of the games normally start about 10 bucks cheaper, and they drop in price about twice as fast as console games, and then when Steam and Amazon and Green Man Gaming and all that start having their sales, you can get games at redonkulous prices. (like 5 bucks each if you can wait long enough).

Part of me wonders if this is going to continue forever. I know a big reason why the games get this cheap, this fast, is because of the piracy problem on PC. So many people pirate the games, that game companies feel like they have to drop the price very quickly to get the few honest customers that are still out there. Basically, they are trying to give people an incentive not to pirate, lol. It's like " If we make this crap cheap enough, then some people won't even bother to pirate the games, because it almost takes more effort than just paying 5 bucks". What if publishers are somehow able to get a grip on the piracy thing, then they might not be so interested in dropping the prices to fast. Also, in regards to Steam and the whole Steambox thing. If Steam gets "too" popular, I wonder if we will still see these unbelievable sales prices, once the mass market is onboard. Or will $19.99 become the new $5 ? Look at Microsoft on the Xbox. Remember when they had arcade games for $5, and a ton of games for $10. Seems like everything is $15 or more, because it's so mainstream now, that they can get away with it. While I personally think that $15 for most of those games isn't a very good deal, there are tons of Joe Schmoes, that think that 15 bucks is a screaming deal. That's the problem when things get too popular, and too mainstream. You get this huge influx of users that don't really know what a good deal is or isn't, and they are willing to pay way more than a cheap bastard like me.


I really think this is going to be a very interesting conundrum, because I don't have unlimited money to chase both avenues. I either need to stick with console gaming, and let my PC get old and stale, or I need to stick with PC, and say away from the consoles and save my money for the necessary PC upgrades, to stay slightly ahead of the curve. Doing both just seems a bit excessive (not to mention expensive)




We have a pretty good idea to what Xbox Infinity and PS4 are going to offer. We saw the trailers for Star Wars 1313 and Watch Dogs. We know what top of the line PC's are capable of. We know that those systems are at least going to bring that, if nothing else. We know that the next Xbox and PS4 are going to be running things for the most part in the home console world for the next 7 or 8 years. The question is, do you jump on board at jump street, or do you stay on the PC side of the block for awhile and maybe hop on board down the road ..
Edited by Anthony1 - 1/18/13 at 12:06pm

Yeah, I totally get what you're saying. Still, you have to admit, 2013 is going to be a very exciting year finally, on the hardware front. Those e3 press conferences are going to be 1,000 times more interesting than the last few years...